Mercury doesn't cause autism: an anecdote
If people can use anecdotes to declare that autism is metal poisoning, here's my counter:
Then why am I still autistic?
Not like I'm upset about the situation. I like being autistic. I didn't, however, particularly like having elevated blood mercury, lead, and arsenic. They're largely unrelated conditions-I say largely because I wouldn't have been kicked out of my house to live in a homeless shelter (lead and mercury in the paint, lead in the pipes), I wouldn't have lived in the oldest, crappiest apartment EVER (probably hasn't been inspected in years, lead pipes that *spewed hot water constantly* all over the lead & mercury containing paint), and I wouldn't have gone to the gifted school (building as old and modern as the homeless shelter) if I wasn't autistic. Oh, and there was "my special plate" that happened to have arsenic in the glaze-momma read "Flowers in the Attic" and spiced up the arsenic delivery mode a bit.
HOWEVER--I am now clean, and still autistic. Yes, I followed an approved chelation protocol, supervised by the kind of doctor who has to go to medical school. The details are protected under HIPPA. I also, unlike most autistic kids who are chelated, have the ability to give informed consent, was physically miserable, and have the understanding that "this is tough on your kidneys, so you need to drink a LOT of water" means "DRINK OR YOU COULD DIE!!!!!". I also am physically able of drinking over 2 gallons a day (diabetes insipidus is FUN!), unlike over 99% of children.
In spite of following all the proper precautions-my kidneys hurt. I was fine, but felt them working. Chelation made me tired, didn't reverse some actual heavy metal poisoning symptoms, and my seizures went through the roof. The bathroom became my second home, and I rarely could eat much. Because of what I was experiencing, it was worth it, but it SUCKED.
What I was experiencing that distressed me wasn't autism. It was a symptom picture that had 4, yes 4, doctors testing (and retesting...and...) for lupus. And thyroid problems. And diabetes mellitus. Neuropathy, aching, losing 40 pounds in 4 months, suddenly getting a rash from the sun, sleeping up to 20 hours a day, life threatening seizures (as opposed to the non life threatening ones I have now). This isn't autism. This is nothing like autism. This is what had me in bed for months, after being a champion power tumbler.
The neuropathy is still here. The muscle has yet to come back. That's ok, though, because I can work on it (and they found the BIGGER problem, secondary adrenal failure). And it's ok because I am still autistic, and can proclaim to the world that their "cure" hit my kidneys, not my brain.
Unless a child has medically documented heavy metal poisoning, there is no reason to chelate. Period. Been there, done that, can easily make a tshirt, and still AUTISTIC.AS.EVER. Chelating me won't make me NT, and it won't make any other autistic person NT either. Putting a child who doesn't have *real heavy metal poisoning* through chelation is playing with their lives, their kidneys, and is child abuse. Period.
Then why am I still autistic?
Not like I'm upset about the situation. I like being autistic. I didn't, however, particularly like having elevated blood mercury, lead, and arsenic. They're largely unrelated conditions-I say largely because I wouldn't have been kicked out of my house to live in a homeless shelter (lead and mercury in the paint, lead in the pipes), I wouldn't have lived in the oldest, crappiest apartment EVER (probably hasn't been inspected in years, lead pipes that *spewed hot water constantly* all over the lead & mercury containing paint), and I wouldn't have gone to the gifted school (building as old and modern as the homeless shelter) if I wasn't autistic. Oh, and there was "my special plate" that happened to have arsenic in the glaze-momma read "Flowers in the Attic" and spiced up the arsenic delivery mode a bit.
HOWEVER--I am now clean, and still autistic. Yes, I followed an approved chelation protocol, supervised by the kind of doctor who has to go to medical school. The details are protected under HIPPA. I also, unlike most autistic kids who are chelated, have the ability to give informed consent, was physically miserable, and have the understanding that "this is tough on your kidneys, so you need to drink a LOT of water" means "DRINK OR YOU COULD DIE!!!!!". I also am physically able of drinking over 2 gallons a day (diabetes insipidus is FUN!), unlike over 99% of children.
In spite of following all the proper precautions-my kidneys hurt. I was fine, but felt them working. Chelation made me tired, didn't reverse some actual heavy metal poisoning symptoms, and my seizures went through the roof. The bathroom became my second home, and I rarely could eat much. Because of what I was experiencing, it was worth it, but it SUCKED.
What I was experiencing that distressed me wasn't autism. It was a symptom picture that had 4, yes 4, doctors testing (and retesting...and...) for lupus. And thyroid problems. And diabetes mellitus. Neuropathy, aching, losing 40 pounds in 4 months, suddenly getting a rash from the sun, sleeping up to 20 hours a day, life threatening seizures (as opposed to the non life threatening ones I have now). This isn't autism. This is nothing like autism. This is what had me in bed for months, after being a champion power tumbler.
The neuropathy is still here. The muscle has yet to come back. That's ok, though, because I can work on it (and they found the BIGGER problem, secondary adrenal failure). And it's ok because I am still autistic, and can proclaim to the world that their "cure" hit my kidneys, not my brain.
Unless a child has medically documented heavy metal poisoning, there is no reason to chelate. Period. Been there, done that, can easily make a tshirt, and still AUTISTIC.AS.EVER. Chelating me won't make me NT, and it won't make any other autistic person NT either. Putting a child who doesn't have *real heavy metal poisoning* through chelation is playing with their lives, their kidneys, and is child abuse. Period.
posted by Kassiane at 10:48 PM
3 Comments:
Thankyou for sharing your experience. Of course the mercury brigade will claim that their kids have a novel form of mercury poisoning and that Retts is not proper autism. Gah!!
Can you write more about your work wth autistic kids? I teach kids with SEN and autism and am always looking for new ways to help them enjoy life.
It has been noted several times in the real medical literature that chelation does not repair neurological damage... but that does not sway the true believers.
But, still... Another thanks for telling us about your real life experience... and for the sentiment in the last sentence.
I sincerely wish better times for you.
the whole mercury thing is silly. Ok, in the US the corellation for mercury in vaccines and incidence of autism makes a lot of sense. It's biologically plausible. But... in Danmark they had the same incidence minus the vaccines. Then there's people who suggest mercury in fish... people didn't start eating way way more fish than ever before, certainly not at the rate that autism picked up. The real kicker; when the vaccines got banned in the US, the incidence rate didn't plummet nearly enough. No way could environmental mercury have suddenly jumped enough to fill that void. Mercury poisoning is similar to autism in a lot of ways, but the statistics just don't add up.
:D autism is not mercury poisoning.
Oh, I'm glad you're feeling better, good luck with getting your muscle back. I'm glad that you pulled through chelating, it sounds horrid.
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