Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?

[Guest guest]

Bear with me.....a little long here. I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings? I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just

seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually

called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we

still used). I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it

is. Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too.

Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........

PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000,

p. e34

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:

Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two

Patients and Review of the Literature

Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.

Alfonso D. *,

Ashok N. Rai, and

L. Hardiek

From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Internal

Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for

Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Two children in the same household with

symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were

found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a

4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful

extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg.

An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were

demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm

pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted

an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of

rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in

the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started.

A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All

patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical

presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the

patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had

contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played

with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure.

All responded to chelation therapy.

Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is

usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent

causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease,

obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux

and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors,

pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of

hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs,

notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In

children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the

physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as

pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be

reinforced to the medical profession and the general

public. Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child

Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo

Department

of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang

Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020

Received Revised

Online

Accepted

Abstract Mercury

poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific

signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical

profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of

mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A

10yearold girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to

seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands

with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥)

machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd

intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within

subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital

lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone

levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine

was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the

girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other

symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental

mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife

March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3

, Pages 228-269 Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259 Mercury

(Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its

health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well

emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review

summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the

endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on

the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the

accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are

manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female

animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal

systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related

mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the

endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; ©

changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones;

and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the

steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to

better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and

wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of

basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species,

exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and

chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on

adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects

across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ

systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine

endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife

will also advance the research in this area.Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

[Guest guest]

Bear with me.....a little long here. I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings? I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just

seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually

called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we

still used). I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it

is. Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too.

Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........

PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000,

p. e34

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:

Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two

Patients and Review of the Literature

Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.

Alfonso D. *,

Ashok N. Rai, and

L. Hardiek

From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Internal

Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for

Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Two children in the same household with

symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were

found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a

4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful

extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg.

An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were

demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm

pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted

an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of

rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in

the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started.

A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All

patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical

presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the

patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had

contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played

with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure.

All responded to chelation therapy.

Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is

usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent

causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease,

obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux

and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors,

pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of

hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs,

notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In

children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the

physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as

pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be

reinforced to the medical profession and the general

public. Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child

Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo

Department

of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang

Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020

Received Revised

Online

Accepted

Abstract Mercury

poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific

signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical

profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of

mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A

10yearold girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to

seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands

with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥)

machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd

intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within

subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital

lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone

levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine

was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the

girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other

symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental

mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife

March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3

, Pages 228-269 Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259 Mercury

(Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its

health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well

emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review

summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the

endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on

the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the

accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are

manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female

animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal

systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related

mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the

endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; ©

changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones;

and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the

steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to

better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and

wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of

basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species,

exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and

chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on

adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects

across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ

systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine

endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife

will also advance the research in this area.Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

[Guest guest]

FORGET THE HG MYTH STUFF unless you haver worked around it a lot in a closed room or have cooked teeth will gold in them to get out the gold in an enclosed room-Elemental Hg is not harmful you can drink it even shoot it in your veins and it will not cause Hg poisoning.I would track down the folks who did the original report and see how the kids are doing.Just don't breath the vapors if one of the new Hg light bulbs break. or call the EPA to clean it up. They will charge several thousand dollars.CE Grim MDBear with me.....a little long here. I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings? I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used). I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is. Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too. Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000, p. e34ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two Patients and Review of the LiteratureReceived Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.Alfonso D. *, Ashok N. Rai, and L. HardiekFrom the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.Two children in the same household with symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a 4-year-old boy whopresented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg. An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started.A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical presentationand the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had contact with elementalmercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure. All responded to chelation therapy.Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease, obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors, pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs, notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be reinforced to the medical profession and the general public. Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child Du Xuqin, Song YuguoDepartment of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020Received Revised Online AcceptedAbstractMercury poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A 10yearold girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥) machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlifeMarch 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3 , Pages 228-269 Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259Mercury (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; © changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones; and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species, exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife will also advance the research in this area.Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

[Guest guest]

,

It's funny you mention Mercury. I have no idea if Mercury contributed, but

about 10 years ago I was a coowner of a lamp and ballast recycling company. I

routinely was exposed to the Mercury in the lamps whenever I would visit the

warehouse or go along to supervise a pick up. We serviced large corporations so

many times we would have 10,000 lamps or more. The mercury only escaped when

the lamps would break, but that would frequently happen.

I have also had extensive dental work done throughout my life. I'm not sure if

it has anything to do with anything, just thought it was interesting you

mentioned mercury since I have had so much exposure to it. I was also

tested/treated for lyme's disease August 2010. However, the test cam back

negative so the neurologist stopped the antiboitic right away.

>

> Bear with me.....a little long here.

>

> I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I

am not buying " airborne " when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path

we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way

(Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the

mercury in the dental fillings?

>

>  I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot

of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of

things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit

self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they

never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting

>

>  I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP

just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went

straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking,

drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years,

was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu

2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never

didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I

have previously described as " indescribable " (days at a time!), constipation

always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate.

>

> ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very

frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH

returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year " subacute.. " but

had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. )  A really bizzarre,

seriously..increased sense of smell -  that I actually called a talk show once

(Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a

dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house -

my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious

blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time

beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a

thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up

our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.

>

> There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time

I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as

the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an

old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment,

broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that

we still used).

>

> I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town

dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental

issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often

fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story,

but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait  to renew my license -

it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to " prove " I was better

and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so

much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done  - they take

no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not

even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have

broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out.

One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what

it is.

>

> Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old

rooms and the old " debris " to make offices and meeting  rooms. Looked good

when  was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county

did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers

in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that

counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this

with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor

(it's cotton country).

>

> What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal

issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern

identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing

else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had

zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too.

>

> Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt.

>

> 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........

>

>

>

>

> PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3

>

> March 2000,

> p. e34

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:

>

> Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two

> Patients and Review of the Literature

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Alfonso D. *,

> Ashok N. Rai, and

> L. Hardiek

>

> From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and  Internal

> Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for

> Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Two children in the same household with

> symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were

> found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a

> 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful

> extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg.

> An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were

> demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm

> pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted

> an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of

> rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in

> the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was

started.

> A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports

of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All

> patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical

> presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the

> patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently,

elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had

> contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played

> with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure.

> All responded to chelation therapy.

> Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is

> usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent

> causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease,

> obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux

> and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors,

> pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of

> hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs,

> notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In

> children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the

> physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as

> pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be

> reinforced to the medical profession and the general

> public.

>

> Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child

>

>

>

> Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo

>

>

>

> Department

> of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang

> Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020

>

>

>

> Received

>

> Revised

>

>

> Online

>

>

> Accepted

>

>

>

>

>

> Abstract  Mercury

> poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific

> signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical

> profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of

> mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A

> 10î€`yearî€`old girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to

> seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands

> with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥)

> machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd

> intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within

> subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital

> lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone

> levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine

> was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the

> girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other

> symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental

> mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.

>

>

>

>

> The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife

>

>

> March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3

> ,

> Pages 228-269

> Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2

>

> Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

Mercury

> (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its

> health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well

> emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review

> summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the

> endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on

> the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the

> accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are

> manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female

> animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal

> systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related

> mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the

> endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; ©

> changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones;

> and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the

> steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to

> better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and

> wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of

> basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species,

> exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and

> chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on

> adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects

> across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ

> systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine

> endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife

> will also advance the research in this area.

>

> Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

>

[Guest guest]

The largest exposure we get from Hg is coal burning powerplants which are only going to get bigger I suspect.CE Grim MD,It's funny you mention Mercury. I have no idea if Mercury contributed, but about 10 years ago I was a coowner of a lamp and ballast recycling company. I routinely was exposed to the Mercury in the lamps whenever I would visit the warehouse or go along to supervise a pick up. We serviced large corporations so many times we would have 10,000 lamps or more. The mercury only escaped when the lamps would break, but that would frequently happen. I have also had extensive dental work done throughout my life. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with anything, just thought it was interesting you mentioned mercury since I have had so much exposure to it. I was also tested/treated for lyme's disease August 2010. However, the test cam back negative so the neurologist stopped the antiboitic right away.>> Bear with me.....a little long here. > > I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings?> >  I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting> >  I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. > > ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.> > There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used). > > I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is. > > Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).> > What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too. > > Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. > > 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........> > > > > PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 > > March 2000,> p. e34> > > > > > > > ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:> > Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two> Patients and Review of the Literature> > > > > > > Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.> > > > > > > Alfonso D. *,> Ashok N. Rai, and> L. Hardiek> > From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and  Internal> Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for> Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.> > > > > > > Two children in the same household with> symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were> found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a> 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful> extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg.> An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were> demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm> pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted> an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of> rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in> the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started.> A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All> patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical> presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the> patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had> contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played> with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure.> All responded to chelation therapy. > Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is> usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent> causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease,> obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux> and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors,> pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of> hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs,> notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In> children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the> physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as> pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be> reinforced to the medical profession and the general> public. > > Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child > > > > Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo > > > > Department> of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang> Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020> > > > Received > > Revised > > > Online> > > Accepted> > > > > > Abstract  Mercury> poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific> signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical> profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of> mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A> 10î€`yearî€`old girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to> seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands> with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥)> machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd> intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within> subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital> lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone> levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine> was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the> girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other> symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental> mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.> > > > > The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife> > > March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3> , > Pages 228-269 > Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2> > Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259 Mercury> (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its> health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well> emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review> summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the> endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on> the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the> accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are> manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female> animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal> systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related> mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the> endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; ©> changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones;> and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the> steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to> better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and> wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of> basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species,> exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and> chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on> adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects> across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ> systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine> endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife> will also advance the research in this area.> > Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259>

[Guest guest]

In our house mercury was a toy. Who knew netter then. We had a bottle of it and played w it for years. Wonder if that has anything to do with my da's parkinsons. Seems lots of us had Lyme exposure and breast cancer and low vit d. More for the files

,

It's funny you mention Mercury. I have no idea if Mercury contributed, but about 10 years ago I was a coowner of a lamp and ballast recycling company. I routinely was exposed to the Mercury in the lamps whenever I would visit the warehouse or go along to supervise a pick up. We serviced large corporations so many times we would have 10,000 lamps or more. The mercury only escaped when the lamps would break, but that would frequently happen.

I have also had extensive dental work done throughout my life. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with anything, just thought it was interesting you mentioned mercury since I have had so much exposure to it. I was also tested/treated for lyme's disease August 2010. However, the test cam back negative so the neurologist stopped the antiboitic right away.

>

> Bear with me.....a little long here.

>

> I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings?

>

> Â I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting

>

> Â I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate.

>

> ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. )Â A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell -Â that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.

>

> There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used).

>

> I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is.

>

> Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).

>

> What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too.

>

> Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt.

>

> 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........

>

>

>

>

> PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3

>

> March 2000,

> p. e34

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:

>

> Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two

> Patients and Review of the Literature

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Alfonso D. *,

> Ashok N. Rai, and

> L. Hardiek

>

> From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and  Internal

> Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for

> Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Two children in the same household with

> symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were

> found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a

> 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful

> extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg.

> An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were

> demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm

> pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted

> an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of

> rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in

> the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started.

> A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6Â reports of patients ranging from 11Â months to 17Â years old. All

> patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical

> presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the

> patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had

> contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2Â had played

> with metallic mercury and 1Â had poorly protected occupational exposure.

> All responded to chelation therapy.

> Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is

> usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent

> causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease,

> obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux

> and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors,

> pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of

> hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs,

> notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In

> children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the

> physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as

> pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be

> reinforced to the medical profession and the general

> public.

>

> Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child

>

>

>

> Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo

>

>

>

> Department

> of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang

> Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020

>

>

>

> Received

>

> Revised

>

>

> Online

>

>

> Accepted

>

>

>

>

>

> Abstract  Mercury

> poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific

> signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical

> profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of

> mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A

> 10î€`yearî€`old girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to

> seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands

> with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥)

> machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd

> intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within

> subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital

> lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone

> levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine

> was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the

> girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other

> symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental

> mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.

>

>

>

>

> The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife

>

>

> March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3

> ,

> Pages 228-269

> Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2

>

> Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259 Mercury

> (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its

> health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well

> emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review

> summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the

> endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on

> the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the

> accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are

> manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female

> animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal

> systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related

> mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the

> endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; ©

> changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones;

> and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the

> steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to

> better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and

> wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of

> basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species,

> exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and

> chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on

> adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects

> across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ

> systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine

> endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife

> will also advance the research in this area.

>

> Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

>

[Guest guest]

Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar experience I had growing up

except we did it at the local public library! The Librarian had a vile and a

special table and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell you

about some of this stuff they currently " feed " us when it backfires 20-30 years

from now!

> > >

> > > Bear with me.....a little long here.

> > >

> > > I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say

I am not buying " airborne " when I get sick...but we have all talked about the

path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along

the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns

about the mercury in the dental fillings?

> > >

> > > Â I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing

alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad

of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit

self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they

never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting

> > >

> > > Â I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when

my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it

went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking,

drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years,

was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu

2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never

didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I

have previously described as " indescribable " (days at a time!), constipation

always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate.

> > >

> > > ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very

frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH

returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year " subacute.. " but

had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. )Â A really bizzarre,

seriously..increased sense of smell -Â that I actually called a talk show once

(Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a

dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house -

my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious

blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time

beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a

thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up

our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.

> > >

> > > There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the

time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small

town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end

of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old

equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray

machine (that we still used).

> > >

> > > I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town

dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental

issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often

fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story,

but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license -

it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to " prove " I was better

and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so

much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take

no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not

even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have

broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out.

One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what

it is.

> > >

> > > Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the

old rooms and the old " debris " to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good

when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county

did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers

in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that

counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this

with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor

(it's cotton country).

> > >

> > > What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal

issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern

identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing

else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had

zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too.

> > >

> > > Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt.

> > >

> > > 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3

> > >

> > > March 2000,

> > > p. e34

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:

> > >

> > > Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two

> > > Patients and Review of the Literature

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Alfonso D. *,

> > > Ashok N. Rai, and

> > > L. Hardiek

> > >

> > > From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and  Internal

> > > Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for

> > > Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Two children in the same household with

> > > symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were

> > > found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a

> > > 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful

> > > extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg.

> > > An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were

> > > demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm

> > > pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted

> > > an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of

> > > rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in

> > > the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was

started.

> > > A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6Â

reports of patients ranging from 11Â months to 17Â years old. All

> > > patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical

> > > presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the

> > > patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently,

elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had

> > > contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2Â had played

> > > with metallic mercury and 1Â had poorly protected occupational exposure.

> > > All responded to chelation therapy.

> > > Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is

> > > usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent

> > > causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease,

> > > obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux

> > > and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors,

> > > pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of

> > > hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs,

> > > notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In

> > > children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the

> > > physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as

> > > pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be

> > > reinforced to the medical profession and the general

> > > public.

> > >

> > > Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Department

> > > of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang

> > > Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Received

> > >

> > > Revised

> > >

> > >

> > > Online

> > >

> > >

> > > Accepted

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Abstract  Mercury

> > > poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific

> > > signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical

> > > profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of

> > > mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A

> > > 10î€`yearî€`old girl presented with a loss of consciousness

secondary to

> > > seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands

> > > with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade

â…¢/â…¥)

> > > machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd

> > > intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within

> > > subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital

> > > lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone

> > > levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine

> > > was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the

> > > girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other

> > > symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental

> > > mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife

> > >

> > >

> > > March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3

> > > ,

> > > Pages 228-269

> > > Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2

> > >

> > > Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

Mercury

> > > (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its

> > > health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well

> > > emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review

> > > summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the

> > > endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on

> > > the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the

> > > accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are

> > > manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female

> > > animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal

> > > systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related

> > > mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the

> > > endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; ©

> > > changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones;

> > > and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the

> > > steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to

> > > better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and

> > > wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of

> > > basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species,

> > > exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and

> > > chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on

> > > adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects

> > > across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ

> > > systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine

> > > endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife

> > > will also advance the research in this area.

> > >

> > > Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,I am just now reading your post and wanted to comment.  Your description of your symptoms is interesting to me since I have the same symptoms that you describe.  I also have a daughter with all of the same symptoms except for the high blood pressure.  She is so affected right now that she is missing school.  My son has many of the symptoms.  At this point, the doctors believe that we have periodic paralysis (channelopathy) with secondary POTS.  Our potassium levels go low but sometimes we have symptoms with a change in the potassium level that is not always out of range.  We have had some heavy metal testing but I don’t think we have been tested for mercury.  I think we may need a full panel of testing for metals. I am a part of this group because I have responded positively to Eplerenone but I am not sure that PA is the diagnosis.  I could be in the early stage of PA. Just as an FYI, my daughter and I both have low vit D levels as well.  I have had the 50,000 IU loading several  times and don’t seem to be able to keep it up.  I have asked my Endocrinologist about any potential connection in the vit D deficiency and my other symptoms and she does not see a connection.  The other thing that I have on occasion is an elevated Calcium level and I have read that with parathyroid issues, you could have a low vit d to keep the Calcium level in the normal range and that taking vit D in that case could be bad and could make symptoms worse.  My endo does not believe that I have parathyroid issues.  I am not so sure. I wish you the best in getting back to your job.Cindi, 48 yo with possible PA, or any other of a number of diagnoses From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of BinghamSent: Monday, April 11, 2011 2:09 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc? Bear with me.....a little long here. I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying " airborne " when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings? I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as " indescribable " (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year " subacute.. " but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used). I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to " prove " I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is. Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old " debris " to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too. Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000, p. e34 ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two Patients and Review of the Literature Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999. Alfonso D. *,Ashok N. Rai, and L. Hardiek From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Two children in the same household with symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg. An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started. A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure. All responded to chelation therapy. Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease, obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors, pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs, notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be reinforced to the medical profession and the general public. Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo Department of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020Received Revised Online Accepted Abstract Mercury poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A 10yearold girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥) machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months. The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlifeMarch 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3 , Pages 228-269 Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259Mercury (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg This review summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; © changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones; and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species, exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife will also advance the research in this area.Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

[Guest guest]

I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens. God bless America!

Max.

|||Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar|experience I had growing up except we did it at the local|public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table|and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell|you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it|backfires 20-30 years from now!|

[Guest guest]

I remember in the 1950's when my mother would take me to Sears. I couldn't wait because you could stick your foot in a machine and look into a screen and see the bones in it, like a minature fluroscopy screen. I suppose they didn't put out too much radiation but I stuck my foot into that thing every chance I got.

Subject: RE: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?To: hyperaldosteronism Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 5:12 PM

I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens. God bless America!

Max.

|||Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar|experience I had growing up except we did it at the local|public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table|and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell|you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it|backfires 20-30 years from now!|

[Guest guest]

POTS has started to become the new fibromyalgia (not trying to offened anyone) in that there's this constitution of symptoms and when they can't, or wont, look any further or deeper we label it with something that covers all those things. Maybe we could have a new just for us on the list and name it after that great Chinese doctor, Doctor Everet Ting, and call it the Everet Ting syndromeSubject: RE: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?To: hyperaldosteronism Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 4:01 PM

Hi ,I am just now reading your post and wanted to comment. Your description of your symptoms is interesting to me since I have the same symptoms that you describe. I also have a daughter with all of the same symptoms except for the high blood pressure. She is so affected right now that she is missing school. My son has many of the symptoms. At this point, the doctors believe that we have periodic paralysis (channelopathy) with secondary POTS. Our potassium levels go low but sometimes we have symptoms with a change in the potassium level that is not always out of range. We have had some heavy metal testing but I don’t think we have been tested for mercury. I

think we may need a full panel of testing for metals. I am a part of this group because I have responded positively to Eplerenone but I am not sure that PA is the diagnosis. I could be in the early stage of PA. Just as an FYI, my daughter and I both have low vit D levels as well. I have had the 50,000 IU loading several times and don’t seem to be able to keep it up. I have asked my Endocrinologist about any potential connection in the vit D deficiency and my other symptoms and she does not see a connection. The

other thing that I have on occasion is an elevated Calcium level and I have read that with parathyroid issues, you could have a low vit d to keep the Calcium level in the normal range and that taking vit D in that case could be bad and could make symptoms worse. My endo does not believe that I have parathyroid issues. I am not so sure. I wish you the best in getting back to your job.Cindi, 48 yo with possible PA, or any other of a number of diagnoses From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of BinghamSent: Monday, April 11, 2011 2:09 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc? Bear with me.....a little long here. I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path

we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings? I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would

have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the

thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used). I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and

have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is. Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and

cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too. Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000, p. e34 ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two Patients and Review of the Literature Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999. Alfonso D. *,Ashok N. Rai, and L. Hardiek From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Two children in the same household with symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm

Hg. An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started. A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients

ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure. All responded to chelation therapy. Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants

and children is usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease, obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors, pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs, notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be reinforced to the medical profession and the general public. Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo Department of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020Received Revised Online Accepted Abstract Mercury poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A 10yearold girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade Ⅲ/Ⅵ) machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months. The

endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlifeMarch 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3 , Pages 228-269 Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259Mercury (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg This review summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on the thyroid, adrenal, and

reproductive systems, including the accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; © changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones; and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species, exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect

effects of Hg on adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife will also advance the research in this area.Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

[Guest guest]

Not only Amerika! In Russia we used DDT to kill bedbags even in 60ties, 70ties. I vividly recall how I almost killed myself using it in my communal apartment almost every year without any mask! God bless all humanity!

Natalia

To: hyperaldosteronism Sent: Wed, April 13, 2011 5:12:43 PMSubject: RE: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?

I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens. God bless America!

Max.

|||Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar|experience I had growing up except we did it at the local|public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table|and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell|you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it|backfires 20-30 years from now!|

[Guest guest]

,I agree to some degree about POTS but we are indeed looking for the underlying cause of the symptoms.  The fact remains that the symptoms are real, no matter what the diagnosis.  The cardiologist that my daughter has, although I like him, said to me, “I’m glad you have given up on looking at those other conditions†for the cause of her symptoms.  I didn’t comment back to him.  The conventional treatment for POTS made her much worse, adding salt and all of the other meds.  Of course, I am still looking for the underlying cause!  The treatment is ineffective otherwise.  By the way, her renin was low but aldo was normal and ratio normal so it doesn’t seem to be PA for her.  She tends to run on the low side of BP, not high.  I thought at one point that we might be dealing with GRA, but with her results, it doesn’t seem to be so, at least at this point.  I am not sure if we are missing something here or not.Cindi From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of BinghamSent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 7:09 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: RE: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc? POTS has started to become the new fibromyalgia (not trying to offened anyone) in that there's this constitution of symptoms and when they can't, or wont, look any further or deeper we label it with something that covers all those things. Maybe we could have a new just for us on the list and name it after that great Chinese doctor, Doctor Everet Ting, and call it the Everet Ting syndromeSubject: RE: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?To: hyperaldosteronism Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 4:01 PM Hi ,I am just now reading your post and wanted to comment. Your description of your symptoms is interesting to me since I have the same symptoms that you describe. I also have a daughter with all of the same symptoms except for the high blood pressure. She is so affected right now that she is missing school. My son has many of the symptoms. At this point, the doctors believe that we have periodic paralysis (channelopathy) with secondary POTS. Our potassium levels go low but sometimes we have symptoms with a change in the potassium level that is not always out of range. We have had some heavy metal testing but I don’t think we have been tested for mercury. I think we may need a full panel of testing for metals. I am a part of this group because I have responded positively to Eplerenone but I am not sure that PA is the diagnosis. I could be in the early stage of PA. Just as an FYI, my daughter and I both have low vit D levels as well. I have had the 50,000 IU loading several times and don’t seem to be able to keep it up. I have asked my Endocrinologist about any potential connection in the vit D deficiency and my other symptoms and she does not see a connection. The other thing that I have on occasion is an elevated Calcium level and I have read that with parathyroid issues, you could have a low vit d to keep the Calcium level in the normal range and that taking vit D in that case could be bad and could make symptoms worse. My endo does not believe that I have parathyroid issues. I am not so sure. I wish you the best in getting back to your job.Cindi, 48 yo with possible PA, or any other of a number of diagnoses From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of BinghamSent: Monday, April 11, 2011 2:09 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc? Bear with me.....a little long here. I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying " airborne " when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings? I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as " indescribable " (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year " subacute.. " but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used). I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to " prove " I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is. Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old " debris " to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too. Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000, p. e34 ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two Patients and Review of the Literature Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999. Alfonso D. *,Ashok N. Rai, and L. Hardiek From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Two children in the same household with symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg. An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started. A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure. All responded to chelation therapy. Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease, obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors, pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs, notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be reinforced to the medical profession and the general public. Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo Department of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020Received Revised Online Accepted Abstract Mercury poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A 10yearold girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥) machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months. The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlifeMarch 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3 , Pages 228-269 Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259Mercury (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg This review summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; © changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones; and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species, exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife will also advance the research in this area.Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

[Guest guest]

A cut off point of 20 for the ratio excludes at least 5% of those that have PA.

Your daughter could be one of the 5%.

>

>

>

> Subject: RE: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?

> To: hyperaldosteronism

> Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 4:01 PM

>

>

>

> Hi ,

>

> I am just now reading your post and wanted to comment. Your description of

your symptoms is interesting to me since I have the same symptoms that you

describe. I also have a daughter with all of the same symptoms except for the

high blood pressure. She is so affected right now that she is missing school.

My son has many of the symptoms. At this point, the doctors believe that we

have periodic paralysis (channelopathy) with secondary POTS. Our potassium

levels go low but sometimes we have symptoms with a change in the potassium

level that is not always out of range. We have had some heavy metal testing but

I don’t think we have been tested for mercury. I think we may need a full

panel of testing for metals.

>

>

>

> I am a part of this group because I have responded positively to Eplerenone

but I am not sure that PA is the diagnosis. I could be in the early stage of

PA.

>

>

>

> Just as an FYI, my daughter and I both have low vit D levels as well. I have

had the 50,000 IU loading several times and don’t seem to be able to keep it

up. I have asked my Endocrinologist about any potential connection in the vit D

deficiency and my other symptoms and she does not see a connection. The other

thing that I have on occasion is an elevated Calcium level and I have read that

with parathyroid issues, you could have a low vit d to keep the Calcium level in

the normal range and that taking vit D in that case could be bad and could make

symptoms worse. My endo does not believe that I have parathyroid issues. I am

not so sure.

>

>

>

> I wish you the best in getting back to your job.

>

> Cindi, 48 yo with possible PA, or any other of a number of diagnoses

>

>

>

> From: hyperaldosteronism

[mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Bingham

> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2011 2:09 PM

> To: hyperaldosteronism

> Subject: Re: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Bear with me.....a little long here.

>

> I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I

am not buying " airborne " when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path

we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way

(Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the

mercury in the dental fillings?

>

> I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot

of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of

things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit

self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they

never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting

>

> I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP

just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went

straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking,

drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years,

was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu

2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never

didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I

have previously described as " indescribable " (days at a time!), constipation

always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate.

>

> ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very

frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH

returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year " subacute.. " but

had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre,

seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once

(Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a

dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house -

my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious

blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time

beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a

thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up

our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.

>

> There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time

I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as

the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an

old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment,

broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that

we still used).

>

> I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town

dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings I have had a lot of dental

issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often

fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story,

but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it

was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to " prove " I was better and

now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I

have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no

insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not

even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have

broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out.

One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what

it is.

>

> Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old

rooms and the old " debris " to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when

was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have

a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in

no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that

counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this

with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor

(it's cotton country).

>

> What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal

issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern

identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing

else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had

zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too.

>

> Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt.

>

> 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........

>

> PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000, p. e34

>

>

> ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:

> Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two Patients and

Review of the Literature

>

>

> Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.

>

> Alfonso D. *,

>

> Ashok N. Rai Dagger

<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/math/12pt/normal/scr/Dagger.gif> , and

L. Hardiek Dagger

<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/math/12pt/normal/scr/Dagger.gif>

>

> From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Dagger

<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/math/12pt/normal/scr/Dagger.gif>

Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for

Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

>

> Two children in the same household with symptomatic arterial hypertension

simulating pheochromocytoma were found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury.

The first child was a 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures,

rash, and painful extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123

mm Hg. An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were

demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm pheochromocytoma.

Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted an evaluation of the

family. A foster sister had similar findings of rash and hypertension. Both had

been exposed to elemental mercury in the home. The family was temporarily

relocated and chelation therapy was started.

>

> A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of

patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All patients showed symptoms of

acrodynia. Because of the clinical presentation and the finding of elevated

catecholamines, most of the patients were first studied for possible

pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three

children had contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had

played with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure.

All responded to chelation therapy.

>

> Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is usually

secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent causes of

hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease, obstructive

uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux and renal artery

stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors, pheochromocytomas,

neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of hypertension. Other causes

include therapeutic and recreational drugs, notably sympathomimetics and

cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In children with severe hypertension and

elevated catecholamines, the physician should consider mercury intoxication as

well as pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be

reinforced to the medical profession and the general public.

>

>

>

>

> Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child

>

>

> Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo

>

>

> Department of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang

Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020

>

>

> Received Revised Online Accepted

>

>

> Abstract

>

> Mercury poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset,

nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical

profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of mercury

poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A 10î€`yearî€`old girl

presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to seizure attack. An

Examination showed that she has red painful hands with blood pressure 150/90

mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥) machinery murmurs along the left

sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal

change was found within subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal,

and occipital lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and

aldosterone levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the

urine was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the

girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other symptoms

diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental mercury for

playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife

>

> March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3 , Pages 228-269

>

> Shirlee W. Tan

<http://informahealthcare.com/action/doSearch?action=runSearch & type=advanced & res\

ult=true & prevSearch=%2Bauthorsfield%3A%28Tan%2C+Shirlee+W.%29> 1, C.

Meiller

<http://informahealthcare.com/action/doSearch?action=runSearch & type=advanced & res\

ult=true & prevSearch=%2Bauthorsfield%3A%28Meiller%2C++C.%29> 2, R.

Mahaffey

<http://informahealthcare.com/action/doSearch?action=runSearch & type=advanced & res\

ult=true & prevSearch=%2Bauthorsfield%3A%28Mahaffey%2C++R.%29> 2

>

>

>

> Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

>

> Mercury (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its

health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well emphasized to

date is the endocrine effects of Hg This review summarizes the existing

literature on the effects of Hg on the endocrine system and identifies gaps in

the knowledge. It focuses on the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems,

including the accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that

are manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female animals

including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal systems. We

concluded that there are five main endocrine-related mechanisms of Hg across

these systems: (a) accumulation in the endocrine system; ( specific

cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; © changes in hormone concentrations; (d)

interactions with sex hormones; and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of

enzymes within the steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of

research to better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and

wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of basic

biological information available about Hg and wildlife species, exploring the

role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and chemicals, understanding

sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on adverse outcomes, developing better

methods to extrapolate effects across species, and understanding the effects of

Hg on multiple organ systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion

of endocrine endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and

wildlife will also advance the research in this area.

>

>

>

> Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259

>

[Guest guest]

Need numbers Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-)May your pressure be low!CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension

A cut off point of 20 for the ratio excludes at least 5% of those that have PA. Your daughter could be one of the 5%.

>

>

>

> Subject: RE: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?

> To: hyperaldosteronism

> Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 4:01 PM

>

>

>

> Hi ,

>

> I am just now reading your post and wanted to comment. Your description of your symptoms is interesting to me since I have the same symptoms that you describe. I also have a daughter with all of the same symptoms except for the high blood pressure. She is so affected right now that she is missing school. My son has many of the symptoms. At this point, the doctors believe that we have periodic paralysis (channelopathy) with secondary POTS. Our potassium levels go low but sometimes we have symptoms with a change in the potassium level that is not always out of range. We have had some heavy metal testing but I don’t think we have been tested for mercury. I think we may need a full panel of testing for metals.

>

>

>

> I am a part of this group because I have responded positively to Eplerenone but I am not sure that PA is the diagnosis. I could be in the early stage of PA.

>

>

>

> Just as an FYI, my daughter and I both have low vit D levels as well. I have had the 50,000 IU loading several times and don’t seem to be able to keep it up. I have asked my Endocrinologist about any potential connection in the vit D deficiency and my other symptoms and she does not see a connection. The other thing that I have on occasion is an elevated Calcium level and I have read that with parathyroid issues, you could have a low vit d to keep the Calcium level in the normal range and that taking vit D in that case could be bad and could make symptoms worse. My endo does not believe that I have parathyroid issues. I am not so sure.

>

>

>

> I wish you the best in getting back to your job.

>

> Cindi, 48 yo with possible PA, or any other of a number of diagnoses

>

>

>

> From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Bingham

> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2011 2:09 PM

> To: hyperaldosteronism

> Subject: Re: Re: Any thoughts on mercury and PA etc?

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Bear with me.....a little long here.

>

> I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings?

>

> I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting

>

> I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate.

>

> ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.

>

> There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used).

>

> I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is.

>

> Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).

>

> What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too.

>

> Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt.

>

> 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........

>

> PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 March 2000, p. e34

>

>

> ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:

> Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two Patients and Review of the Literature

>

>

> Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.

>

> Alfonso D. *,

>

> Ashok N. Rai Dagger <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/math/12pt/normal/scr/Dagger.gif> , and L. Hardiek Dagger <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/math/12pt/normal/scr/Dagger.gif>

>

> From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and Dagger <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/math/12pt/normal/scr/Dagger.gif> Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

>

> Two children in the same household with symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg. An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started.

>

> A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure. All responded to chelation therapy.

>

> Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease, obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors, pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs, notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be reinforced to the medical profession and the general public.

>

>

>

>

> Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child

>

>

> Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo

>

>

> Department of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020

>

>

> Received Revised Online Accepted

>

>

> Abstract

>

> Mercury poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A 10î€`yearî€`old girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade Ⅲ/Ⅵ) machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife

[Guest guest]

Elemental mercury is not toxic unless boiied at about 600º or you are in a unentiulated room working on it for years. CE Grim MDYour experience with nercury reminds me of a similar experience I had growing up except we did it at the local public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it backfires 20-30 years from now!> > >> > > Bear with me.....a little long here. > > > > > > I am often quite the skeptic of a lot of things out there...let's just say I am not buying "airborne" when I get sick...but we have all talked about the path we have been on getting to PA or possible PA and some other things along the way (Lymes comes to mind) but I wonder, and how many have some concerns about the mercury in the dental fillings?> > > > > >  I never gave it much thought until a colleague mentioned it as causing alot of the same symptoms I had (which as you will see below were such a myriad of things that though I always went to try to get help I was still a bit self-conscious about trying to discuss all these things that...well.....they never let me no matter what I wanted, but that's for another posting> > > > > >  I ask because about the time I became ill in, in my late 30's and when my BP just seemed to peak without a buildup (no history of HTN until then and it went straight to critical levels 160/120-130 regularly and no hx of smoking, drinking, drugs, or surgeries) and then I had the chronic hypokalemia for years, was ALWAYS getting sick though I was in great physical shape (would have the flu 2 times a year since about 2006 that I never could get over for months and never didn't have a sinus infection/problems), fatigued beyond anything, insomnia I have previously described as "indescribable" (days at a time!), constipation always, then this past year 1/2 an out-of-control heart rate. > > > > > > ....let's see what else? Headaches again beyond description but very frequently episodic, a strange anxiety that seems to have subsided with the TSH returning to normal range (dx'd w/ hyperthyroidism last year "subacute.." but had normal T3 T4 yet all the symptoms. ) A really bizzarre, seriously..increased sense of smell - that I actually called a talk show once (Dr Radio) to ask what they thought as it was - so intense (I could smell a dirty towel buried under a pile of laundry in the farthest room in the house - my kids and wife still tease me! though this seems better now too). Got serious blurred vision about the time the thyroid was implicated, was HOT all the time beyond description. And over time and leading to the ER finding at least a thyroid issue was this near paralysis of my lower legs. Before that walking up our driveway or any stairs took an incredible amount of effort.> > > > > > There's more that will come to me, but all this seriously began about the time I took a new job as a physician assistant in Texas. I worked for a small town as the only medical provider in the county. Our clinic was in the front end of an old hospital that was shut down in the early 80's but had ALOT of old equipment, broken thermometers and glass, and beakers, etc, an ancient xray machine (that we still used). > > > > > > I also had around 2005 a whole bunch of dental work done by a small town dentist, mainly numerous root canals and fillings. I have had a lot of dental issues my whole life and have had, I believe well over 20 fillings (they often fell out). Now I have no dental insurance and have been out of work (long story, but when I told the board I was ill and wanted to wait to renew my license - it was expensive -until I was better they decided I had to "prove" I was better and now I have to go to the docs they say I have to go to but they charge so much I have to come up with $5000 for the testing they want done - they take no insurance - and I have been out of work, except for teaching, and that is not even paying the bills or student loans!) anyway........my teeth have broken/chipped/ etc and many are just shells with fillings halfway in or out. One had a metal post from as root canal sticking out. Embarrasing but it is what it is. > > > > > > Also the old clinic when I had got there I was the one who cleaned up the old rooms and the old "debris" to make offices and meeting rooms. Looked good when was done, but who knows what I could have been exposed to. That county did have a high rate of lead poisoning and cancers, particularly throat cancers in no-smokers, comparatively (only 2000 people in the county and I think that counted the truck drivers going through). The state reps when I discussed this with them had a theory that the old pesticides they used may have been a factor (it's cotton country).> > > > > > What do others think? There is some mild evidence for kidney and adrenal issues with it and the case studies, especially of children, show the BP pattern identical to mine. Spiro and DASH has helped my BP tremendously, but nothing else EVER did. A BB helped my anxiety feelings with the thyroid issue, but had zero affect on BP- though it did help the rate too. > > > > > > Again, sorry gang a bit too long, but just wanted to know how others felt. > > > > > > 43 yo male w/ PA, hypokalemia, and a million other things..........> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 3 > > > > > > March 2000,> > > p. e34> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:> > > > > > Mercury Intoxication and Arterial Hypertension: Report of Two> > > Patients and Review of the Literature> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Received Aug 30, 1999; accepted Oct 29, 1999.> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Alfonso D. *,> > > Ashok N. Rai, and> > > L. Hardiek> > > > > > From the Departments of * Pediatric Nephrology and  Internal> > > Medicine/Pediatrics, Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for> > > Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan.> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Two children in the same household with> > > symptomatic arterial hypertension simulating pheochromocytoma were> > > found to be intoxicated with elemental mercury. The first child was a> > > 4-year-old boy who presented with new-onset seizures, rash, and painful> > > extremities, who was found to have a blood pressure of 171/123 mm Hg.> > > An extensive investigation ensued. Elevated catecholamines were> > > demonstrated in plasma and urine; studies did not confirm> > > pheochromocytoma. Mercury levels were elevated. These findings prompted> > > an evaluation of the family. A foster sister had similar findings of> > > rash and hypertension. Both had been exposed to elemental mercury in> > > the home. The family was temporarily relocated and chelation therapy was started.> > > A Medline search for mercury intoxication with hypertension found 6 reports of patients ranging from 11 months to 17 years old. All> > > patients showed symptoms of acrodynia. Because of the clinical> > > presentation and the finding of elevated catecholamines, most of the> > > patients were first studied for possible pheochromocytoma. Subsequently, elevated levels of mercury were found. Three children had> > > contact with elemental mercury from a broken thermometer, 2 had played> > > with metallic mercury and 1 had poorly protected occupational exposure.> > > All responded to chelation therapy. > > > Severe systemic arterial hypertension in infants and children is> > > usually secondary to an underlying disease process. The most frequent> > > causes of hypertension in this group include renal parenchymal disease,> > > obstructive uropathy, and chronic pyelonephritis associated with reflux> > > and renal artery stenosis. Less frequent causes include adrenal tumors,> > > pheochromocytomas, neurofibromas, and a number of familial forms of> > > hypertension. Other causes include therapeutic and recreational drugs,> > > notably sympathomimetics and cocaine, and rarely, heavy metals. In> > > children with severe hypertension and elevated catecholamines, the> > > physician should consider mercury intoxication as well as> > > pheochromocytoma. The health hazards of heavy metals need to be> > > reinforced to the medical profession and the general> > > public. > > > > > > Prolonged misdiagnosis of latent mercury poisoning in a child > > > > > > > > > > > > Du Xuqin, Song Yuguo > > > > > > > > > > > > Department> > > of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Beijing Chaoyang> > > Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences 100020> > > > > > > > > > > > Received > > > > > > Revised > > > > > > > > > Online> > > > > > > > > Accepted> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Abstract  Mercury> > > poisoning is usually misagnosed because of insidious onset, nonspecific> > > signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical> > > profession. This paper reported a prolonged misdiagnosed case of> > > mercury poisoning to bring attention of it in clinical practice. A> > > 10î€`yearî€`old girl presented with a loss of consciousness secondary to> > > seizure attack. An Examination showed that she has red painful hands> > > with blood pressure 150/90 mmHg. There were audible (grade â…¢/â…¥)> > > machinery murmurs along the left sternal margin in the 2nd to 3 rd> > > intercostal spaces. Abnormal high signal change was found within> > > subcortical regions of the frontal, partietal, temporal, and occipital> > > lobes on FLAIR image . Her plasma rennin angiogenesis and aldosterone> > > levels were obviously elevated. Her mercury concentration in the urine> > > was 0.17 mg/L before treatment. After treatment with dimercaprol, the> > > girl's blood pressure returned to normal limits, seizures and other> > > symptoms diappeared. Tracing her history, she was exposed to elemental> > > mercury for playing with her classmates in the last 2 months.> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > The endocrine effects of mercury in humans and wildlife> > > > > > > > > March 2009, Vol. 39, No. 3> > > , > > > Pages 228-269 > > > Shirlee W. Tan1, C. Meiller2, R. Mahaffey2> > > > > > Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259 Mercury> > > (Hg) is well studied and research continues as our knowledge of its> > > health risks increases. One expanding area of research not well> > > emphasized to date is the endocrine effects of Hg. This review> > > summarizes the existing literature on the effects of Hg on the> > > endocrine system and identifies gaps in the knowledge. It focuses on> > > the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive systems, including the> > > accumulation of Hg in the endocrine system, sex differences that are> > > manifested with Hg exposure, reproductive effects in male and female> > > animals including humans, and Hg effects on the thyroid and adrenal> > > systems. We concluded that there are five main endocrine-related> > > mechanisms of Hg across these systems: (a) accumulation in the> > > endocrine system; ( specific cytotoxicity in endocrine tissues; ©> > > changes in hormone concentrations; (d) interactions with sex hormones;> > > and (e) up-regulation or down-regulation of enzymes within the> > > steroidogenesis pathway. Recommendations for key areas of research to> > > better understand how the endocrine effects of Hg affect human and> > > wildlife health were developed, and include increasing the amount of> > > basic biological information available about Hg and wildlife species,> > > exploring the role of Hg in the presence of other stressors and> > > chemicals, understanding sublethal and indirect effects of Hg on> > > adverse outcomes, developing better methods to extrapolate effects> > > across species, and understanding the effects of Hg on multiple organ> > > systems following exposure of an animal. Greater inclusion of endocrine> > > endpoints in epidemiological and field studies on humans and wildlife> > > will also advance the research in this area.> > > > > > Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408440802233259> > >> > > >>

[Guest guest]

Max, In the 1960's they replaced DDT with Agent Orange to control mosquitoes

where I was - Thanks a bunch Uncle Sam! Now with type II Diabeties along with

various lung issues..., well you get the message. At least you have helped

reinforce the decision that my tumor will end up in a jar and I'll leave the

Spirolactone for you who feel " Man Boobs " are fashionable! (I'm already

starting to pay attention to something they are calling " aldosterone

breakthrough " !)

>

> I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to

> arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to

> terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large

> amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens.

> God bless America!

>

> Max.

>

>

>

> |

> |

> |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> |you about some of this stuff they currently " feed " us when it

> |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> |

>

[Guest guest]

I think agent o was to knock the leaves off trees Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-)May your pressure be low!CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension

Max, In the 1960's they replaced DDT with Agent Orange to control mosquitoes where I was - Thanks a bunch Uncle Sam! Now with type II Diabeties along with various lung issues..., well you get the message. At least you have helped reinforce the decision that my tumor will end up in a jar and I'll leave the Spirolactone for you who feel "Man Boobs" are fashionable! (I'm already starting to pay attention to something they are calling "aldosterone breakthrough"!)

>

> I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to

> arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to

> terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large

> amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens.

> God bless America!

>

> Max.

>

>

>

> |

> |

> |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> |you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it

> |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> |

>

[Guest guest]

That was their intent but they failed to consider what else it might affect. I

contend they used it for other purposes since they now tell us if you put one

foot in country or in the gray waters you were exposed. I worked the night

shift and they were spraying something just about every night around 0300!

Being a retired computer guru, I guess drug testing is a lot like program

testing - the positive testing is easy it's the negative testing that will get

you! (And many times it doesn't show up for years.) That's why we see ads

that state, " If you took drug XYZ and experienced WHATEVER call Lawyer WANNAGET

RICH! "

I know I would be taking a serious look at Spiro long term if I didn't have the

Rt. flank and testical pain. I started with 7 BP meds and have titrated down to

only Amlodipine and half of the Metoprolol. With current BP averaging 105/58 I

almost have to carry a salt shaker with me!

64 yo morb. ob. male - rt. a.adnoma, rt. flank & testicle pain

> > >

> > > I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to

> > > arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to

> > > terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> > > mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large

> > > amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens.

> > > God bless America!

> > >

> > > Max.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > |

> > > |

> > > |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> > > |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> > > |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> > > |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> > > |you about some of this stuff they currently " feed " us when it

> > > |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> > > |

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

In ur thumbnail you do not mention ur renin and Aldo Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-)May your pressure be low!CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension

That was their intent but they failed to consider what else it might affect. I contend they used it for other purposes since they now tell us if you put one foot in country or in the gray waters you were exposed. I worked the night shift and they were spraying something just about every night around 0300!

Being a retired computer guru, I guess drug testing is a lot like program testing - the positive testing is easy it's the negative testing that will get you! (And many times it doesn't show up for years.) That's why we see ads that state, "If you took drug XYZ and experienced WHATEVER call Lawyer WANNAGET RICH!"

I know I would be taking a serious look at Spiro long term if I didn't have the Rt. flank and testical pain. I started with 7 BP meds and have titrated down to only Amlodipine and half of the Metoprolol. With current BP averaging 105/58 I almost have to carry a salt shaker with me!

64 yo morb. ob. male - rt. a.adnoma, rt. flank & testicle pain

> > >

> > > I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to

> > > arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to

> > > terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> > > mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large

> > > amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens.

> > > God bless America!

> > >

> > > Max.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > |

> > > |

> > > |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> > > |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> > > |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> > > |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> > > |you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it

> > > |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> > > |

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I provided that thumbnail because I " heard " you saying you needed something to

know who was who and I thought that would identify me. I looked back and it

appeared to be quite similar to other's, if indeed they even had one - I feel

your pain! What is the necessity of the test results since I have a DX and have

met with the surgeon and have a go ahead and should be scheduling the removal

within the next few weeks. The only way I would reconsider is if someone found

a cure for my pain and I think we have exhausted their ideas so we are going to

go with mine!

Let me know if I've misread the situation...Thanks

- 64 yo morb. ob. male - rt. a.adnoma, rt. flank & testicle pain

> > > > >

> > > > > I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used

to

> > > > > arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order

to

> > > > > terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> > > > > mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large

> > > > > amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and

gardens.

> > > > > God bless America!

> > > > >

> > > > > Max.

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > > |

> > > > > |

> > > > > |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> > > > > |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> > > > > |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> > > > > |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> > > > > |you about some of this stuff they currently " feed " us when it

> > > > > |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> > > > > |

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My guess is from what I have read there is one VA medical center that is very

much up to date on PA. Unfortunately for us that go to WRJ VA it is a bit far to

travel.The S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI

teaches about PA as will as having done research on it.

You would think they would share this knowledge with other VA Medical Centers

but dosen't seem to be the case. I guess one could call or write to them for

information at 2500 Overlook Terrace Madison, WI 53705 phone .

I hope your guess is the right one as to a cure however as this post shows you

might still have to take spiro.

" Had an adrenalectomy in 1978. Prior to that I needed 300 mg of Spiro; now I

take

100 mg. Can't say I have had side effects of having only one adrenal gland. Feel

OK.

Kabrna (UK) "

> > > > > >

> > > > > > I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health

used to

> > > > > > arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in

order to

> > > > > > terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> > > > > > mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in

large

> > > > > > amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and

gardens.

> > > > > > God bless America!

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Max.

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > > |

> > > > > > |

> > > > > > |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> > > > > > |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> > > > > > |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> > > > > > |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> > > > > > |you about some of this stuff they currently " feed " us when it

> > > > > > |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> > > > > > |

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Francis, I'll certainly file that info with my records. I have another

round with the drs. during the next month or so. They've all been warned so

this is where they are held accountable if they haven't gotten up to speed - I

don't drive 50 miles and pay 50 bucks for BS!

I have first hand knowledge of living with one adrenal gland. My mother had a

kidney removed when she was in the Army. I assume they would have removed the

adrenal with it back in 1944! She lived a very normal life to age 87 and bore 6

children.

I'm also not all that concerned about " long term " . At 64 1/2 and in poor to

fair health let's face it, my " long term " is likely quite shorter than some 37 -

43 yr. old! I've read quite a bit and understand the physical effect of

eliminating aldosterone effects are the same whether you treat with meds or

removal. If I have to be on a low dose of Spiro, so be it. I'm on 50 mg per

day with 1 1/2 meds. left to titrate. Since my current BP ave. is 105/58 I can

probably titrate that down also and of course I have the option os DASHING in my

pocket if I want to play it!!! I'M PLAYING WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN!

The only long term issues that I have identified that might concern me is will I

be a candidate for surgery if it becomes necessary in 5 to 10 yrs? (2010 was a

rough year healthwise for me. They identified COPD, added fulltime Oxygen,

increased bi-pap settings to 13/19 and my weight increased 25 lbs! (Can you say

Metobolic Syndrome? I dunno!) In fact maybe PA was the highlight of the year!

Maybe now 2011 will be the start of the " recovery years " !

The other potential concern I have just recently heard about is something called

" aldosterone breakthrough " . I haven't spent much time on it and won't unless I

change my mind and decide to forego the Adrenalectomy at this time.

Thanks for your post, I'll let you know if I find anything out.

- 64 yo morb. ob. male - rt. a.adnoma, rt. flank & testicle pain

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health

used to

> > > > > > > arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in

order to

> > > > > > > terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us

from

> > > > > > > mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in

large

> > > > > > > amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and

gardens.

> > > > > > > God bless America!

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Max.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > > |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> > > > > > > |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> > > > > > > |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> > > > > > > |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> > > > > > > |you about some of this stuff they currently " feed " us when it

> > > > > > > |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Good point on the practice done almost forever on ADX when a kidney is taken out for cancer or other reasons. Never heard of a long term effects from this group of only having one adrenal.Not sure what you mean by aldo breakthrough but suspect it means outsalt the aldo blockers.I would not call DASHing as an option if you want to minimize drugs that you need to take and if you want to minimize the effects of aldo on your health and kidney and blood vessels.If you require full time O2 for COPD I would think that puts you in a very high surgical risk.Can you add this to your thumbnail. No one else here that is full time O2 that they have told us about. Clarence E. Grim, BS, MS, MD

Specializing in Primary Aldosteronism, Difficult High Blood Pressure and recent evolutionary forces on high blood pressure in populations today.

Thanks Francis, I'll certainly file that info with my records. I have another round with the drs. during the next month or so. They've all been warned so this is where they are held accountable if they haven't gotten up to speed - I don't drive 50 miles and pay 50 bucks for BS!

I have first hand knowledge of living with one adrenal gland. My mother had a kidney removed when she was in the Army. I assume they would have removed the adrenal with it back in 1944! She lived a very normal life to age 87 and bore 6 children.

I'm also not all that concerned about "long term". At 64 1/2 and in poor to fair health let's face it, my "long term" is likely quite shorter than some 37 - 43 yr. old! I've read quite a bit and understand the physical effect of eliminating aldosterone effects are the same whether you treat with meds or removal. If I have to be on a low dose of Spiro, so be it. I'm on 50 mg per day with 1 1/2 meds. left to titrate. Since my current BP ave. is 105/58 I can probably titrate that down also and of course I have the option os DASHING in my pocket if I want to play it!!! I'M PLAYING WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN!

The only long term issues that I have identified that might concern me is will I be a candidate for surgery if it becomes necessary in 5 to 10 yrs? (2010 was a rough year healthwise for me. They identified COPD, added fulltime Oxygen, increased bi-pap settings to 13/19 and my weight increased 25 lbs! (Can you say Metobolic Syndrome? I dunno!) In fact maybe PA was the highlight of the year! Maybe now 2011 will be the start of the "recovery years"!

The other potential concern I have just recently heard about is something called "aldosterone breakthrough". I haven't spent much time on it and won't unless I change my mind and decide to forego the Adrenalectomy at this time.

Thanks for your post, I'll let you know if I find anything out.

- 64 yo morb. ob. male - rt. a.adnoma, rt. flank & testicle pain

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to

> > > > > > > arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to

> > > > > > > terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> > > > > > > mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large

> > > > > > > amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens.

> > > > > > > God bless America!

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Max.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > > |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> > > > > > > |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> > > > > > > |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> > > > > > > |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> > > > > > > |you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it

> > > > > > > |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Not sure what you mean by aldo breakthrough but suspect it means outsalt the aldo blockers.I would not call DASHing as an option if you want to minimize drugs that you need Clarence E. Grim, BS, MS, MD

Specializing in Primary Aldosteronism, Difficult High Blood Pressure and recent evolutionary forces on high blood pressure in populations today.

Thanks Francis, I'll certainly file that info with my records. I have another round with the drs. during the next month or so. They've all been warned so this is where they are held accountable if they haven't gotten up to speed - I don't drive 50 miles and pay 50 bucks for BS!

I have first hand knowledge of living with one adrenal gland. My mother had a kidney removed when she was in the Army. I assume they would have removed the adrenal with it back in 1944! She lived a very normal life to age 87 and bore 6 children.

I'm also not all that concerned about "long term". At 64 1/2 and in poor to fair health let's face it, my "long term" is likely quite shorter than some 37 - 43 yr old! I've read quite a bit and understand the physical effect of eliminating aldosterone effects are the same whether you treat with meds or removal. If I have to be on a low dose of Spiro, so be it. I'm on 50 mg per day with 1 1/2 meds. left to titrate. Since my current BP ave. is 105/58 I can probably titrate that down also and of course I have the option os DASHING in my pocket if I want to play it!!! I'M PLAYING WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN!

The only long term issues that I have identified that might concern me is will I be a candidate for surgery if it becomes necessary in 5 to 10 yrs? (2010 was a rough year healthwise for me. They identified COPD, added fulltime Oxygen, increased bi-pap settings to 13/19 and my weight increased 25 lbs! (Can you say Metobolic Syndrome? I dunno!) In fact maybe PA was the highlight of the year! Maybe now 2011 will be the start of the "recovery years"!

The other potential concern I have just recently heard about is something called "aldosterone breakthrough". I haven't spent much time on it and won't unless I change my mind and decide to forego the Adrenalectomy at this time.

Thanks for your post, I'll let you know if I find anything out.

- 64 yo morb. ob. male - rt. a.adnoma, rt. flank & testicle pain

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > I remember around 1950s when officials of the Ministry of Health used to

> > > > > > > arrive I our area and spray DDT into our drinking water wells in order to

> > > > > > > terminate mosquitoes...and we were so glad to let them save us from

> > > > > > > mosquitoes hehehehehehehehehehehe My dad used to purchase DDT in large

> > > > > > > amounts and we kept it at home using it all around the house and gardens.

> > > > > > > God bless America!

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Max.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > > |Your experience with nercury reminds me of a similar

> > > > > > > |experience I had growing up except we did it at the local

> > > > > > > |public library! The Librarian had a vile and a special table

> > > > > > > |and we played for hours. Makes you wonder what they will tell

> > > > > > > |you about some of this stuff they currently "feed" us when it

> > > > > > > |backfires 20-30 years from now!

> > > > > > > |

> > > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

>