Heavy metal testing and manganese

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
I have been grasping at straws the past few months and have taken difficult child to an immunologist and a chiropractor. The chiro suggested testing his hair for heavy metal output. My insurance covered it, so I said sure, what can it hurt.
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He has no mercury in his hair whatsoever. She says that indicates he may have the much debated Mercury toxicity . She said this may also be a clue about why his drug interactions can be so bizzare - that his body processes things differently, or not at all.
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The other very interesting thing from this test was his Maganese levels were off the charts. I don't have the report with me, but he had something like 400% of the "ideal" level. In researching, I found this article, which claims "Manganese rarely causes side effects when taken orally. It is possible, however, for manganese toxicity to occur in those who regularly inhale manganese vapors, such as industrial workers in steel mills and mines. Potential symptoms of such toxicity include loss of appetite, headaches, leg cramps, muscle rigidity, tremors, convulsions, extreme irritability, acts of violence, and hallucinations. Manganese toxicity has also been seen in individuals who received very high amounts of intravenous nutrition (containing manganese) administered over long periods of time." It also says "In addition, some experts believe that medications for schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis may worsen side effects from manganese supplements. Therefore, individuals taking haloperidol or other antipsychotic medications (particularly a class called phenothiazines which includes chlorpromazine, mesoridazine, perphenazine, prochlorperazine, thioridazine, and trifluoperazine) should use manganese only under the careful supervision of a qualified health professional". Obviously, he's not taking a supplement, but he's getting massive amounts of this mineral from somewhere.
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http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/manganese-000314.htm
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I have no idea what this means, if anything. I meet with her tomorrow without difficult child to discuss this. I then plan to take it to the immunologist, see what he says about it.
 

smallworld

Moderator
I think a heavy metals blood test is more accurate. My kids had that test when we were trying to figure out what was going on with them, and all levels were normal.
 

Nancy423

do I have to be the mom?
yeah, I'd get another test to make sure those results are accurate. Heavy metal poisoning can affect the entire body quite easily.

I have to LOL at your avatar:D OMG
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I would check to see if the test was accurate, or if there is a more accurate test that can be performed. I would also look into sources of manganese that he could have come into contact with.

Hopeing it was a testing glitch and NOT a problem with your weegfg!
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
She is already looking into another way to test for the mercury, just to be sure. From the research I've done, mercury's half-life in the blood is relatively short, so it won't show up in the blood unless exposure has been fairly recent or it is being excreted. It is apparently stored elsewhere in the body. (Feel free to correct me if you know I'm wrong, I'm just beginning to dive into this).
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As for the manganese, I'm just plain confused on it. He eats very well for a child his age. He voluntarily chooses good foods, and he does eat a lot. I estimate he probably takes in 2500 calories per day most of the time, with not an ounce of fat on his body. We eat wheat or whole wheat bread at least half the time and a lot of fruit and vegetables and cheeses, but I just can't fathom where he's getting all that. Stumped there.
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I'm anxious to hear from the immunologist, tho. See what he says about all this. He says to treat this whole process like a game of Clue; right now, we're just trying to gather puzzle pieces. When we get enough, hopefully, the right set of eyes will see the answers. I hope he considers this another puzzle piece.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
Wow...I never thought of anything like heavy metals testing. Don't know why it never occurred to me, since my house was built in 1918, so there's lead paint all over. Please keep us posted, I'm curious to know what the findings are.
 

Josie

Active Member
I would do the research on the hair testing and look into possible sources of manganese. I've seen the hair testing mentioned on other boards I read but haven't looked into it myself.

I think chiropracters are likely to use alternative methods for testing. My family has had excellent results with alternative testing for other problems and I have concluded that just because something isn't accepted by traditional doctors doesn't mean it is wrong.

How much faith do you have in the chiropracter? What are her recommendations for getting rid of the mercury and manganese? I tend to try things that are alternative when the risk is low for health and not a big financial risk to me. I also try alternative measures when the risk of doing nothing is high and conventional medicine has no answers for me.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Interesting that your ins. covered it. Hair analysis isn't the most accurate form of testing. I agree with-the others, I'd go for blood tests.

Let us know what the dr. says tomorrow.
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
I ditto your thoughts, OddParent. I went to this person cause I'm not happy where we're going with the traditional team. As one guy said, "If THAT'S ADHD, there's 8 million other kids walking around out there with the wrong diagnosis...." I couldn't see any real health risks, insurance is covering it so far (other than co-pays, and driving 60 miles to them, which isn't cheap, but...), and so far, I've not seen anything BAD come from it, so....
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I did find a lot of sites last night that claim what is normal for mercury levels. It appears he should have SOME mercury, because I know he's been exposed - the famed Thimersol is in a nasal spray he uses on occassion, so I do agree its odd that he shows NONE.
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I meet with her at 2. I'm anxious to hear what she has to say - tho I'm not anxious in an "here's my answers" sort of way - I guess I'm just anxious to learn more about this. She's already looking into a second test for the mercury, at my request, to confirm what his levels truly are. I have no idea what I'm getting into here, I never dreamed I'd be heading down this sort of path, but then again, I never dreamed I'd be on this path at all, so.... I'll let you know.
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And, maybe its just another piece of the puzzle.
 
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