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Successful Treatment of my Chemical
and Electrical Sensitivity - By Lisa Nagy, MD
 Dr.
Lisa Nagy received her medical degree at Cornell Medical
College. She followed that with training in surgery and
later in emergency medicine, in which she is board certified.
She is currently studying environmental medicine. We asked
Dr. Nagy to share her incredible story of chemical and electrical
sensitivity and recovery, and of the dental metals that
were behind her problems.
The science and art of medicine is much
more complex than we presumed in medical school. Although
disbelieved, environmentally ill patients are becoming a
very large percentage of the population.Many of us go unrecognized
because we are 'masked' and cannot tell we are ill from
the detergents, perfumes and chemicals we are wearing everyday.
I developed chemical and electrical sensitivity
while living in a house in Los Angeles. Initially, I only
knew I was sad, had weak muscles and couldn't stand up for
very long it soon seemed I was crying all the time. I couldn't
bear to use the telephone or to be under fluorescent lighting.
Exposure to smells, chemicals, many foods (like wine, cheese,
and nuts) and even antique wood which is faintly moldy gave
me a headache and made me feel exhausted. Clothing tags
became extremely irritating, and perfume and diesel odors
were intolerable. I had grown hypersensitive to my surroundings.
Adrenal insufficiency was eventually diagnosed in myself
and later in my husband.
In time I was fully disabled and my incredulous
husband and I sold our house and moved to a rental nearby.
We were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. A year
later I found that I had been suffering mold poisoning,
primarily due to mold in a huge fish tank that was built
into the living room wall of that first home. The toxins
in the air had overloaded my system and made me intolerant
of all chemicals, especially pesticides. A muscle biopsy
showed that I had severe damage to my mitochondria, the
energy producer in all our cells.
What I had is called chemical sensitivity
or environmental illness. It is common but somewhat invisible.
And this medical condition is not rare. Prevalence studies
in California and New Mexico found that 16% of the respondents
reported being chemically sensitive. Additionally, in New
Mexico 2% of the respondents reported having been diagnosed
with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) the more severe
form of chemical sensitivities. In California, 3.5% reported
having been diagnosed with MCS. Although women report being
chemically sensitive twice as often as men, which contributes
to its hysteria label, those reporting chemical sensitivities
are otherwise evenly distributed with respect to age, education,
income, and geographic areas. Chemical sensitivities are
also evenly reported among ethnic and racial groups, except
for Native Americans, who reported a higher prevalence in
both studies.
Further, about 15% of those who are chemically
sensitive have electrical sensitivity as well. Electrical
sensitivity sounds wacky, I know, but when you have it,
it is very real and quite uncomfortable. My hand would heat
up while holding my cell phone. My ear would burn from the
ear piece. Gadgets that spin, like fans or tape decks, have
high electromagnetic fields and they made me weak. Just
picking up the regular phone could make me need to urinate,
or cause chest discomfort and sweating I wanted to hang
up! Even more bizarre and scary: while swimming in a salt
water pool I would get electric shocks in my fingers as
I swam by the underwater pool lights!
Another condition is diagnosed:
dysautonomia
At this time I was also diagnosed with
an interesting neurologic condition called dysautonomia,
which occurs in 85% of people who are environmentally ill.
Crossing ones legs while standing is an early sign, or wrapping
the legs around each other (called pretzel legs ). These
moves are done to keep the blood in the head and chest,
otherwise the blood would pool in the legs and cause weakness
or fainting.
Exposure to chemicals in stores (like
formaldehyde while shopping in Home Depot) would make me
dysautonomic and electrical appliances would make me even
more dysautonomic; I would need to lie down. I was prescribed
a vasoconstricting (causing the blood vessels to narrow)
medication called Midodrine to remedy this condition, as
well as a volume expander (Florinef; a corticosteroid).
Finding help
Near the end of my rope, I eventually
figured out that I needed to be treated by an environmental
physician, and I went to The Environmental Health Center
of Dallas to see William Rea, MD. I was encouraged that
after this treatment I was partially better. (You can find
a local physician at http://www.aaem.com/.
I suggest you consider this if you suffer from chronic illness
or obvious environmental illness such as chronic fatigue,
fibromyalgia, allergies, adrenal fatigue as well as chemical
sensitivity. They look into the genetics of your detoxification
capabilities, study your autonomic nervous system and hormone
levels, do food and other allergy testing and treatment
(neutralization), prescribe vitamins and nutrients orally
and intravenously, and test your immune system scientifically.
Most importantly, they get you away from that which is making
you sick!
Sauna treatments are often an integral
part in the treatment process for detoxification. It is
important to start with a short time interval (such as five
minutes) initially and build up as needed. Saunas should
be used under the care of a doctor, as the detoxification
process can result in increased symptoms if it is pursued
too aggressively.
Oral galvanism uncovered
Oral galvanism is a state in which two
dissimilar metals in the mouth result in abnormal electrical
charges. I had already had all of my amalgam ( silver )
fillings removed, or so I thought. But then I went to a
holistic dentist (see http://www.iaomt.org/)
for an assessment. An oral potential meter (made by Pertec)
was used to measure the voltages and currents in my teeth.
I had a number of crowns with porcelain over metal. Most
crowns had currents of 1 micro ampere or so. But one of
my crowns showed a current of 11 microamperes and a very
high electrical voltage of 420 millivolts!
I had that crown removed first, because
one is supposed to remove the highest ones first. Voila!
I hadn't anticipated any immediate response but when I reached
home and I was able to talk on the phone for three hours
instead of three minutes! I no longer needed Midodrine to
get up out of bed! I had required it to raise my blood pressure
for two years straight and now none! Other improvements:
the smell of cigarettes seemed almost pleasant instead of
making me run for the hills. I could tolerate car exhaust
and perfume immediately! I contacted many environmental
physicians and patients to tell of the amazing positive
change in my illness over night!
The dentist discovered that I'd had an
amalgam filling under the metal crown that had been placed
just before I became really ill back in 2000. The two dissimilar
metal materials touching had created a strong battery effect,
causing the oral galvanism that seemed to short out my autonomic
nervous system. Somehow, fixing the autonomic nervous system
also led to a more normal central nervous system interpretation
of odors and electrical fields, allowing for a return to
a more normal life! My adrenal function also returned, thanks
to the decrease in stress or total body load. In retrospect,
getting away from the bad house was essential, but removing
the crown and the amalgam under it was the last step in
getting well.
Advice from Dr. Nagy
 I
have ended up on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where
the air is clean and the mold is everywhere! I write articles
on the subject and help people who are referred for environmental
illness get to an environmental physician before they end
up so mentally impaired that they won't be able to cooperate
with the treatment. Initially, people tend to deny that
they have chemcial sensitivities. It takes a couple of months
to grasp it. Lay people are much better at :getting it doctors
are incredulous and rude. As Sherry Rogers, MD, advises:
Don't waste your time trying to convince every physician
you meet about this. It is a waste of your limited energy!
This is very important. Most doctors
won't listen to you, so don't even try. Many family members
will abandon you. Many people reading this newsletter will
have already experienced this, I'm sure.
Don't forget to look into dental issues.
I have interviewed many patients, especially those with
psychiatric issues or symptoms of electrical sensitivity,
who have become well after removing their high voltage dental
work. Bizarre, eh? I guess too much electricity next to
the brain is not a good thing. It is easy to check one's
dental currents, and I suggest that all chronically ill
patients consider removing their amalgam fillings, any crown
with an underlying amalgam, and any crown or filling with
an electric current greater than 1 microampere.
My advice to you is: Do not give up on
your health until you get well. Each practitioner (alternative
therapist, environmental physician, or holistic dentist)
has something different to offer. I was helped, and someone
can help you as well.
Although not currently practicing,
readers may contact me with brief questions: Lisa@nagy1.com.
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