Readers may wonder why I often include somewhat humorous references when the disease is so serious. I do this because I believe at some level if one cannot see some humor in challenging situations, then it may well drive you crazy thinking about it: such as GDD not being recognized by most doctors. I wanted in this blog to take an overview of corruption, lying, drunkenness, sexual abuse, criminal behavior, cover-up, and just simple thinking exactly in the confines to the box that we are instructed to think in by 'experts'. In order to remain sane: the reference to Dante's Divine Comedy seems appropriate. I would like to think that for 20 years of my career I have focused on patient safety in

A few points are somewhat essential to do during chelation and some also make empiric sense. 1. The intention of chelation is that Gd is picked up and eliminated in the urine. So it is essential to help this process by keeping your oral fluid content high. Remember not to overdrink (that is till you feel sick) because this may make you very ill from water intoxication. Drink till your thirst is completely resolved. 2. Do not take supplements during chelation. In general 1 day prior to chelation to 2 days after chelation you should not be taking supplements. Not that they will cause you harm, but because the minerals you are taking in (such as Zn or magnesium) will compete with Gd to be take

Breast-feeding is an interesting question in relation to the mother having had a GBCA injection, with strengths on both sides, risks on both sides, but no certainty. Gd in breast milk has been written about in the literature, but in a time period earlier than the recognition of GDD. Essentially the earlier literature showed that very little Gd comes out in breast milk, and Gd is poorly absorbable in the GI tract. So the consideration changes if the mother has GDD (sick from Gd) or GSC (not sick from Gd). The thinking with a mother with GDD, the neonate has the genetic propensity for the disease as well, so more thought has to be given in that setting. Here is my thinking: The farther away fr

GDD is more of a physiological disease rather than a histological disease. What does this mean? In reviewing my blog on theories for mechanism of disease, the reader should realize that most of these elements involve Gd substituting in for Ca (also other cations like sodium) in physiological processes: such as nerve conduction, muscle contraction, and TRPV1 activation. These dynamic physiologic processes do not involve histologic changes. At times, after prolonged presence, some of these processes may be accompanied by fibrosis. The reality is, people can be very sick from pure physiologic chemical reaction perturbations. Does this mean if there is no hard evidence of histology of fibrosis,

The hard truth of the matter of GDD is a majority of sufferers have been rendered financially destitute by the disease. Since chelation is largely not paid for at present by the US health care system (shamefully so), what can people do? I encounter this patient interaction several times daily. Below is what I would do myself if I was in that situation. This largely repeats, but refines earlier blogs, and will be subject to further evolution. There are a few realities that also have to be looked at: 1. Virtually no supplement has been subjected to scientific investigation to the point that they are considered irrefutably important for health. In fact large meta-analysis of studies suggest the

Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells, originating from the innate immune system (like macrophages) and presenting to T cells (the adaptive immune system) antigens that they encounter, to see if the T cells want to attack them, or leave them alone. In the skin the specialized dendritic cells are called Langerhans cells. It is noteworthy in GDD the the skin is a major organ affected by the disease, and skin changes can occur very rapidly - so sooner than one would expect from a pure cd 34+ circulating fibrocyte process- which is more of a chronic immune system response that is characterized by NSF (which typically originates/manifests at 2 months or later post exposure). So currently I