My Annual Health Update

How time flies when you’re busy! It’s been way too long since I’ve written a proper post here, so it’s time for an update on what and how I’m doing these days.

First of all, the big question: How is my health? Any problems? Any mercury symptoms creeping back in?

Nope, no problems at all. I am very happy to say that I am disgustingly healthy. I had a bit of a cough last week, that’s all I have to report in the sickness department. I have tons of energy, a clear head, zero emotional weirdness. It’s all good. I eat gluten pretty regularly, not every day, but plenty often enough to know that it has no effect on me now. My new favorite food is croissants. Croissants are heaven 🙂

As for my diet in general, I’ve been pretty much doing the Blood Type Diet that I wrote about here. I guess at this point, I could freestyle it when it comes to what I eat, but with everything I’ve learned, it seems kind of dumb not to optimize my health. Being on this diet makes me feel great, I love it. Plus I’m not very strict about it, so it’s not like I don’t get to eat trash every now and then. The only thing that’s still verboten is sugar. And I’ve been sugar free for so many years now, I don’t even miss it. Given my secretor status, I should probably never have been a sugar eater in the first place. Living without it is just the way things are meant to be for me.

Am I chelating these days?

Yes! I just finished Round 94 yesterday. I realize that I have been very lazy about chelation. After I finished the bulk of my recovery and stopped chelating regularly back in 2009, I never really got back into the swing of it. I’ve had whole years go by where I haven’t chelated at all. That’s just not cool. Given how seriously mercury toxic I was, it only makes sense for me to do my maintenance. And so I’ve gotten back in the saddle this year. The key for me this time around is taking it very easy. I only do a round once a month or so, and have cut my dose radically–from 100mg of ALA to 25mg. This makes the whole thing no big deal, and something I can do regularly for the rest of my life if I choose to. On this low dose, I don’t feel any effects from the chelator, don’t have any redistribution, so it’s easy as pie. And I take my supplements too, all the good stuff like Vitamin C, magnesium, Milk Thistle, probiotics, omega 3s to support me as I detox.

What else is going on?

Well, I’ve been having lots of fun musically. My latest adventure has been learning to play the drums. That has been fantastically wild fun. I’ve been taking lessons and practicing every day, and it’s so energizing and cool. I’ve also been singing and writing songs. Next week I’m going to be very brave and sing a song I wrote at a songwriter’s open mic that just started up in town. Wish me luck!

On the work front, I’ve been absorbed by the Enneagram teacher training program I’m completing. It’s kind of awesome to find something that fascinates me so completely at the ripe old age of 38. Nothing I’ve studied before has grabbed me like this, and I’m so glad that I have the brainpower and energy to throw myself at it completely.

Since I can’t help myself and just have to keep writing books, I’ve already gone and written my first book about the Enneagram. It goes on sale this week. It’s a collaboration with my friend Kelly Kingman who is a graphic recorder and illustrator. I wrote the words and she created the images for a simple and visually rich introduction to the Enneagram.

I am extremely proud of this little book, and know it won’t be the last thing I’ll ever write about the Enneagram.

So what’s next?

New horizons beckon. At this point, I feel that my work in the mercury toxic world is done. I haven’t been sick for years. I’ve forgotten what it even feels like to be sick. New people are rising up all over the internet writing blogs and providing support who are far more plugged into this world than I am. I feel very good about taking a step back, passing the torch on to those who are at the front lines of this issue.

So I won’t be posting here again with any frequency. Looking back over these two years of blogging, plus the years of sickness and detox that went before, I feel so grateful to all of the people I encountered on my road to health. Writers like Andy Cutler and Hal Huggins who pointed the way, all the people who set up websites and moderated forums so that I could find stories I could identify with and figure out what the hell was happening to me. All of my fellow mercury sufferers who offered support and advice online when there was no one in my life who could help me.

And then of course, all of my readers who bought my book and sent me such wonderful emails in response. It felt like a real risk to put my very personal story out there in the world, and getting constant feedback from people, letting me know how much it helped them, well that was just the best part. I feel honored to have been able to help such a brave posse of hardcore detoxers, whatever small part I got to play.

And of course the cherry on top of the sundae was getting to edit and publish Danny’s book The Mercury Diaries. Talk about a hardcore detoxer! I think he wins the prize there 🙂 He inspired me all through my own detox journey and I’m so glad his book is out there so that he can continue to inspire people all over the world for years to come.

Okay, well that’s the end of my Oscar acceptance speech 🙂 My heart feels very full as I walk away from this work and officially embark on the next leg of my journey as an Enneagram explorer. I wish you all the best, best of health. I hope you find all of the answers you are looking for, and that your recovery is as smooth and speedy as it can possibly be!

Good luck!