My Personal Battle With Toxic Mercury And Journey Back To Good Health
By Dr. Emil Haldey, Doctor of Pharmacy
My health was compromised, and my enjoyment of life nearly destroyed due to high levels of mercury in my body. I’m better now, but the road to recovery was a medical maze paved with hurdles, questions, misdirection – and, eventually, triumph. It’s my hope that people threatened by mercury poisoning can benefit from my experience and avoid the pitfalls and lengthy struggles I encountered during my journey to a healthful solution.
I was alerted to my own serious health challenge in 2016 when the nation’s foremost life and business strategist Tony Robbins publicly disclosed his personal struggle with severe mercury toxicity.
Life was super busy in the Haldey household that year, inspiring my wife, Sabrina, and I to expand our skill sets with Tony’s guidance. At the time, our daughter and son were 1 and 2 years of age, respectively.
Soon after learning of Tony’s health challenge, I coincidentally experienced a decline in my own stamina, mental sharpness, energy and overall sense of well-being. I tried ignoring the symptoms, as I was involved with a multi-million dollar expansion of my business. “Let me just finish this project, move into the new building, and I will get better,” I told myself. I even tried “sleeping it off,” but it didn’t help.
I WENT TO SEE MY INTERNIST
In October 2016, I visited my internist. He listened to my complaints and suggested some tests. Remembering Tony’s mercury toxicity, I asked him to test me for mercury poisoning. My doctor looked at me and said, “I don’t know how to test you, but perhaps I could test your blood.”
Through my research, I later learned that blood levels are actually the least meaningful mercury test. About a week later, I received a call from my doctor. He told me all my tests were normal, but my mercury was elevated. My level was 31; normal is generally 5, or below. He then paused and said, “I have to be honest with you; I don’t know what to do with these levels and how to treat you.”
Thinking I could find a solution on my own and ease the concerns of my physician, I responded, “ No worries, Doc. I’m a pharmacist. I work in the world of functional and integrative medicine, and I have access to the best medical minds in the world.”
I BEGAN THE SEARCH FOR THE BEST DOCTOR
Next, I began searching for the best mercury-detoxification doctor. I resided in New York, where quite a few doctors claimed to specialize in heavy-metal detoxification. I made an appointment with a world-renowned physician in the heart of Manhattan. I had to wait several weeks to see him.
In January 2017, as I entered his posh office, I noticed displayed photos of the doctor alongside celebrities. “Wow,” I thought to myself. “I’m in great hands. I will beat this mercury thing quickly.”
The doctor ordered a lot of tests, probably drawing 10 to 15 test tubes of blood. He appeared quite thorough, and recommended a “urine challenge test” to address my mercury issue. The procedure requires that you be given a chelating drug intravenously (IV). According to some clinicians, the test truly captures one’s mercury load; I now disagree.
The administered drug pulls mercury from everywhere in the body. The drug and mercury form a complex, and the complex is excreted in the urine. The urine mercury levels are subsequently measured to determine if toxicity is present.
I had a mouth full of silver amalgam fillings at the time. Amalgam fillings are about 50 percent mercury. “Is it OK to do a challenge with amalgams in my teeth?” I asked the doctor.
He answered, “I do this all the time, it’s not a big deal.”
What a big mistake that was! Essentially, by administering a chelator drug into my body, I was pulling mercury out of the fillings and poisoning myself.
My mercury challenge test came back highly mercury toxic. My results showed 91. Normal is 3, or below. Just to make it perfectly clear, there is no normal or OK level of mercury. Generally, however, levels below 3 do not produce adverse events in people. My lead was highly elevated, as well.
MY TRUE HEALTH ISSUES REALLY JUST STARTED
This is when my health issues escalated. I felt very sick after “the challenge test,” but I was encouraged by the doctor and his registered nurse to continue their recommended regimen.
“Detox is difficult; you need to tough it out.” they told me. So, I continued with my IV chelation treatments.
My health was spiraling downward, prompting my own intense research of mercury toxicity. I was committed to leaving no stone unturned. It became clear my amalgam fillings needed to be safely removed and replaced with non-toxic materials.
THE ‘SMART’ DENTIST
In February 2017, I found a SMART (Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique) certified dentist, who subsequently removed my silver amalgam fillings.
I later switched physicians but continued with my IV chelation treatments.
Unfortunately, I was not getting better. In fact, I was getting worse. I would sleep 10 to 11 hours per day. When I woke up, I would feel very sluggish – and it would take me another two or three hours to become functional.
I had extreme brain fog; my body ached all over; my back was killing me; I would get a “pins and needles” sensation all over my body, and different parts of my body would randomly become numb. In addition, I experienced shortness of breath, and extreme exhaustion would force me to rest after minimal physical activity. I recall playing with my 2-year-old son in our driveway, and needing to take a break after only a few minutes. I was in my early 40’s at the time, but I felt like I was 90.
HIDDEN POISON
Although I removed all my amalgam fillings, I later realized I had three dental crowns. Since I was not getting better, some experts suggested I lift my crowns to see if there is amalgam under them. I hesitated at first, as this sounded invasive and expensive, and instead opted to contact the dentists who placed those crowns. Each of them said there was no amalgam under the crowns.
Eventually, following months of continued illness, I bit the bullet and asked my SMART-certified dentist to lift the crowns. To my surprise, all three crowns had amalgam under them. Even though I removed my amalgam fillings, I was unknowingly chelating with amalgam under the crowns.
The IV chelations were pulling the mercury out of the amalgams and re-poisoning my body.
IV CHELATIONS NEEDED TO STOP
In late April 2017, I stopped IV chelation. I consulted more top detoxification experts and embarked on several oral detoxification protocols. Some of the advice they gave me was helpful. Overall, however, I was still not improving as quickly as I wanted.
I kept reading everything I could get my hands on, and continued seeking out and speaking with a variety of detoxification experts.
Ultimately, I came to a life-altering realization: There are very few people in the world who truly understand heavy-metal toxicity.
I HAD TO BECOME MY OWN DOCTOR
In June 2017, armed with a lot of knowledge and expert advice, I began experimenting on myself with different modalities. It took me about a year to establish a successful detoxification protocol.
Today, feeling better, I have made it my mission to share my story and help people detox themselves from heavy metals in a safe and effective way.
You too can detox and feel great every day. You can look forward to starting your days with a healthy, youthful exuberance, filled with energy and the joy of living.
You deserve it!
