A Day In The Life Of Paul Wike

Welcome

This blog article describes my journey to find a cure for my chronic illness, symptoms that seem to be baffling most medical professionals. The illness is difficult to comprehend unless you have experienced the symptoms and really takes its toll on the people close to you, your home life and your work life. I am now at the point where I am considering some sebbatical leave to get this illness sorted out, rebuild my confidence and not to experience any more rides in the back of an ambulance....

After weeks and months of extensive eye opening web research and undergoing various medical tests for my symptoms my suspicion is that my symptoms are caused by heavy metal / mercury poisoning... If you have ever been in this position you will probably realize that most medical professionals will dismiss the idea of mercury or heavy metal poisoning purely on the basis that they haven't got a clue about the symptoms or indeed how to deal with these symptoms such as natural or medical chelating detox. Of course you do get the odd GP who trys to make out your imagining all of the symptoms and tries his best to suggest that its all in your head - well Mr useless G.P. for once your probably right - It probably is, in the form of metal / amalgam fillings in my head. <- not my current GP by the way ;-)
Here is my story so far...... and I'm far from a cure.....

Symptoms

Palpitations, Chest Pain, Chest Discomfort, Pain in Ribs, Pins and Needles (Hyperventilation symptoms but not hyperventilating : arms,legs,face, lips and head), Feeling of collapse, Dizziness , faint, very Pale, sweating, constant Tinnitus 24 7, headaches, tiredness & feeling drained, weakness, fearful, short term memory problem , Moody, head fog, slight depression (unexplained), IBS, diarrhoea, constipation, bloaty feeling, joint pain, sinus bradycardia, sinus arithymia, yellow tongue / Candida, large tonsils, sickly feeling, pains in neck, occasional dificulty swallowing, cold hands and feet.

When it all started

I have always had poor dental health since my teens by the age of 14, I had already had a crown placed, lost a bottom molar and a couple of metal amalgam fillings placed - off to a good start in life hey ? My earliest memories of getting some of the symptoms listed above are as early as 16 years of age. At the time of writing this article im at the ripe old age of 38. I would only get the symptoms say once every six months and would mainly be in the form of cardio problems - usually my heart racing very fast with breathing difficulties / chest pain. At the time i had no idea that these were palpitations with Tachycardia. Every time I had an ECG test (not whilst having an episode) the ECG would be perfect and display the pattern of a healthy heart.

I had a 10 - 15 year period or so where i never went to see a dentist as I never had any issues with my teeth, when I met my current wife we both decided to register with an NHS dentist and have a check up each - Wife's were perfect , but I needed some fillings, little did I know that the metal fillings contained the second most toxic substance in the world - mercury.

As I got older more and more symptoms started to appear and more so after I started to see a dentist again, the symptoms started to become more digestive and tinnitus but I would also suffer with the odd cardio episode.

I soon started to work away from home then I started to work in the city of London, the symptoms started to take a turn for the worse - I had no idea what was going on, doctors had no idea and a cardiologist thought maybe I was getting ectopic heart beats - which a 24 hour tape confirmed (without any episodes being recorded). The symptoms seemed to be worse in the morning and usually ok in the afternoon, after getting frustrated with the GP route i decided to go private and decided to pursue this avenue rather than getting passed around the NHS merry go round.

All over body scan / Body MOT

In June 2006 I decided to go to a clinic called preventicum in London, who I have to say were very thorough. In one morning i'd had an all over body MRI scan, Lung function tests, ultrasounds on my neck, normal ECG, blood analysis, Stress Test ECG, 2 consultations and a doctors examination. The result was that everything seemed ok , i had some big tonsils and my colon was displaying characteristics of IBS. They also found some Brain lesions probably caused by a cold virus - but no call for concern - oh and i had some sinus mucous nothing significant. I left the clinic with a DVD and full report under my arm wondering what on earth it could be - surely it had to be something metabolic - but glad i had this test as it ruled an awful lot of things out.

Preventicum Web Site

When I thought I was cured....beta blockers here we come....

Whenever I attended Accident and emergency by the time I had arrived, my symptoms had stopped. Finally on one occasion i was at the park with my wife and kids and the symptoms started so I called 999 - I managed to get a trace of what was happening and was diagnosed with a heart problem AV Nodal Re-Entry Tachycardia, basically at rest your heart would be beating around 150 - 180 Beats per minute - it should be around 60.
The next day I was at the BUPA hospital seeing a cardiologist who prescribed me some beta blockers and as if by magic some of my symptoms had disapeared. I felt much better in myself although I knew that the beta blockers should only be a short term fix as they can take their toll on yr liver and kidneys when used for long periods.

The heart operation and off beta blockers

In January of 2007 I decided to go for the permanent solution , something called the RF ablation procedure, which is essentially a heart operation whilst you are awake that burns the damaged nerve in your heart that is causing the tachycardia. In June 2007 I had the operation and it was a success, the surgeon found the palpitation and ablated the nerve. This was the main symptom cured Hurrah !

Old Symptoms back but no SVT (Super Ventricular Tachycardia)

After a week or so after the operation I started to get a lot of the old symptoms back - these symptoms had been suppressed by the beta blockers probably the adrenal benefits of the beta blocker helped, but I just soldiered on as I wasn't getting the fast heart rate - I was getting the odd bump in the chest but I wasn't concerned about this like I had been with the SVT.

Symptoms Start to get very Frequent - Coincidently at the same time as a crown breaking

Around October/November 2009 I noticed a crown in my mouth was broken and a strong metallic taste started to appear in my mouth - An emergency dental appointment revealed that I also had a big cist under the crown and it would need an orthodontist to look at it. My symptoms mainly digestive related were becoming unbearable and I was having episodes frequently throughout the week rather than once every 6 months - something was clearly wrong...... This really started to affect my work life, I couldn't concentrate at work all of the time, I was taking a lot of time off sick, fortunately my employers were sympathetic and have been good to me with regards to taking time off.

I was referred to a gastroentologist to look at my symptoms, my GP place me on Lanzozprozol which made me ten times worse.. at this point it was looking like i had something wrong with my liver , kidneys , gall bladder or stomach... The gastroentologist was good, I had to perform some 24 hour urine tests for adrenal and something hormonal, I was also scanned for kidney and liver tumours. All of this was clear and some blood tests were also taken - again all clear. The gastroentologist then decided to write off to some professor for his views and at the same time I was also referred to a cardiologist for the cardio symptoms. the cardiologist didnt think that there was any heart problem but put me on beta blockers to see if they would help with their adrenal benefits. I continued to have the episodes.... typically in the morning, but now starting to become more frequent and throughout the day - what's happening ! nobody can help and im getting frustrated.... I turn to the web for help only to discover other people with the same experiences and symptoms but mainly pointing towards mercury poisoning.

DIY Tests after some web research

After trolling various web sites for answers i decided to purchase 4 tests, 1 x General Heavy Metal, 2 x Mercury Saliva, and 1 x Mineral Hair Analysis.

I was shocked by the results. The heavy metal was tested against urine - I expected this to be clear, it wasn't it suggested I had heavy metals present in my system. Then I decided to take the saliva based mercury test, this was positive. So just to be sure I did thing right I took another and again it was showing mercury coming off of my amalgam fillings and / or broken crown. I then sent off for the hair mineral analysis which would take a few weeks. I took some pictures of the test results and held them against the results reference card which I sent off to the manufacturer and distributor of the tests - they confirmed that the tests showed that I had heavy metals in my system and that my dental fillings were leaking mercury into my mouth cavity YUK !

The tests can be found here and did not cost that much.

I decided to go to my GP and he was sceptical initially about the validity of the tests so I took a blood test specifically for Mercury, I had read on the web that chewing or hot drinks would release mercury in the mouth, so after a cup of tea and a bit of chewing I headed for the GP surgery, just before the test I had a small episode (probably as a result of the chewing and hot drink), the test came back with a positive value of 11 against a reference range of 20 (not sure if this was a ppm or ppb value). I had decided at this point to have my amalgams removed and the GP wanted to 'wait to see if my symptoms settled' they didn't....and no plan of action...

Since the blood test my hair analysis came back and on the toxic metal ratios several heavy metals showed up: Arsenic, Cadmium, Uranium, Aluminium and Mercury all showing on or below the reference level. So in summary , I have mercury in my blood , I have mercury leaking from my mouth and I am showing mercury in hair analysis which shows mercury passed through my body (which was less - so where is the rest of the mercury that hasn't passed through my body, probably in my organs lying dormant until something activates it). The report that comes back with the hair analysis is very detailed and suggests what supplements and food to eat to rebalance your metabolism. My report told me that I had a slow metabolism and the profile of an under active thyroid - I have since changed my diet to try to re-balance my metabolism.

I need a Dentist !

After reading a few articles on amalgam removal, I decided to have my fillings removed and to source a dentist who was capable to remove my amalgam fillings, after phoning around numerous NHS dentist not one of them said that they used rubber dams - which basically prevents bits of amalgam from entering your mouth during removal.

Dental Dam on YouTube

so I decided to search for a private dentist and found one which was around 50 miles away from home and 150 miles from work - they sent an information pack through which was really informative. I was talking to a friend who suggested a dentist a bit closer that he had used so I opted for them. To have a rubber dam fitted was a new experience for me and it was then that I realized that I usually breath through my mouth and not my nose (dysfunctional breathing will be covered later in this blog). The dentist that I selected didn't give me any breathing apparatus so I was exposed to the mercury fumes when drilling commenced - MAKE SURE YOU SELECT A DENTIST THAT PROVIDES YOU WITH A CLEAN AIR SUPPLY FOR AMALGUM REMOVAL, THEY SHOULD ALSO HAVE A LARGE EXTRACTOR FAN FOR THE FUMES WHILST DRILLING..

Dental work begins....

I had a full x-ray of the mouth (image at the top of this blog) this highlighted 4 large amagam fillings, and some amalgam hidden under at least 1 of the crowns. We decided to work on 1 quadrant at a time. NOTE : Make sure you have started a DETOX program before having your amalgams removed ! I didnt and I'm sure it made me worse.....

We tackled the large upper left first, and the difference was noticeable from the next day - I felt like I could think a little clearer.

Progressively I had all removed except the filling under the crown, I had started to feel some improvement until my root canal flared up which set me back a bit. Bear in mind at this point I havn't started any detox protocol - this is seriously dangerous ! I also need to get another dentist to verify that all of the Amalgam has been removed and the job has been done properly.

Medical Professionals starting to take things seriously....

I was still felling like rubbish even after and during the mercury removal, in fact I ended up being hospitalised on a few occasions over the space of seven days, and was admitted to a ward from A&E on both occasions. The episodes had stabilized so I was deemed fit to go home with the promise of a 24 hour tape via outpatients. I decided to kick in BUPA again to see a cardiologist who I trust.

The BUPA cardiologist wanted to perform a 72 hour ECG to try and capture some events whilst I was having episodes, the results highlighted ectopic heart beats which most people get. He said the episodes sound like something is irritating my vagal nerve and the episodes sound like vasavagal episodes. Basically the vagal nerve flows from your brain and into your neck then out to practically every organ in your body, it also controls the slowing down and speeding up of the heart (Sinus Bradycadia and Sinus Arrhythmia)..

The consultant also suggested that I have a heart echogram, which basically checks the physical structure of your heart (except nerves), all was fine - heart of an athlete - which suggests its something nerve related or metabolic affecting my heart.

The third test the cardiologist suggested was a Tilt Table test, which as the name suggests involves you lying on a table that is tilted at various angles whilst various cardio and blood pressure related tests are performed. The doctor will start by listening to the blood flow in your neck on both sides, this is a little disconcerting when he asks you to stop breathing. The test then progresses with the doctor massaging and rubbing you right neck artery which slows down your heart, then performs the same on the left. This is repeated numerous times and at different angles whilst being tilted. THERE IS A RISK OF STROKE WITH THIS TEST WHILST RUBING THE ARTERIES - however if a stroke happens at least it was in a hospital and not in a month's time at the supermarket - if you have deposits of fat, calcium or even a clot - it is likely at some point it will become dislodged. I passed all of the tests which ruled out P.O.T.S. which is good news.

My GP also referred me to a neurologist. The consultant checked me over and all seemed fine , he also suggested a MRI brain scan to be on the safe side. I'm waiting on the results.

Respiratory Physio / Dysfunctional Breathing

The gastroentologist referred me to a respiratory physio after writing off to a professor for advice on my situation. I was assessed for something called dysfunctional breathing that can cause a lot of my symptoms - after an hours assessment I was confirmed to have dysfunctional breathing which I also agreed with. Basically if you dont breath through your nose you are dysfunctionaly breathing, but more so you can end up exhausting rib, lower pectoral and neck muscles if you reverse breath. In other words when I breathe in my chest rises and my stomach goes in, in fact my chest should not move and my stomach should go out. I was given a technique to practice which I have done along with some other exercises I got from the web. It has improved things, more so the pins and needles occur a lot less and I can gain some degree of control over some of the episodes I get. I WOULD RECOMEND TO ANYONE SUFFERING WITH SIMILAR EPISODES TO SEE A RESPIRITORY PHYSIO TO HAVE THIS CHECKED OUT.....

I still believe I have some underlying heavy metal poisoning along with some dysfunctional breathing.. Further blood and urine tests will confirm this or not. My GP called me on the 2nd march 2010 to say that i have to have 3 blood tests and 2 urine tests for heavy metal screening. To top my day off today one of the new fillings broke today - back to the dentist.

Heavy Metal DETOX

I have looked around at a few detox products and the two natural that I have selected are HMD (Heavy metal Detox) and HUMET-R. I have purchased the HMD ultimate detox kit which basically uses Coriander to activate the metals in your body, Chlorella to absorb the metals and a Lavage to aid the liver / kidneys and gall bladder flush - Such as Milk Thistle + about 10 other herbal remedies...

Once I have rebuilt my strength, topped up on some vitamins - minerals, received blood test results and all other results in, I shall be starting some detox.

At the present time it is very difficult to get out of bed let alone face going into work. I am forcing myself to try to regain some normality in an attempt to recondition my body back into every day life.... How sad is that ?

Please tell me your stories of similar experiences and provide me with a link to your blog or site. Hopefully this will save other people from having to go through a lengthy painfull life changing diagnosis.