Are There DMSA Captomer Side Effects?

Hi,

My functional medicine doctor would like me to be tested for heavy metal exposure just as a precaution. In order to do that I need to take DMSA Captomer 2000mg.

I'm currently taking Eliquis 5m 2x daily and Multaq 400mg 2x daily. I'm wondering if there are any side effects or contraindications for DMSA. I checked with pharmacist who said no, but I'm wondering if anyone here has come across this issue before, specifically with the drugs that I'm currently taking (Eliquis and Multaq).

In my research I did come across this warning, but this has to do with EDTA:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/24863-edta-chelation-side-effects/

Calcium Problems

EDTA is able to bind to calcium and can cause calcium to be pulled out of the blood. Consequently, one potential side effect of EDTA chelation therapy is low calcium levels, also known as hypocalcemia. Calcium is very important for muscle and nerve function. Consequently, sudden drops in calcium can affect both the heart and the brain. EDTA treatment can cause calcium to drop to dangerously low levels, resulting in heart arrythmias and seizures as both organs develop abnormal electrical activity.

And here

http://www.livestrong.com/article/112458-chelation-therapy-side-effects/

Side Effects

Chelation uses a man-made compound such as EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), which are high concentration sodium and calcium salts. With the chemical makeup of these salts, the heavy metals bind to them to be removed from the body.

According to the American Heart Association, chelation therapy is not an exact science nor is it completely safe. Many side effects are possible. The ones reported most frequently are headache and stomach upset and diarrhea. More serious side effects include kidney failure, low blood pressure and convulsions.

All the best,
Q



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2015 09:05PM by Que.

Que: Several years ago upon recommendation of our Functional Medicine MD my wife and I did 3 rounds of Captomer therapy without any noticable side effects. And no significant change in the provoked test results for heavy metal in our bodies, either. The doc wanted us to do more rounds of Captomer but we've decided that method will probably not work in the future since it didn't in the past. We also decided we didn't want to go the intravenous route.

Our Internist said we have no symptoms of heavy metal exposure but the Functional doc said the the test proves we have some heavy metal content which causes inflammation and extra work for the liver.

We even tested our water and bought a kit to test our kitchen utensils, none of which were toxic.

Checking a little further we found that there was, at that time anyway, no definite calibration for heavy metal content in the body; only relative readings after taking the Captomer capsule to start the test.

There's an interesting paper on it at Quackwatch.org.

[quackwatch.org]

Please post if you find something significantly different.

Google "Dr Mercola revised protocol for mercury detox". There is a very interesting video from Dr Shade that is well worth watching. He states that a challenge test simply shows and magnifies what is in your blood and that they do a combined urine, blood, hair analysis that can more closely show what your body burden is, and they go on with a very holistic approach to detoxing. I did 17 DMPS detox regimes a number of years ago and during the process I developed permanent significant hearing loss and afib. Not saying the DMPS did it, but if there is a more holistic approach, why not.
Ron

The caution for any detox program is that it must facilitate removal of the toxins once they are "freed" or become unbound. If left floating around in the blood and continue to circulate, they'll re-deposit eventually in various tissues and organs and will result in damage and problems...as RonB mentions with his hearing loss and afib.

"Environmental overload" or lack of (supportive) nutrients to fuel necessary detoxification activities may also prevent harmful, fat-soluble compounds from undergoing this transformation process especially with fat-soluble toxins. Problems arise when the detox program puts the liver and kidneys on overload and it can't process efficiently the toxic burden that's liberated. Typically, a detox program includes supportive nutrients to avoid detox complications.

Here's a clip from the Metagenics website on systemic Detox... Many years ago when I did mine, my FM MD had me use the Metagenics products and protocols... many new compounds have been added since then. I also attended a seminar for practitioners on safe and effective detox protocols.[www.metagenics.com.au]

In the case of mercury toxicity from dental amalgams, it takes what I would call enormous heroics to do it safely and effectively. Patients can become very ill in the process and if mercury/amalgam filings are completely removed, it should be done by a qualified, biologic dentist who has the equipment for safe removal and scavenging. Similar cautions involve removal of infected root canal-treated teeth or dental implants as the infections in the jaw bone continue to cause systemic problems.

Jackie



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2015 01:49PM by Jackie.

Thanks everyone.

From my reading it seems that a non-provoked urine sample over a 24-hour period is a better test. The provoking agent seems to increase the toxic metal count and most toxic metals come out at the beginning of the test. A 24 hour provoking period accounts for that short-term release of toxic metals.

It also seems that the medical community's opinion of it is that it is quackery.

[health.clevelandclinic.org]

It does seem a little concerning to me as it is stripping out other minerals, which could be essential for good heart health. Seems like mineral deficiencies are the issue with Afib.

Thoughts?

Que - It's not surprising that the Cleveland Clinic doesn't find validity in this. Typically when these holistic type protocols are used, then there are restorative infusions or oral supplements that put back the essential components that may be removed depending on the chelator. DMSA is often used for mercury removal or detoxing (from amalgam fillings). When done, it should be with an experienced chelation practitioner as there are caveats. Safe procedures take a long time...often years to clear out the target toxins.

However, I recall reading that unfortunately, the FDA just recently restricted the sale of DMSA so the discussion is probably pointless. Apparently there are some compounding pharmacies that offer DMSA but the FDA is after those on other compounds so DMSA could be included.

Jackie