By: Elle | Founder Of Lumiellé

In 2020, I was diagnosed with mercury poisoning. I spent years battling debilitating acne, chronic bloating issues and extremely severe digestive problems. My mercury levels were off the chart, and my doctor informed me of a strong and effective plan to detox the mercury from my body. I was put on an IV chelation protocol. What she recommended for my body, since I was so sick, was a high dose IV of vitamin C to support my immune and skin health because I was covered in crippling acne. The chelation agent (DMPS) was a push syringe in my IV, as well as a glutathione push to help detoxify and convert the heavy metals into a water soluble in the liver to be able to excrete it out.

A very traumatic experience over the course of eight months and 30 plus IV treatments, I still remember the taste of the IV and the gum I’d chew to drown out the taste. The smell made me so nauseous. I remember once I was hooked up to my IV everything would be fine, then as soon as we would start the chelation agent (DMPS) I’d have to have a bin next to me because I’d immediately start throwing up. It was absolutely horrific. My body was really detoxing and showing all signs.

Heavy metals are extremely detrimental to our health. Mercury are neurotoxins, and they slow down, gut mobility and contribute to an onslaught of health issues from acne to constipation, bloating, IBS, migraines, brain fog, chronic fatigue, a weakened immune system, autoimmune disorders, SIBO, digestive disorders and the list goes on.

My at home care to support this process in between my treatments was trace minerals, liposomal glutathione, and a good probiotic.

⁃ Trace minerals: When detoxing heavy metals from the body, the DMPS binds the metals to minerals so they can be excreted. This can cause a loss of good essential minerals in the process, so it’s crucial to supplement them.

⁃ Liposomal Glutathione: A powerful antioxidant, glutathione works to repair oxidative damage, including damage from heavy metal exposure.

⁃ Probiotics: Can help with heavy metal detoxification. Research shows that it can bind to certain heavy metals, and eliminate them from your body when you have a bowel movement.

I also took a dumb amount of supplements. I’ll share more about the supplements I take later on.

I realized that the way I was used to normally feeling wasn't "normal" at all. After three treatments, I noticed my symptoms started to go away! For the first time in years I felt like I was getting better! After dedicating years of my life in doctors’ offices, I was healing and all of my symptoms slowly went away. Detoxing heavy metals from my body was life changing.

Prior to diagnosis, the chronic painful digestive problems and bloating controlled my mood and consumed my life and every thought. My mental health was declining, I developed an eating disorder, scared that food was the cause of my painful bloating, acne and digestive problems, and I was 25 pounds heavier than I had ever been in my entire life. The acne covering my face hurt and I’d often cry myself to sleep. I hated myself. I was ashamed of my acne and l would avoid looking anyone in the eyes, which turned into avoiding leaving my apartment until eventually I was completely alone and isolated—deeply struggling. I was lost, and the stress of it all was making my body sick in itself. I had no idea how sick I really was and couldn't understand why, if anything, my lifestyle was even healthier now than it had been in the past now that I was living in Los Angeles the Disneyland of health & wellness.

Years of getting worse and being told by dozens of doctors nothing was wrong made me feel crazy. Every doctor just recommended antibiotics to treat the acne or told me to get on birth control, but I refused to take medication to Band-Aid what was really going on. When my symptoms started to worsen, I knew something was wrong. It wasn't just in my head, and I was determined to figure out what it was. No doctors could tell me anything, after all, the symptoms I was experiencing were so common that they were considered "normal" and they told me sometimes these things just "happen" to us. I wasn't going to accept this answer, so I started to do some research of my own and that’s how I found Dr. Lalezar.

Dr. Shiva Lalezar, D.O., treats patients holistically, taking the time to get to the root of health issues. She offers alternative, integrative & functional medicine in Los Angeles. We ran every test imaginable! From stool analysis, SIBO breath test, blood work, hormone tests, the list goes on. Finally, I agreed to a heavy metal test. To test for heavy metals I had to do an IV chelation of DMPS, then collect my urine at home before returning it to her to be sent in and tested. I remember writing letters every time I sent in a test to different lab centers, hoping someone would hear me and help. I wrote multiple page letters of all my symptoms, as if they could’ve helped me. They were just running the tests! Looking back, my heart breaks for how much I was suffering.

As I researched just how toxic heavy metals are and just how under diagnosed it is, I was shocked. It’s rare doctors recommend these tests unless you specifically ask for a heavy metals test. Most people go untreated thinking the way they feel is just “normal”, given pills to manage the symptoms and never addressing the root cause. I want to bring much needed awareness to this and hope it can help someone else the way it helped me.

This is why it's so important to advocate for yourself and find a trusted healthcare professional who cares. Dr Lalezar was a blessing. She was the first doctor who valued getting to the root cause as much as I did. It’s so important to find a doctor whose focus is to treat the root cause, not the symptoms. Treating the symptoms will only get you so far for so long.