Last summer, after having a panorex x-ray of all my teeth, it was discovered that everywhere I thought that amalgam had been removed for health reasons, there remained significant amalgam in all of my thirteen fillings. I was then tested for mercury and was found to have a mercury level far higher than the acceptable score of three. The score I received for the Mercury Urine Challenge Test was an 87. At that time I began a program of detoxification that would coincide with the removal of existing amalgams. I had my blood tested in order to find the most compatible materials that should be used in the replacement of the fillings. After extensive consultation and testing he started removing them in October of 1999. Since the removal of amalgam on March 7, 2000, I feel that there are significant changes in my overall health. I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythmatosis in 1979 so I have had a myriad of symptoms from fibromyalgia to chronic fatigue syndrome to arthritis. When I began treatment I noticed small improvements but also suffered from detoxification symptoms such as extreme fatigue and catching every common illness that was being passed around. But when I finally had all the amalgam removed I found that within two days arthritic pain in my hips disappeared. I also stopped dragging my right foot after walking about one-half mile. Neuralgia in my right shoulder, hip and knee greatly improved and pain in the abductor muscle of my right leg also subsided. Trigger points in my neck and shoulder seemed to disappear also. They were so bad that in the past I received neural therapy to help alleviate the pain. Another problem that I was experiencing that was almost completely ameliorated by the final removal was a zapping sensation in my right foot. The best description if this pain was a searing, caustic pain. It began at the base of my great toe and traveled up the instep. Last summer, when I began oral chelation, the pain was only in the joint of my big toe but as the detoxifying continued it traveled toward my ankle and into my heel. The intensity increased to the point that it was uncomfortable to wear shoes that pressed in the top of my foot. Even tennis shoes were uncomfortable; I had to wear them with the laces completely loosened. I also could not bend over without being jolted by a stinging, sharp pain in my heel. During the last ten months since I began the detoxification program I have noticed many changes. In the beginning I was extremely tired and felt sick with flu-like symptoms. Long before I knew I had a problem with mercury I would wake up at night with hands so stiff that they were frozen with pain, stiffened in a robot-like position. The best relief for this pain was to hold my hands under cold water; something I thought was strange since I always used heat for aches and pains. I felt like I had a metal snake whipping through my body. In fact this was the imagery that I saw long before I knew anything about mercury toxicity. These pains have improved so much now that I only experience mild stiffness, if any. I am to take the Mercury Challenge test in a few days and look forward to doing so because the last three times that I have received the mercury chelator DMPS I have felt better both physically and psychologically. I can best describe it as a “lifting” of symptoms that have plagued me for years.