Other's Experiences and Testimonials on Amalgams & MS

We've already mentioned in an earlier post that the Counsellor here at Living Valley Springs, Joanne Roche, herself suffered from MS and has regained her mobility and all of her MS symptoms, while they may occasionally flare up a bit, are under control.  Besides Joanne, several other people have experienced amazing recoveries from this supposedly incurable disease and have made their stories public for others to learn from.

Carmel Egan wrote a book about her experience with MS and then her recovery, which really began with her stay at Living Valley in 2004.  Tammy and I have each read her book while we've been here and of course to both of us it's quite a compelling read.  Though her experience is not exactly the same as Tammy's, it's true of MS that the progression of the disease and the specific symptoms experienced vary from person to person.  Linked here is a review of Carmel's book, or you can read her testimonial on the LVS website.

Johan Jacobs is a South African man who began experiencing the symptoms of MS at the age of 30.  After largely controlling his initial symptoms through diet and lifestyle, he entered a period of 'primary progression' that left him significantly debilitated after 2 years and by 2004 he was no longer able to work as an engineer.  In April of that same year Johan attended Living Valley and the treatment he received here was the first step in his recovery.  Johan's testimonial is written here, and you can watch a video testimonial here:

Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas is a video produced by the International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology showing how even 20+ year old mercury fillings continue to release mercury vapour; you can also read a summary of the video in this PDF.

The University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada has performed some research demonstrating the neurotoxic effects of mercury, as reported in this short video clip on Youtube.

Dr. Dawn Ewing has prepared three 10-minute video lectures on the topics of mercury amalgams, root canals and cavitation with some good illustrations and lay level explanations.  Part 1 is embedded below - you can readily search Youtube for parts 2 and 3.

Dr. Hal Huggins originally raised the issue of the dangers of dental amalgam over 40 year ago after becoming a qualified dentist himself!  In this short video clip, he discusses the link between ALS, MS and mercury amalgam.

Various reports suggest that dental professionals have an elevated rate of MS and of suicide (i.e. potentially mentally affected by mercury toxicity)

We're told that MS becomes more prevalent the further you go from the equator.  In general, this may appear to be the case however there are several exceptions to this 'rule'.  For example, Russia has a relatively low incidence of MS when compared with Canada but is just as 'far' North.  Also, there are very few, if any, recorded cases of MS among the Inuit.  Another well-known exception existed in Norway where two of 19 counties studied there had lower rates of MS than other counties that were decidedly further South!  Looking at the map below, it's clear that the trend isn't as easy as simply considering distance from the equator...

Map of the global prevalence of MS

Interestingly, when a map of relative global affluence is compared to a map of MS prevalence, there is at least as good correlation between affluent countries and incidence of MS as there is between distance from the equator and MS!  Could this be due to eating of richer foods by people living in more affluent countries, along with the means to have dental work performed?  If there were readily available data on the prevalence of dental amalgam fillings used in various countries, and possible even various regions within a country, that would be interesting to see.  I don't believe such data exists, nor is likely to be made available!

Map of global affluence by income levels

These few references only scratch the surface of the available information, but regardless of the searches performed online, it quickly becomes clear that the issue of dental amalgam is highly controversial.  Even with any number of indicators pointing towards mercury as somehow playing a part in onset of MS, the picture is not that simple.  Plenty of people with amalgam fillings - several of them in place for several years - show no illness whatsoever.

All of that said, there are enough practitioners now treating patients by "dental revision" with dramatic improvement resulting that I am becoming convinced that some harm is being done by dentistry, and not only with MS.

Day 10 - That's a Wrap

We've come to the end of our 24 days at Living Valley having had a wonderful experience overall!  The weather has been terrific (glad to be missing hurricane Sandy!); the people have been so kind and supporting throughout, and the learning has been exceptional.  We feel like we've significantly advanced our cause in addressing MS by coming here and receiving all of the care and treatment that we've described on this blog.

All told, Tammy's symptoms are no better, nor any worse, which is a victory in itself.  For the three or four months before our trip here, as we became more strict in diet (vegetarian - vegan - raw - juicing/fasting!), Tammy's health deteriorated at an alarming rate; at least having slowed or stopped the progression now is a 'win'.  Not only that, we believe that we're on a path now that will see slow but sure improvements over the coming months!!!

I'll continue to post blog entries over the next week with more background and detailed info that we've learned during our time here, specifically about MS & mercury; about using a high fat/protein diet to address mercury toxicity; and about Living Valley Springs' overall 'philosophy of care'.


After that, we'll post an occasional entry when something newsworthy comes up, so feel free to check in on the blog every once in a while!!


Today was a day for tying up loose ends, like paying our bill at the Health Shop and at the Front Office and of course getting packed up.  Most of the guests were gone shortly after breakfast, and then most of the staff were gone shortly after lunch, but we stuck around until later.

It turns out that tonight was Gary's 60th birthday party, held at the local hall in Kin Kin and tomorrow he and Debbie are taking off for a well-deserved two-week vacation.  Since their flight is only two hours earlier than ours, Gary offered to give us a ride to Brisbane!  We left just after the party and got to bed just after midnight! : )

Gary telling more funny stories at his 60th birthday party

At the 'Brizzy' airport...

The LVS staff have really treated us like family and we're certainly going to look back fondly on our time for years to come, while also looking forward to the next opportunity that we have to visit!  For anyone interested in making the trek to LVS themselves, please feel free to contact us at any time with any specific questions at jpduchesne@hotmail.com.  Also, LVS gives guests discount vouchers to share with others and we'd be more than happy to share all four of ours - just ask!

Thanks to all who have read and commented, emailed, prayed for and otherwise encouraged us on this adventure!!  To those reading back home - we'll see you all soon!!

So long, LVS!

Day 9 - Traces of Mercury...

If you've read our recent blog posts, you'll know that today was the day we went to Brisbane to see Eric Davis, the biological dentist to whom Gary refers LVS guests who have potential dental issues.  Gary met us at 6:30am and we were in Brisbane just before our 8:30 appointment time.

Gary helping Tammy to the door for our 8:30am consult...

Dr. Davis checked the electrical conductivity on several of Tammy's teeth - admittedly, we didn't really get the gist of what this was testing, but suffice it to say that there was nothing indicating a problem using that test.

Next, Dr. Davis used "Meridian Stress Assessment System" to assess Tammy and the test indicated problems in 3 areas: autonomous nervous system, the left side of the brain and the left lung.  It further implicated a couple of potential toxin sources: mercury and petrochemicals.

Based on the x-ray we had done last week and a visual exam looking for darkened areas on the teeth, Dr. Davis identified a spot behind the composite filling on Tammy's upper right back molar.  This could represent amalgam that wasn't completely removed back in 2006/7.

Tammy walking into the clinic for her follow-up appointment... 5hrs after the initial one!!

Stylin' & profilin' - this look is all the rage over here : )
Actually, that's a rubber dam to prevent mercury or
debris from being swallowed or absorbed

When we met with our 'case coordinator' following the dental consult, she informed us that there was a cancellation available for 2pm today, if we could arrange to stay and we could get the filling replaced right away!  Gary was able to rearrange some afternoon commitments so we did lunch together in Brisbane then went back to the dental office for 2pm.


At 2:03pm, Tammy went 'under the drill' : )  By 2:26pm, she was getting up out of the dentist's chair, fully amalgam-free!  There was just a speck of mercury inside the tooth which was 'cast out' and the tooth refilled.

Time will tell what effect this little victory will have on Tammy's recovery, but it certainly is a great to know that we've addressed this little bit of residuum.

We drove back to LVS, did Tammy's final live blood analysis with Michael, the newest member of the naturopath team here, and there really wasn't much of significance different from last time.  We then went up to the main centre in preparation for the graduation dinner.  The dinner was once again a wonderful meal and a time for everyone to share their experience at LVS and say 'thanks'.

This program's grad dinner theme: finger foods!

Yes, it tasted as good as it looked : )

Tammy was quite enthralled by the chocolate
cups thing-ys and has requested the recipe...

Room 6, adjacent to the dining room

Yesterday, we changed rooms again (4 room since we've been here!).  The guests who were staying in the room 6, located in the same building as the main centre left, early yesterday morning and offered us the suite since it would mean much less walking for Tammy and less shlepping her up the hill in the wheelchair for me!  It's a beautiful room, and even though it's only for 2 nights and 3 days, it's been a great blessing!

Day 8 - Beginning to Look Forward

Appointments today included a visit to Rod for some quasi-torture that remarkably helped Tammy walk better!  Rod taught me a couple of things but really, we'll have to find folks back home like chiropractors or osteopaths who can help re-adjust some neuro-muscular and/or skeletal issues.

Next was our final consult with Toby during which time we discussed all of the avenues to continue exploring as possible root causes of Tammy's condition.  While mercury toxicity is the principally encountered cause of MS that LVS has seen, there are some other possibilities:

Autoimmune malfunction (u/k cause) - this is the main viewpoint taken by the medical community.  There are a number of possible mechanism proposed that could lead to the body 'turning against itself' in this way, though the true underlying cause is not established.  The testing we've had done that would normally indicate autoimmunity hasn't turned up anything so far, but that doesn't conclusively eliminate some kind of autoimmunity as underlying all of Tammy's symptoms.  This is one area to keep in mind as we go forward with more testing and experience...

Viral infection - e.g. the borrelia virus that causes Lyme's disease.  There is apparently a place in Palo Alto, California called Ingenex that is apparently one of the few places that can perform 'reliable' testing for the presence of the borrelia bacteria.  Maybe we can look into this more while in California on our way home...

Neuromuscular - possibly a pinched nerve leading to secondary mal-adjustments, mis-alignments and whatever other 'misses' you can think of... The temporary improvements that we saw during Rod's treatments were dramatic.  While the malfunctioning muscles could simply not be getting proper info from the brain, the improper signals could also be due to a mechanical problem in the body, perhaps due to historic injuries or the body's response to chronic stress.

Hormonal imbalance - progesterone, estrogen, cortisol and DHEA were suggested by Toby as hormone levels we could have checked to see if all is well.

Dental - we're scheduled to leave for Brisbane tomorrow morning at 6:30am to see the biological dentist Eric Davis and we should get a good sense from him about whether there are any obvious flags in Tammy's dentistry that we should pursue.  And if so, hopefully some leads on folks closer to home who can help!

Along with a slightly tweaked meal and supplement plan, Toby suggested a couple of other things we could do to help strengthen Tammy's body while we seek to address the underlying cause, including:

HBOT, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy - Toby provided some references to papers describing the use of HBOT to help improve MS symptoms (this link is not one of the references, just some info on HBOT & MS).  Not sure how much we can do about this one since we're not aware of any nearby chambers and non-commercial ones are quite expensive and not really at a high enough pressure to get the maximum benefit - we'll see what we can do to address this one!

Supplementation - Toby gave us a stack of papers on which he's summarized a number of publications for studies of MS managed in part using the supplements he has recommended for Tammy.  We are already using most of them, but it's still nice to be able to review the scientific literature ourselves that forms the basis for Toby's and Gary's recommendations for supplements : )

For example, many of the supplements recommended here have been used by Dr. Klenner in his protocol, with some good success in helping MS patients.

What's more, while we've bought our original supply of supplements from Living Valley, we've been able to source comparable supplements from Canada at a much lower price in most instances.


To end the day, we took in Gary's lecture on Meal Planning, part 2.  As usual, was very interesting and worthwhile reviewing once more the philosophy behind the LVS approach to diet.  Gary recommended to the guests to read Weston A. Price's book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.  We intend to read on further ourselves and compare with what we've learned and believed to date...

The Seventh Day

This second program has flown right by for us!  It's already Saturday and there's really only Sunday and Monday left in the program as Tuesday is basically breakfast and dismissal.

This morning's brekkie.

Like every other Saturday morning during a program, a crew of guests climbed Mount Cooroora in Pomona this morning.  I decided to opt out this time, though it didn't help me much with my sleep as I woke up just before 3:30am anyway.  I 'resisted' the temptation to join the 4am excursion (that wasn't difficult : ) and Tammy and I started our day with breakfast at 8am.  Interesting 'tangle' of mushrooms this morning!

Gary lecturing this morning.

Gary then presented the 'Focus' lecture dealing with the connection between our thoughts and our physiology.  Once again, very interesting talk!  Particularly interesting was the discussion on endorphins, how they're produced and how they affect the body.

Gary also discussed dopamine and it's role in providing get-up-and-go or motivation to get things done; and how it can be increased by our deliberate choice, just like a muscle can be strengthened.

Next came the chapel service at 11:15am where Samuel (marketing manager here) and his recent bride Melanie (an American girl who works in the health shop) led a spiritual presentation on the power of God as demonstrated in the universe and in nature.  The also sang a few songs using the guitar.  A nice time was had by all : )

The view from the gazebo.

After the chapel service John, the colonic therapist for men here, and his recent bride, Joy, took Tammy and  I for a ride up the mountain at the back of the LVS property (there are over 140 acres).  There's a gazebo lookout up there and walking trails leading up to it, but we realized early on that Tammy wouldn't be able to make the trek up there and I wouldn't be able to push, pull or tow her there.  What we didn't realize is that it's a drive-able trail, if you have a 4WD truck - which John does!

Sign marking the trail that we drove down!

It's about 3km round trip and we had a great time scaling the steep inclines on the way up and then holding on for dear life on the even steeper declines on the way down!  

Though it was a bit hazy out, the view from the gazebo was awesome!  We could see farmland below, Lake Cootharaba in the distance and then ocean beyond that.  It was super-kind of John to take us up there!  It has been our universal experience that the staff have gone out of their way to make our stay as wonderful as possible here - and this was one more example : )

Aww, teeny tiny little mangoes along the path to our room.
I wish we could be here to eat them!

Lunch, a snooze, supper and a movie (Crocodile Dundee... didn't realize how foul movies could be even back in 1986!) completed the day.  A bit of rain came later in the afternoon, though nothing like we've read has happened near Wawa, only 2 hrs North of our home, in the past couple of days!

Days 5 & 6 - This & That

We were blessed to have another opportunity yesterday afternoon to see some of the local sights.  Noosa Heads is a tourist-y town within 1/2 hour of Kin Kin, where LVS is located.  The main street is called Hastings Street and it seemed to me to be a very good mix of upscale shops and trendy restaurants with a beachfront town atmosphere.

One end of the beach at Noosa Heads, adjacent to Hastings Street -
the open ocean is just out of the picture to the left...

After a short sight-seeing walk up Hastings Street and then briefly to the beachfront boardwalk, we went out for a nice supper at a marina restaurant.  It was a lovely night away and was wonderful to see a bit of the local charm and beauty that we otherwise would not have seen.  There is so much to see and do here that we definitely look forward to a time when we can travel back for the sake of visiting and sight-seeing!

This morning saw us go through our usual routine of stretch class and breakfast followed by a colonic for Tammy at 9am.  By 10:30 we were back at our room where we spent some time on the deck, in the shade, until I had a chat session with Joanne at 12:00.

We took lunch up at our room because Tammy's legs were still a bit tired from yesterday.  The 2:30 death-knell then sounded time for my second and final colonic.  I wonder if the word came originally from the words "colon" and "ick!"

Front cover of the latest LVS newsletter

The afternoon was open and we relaxed before heading down to the main centre for the supper soup and Gary's lecture on dental issues.  I'm pleased to report that it was just as interesting the second time around!

While we've shared a few details of the information we've received while here, I should mention that much of the lecture content is available on DVDs recorded by LVS.  The 2008 set was recorded in New Zealand, is called "Feeling Great" and sells in the Health Shop here for $50.  The updated lectures have been re-recorded in the main dining room just a couple of programs ago and will be advertised on the LVS free, quarterly, print and online newsletter - Lifestyle Excellence - once they're available for order.  Not a sales pitch - just sayin' : )

Day 5 - Another Clay Day

As I've mentioned before, we've chosen to focus on colonic and clay treatments for Tammy during this second 10-day program.  After having two colonics so far this week, today was time for the first of the two clay wraps this session.

Last time, it was quite warm out and by the time Tammy had showered before her clay treatment, she was pretty much spent.  Rodney thought this might have limited the benefit of the clay treatment if Tammy's body was in a 'stressed' state due to the heat - i.e. less likely to be prepared to release toxins.  In fact, we didn't see any of the typical red rash-like skin discoloration that usually results after a clay wrap.  Angela, the clay therapist, estimated that about 9 of every 10 people experience the redness from the clay.

So Tammy had high hopes for a good rash today!  It was again much cooler today than last time and Tammy was in good condition to start the treatment.  As before, Angela first applied the green clay to the body, wrapped Tammy up in a sheet and blankets, then did a nice facial with almond oil and finished by painting on a gentler, white clay to the face.

After several minutes, Tammy rinsed off in the shower and (drum roll, please...) she had a red rash!  Yay! 

Ok, we really don't know what that means, other than what's happened with others in the past has happened to Tammy this time, and not the last.

A quick read online suggests that the clay works as a 'cation exchanger'.  That means that the clay is negatively charged and adsorbs ions that are positively charged (e.g. heavy metals) through the skin.  The clay particles are super small meaning that a relatively small amount of powder can have a huge amount of surface area - in other words, lots of 'space' or capacity to grab these positively charged ions.

The exfoliating, warm shower taken before the clay wrap is intended to clear the skins pores of sweat and any other debris, while also opening them up a bit using the heat.  This prepares the body to make the most of the clay treatment.  Some clay treatments described online actually use the clay internally!  Thankfully, clay eating for detox is not practiced at LVS!