Metal Poisoning?
This is an archived post that was originally published at beyond-terminal.com
I recently did a Google search for obscure allergies. One of the more unique allergic reactions you can have is to the metal in your wedding ring. If you develop dermatitis on the skin underneath your wedding band, chances are high that you could be allergic to either the nickel or platinum in the ring.
Once I saw this, I decided to take my search one step further. What would happen if you were allergic to one of these metals and ate or drank something tainted with them or breathed in fumes that were contaminated with high amounts of these metals?
I came across a WebMD site that discussed how metal poisoning can occur if you’re exposed to high amounts of a heavy metal. Someone who has been exposed to a high load of heavy metal may have symptoms that include abdominal pain, liver damage, brain problems or memory loss, and more.
It’s amazing how much information is accessible to us today. Back in the 1980s, these websites didn’t exist. Sometimes I wonder how much faster we would have come up with an alternative theory for how I got sick had I been born a couple decades later. That said, I know it’s not just information gathering that helped me get better. A big factor was my mom’s willingness to be vulnerable and share my medical challenges with family, friends, and strangers, listen to their suggestions, and follow those ideas that resonated with her. It was my mom’s sharing of my story with a complete stranger at a photography shop that led to her learning about Dr. Garcia, the doctor whom I credit with saving my life.
Dr. Garcia’s practice was not mainstream in the 1980s, and it’s not mainstream 40 years later. So, even had I been dealing with these same medical challenges today, I question if we would have easily come across these alternative treatments. Besides, what we were about to find out at this appointment with Dr. Garcia shocked us. Our Internet searches would not necessarily have led us to Dr. Garcia’s (proposed treatment.
My point here is that, as much as I hated my mom’s frank conversations with others – I hated them! – this was how we found out about Dr. Garcia. And I believe it’s these types of frank, vulnerable conversations that lead others to innovative, life-altering treatments today.
Be prepared to be shocked by Dr. Garcia’s discovery.
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The excerpt below is from Chapter 13: Meeting Dr. Garcia. This takes up right after the excerpt that I included last week.
Dr. Garcia continues his testing. It’s not until he gets to an acupuncture point on my right foot that he finds another imbalance. He nods like he was expecting to find this and says, “Megan’s liver function is outside the normal range, too.”
“What does that mean?” my dad asks again.
“Well, I’m suspicious that Megan has a lot of toxins in her body that she’s not able to get rid of.”
“Like what?” my dad fires.
“One moment,” Dr. Garcia says with patience. “I’m now going to test different substances to see which ones bring the electrical current back within the normal range. As I said, homeopathy cures like with like, so the substances that bring the readings back to normal are the ones giving Megan a problem.”
Dr. Garcia pulls up a list of thousands of substances that have been pre-programmed into his computer and, while I’m still connected to the machine, he tests these substances against those acupuncture points of mine that are out of balance. This is all so weird, yet I’m shocked how this man from the other side of the world could know so much about me in such a little amount of time even though he’s never set eyes on my medical chart and brain scans.
“Not allergic to anything on that list,” Dr. Garcia says before moving on to another list. “Not anything here either.” He scrolls through a few more screens. “Okay, let’s try this.”
The four of us watch when the electrical current is brought back within the normal range when one of the items on the heavy metal list is tested against the acupuncture point on my left pointer finger, the one that corresponds to my brain. My heart skips a beat when I see this happen. What if there’s actually something that could help fix my messed-up brain?
“Wait, what is that?” My dad bores his eyes at the computer screen.
“Platinum,” Dr. Garcia announces. “Megan has high levels of platinum toxicity in her body.”
“What?” my dad says. “What could that have come from?”
“Really?” my mom says, talking over my dad. “Really? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No,” Dr. Garcia says. “I can tell you it’s platinum. The platinum remedy is what returns Megan’s system to the normal range.” He pauses. “Can you think of a time she would’ve been exposed to platinum? Maybe a dental filling? They’re usually made mostly of mercury but they can contain platinum too.”
My parents sit looking at each other, both stunned. I look back and forth between Dr. Garcia and my parents trying to understand what the significance of platinum could be. I’ve never even heard of this metal before. What is it?
“I believe there was platinum in her braces,” my mom says. “I’ve done so much research. I’m trying to remember.” She pauses. “Could this be what caused her illness? Could this have poisoned her?”
“It’s possible,” Dr. Garcia replies. “I actually have a colleague whose patient was poisoned by platinum from her braces.”
As I try to process this information, I look up from the computer screen. My eyes catch the picture of Dr. Garcia and his family for a second time. I’ve been hearing stories of doom and gloom for the last couple of years. I haven’t even allowed myself to fathom being alive ten, twenty years from now. Could I actually survive this and grow up to have a family of my own?
“We had Megan’s braces removed after she’d had them on for less than a year because things got to the point where she couldn’t brush or floss her teeth by herself anymore. But John and I have talked non-stop — non-stop — about any changes that happened right before she got sick, and her braces, the braces, are one of the few things.” My mom talks fast and gestures her hands wildly. Her voice has a lightness I haven’t heard in a long time.
“You actually know of one other case like this?” my dad asks. “Where the person had platinum poisoning? From their braces?”
Dr. Garcia nods. “Depending on their genetic make-up, people can be sensitive to different kinds of things.”
Dr. Garcia grabs a homeopathic remedy from the shelf that reads PLATINUM. I’m surprised that he knows exactly where this bottle is located, especially when the remedies don’t appear to be alphabetized.
“Let’s test the actual substance now.” Dr. Garcia puts the bottle that contains tiny, tiny amounts of platinum on a metal tray that’s connected to the machine. We once again watch the bar return to the normal range when my left pointer finger is tested with the actual platinum remedy added to the electrical circuit.
“She’ll need this one. She’s suffered from platinum poisoning.” He says this a second time in a matter-of-fact way, as if our hearing this enough times will allow us to digest this new reality.
“So do you think it’s possible that Meg doesn’t have the disease that her neurologist diagnosed her with?” my mom asks.
“What’s that?”
“Hallervorden-Spatz.”
“Humph. Never heard of it. I’m not a neurologist, but I’m confident that you’ll see results with this remedy.”
“Could the platinum poisoning be the reason for all the neurology stuff? The brain trauma?” my dad asks.
“Could be.”
“Okay,” my dad says. “Let’s say she does have platinum poisoning. I still don’t understand why giving Meg platinum could cure her of platinum poisoning. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Again, the idea is that like cures like. Giving Megan a very small amount of the substance that made her sick should help stimulate her body to heal itself.”
My parents and I watch while Dr. Garcia tests additional substances that are pre-programmed into his computer against the two acupuncture points of mine that are imbalanced. Platinum is by far the biggest red flag for us, but Dr. Garcia comes across many other things that I’ve become sensitive to, including mold, urethane, aldicarb, arsenic, preservatives, wheat, and corn. He grabs the tinctures and tests them using his machine, and, sure enough, these remedies also bring my body back within the “normal” range.
Before we leave, Dr. Garcia tells me how I’m supposed to hold ten drops of each remedy under my tongue for two minutes three different times a day. “This will be slow work. It could take a couple of years to extract the toxins from Megan’s body, but these remedies should help her start to heal.” He then adds, “I’d recommend bringing Megan back in another two months. We’ll alter her remedies based on how her body is responding to the treatment.”
When we return to the lobby, I sit down in the chair by the tv while my parents pay the bill. “The Price is Right” is now playing, but I can’t focus on the show. I’m too distracted trying to understand everything that I’ve just heard. What if this is the explanation for everything that has happened to me? What if this is the answer to all of our prayers?
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Before everyone starts freaking out about the possibility of being toxically poisoned from platinum (or another metal) in braces, keep in mind that the reason why I had “junk” in my white blood cells and metal accumulating in my nervous system is because I had – and still have – a defective enzyme that prevents me from detoxifying heavy metals and other stuff. This alternative diagnosis of platinum poisoning didn’t mean that that bad enzyme of mine was going to all of a sudden start to function.
That said, we had a new line of inquiry: If what I had suffered from was indeed platinum poisoning, then there was a possibility – a possibility – that there might be a treatment that could make my white blood cells and brain healthier. There was a possibility – a possibility – that I might be able to get better by extracting the metal from my body using homeopathic remedies.
It all sounded so strange. And yet. And yet there was no way we were not going to give it a try.