One week into the new diet/lifestyle and I can report that I am experiencing more vertigo now than I was before starting. It’s been a while since the world abruptly spun on me without any warning, so this current setback is unfortunate.

I have a few theories as to why this may be occurring:

• I may have introduced a food that is increasing inflammation, leading to stronger symptoms
• The changes may have decreased inflammation, lessoning my need for custom prisms on my corrective lenses. This, in turn, redefines my existing lenses from a benefit to a detriment
• The sheer amount of nutrients I am flooding my body with is allowing cells to better detoxify on their own, leading to the prominent detoxification symptoms I am now experiencing

My hope is that it’s the second or third, or maybe a combination of both. To help test the first theory, I plan on having an ALCAT test performed to determine which foods my body may be intolerant of. Based on the findings, I will adjust my diet accordingly and monitor my reaction.

Earlier this month, I wrote an article titled “Tingling Sensation of Unknown Origin” where I talk about a new symptom that presented itself, and hypothesize that it may be a result of increasing milk thistle from 250mg to 750mg per day. While I cannot say for certain that my hunch is correct, I do feel more confident that my newly found nausea may indeed be caused by the increase.

This additional side effect started to present itself shortly after the dosage increase a few weeks back. I decided to take a few days off from administering my supplements—out of sympathy for my stomach—and noticed that my nausea disappeared. Considering the only thing I have changed recently was the milk thistle dosage, I have decided to revert back to 250mg per day to see if that is the issue.

While I was hoping to cross off symptoms as I progressed through the rounds, a new one appeared: parasthesia. What is parasthesia? From The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary:

par·es·the·sia or par·aes·the·sia (păr′ĭs-thē′zhə) noun A skin sensation, such as burning, prickling, itching, or tingling, with no apparent physical cause.

Without schedule or known reason, I get the sensation of my skin tingling on the right-side of my chest. It’s only a small section of my skin—maybe a three-inch diameter—that suddenly, and without warning starts to tingle. The duration is less than five-minutes and the experience is not unpleasant.

This new symptom first appeared around the same time I increased my daily Milk Thistle dosage from 250 mg to 750 mg. Considering the tingling sensation is located in the same place that my liver exists—excluding the fact that my ribcage lies between it—I have to wonder if they are associated.

It’s been nearly two-months since I first posted an article (and chart) outlining my dump/stall phase experience. As of the end of my last round, I have completed the equivalent of 48.24 (72-hour) rounds. The following chart outlines where my dump phase falls when mapped within figure 15 on page 52 of “Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment by Andrew H Cutler, PhD.”

Based on my current symptoms, I feel that I more align with the green bar, leading me to subscribe to a chelation schedule that will most likely extend well beyond 12-months.

My recent symptoms-setback has forced me to reevaluate where I stand in treatment. I figured I would be part of the “stall phase” camp, those individuals that experience little to no symptom relapses, but rather a temporary plateau of symptom improvement. The last few weeks have opened my eyes to the possibility that a plateau was merely wishful thinking.

According to figure 15 on page 52 of “Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment by Andrew H Cutler, PhD,” the dump phase is graphed to present itself somewhere between six- to nine-months following dental amalgam removal. Following this dump phase, symptoms again start to slowly improve.

I was curious to see where I was, so I created a new chart, based off of Dr. Cutler’s figure 15, and marked where my “dump phase” fell. First, I determined that my first recorded entry about symptom reversal was on September 7^th, 2014. I then calculated how many true rounds into the protocol I was. Since I have had a few rounds end early, using the current round count (46, as of this writing) would be incorrect. After crunching some numbers, I came to 42.19-weeks, or 9.7-months in.

In the chart above, the vertical bars represent two possible ranges my “dump phase” currently falls within. The darker bar represents where my “dump phase” fell if the journey lasts 24-months, whereas the lighter bar correlates with a 12-month battle. While I was hopeful that 12-months would work for me, the experiences of others have helped me redefine the finish line at 24-months or greater.