3. Chelation Therapy, how it works, where to seek help Chelation Therapy has been in medical use for decades to treat the patients intoxicated with heavy metals like lead, mercury, arsenic and many others. The procedure involves use of FDA approved chelating agents like ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA). Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) is another chelating agent used for the treatment of lead poisoning in children. However chelation therapy has not been approved by FDA for anything other than removal of heavy metals. Nevertheless Alternative medicine practitioners frequently use chelation therapy for helping patients with Heart disease. Hardening of arteries reduces the flow of blood through them thus affecting the much needed nourishment and oxygen to different parts of body. However administration of EDTA intravenously has proven time and time again effective against reversing the hardening of arteries and improving the blood flow. The treatment is almost painless. You simply lie down or sit up hooked up to a I V drip , read your book, sip on water, or simply relax and watch TV. The process takes about an hour and a half per sitting, depending upon your dosage. I am told 3 grams is full dose (bag)and one can start with half of that(half bag). You are encouraged to take a drink of water frequently as you would make a trip or two to empty your bladder to flush out the toxins. The procedure is conducted and supervised under a qualified medical practitioner. Your doctor will normally order blood test for you before and after few treatments to check your kidney function. Also your doctor will decide the total number and the frequency of these treatments depending on your situation. So basically the chelating agent like EDTA binds with the deposits and heavy metals in your blood and thus slowly flushing them out in your urine. Hence the importance of drinking water. Introducing Integrative Medicine. According to ACAM integrative medicine combines conventional care with alternative medicine to improve patient care. Rather than practice one type of medicine, integrative physicians will often combine therapies and treatment approaches to ensure the best results for their patients. ACAM physicians do not shun western medicine, in fact they practice western care every day. These physicians are unique in that they incorporate appropriate and proven alternative treatment options. Introducing ACAM-American College For Advancement In Medicine. ACAM organization located in Irvine California, trains and certify all licensed healthcare providers, including M.D's, DO's, ND's, Phd's and DC's and many more in integrative medicine. Chelation Therapy is one example. They maintain a list of certified Chelation therapists around the world. Contact ACAM in USA at 1-800-532-3688. Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Mountain Time or click on to this link http://acam.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=1758 Click on Health Resources and select Physician+ link. Then select from Specialties "Chelation Therapy" from drop down list. Select country, and hit continue. You should have list of doctors certified by ACAM. (Note: In some countries you may not find any doctor). Note: Some of these treatments may not be covered by your medical insurance. Important Note: Readers are advised to be careful about using Oral Chelation products. Research shows that it may take a very long time, months or years in some cases to see any desired benefits. However intravenous Chelation Therapy many times is able to achieve these required benefits in days. Unfortunately IV therapy could be expensive as it may not be covered by your medical insurance. In that case Oral Chelation would be a alternate choice. Reported Benefits of Chelation Therapy: * Lowers Cholesterol * Helps lower blood pressure * Helps getting rid of cramps * Curb the Hair loss and even grow new hair * Reduce insulin dependence. Great for diabetics * Improve eye sight and avoid cataracts * Even post surgery cataract patients will enjoy fully restored sight *Sharpen memory and mental functions * look younger with less wrinkles and healthy nails * Avoid cold feet and hands and improve physical energy * Improved sex life * Reduce allergies * Improve cardiac health * Excellent cure for Alzheimer's disease *Helps maintain ideal weight *Reduces pain from arthritis and the list goes on. The Chelation Process Before actual treatment is scheduled your doctor should run your necessary lab reports for blood, urine and kidney functions. Also should check your blood for metal toxicity and go over your medical history including blood pressure and blood sugar. This would help your doctor to adjust your EDTA dosage and frequency of treatments. Your doctor knows best. Just follow his/her advice. If your primary doctor has covered some of these tests very recently you should take copies of these reports to this doctor, if you can. However I warn you if you will ask your primary doctor about Chelation therapy, most probably he will not approve it. You see main stream medical practitioners do not believe in these treatments. However when it was their own health involved these same doctors in several cases have opted for Chelation. According to National Institute of Health, over 800,000 patients opted for Chelation therapy in the United States in a single year! Kindly note this process is also advisable for heart patients who have already gone through the bypass as chances are the vein grafts used in bypass do get clogged again within next year or two. The chelation has been successfully used even for patients over age 90, hence age is not a issue factor normally. The process itself is painless. It is intravenous prick with a needle to start the EDTA drip. Though you are tied to IV equipment, mostly on wheels, you are free to move or use restroom as your arm is properly secured with tape. You can also simply sit with pillow supporting your back or lie down. You are free to move about, talk to other patients undergoing the same treatment, read a book or do your office / paper work, or watch TV or bring your kindle to read books like these. It is always a pleasant atmosphere. Trust me I have personally taken 12 treatments in year 2000 and now at age 75 I am planning to take few more treatments soon. One of the reason I have generated this kindle publication is to let people know that I am talking from my own experience as well. As they say it is better to die healthy when you are very old than to die young and unhealthy. Normal duration of this treatment is between 1-2 hours. You will start seeing some benefits after 4 to 5 treatments. Ten to 30 treatments are common depending upon your personal medical issues. You can also ask your doctor if you are a good candidate for a lower dosage (or half a bag) treatments saving you time and may be money. Make sure you communicate well with your doctor, if Chelation makes you feel dizzy or uncomfortable, weak or lethargic due to low blood pressure possibly. 99% of the times I believe you will have no side effects. EDTA is a mild diuretic and if you have frequent visits to bathroom consider that as a good sign. Drink plenty of water to help flush your kidneys. Average cost for Chelation treatments Costs vary from clinic to clinic but would run approx. around $100-$150 per treatment. Most of the insurance providers do not cover the cost. If you have time and patience and money you can fight the insurance provider and plead your case. I believe insurance pays if the chelation is for removal of toxic metals. Check with your doctor. Almost 12 years ago when I took the treatments my insurance company finally paid half of the cost. May be we should approach AARP group, here in USA, to fight for us. They have a strong voice for seniors. Let us now examine some actual case histories These case histories are collected from several sources as described below: Source: "Everything You Should Know About Chelation Therapy" by Dr. Morton Walker and Dr. Hitendra Shah. This is a great book to read. 1. R. H. is blind in his left eye as a result of a childhood accident. unfortunately he goes blind on the other eye as well. His doctor told him, there is nothing that can be done for him. However after 7 Chelation sessions his vision returns and at the same distance he reads better than his doctor! 2. Stewart F. an assembly-line foreman, was at the point of losing his gangrenous big toe. However 20 Chelation treatments saved his foot. 3. Harold W. H, M.D., was genetically predisposed to die early from a heart attack (like his father and grandfather and many other family members). He was advised to give up working as a doctor, as the stress involved aggravated his condition. After a first early heart attack, he received a classic combination of Chelation treatments and improved his diet and lifestyle. He returned to full health and was able to resume his duties. 4. John H. M.D., Clinical Professor of Surgery, has given over 16.000 Chelation infusions to his patients. He uses EDTA Chelation on himself. At the age of 70, he is still operating 15 hours a day. 5. Ophelia , 79, had a series of strokes. She was no longer able to walk alone. After more strokes she was hospitalized for the second time, then sent home, where she suffered yet another stroke, which paralyzed her so that she couldn't swallow anymore. Her children prepared for her death, but the old lady hung on to life for another three weeks. Her ankles were swollen and fluid was in the base of her lungs. She could not hear. She was semi-comatose - slipping in and out of sleep. Then, one of her sons arrived with news about Chelation therapy. Her doctor could not promise the family anything, as their Mamma was so far gone. She received the therapy, and improved steadily. The paralysis left. She re-learned everything she had lost: eating, drinking, talking coherently, moving around first with a walker, then without. Her first Chelation course consisted of 21 infusions. Later she took 20 more, at intervals of several months between series of 5. She is now well and carrying on a productive life. Her hearing has returned, and her appetite (that she had lost) is so good the family says she eats anything put in front of her, including Italian wine and sausage! 6. D.D. head of three corporations, found himself unable to function. Not only his brain failed, also his heart and his eyes. He was lucky to find the clinic of Dr. Evers , who gave him a special diet, exercise and Chelation therapy. After this treatment, D.D. was back to normal life. 7. A 46 year old woman from Texas, was brought to a Dr. Deiter because she was suddenly absolutely demented. She failed to recognize her husband or her grown children or her friends. A hair analysis found her to be super- saturated with mercury. After just a week of daily Chelation, she regained her senses. 8. A 58 year old attorney was legally blind from macular degeneration. School medicine had tried their standard procedures but could not halt the progress of the degenerative process. He decided to improve his diet and administer Chelation therapy. After less than 4 months he could read and even drive again. 9. C.C., a police officer, had three coronary artery blockages, one of 85%, one of 80%, and one of 75%. His cardiologist told him that he was beyond surgery - he was a goner! He decided to fight, and arrived in Dr. Evers' hospital in a wheelchair. After 7 weeks of Chelation treatment he went back to his job, which included picking up 200-pound drunks off the street. 10. Dr. Leon Anderson, doctor of osteopathy, had a Parkinson's type of tremor in his right hand. He took 30 chelation infusions, but the tremor already responded after the 5th. His health was restored and he could continue to work as a doctor. 11. Nick J. was hit by a series of unusual problems following a car accident. He suffered intense chest pains, and spells of unconsciousness. Within two years, he received 117 Chelations, his symptoms cleared up and the blackouts disappeared. 12. Warren M. Levin, M.D., used Chelation therapy on his patients but also on himself, as a prevention, having lost his father at the age of 56, without having any pressing need of his own. He noticed a very remarkable improvement in his memory functions. 13. Dr. R. H. a chiropractor, whose gangrenous diabetic legs were saved from amputation by only 15 Chelation infusions. 14. Paul M. a car assembly supervisor and chain smoker, had a whole list of complaints based on bad blood circulation. Hypertension, chest pain and muscle cramps were among them. 20 Chelation sessions gave him his health back. The blood pressure returned to normal after the 4th. 15. Alfred was told by a surgeon that he was in dire danger of death. He needed open heart surgery to correct his angina, but the mortality risk for him would be 50%. Aubrey agreed to the operation, but was not a fit enough candidate, was refused the operation and sent home to die. After receiving a course of Chelation therapy, he was again fit enough to walk four miles daily before breakfast. A new test found his heart good and his lungs clear, he was no longer a cardiac patient. But Medicare, his health care organization, refused to pay his bill in the amount of $364. The operation together with the hospital bill, amounting to $ 75,000, would have been paid, but as the treatment that cured him was "experimental and not tested" and "not considered the usual and customary treatment", he had to pay for it out of his own pocket. 16. Lester I. doctor of osteopathy, had an early warning and Chelation recommendation by a colleague, that he ignored. Only after his near-fatal heart attack 5 months later, where he needed electric shocks to bring his enlarged heart back to life, did he start the first 30 chelation infusions. He returned to full health. Source: Forty Something Forever-A consumer's guide to CHELATION THERAPY and other Heart-Savers. Harold & Arline Brecher. 1. 61 year old patient was suffering from peripheral vision due to diabetic retinopathy and could not drive. Dr. Michael Schachter (New York) started him on Chelation therapy. After just four treatments there was 50% improvement in his vision. His ophthalmologist was astounded! This patient almost legally blind now could drive his car again. 2. This 82 year old lady could no longer read, knit or watch TV and suffered great depression and anger due to her limitations. She started Chelation treatments out of desperation. After her fifth treatment she happen to glance outside her bedroom window and noticed her neighbor's dog running across her front lawn. Eureka! she screamed with joy and thanked God and ran outside to see the flowers, blue sky and started shouting with joy to a pleasant surprise of her neighbors! 3. 86 year old man in Texas, could not recognize his wife any more after 61 years of marriage. Dr. Fox cured him with Chelation treatments and this man was normal to celebrate his diamond wedding anniversary. 4. This 68 year old lady almost had lost her mind. She could not remember things. She would go upstairs to get something and forget the reason. She would go to mailbox and open the letter just put there for mailing. Family decided to seek legal advice to declare her incompetent. They were afraid she might hurt herself. Then a neighbor suggested to try Chelation. For next three months with this treatment she gradually started to come out of her condition till she recovered fully with her memory intact and became the loving person she was! 5. James had a terrible memory loss and even could not remember his own name. After just six Chelation treatments his mental faculties were fully restored. He began giving lectures about Chelation benefits to his fellow retirement village residents. 6. 1980 study undertaken by swiss scientists from institution of radiation therapy and nuclear medicine at the university of Zurich comes to a dramatic conclusion: Chelation with EDTA cuts the incidence of Cancer by 90%. My personal story: Recently I took 6 additional EDTA Chelation treatments. One a week. I had amazing positive results. I was on 50 mg of Losartan for B.P. and 20 mg of Lipitor for my Cholesterol before the treatment. After the six treatments I quit my BP medications and it has been two months now my BP is normal. I reduced my Lipitor to 10 mg per day. My Lipid profile was excellent after the Chelation. My total Cholesterol dropped from 187 to 140 and Triglycerides dropped from 199 to 119 and LDL bad cholesterol dropped from 92 to 72. I am amazed I am off the BP prescription. My primary doctor does not know about chelations I took. However he was very happy with my lipid Profile and BP. P.S. You may get a laugh at what I am about to tell you. However there is more truth to this than you may know. I read some where monkeys do not have heart problems. The secret is practice walking on your four like the little kids do before they learn to balance on their feet and learn to walk. So walk or crawl on floor inside your house over the carpet areas, including going up the stairs few times a day as an adult on your two feet and two hands. At first you may be out of breath if you are a older person but stay with it and slowly practice it daily. Apart from getting a laugh, You will benefit. ?