this post is for anyone (like alurker) who has a history of heart or stroke problems, or who just want to prevent any possible problems in january 2000. there is a very safe, and relatively inexpensive way to ensure your cardiovascular health now. it's called chelation. my husband had the treatment 2 years ago to prevent stroke, and he feels great.

for information on chelation, check out the website, www.acam.org. this is the site of ACAM, american college of advancement in medicine; they are the board that certifies doctors in chelation therapy. also, if you live in the rust belt, check out the GLACM, great lakes association of clinical medicine. dr. charles farr also offers courses.

the BEST reading material for the consumer, in my opinion, is a paperback called Forty-something Forever, by harold and arline brecher. another good book is Bypassing Bypass, by dr. elmer cranton. but the brecher book is the best introduction, because it's so readable and it covers many other problems other than heart problems, that chelation is good for.

there are 2 necessary preliminary tests, IMHO. the first is a DOPPLER test (NOT invasive) to determine where and how much sludge there is in your arteries. the second is a test on your HAIR for heavy metals. they take a small amount of your hair and put it in a mass spectrometer. some (uninformed) doctors have been known to test urine instead of hair, but that is not effective! for example, a good friend of mine who is a machinist, has manganese poisoning, the symptoms of which are identical to parkinson's. the urine test came up negative, but the hair test done by a different doctor, showed that he had manganese levels off the chart, from steel dust absorbed thru breatheing and thru his skin.

cost of chelation is fairly inexpensive, although don't expect your insurance company to pay for it. they rarely do, unless you have a history of cardiovascular problems or you have very high levels of toxic heavy metals. my friend qualified. my husband was slightly under the level required for insurance to pay for treatment, but they did pay for preliminary tests. his doctor required tests that cost about $250. the new doctor rate sheet is $37 for hair analysis, and $326 for doppler study. the doc may want other tests also, for your particular situation.

in my husband's case, he had the tests done at my insistence, because he was worried about possible future heart problems (he had recently turned 40, and was feeling old). the doppler study showed most of the blood vessels in his body including the heart area, to be in very good shape. to his surprise, though, the arteries on both sides of his neck were 75-80% blocked; he was a stroke waiting to happen. after getting opinions from several specialists, including one at northwestern, he went ahead with the safest and cheapest option, chelation. the hair test showed total heavy metals in his body to be just below what insurance would pay for, and they certainly would not pay to PREVENT a stroke, so we paid for it ourselves.

each treatment cost him $75. he went 3 times per week, first thing in the morning before work, for 7 weeks, for a total of 21 treatments and a total cost of $1575. at the end, he had another doppler test which showed his arteries only 30% blocked. good enough for now.

WARNING to spouses--a person undergoing chelation usually feels much better immediately, the first week, and WILL have an increased libido. this effect is permanent because they have gotten the sludge out of their blood vessels, and everything works better. you can cut down or discontinue a lot of medications, including viagra. diabetics need to work closely with their doctors, as their insulin needs will decrease. this treatment will also help diabetics with intermittent claudication, and prevent the need for amputation of limbs.

please check out the suggested books, especially brecher book. for a lousy $6 or so, you can fix or prevent a lot of problems, safely and cheaply. and don't ask me why more people don't know about this treatment. ask ACAM or read the books to find out about the politics of medicine. i will only hint by telling you that the EDTA chelation patent ran out in 1958. yes, it's approved by the FDA.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 18, 1999

Answers

i forgot to add something of interest to anyone who knows someone who ALREADY has suffered a heart attack or stroke. would this chelation stuff help them? the answer is YES, YES, YES! get the information right way, and you can find a local doctor thru ACAM.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 18, 1999.

See also:

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chelation.html

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 18, 1999.

yes, old git, i was expecting someone like you to jump in without even taking the time to check out the information. the fact that you choose to remain anonymous says it all, doesn't it? i suppose you are a bypass specialist terrified of losing your fat profits. if so, my advice to you would be to get a few more certificates for your wall; definitely you should diversify in case your specialty becomes obsolete sooner than you think.

or maybe you're just a regular close-minded person, in which case i don't know how you wound up on this forum of generally openminded people.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 18, 1999.

Jocelyn, there is a difference between being opened-minded and being a fool.

The best way to prevent a heart attack or a stroke is through regular physical exercise (or hard work where your heart beat reaches 120+/min for at least 30 mins/3 times a week) and healthy diet. The aerobic exercise will build colateral circulation and tone your heart, and the healthy diet will prevent sludge build-up in your arteries.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 18, 1999.

if y2k could affect your health care delivery, you need to know what's out there now to help you.

i need to add a note regarding the FDA. a drug, therapy, or whatever can be approved at 2 different levels. the 1st level shows that the drug is SAFE to use for ABC condition. the 2nd level, requiring a lot more money and testing, shows that the drug is EFFECTIVE for ABC condition. note that in either case, you have to start all over if you want to do tests concerning DEF condition, and so on.

the last time i checked, there was a massive study of chelation patients, sitting waiting to be rubberstamped by the FDA. if you want it to be fast-tracked, you have to cough up ONLY about $6 million or so. if a drug company can't patent it, why would they spend the money?

i'm not knocking drug companies here. they ARE working on chelation therapies, some of which have been approved, these are oral medications, all patentable or patented. but the safest, and of course the cheapest, is the old-fashioned one which puts money in no one's pocket but the consumer's.

of course, if you are a drug company that WANTS quick approval and you're willing to pay for it, you can get any old junk approved. a good example is the drug REDUX. i have friends who took this drug to lose weight, because the FDA said it was safe and effective. now these people are afraid they may have permanent heart problems from taking this dangerous drug. i could go on with other examples, but i don't see the need to preach to the choir.

i don't expect anyone to thank me for assisting them with preventing health problems that helps them survive Y2K unscathed, but i know plenty of heavyhitters (medical personnel with more degrees than a thermometer,as well as happy consumers) who can refute trolls. i hope they do it, as i'd like to go on to another subject. i don't have time to do other people's homework for them, as i have many irons in the fire right now, and i don't get paid to post to this forum or recommend anything. i wish!

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 18, 1999.

sorry, chris, your posting got in just ahead of mine. yes, obviously diet and exercise are crucial. we also take vitamins and minerals daily, etc etc. BUT if you happen to have worked for years in a machine shop (as an example) which is what my husband did, and you have a body full of heavy metals which is screwing you up in many ways, there is only one way i know of to get them out permanently. BTW, hubby no longer works at the machine shop in question, so he will not be getting any new metal deposits. which is good, because the new faster milling machines result in more metallic dust than ever before. yeah, i know that shops are SUPPOSED to clean the air properly. and then there's the real world, where sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 18, 1999.

jocelyne thanks for posting this. My husband had a full course of chelation a couple of years ago. When his 44-year old brother had a heart attack he had the wake-up call. He felt much improved from the chelation, much better energy, and memory problems he'd had for decades cleared up. His lipid profile was much better. When we went for walks, there was this one hill that had us both huffing and puffing, he would now walk up the whole hill just like a teenager. The effects are great, but one has to keep good health habits too (sorta obvious).

Another book for the more technically minded is "Bypassing Bypass" by Elmer Cranton. Also "Is Heart Surgery Necessary?" by Julian Whitaker, M.D.

As for the Quackwatch site, wow. They really haven't done their homework on chelation. (I like to read the site just to see what the typical arguments are, just like I like to familiarize myself with all the typical assumption-ridden, anti-Y2K arguments.) Also notice the way they've set it up. Every possible thing that could come under the rubric of "alternative medicine" is given a category, whether there's any material on it or not. If there's no material yet, it says "to be posted". This suggests an attitude of by george, whatever it is, we don't know what, but we'll get *something* on this. I would advise anyone to read the Quackwatch site as an exercise in learning how to think. Do not swallow whole what they put out, just as you would not swallow whole anything in alternative medicine, until you have researched it yourself. (I should think anyone reading this forum would have highly honed thinking skills by now! Studying Y2K is like that. If nothing else it is a fantastic exercise in looking at something from many different angles.)

The Quackwatch site pride themselves on putting up emails that are both cheers and jeers. I note, however, that the "jeers" are mostly irrational diatribes, probably designed to make the "opposite side" look bad. (Sound familiar?)

Chelation isn't a silver bullet and doesn't claim to be. Just like any treatment, alternative or mainstream, it works by far the best when all health habits are improved. Oooh, my buttons got pressed this morning!

-- Debbie Spence (dbspence@usa.net), January 18, 1999.

Joyce, I agree with everything you stated about chelation therapy. I visit a Licensed Medical Doctor, for a similar treatment regularly, and I sit with people who are receiving this treatment. I see the same faces quite often. I talk to people who have had drugs and surgery, etc; who still aren't well, but do respond to chelation. Basically what it does is dissovle plaque and metals and your body passes this. Of course, you could let someone saw thru your breastbone, ratchet your rib cage open, cut your valves out , and then if you are lucky, your breastbone will knit back together and not rub when you walk to get your drugs, Yes prevention is absolutely better; but almost anyone would benefit from this treatment. During the Vietnamese War, artery blockage was discovered on 20 yr olds bodies of autopsied soldiers. This was 30 yrs ago, and our diets are even worse now. If you eat, or have eaten a lot of animal products, shortening, hydrogenated oils etc, or/and been exposed to alum. lead, cadmium, etc; you just might have a problem. BTW, it's funny how we "get it" about some things and "don't get it" about others, and I'm as guilty as anybody, but it's been real interesting to discover this.

-- Type r (Sortapreparin@polly.anna), January 18, 1999.

thanks, debbie and type r, for the testimonials. actually, in the spirit of fairness, i must say that of all the people i know of who have had the treatment, i did find ONE who was not 100% happy; the rest were ecstatic. the lone exception is a local guy (name withheld to protect the guilty) whose wife had been secretly and slowly poisoning him with arsenic. there was a nice life insurance policy on him. after numerous hospital visits, the problem was eventually found.

the guy divorced his wife and went for chelation. he was at death's door from massive amounts of this stuff in his system, and needs a LOT of treatments. he was satisfied with the treatment itself. his gripe was that it was going so slowly; apparently he expected to be fixed up overnight with a magical silver bullet or pill, even though the problem itself had taken a long time to develop. that was 2 years ago, and we lost touch with him, so don't know how he's doing now.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 18, 1999.

Regarding EDTA:

Jocelyne, above: ". . .yes, it's approved by the FDA."

So it is, apparently--for heavy metal removal. However:

Mayo Clinic: ". . . .does chelation and the chemical binding of EDTA with calcium in an arterial plaque have a solid, scientifically proven basis? According to a wide range of authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Cardiology, the answer is no." http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9604/htm/chelatio.htm

American Heart Association: "There have been no adequate, controlled, published scientific studies using currently approved scientific methodology to support [EDTA chelation] therapy. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American College of Cardiology all agree with the AHA on this point." http://www.americanheart.org/Heart_and_Stroke_A_Z_Guide/chelat.html

I do not illustrate that EDTA chelation therapy is without efficacy in heart disease, merely that efficacy has not yet been proven in a generally accepted, double-blind, scientific study published in a reputable journal. The 450-member American College of Advanced Medicine's opinion does not suffice for me. Just me. I would not presume to speak for anyone else, neither would I insist my view prevail. I point out only that there are other opinions on this subject and, as in all important matters, all viewpoints should be examined, pro and con, before expending precious resources.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 18, 1999.

Or maybe just take an aspirin every day.

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), January 18, 1999.

old git, i absolutely agree that people should check things out thoroughly, especially when it involves their very lives, and to a lesser extent, their pocketbook. that's what my family did, and yes, i'm familiar with everything you pointed out.

when you take the trouble to talk to people who have had the therapy and you find out how satisfied they are, you wonder why the entire medical establishment and the government doesn't jump on this and say it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. are you kidding me? MONEY talks, medicine is a for-profit industry. i don't have a problem with that, as long as you understand what a person's agenda is and factor that into your calculations.

as for my agenda, it's simple. i'm a happy consumer who also happens to have a concern about y2k. after another person on this forum posted about a heart attack, i felt i couldn't sleep at night unless i told her and other forum readers about what i knew. now that i've given out the information, i will sleep very well. i have fulfilled my civic duty. people can do with it what they want. i don't have a messianic desire to "convert" anyone, and to be brutally honest, since each person is responsible for his/her own health, if people croak next year because they were too lazy/tired/busy to prevent it, it won't affect me. i'm feeling just fine.

you can lead a horse to water, but you can't force him to drink. this whole y2k thing is making me more philosophical by the minute.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 18, 1999.

OG, spirit of open inquiry acknowledged. Just for interest:

Dr. Cranton's Rebuttal to Chelation Critics

not to fan any flames; most folks can verbally run circles around me anyway :-). I just think the issue needs equal time, which it does not have vs. the scientific establishment. In case this helps someone. Peace

-- D B Spence (dbspence@usa.net), January 18, 1999.

thanks, debbie! i had not seen dr. cranton's rebuttal on the web; i basically haven't done too much looking in the past 2 years because hubby and i are as healthy as can be with no major complaints. but i do have dr. cranton's excellent Bypassing Bypass book.

this whole chelation brouhaha reminds me of dr. james herriot's excellent book about his days as a vet: all creatures great and small. he once used epsom salts to treat a calf with acute lead poisoning, with excellent results. the yorkshire farmers marvelled because the vet had the most up-to-date training, and had a shop full of expensive new drugs and devices, and yet he used epsom salts.

well, duh, sometimes the old, simple stuff works the best.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), January 19, 1999.