What's the forum's opinion on heavy metal toxicity?

I have a friend who is suffering from chronic insomnia. Doctors cannot really explain why. Recently, she got tested for heavy metals and her results came back disastrous. She is saying that the heavy metals are the culprit and she is now starting medication for it. She is already taking xanax and other sleeping pills but she isn't getting better.

What's the general consensus of this community on heavy metal toxicity?

 

Heavy metal? I love it! Iron Maiden is my favourite band

Ok, now for serious. I don't know forum consensus but as far as I know true heavy metal poisoning is rare. The best treatment is to avoid places/food/etc from which you get too much that specific heavy metal you get poisoned by. How was your friend tested? There are many heavy metals, and many tests, which metals she had tested?

 

Heavy metal poisoning is a real thing. As Kozas suggests, it would be interesting to know (not that I could interpret) the results. One way to deal with this is to take the results to her regular MD, and see what he/she says. I come from a town where there is much hoo haa about heavy metal poisoning, based on very refined tests and non-standard thresholds, I believe. Then, expensive treatments to remove the said loads of metals. In this way, it smells like TMS stuff to me.

Insomnia is a form of TMS. Most doctors can't explain insomnia with any physical cause, I believe.

Good luck to your friend! One approach is to work with meditation, mindfulness, therapy, etc, knowing that this will help her no matter the actual cause of her troubles.

 

I agree with Kozas and Andy - heavy metal poisoning is real, but it is diagnosed by traditional medical methods and it has to have had a pretty specific source.

If your friend had this testing done by someone not associated with the traditional medical community, then it's more likely to be in the same group as so-called doctors promoting harmful extreme antibiotic therapy for "chronic" Lyme disease - another absurd diagnosis that desperate people latch onto, when what they are really suffering from is a mindbody condition.

 

This takes me back. Around 25 years ago I was struggling with candida and having exhausted the medical route I started to see a colonic irrigationist and nutritionist. (I was completely desperate). She drastically cut foods I could eat in an attempt to starve the candida (and me. I was rake thin due to this).

Of the many and varied tests, pills and potions she administered, one was a hair analysis. The results showed high levels of mercury but given I have no fillings there was no explanation for it. Then, by complete chance, I met a guy who imported fish and he told me that tuna typically contained high levels of mercury. Despite the fact I consider fish to be the food of the devil, during this period I used to virtually live on jacket potatoes with tuna mayo (I used to carry around a ‘healthy’ taste-free mayonnaise. The lengths we go to). I stopped eating tuna and did nothing about the mercury and I’m still here.

I agree with the others. Heavy metal poisoning is real but enters dubious waters once it navigates into alternative ground. Anxiety and insomnia are typical TMS fare. Is your friend amenable to a TMS approach?

 

I believe too that mercury leaves on its own. If you stop ingesting it, it comes out of your body. Not so, I think with some other metals...

 

Thank you all! My friend is open to TMS yet she does not seem to be able to get a complete grasp on it and keeps going back to chinese medicine/western medicine and medication. She is taking about 10 different medication at this point. She keeps reaching out for external cures but I believe she will arrive at the TMS diagnosis eventually but at her own time.