Can someone explain what is the connection between Lyme and heavy metal poisoning? I've seen this connection mentioned in a lot of posts on this board but I can not figure out how are they related?

I have a full mouth of what looks like metal fillings (at least 10-15). I actually never bothered to check what fillings my dentist is putting in and if there is any mercury, but they sure look metal to me Should I get tested for mercury/metals in the blood? Should I request some different kind of fillings next time I need one? What is a biological dentist, and how would I find one in CA?

How does one get tested for heavy metals? Is this a normal test ordered by your MD? What kind of doctor should I see to order one? Does insurance usually pay for the test, and if not then how expensive is it?

Sorry for so many questions, but I keep thinking about all this and want to start getting some answers

GiGi has done a ton of work on this subject and has recovered from Lyme. You may want to check out her posts.

You may want to print and read these as they are long, but very informative.

Best of Health,
Maggie

I thought of him when I read your posts. I will try to find more information for you.

But, I remember his name was Dr. Rowen. He was on the medical board in Alaska and then moved to CA.

During my phone consultation he suggested getting the lead out so to speak.

He also has a web site.

He wanted me to come in and be tested for heavy metals and for further evaluation.

I didn't have the funds and still don't. I think of him every now and then and think he would be a good doc to have on my team if I did have the funds.

I learned about him from a lady who daughter went from being bedridden to finishing school, getting married and having children.

She felt he had been a key to her daughter getting her health back when others were not able to help.

This lady went on to study diet, supplements, etc during the time her daughter was sick. She ended up getting her PhD.

She has a lot of good information too.

She is in Alaska but will do phone consultations.

If interested, I can do some research and find her name, number, email information also.

She also has a web site.

The bottom line is I don't think it is just lyme and heavy metal poisoning. I think that cleaning up the system with many of the conditions seem to be helping.

Dr. Rowan also can tell you who to go to in order to have the mouth cleaned up. I was told it makes a big difference who you see.

You need to see someone who knows what they are doing.

I recall contacting the dentist that was mentioned but didn't follow through due to finances.

Here is a copy of a speech my doctor gave several years ago that you might want to read. It tells why heavy metals are such an invitation to many infections, not just Lyme, but also viruses, parasites, fungi, etc. The trick is to get rid of the metals while getting the infections under control.
But the metals and chemical toxicities have to go first for the immune system to be able to come up to speed again. I have no doubt about any of that, because I have done just that and have come from being dead to being alive. So has my husband and many other patients that are being treated in this manner.

Here is the article.

"Heavy Metals and Chronic Diseases

by Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, M.D., PhD
To be presented at the Annual Enderlein Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, Feb.2000
In the late phase of the Roman Empire it was considered a privilege of the reigning aristocracy to drink out of lead cups and many of the water lines in the city of Rome were made out of lead pipes. It took several hundred years before the physicians of their time established the link between mental illness - affecting mostly the aristocracy - and the contamination of the drinking water with lead. In the 1700s the use of mercury for the treatment of both acute and chronic infections gained favor and again, it took decades before the neurotoxic and immunosuppressive effects of mercury were well documented within the medical community.

In the time of Mozart, who himself died of mercury toxicity during a course of treatment for syphilis, any pathologist in Vienna was familiar with the severe grayish discoloration of organs in those who died from mercury toxicity and other organ related destructive changes caused by mercury.

In the case of mercury the therapeutic dilemma is most clear: mercury can be used to treat infections but - not unlike chemotherapy - also causes a different type of illness itself and may kill the patient. The same is true for most metals: small doses may have a therapeutic effect in a short term, life saving direction, but may also cause their own illness. Most metals have a very narrow therapeutic margin before their neurotoxic, in some cases carcinogenic effect, outweighs the benefits. Toxic metals may be fungicidal and bactericidal, maybe even virucidal, but many foreign invaders have the ability to adapt over time to a toxic metal environment in a way, that stuns scientists and certainly outpaces the ability of the cells of a higher organism - like ours - to adapt in a similar way.

So in the long run, the situation looks different: the cells of the body are harmed by toxic metals whereas the invading microorganisms can often thrive in a heavy metal environment. Research by Ludwig, Voll and others in Germany, by Omura and myself here in the US, showed that microorganisms tend to set up their housekeeping in those body compartments, that have the highest pollution with toxic metals. The body's own immune cells are incapacitated in those areas whereas the microorganisms multiply and thrive in an undisturbed way. The teeth, jawbone, Peyers patches in the gutwall, the groundsystem (connective tissue) and the autonomic ganglia are common sites of metal storage - where microorganisms thrive.

Furthermore, those body areas also are
vasoconstricted and hypoperfused (by blood, nutrients and oxygen), which fosters the growth of anaerobic germs, fungi and viruses.

The list of symptoms of mercury toxicity alone, published by DAMS (dental amalgam support group), includes virtually any illness known to humankind: chronic fatigue, depression and joint pains are the most common.

To keep it simple: mercury alone can mimic or cause any illness currently known - or contribute to it.
Modern Medicine has taken a giant leap in the last few years through the discovery and use of the PCR test (polymerase chain reaction). Virtually any illness looked at seems to be caused or contributed to by a chronic infection. A study performed by the VA administration (and published in JADA, April 1998) on 10 000 US veterans showed that most coronary heart disease really started as an endothelial infection, in most cases caused by microorganisms from the mouth. Another study showed that close to 70 % of all TMJ syndromes in women are caused or contributed to by chlamydia trachomatis. Childhood diabetes is often caused by either a cytomegaly or influenza virus infection. And on and on.....

Has Guenther Enderlein not basically found the same truth over 60 years ago? What took so long? Like Bechamp and others he found that infections cannot thrive in the body, unless the milieu is changed in the first place. Rather then looking at the pH, osmolality and the other factors (today also jokingly called the "BTA factors" - from an instrumentation available in the US called "Bio-terrain assessment", which is really a modernization of an instrument developed by French researcher and hydrologist Vincent), I suggest diagnosing and treating toxic metal residues in the body along with appropriate treatment of the microorganisms. As long as compartmentalized toxic metals are present in the body, microorganisms have a fortress that cannot be conquered by antibiotics, Enderlein remedies, ozone therapy, UV light therapy and others.

To diagnose metal deposits in the different body compartments on a living patient is not easy (see my article in Explore: Vol??, 1997), since most "scientific"tests are based on grinding up tissue and then examining it with a microscope, spectroscopy or other laboratory based procedures. Most elegant, suitable and easy to learn is Dr.Yoshiaki Omura's resonance phenomenon between identical substances : both his bi-digital O-ring test or ART (autonomic response testing) are extensions of a regular physical exam, that can be done without any instrument. It is a very accurate diagnostic tool and makes it possible to not only diagnose where in the body which metal is stored but also helps to predict which metal detoxifying agent is most suitable to remove the toxic metal from that particular body region.

The metals found most commonly are : mercury, lead, aluminum and cadmium.
Amongst the detoxifying-agents most commonly used are the following: DMPS, DMSA, Captomer, D-Penicillamine, I.V.Vit.C, I.V.Glutathione, Pleo-Chelate, DL-Methionine (Redoxal), branched chain amino acids, Chlorella Pyreneidosa, Chitosan, activated charcoal, cilantro and yellow dock. Non biochemical approaches have been developed by myself and include electromobilization (using the Electro-Bloc), mercury vapor lamp mobilization and others.
So the approach to treating illness in a way, that acknowledges these observations, has to include the following:
1. diagnosing the site of toxic metal compartmentalization
2. diagnosing the exact type of metal
3. determining the most appropriate and least toxic metal removal agent
4. determining other appropriate synergistic methods and agents (i.e.kidney drainage remedies, blood protective agents such as garlic or Vit.E., agents that increase fecal absorption and excretion of mobilized Hg, exercise, lymphatic drainage etc.)
5. diagnosing the secondary infection
6. determining an appropriate antibiotic regimen (medical antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, Enderlein remedies, ozone therapy etc.)
7. monitoring the patient carefully from visit to visit to respond quickly to untoward effects, most often caused by plugged up exit routes (drainage, drainage, drainage)
With this approach many patients that were chronically ill and did not respond to other approaches before will improve or get well.
However, the thoughts expressed sofar do not answer one important basic question:
Why do some patients that are exposed to mercury, deposit the toxin in their hypothalamus (and develop multiple hormone problems), in the limbic system (depression), others in the adrenals (fatigue), in the long bones (osteoporosis, leukemia), some in the pelvis (interstitial cystitis), in the autonomic and sensory ganglia (chronic pain syndromes), some in the connective tissue (scleroderma, lupus), some in the cranial nerves (tinnitus, cataracts, TMJ problems, loss of smell etc.etc), some in the muscles (fibromyalgia)?
As you would assume, multiple causes can be identified:
1. past physical trauma, such as closed head injury, will make the brain susceptible to become a storage site for lead, aluminum and mercury.
2. food allergies: they often cause a low grade encephalitis or joint inflammation, again setting up those areas to become targets for toxic deposits
3. geopathic stress: we found significant numbers of patients sleeping on underground water lines or too close to electrical equipment. Metals concentrate in the body regions most compromised
4. scars and other foci: scars can create abnormal electrical signals which can alter the function of the ANS (autonomic nervous system). The abnormal impulses often cause areas of vasoconstriction and hypoperfusion, which again become metal storage sites.
5. Structural abnormalities: TMJ-problems and Cranio-Sacral dysfunctions often are responsible for impairment of blood flow and lymphatic drainage in affected areas
6. Biochemical deficiencies: if the patient has a chronic zinc deficiency, the prostate, which has a large turn-over of zinc, starts to incorporate other 2-valent metals, such as Hg ++, Pb++
7. Environmental toxicity (solvents, pesticides, wood preservatives etc.): these agents have a synergistic effect with most toxic metals. Metals will often accumulate in body parts that have been chemically injured at a prior time
8. Unresolved psychoemotional trauma and unresolved problems in the family system
The last issue is by far the most common factor determining where which metal will be stored in the body and which infectious agent will thrive in what area of the body. This issue has been underestimated by most, due to a lack of appropriate, quick and precise therapeutic interventions.
I developed a type of biofeedback psychotherapy called psycho-neurobiology (APN). The core piece of this approach is the "dialogue with the subconscious mind". Any type of ART technique can be used to obtain answers and engage in the dialogue (muscle testing, EAV, brainwave biofeedback etc.). The technique is aimed at uncovering any unresolved past traumatic event and processing the material in a way that is healing to both the patient and his/her family."

Good luck to you.