DMSA

I have used oral DMSA in my clinic for over 10 years and it was used many years before that by many doctors.  It has been an integral part of restoring health to many people not just in my clinic but with doctors and their patients all over the USA.  In early 2015, a vitamin company that was selling DMSA got a letter from the FDA basically telling them to stop selling DMSA because of complaints they have had.  Can you fight the government or the FDA?

As a result of the threat of legal action, that company stopped selling all DMSA products and then all other companies in the USA also stopped selling DMSA in any form and any strength/dosage.  I understand the vitamin company position.  It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to fight the FDA but DMSA has never been a big seller and it wouldn’t make good business sense to spend so much money with so little benefit to their bottom line.

As a result, DMSA is not available in the USA without a prescription and as you can probably guess, MD’s as a general rule are not going to be recommending it or write prescriptions for oral DMSA.  It would likely curb the need for other more expensive drugs and medical procedures.

What complaints caused the FDA to take action?    The vitamin company involved sent a letter to the doctors including me, who were using DMSA, explaining that the FDA got complaints of stomach aches, upset stomach and skin rash.  (That letter and the FDA website do not say how many complaints they received.)  These symptoms will all go away within a day or so after the DMSA is stopped.  DMSA has a half-life of 6 hours.  It is basically out of your system/body in 6 hours.  This is very similar to most of the B Vitamins and vitamin C that are in the system only hours before being used and eliminated.  Several vitamin companies were selling DMSA to the general public.  Anyone could buy it and use it but DMSA will cause those symptoms if very high doses are used. 

Years ago when I first started using DMSA, I used the standard doses that were quite high and some of my patients had similar complaints.  So I modified all of the testing and treatment doses to much lower.  I found that with these lower doses that the testing was still good and revealed the toxic element elimination and patients still responded.  Results were maybe a little slower than at the high doses but that was fine.  I would rather my patients’ take a little longer to get better than do something that might cause upset stomach or skin rash even though I know the complaints will go away once the DMSA is stopped.

Some people might have been thinking that if the dose of DMSA recommended is 200 mg then 2000 mg will be better and work faster.  Just like the RDA level of vitamin C is about 80 mg and many people will take well over 1000 mg, maybe even 5000 to 10,000/day without problem, however, some people will get an upset stomach taking these high doses of vitamin C.  More is not always better and too much of anything is harmful.  Too much oxygen, too much water, too much of anything will cause problems. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a component called CODEX, which calls for a worldwide regulation of all vitamins to be by prescription only.  This has occurred in several countries where vitamins are available by prescription only and only vitamin doses at RDA levels can be sold.  As an example, the RDA of vitamin C is about 60 mg/day.  This 60 mg tablet cost about 10 times what a 1000 mg vitamin C tablet will cost currently in the USA.  Drug companies are buying up vitamin companies and many vitamin companies are lowering their doses already in preparation for the CODEX regulation.

The AMA and drug business is pushing the passing of CODEX.  It has been stopped in some countries and the USA.  Several states including Ohio have tried to pass laws limiting your access to nutrients and natural health care.  That attempt was also stopped.  So far, we still have the freedom to buy vitamins and nutritional products without prescription in the USA.

The FDA has a regulation that says something like if a product is 10 times the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) it is classified as a drug.  So anyone taking vitamin C at 1000 mg/day are in fact taking a drug according to the FDA.  This has not been enforced yet.  I think this is one reason the vitamin companies are lowering their doses to be below this limit.  Drinking Raw Milk is also illegal by the FDA.  A recent headline read “Deadly drugs: Deaths From Pain Medications Rise 700 Percent” (AARP Bulletin 9-2015) but you don’t see the FDA stopping use of those drugs.

Also, if a nutritional product has a direct influence on a disease process, it is reclassified as a drug and is to be limited to prescription only.  Therefore, regardless of overwhelming research, vitamin companies cannot state that their vitamins fix, cure or are helpful for anything otherwise, the FDA will come after them.   B6 was petitioned by the FDA by a drug company to be by prescription only because it was found that B6/pyridoxamine helped kidney disease by significantly reducing serum creatinine levels.  The FDA was going to remove it, not because it was dangerous but because it worked to reduce a specific disease/condition.  Is this scary?

Oddly, there are now drugs that are OTC, that used to be by prescription only, that have far more side effects and are far more dangerous than DMSA or other vitamins but anyone can walk into any drug store and buy them.

No one has died, gotten cancer, developed liver or kidney disease or damage taking oral DMSA.  Taking aspirin has far more side effects and causes kidney disease.  How many people die/commit suicide taking OTC sleeping pills? 

So, I wanted to let you know why we have limited access to DMSA.  It is still available over the internet.  Just like you can get the same prescription drugs much cheaper online even without a prescription. 
I’m not a rebel and I would not put my patients at unreasonable physical or health risks.  Not being able to use DMSA is a step toward losing our freedom to choose.

If the FDA only gets negative comments and everyone just stops using DMSA, then the FDA, AMA and drug companies have won!

We need to have testimonials from everyone possible that has used DMSA and is maybe still using DMSA such that if the FDA does pursue this matter that we would have some documentation of the positive benefits that I believe far outweigh the negative possibility of a skin rash or upset stomach.

I first want you to know the facts as stated here.  I also am asking you to write a letter stating your experiences using DMSA, both positive and negative and how long you have been using it and how it has helped your condition and how much you have been taking.  At least give us some feedback if you have or have not had negative reactions to using DMSA.  Positive feedback is always good.  We do have a limited supply, but DMSA can still be (purchased) from some companies in Canada.  We are here to help you and now we need your help so that we can continue to bring you the best healthcare possible.

One more thing: we have to be careful what we say about DMSA.  According to the FDA, DMSA is only approved for the elimination of lead and nothing else.  There are only 4 types of treatment for cancer:  chemo, radiation, and surgery and hormone therapy.  If I said that I treated cancer with nutrition, the FDA would shut us down very quickly.  I happen to believe that we don’t treat cancer anyway, only the body does.  Everyone has cancer cells in their body every day and a healthy body is able to identify and stop the process.  This is what we do: we help the body get healthier so that it can do what it already knows how to do.  If your body grew from 2 cells to the body you have today, I believe that a healthy body can fight cancer, cure itself of lupus, MS or just about any disease if we can test to find weaknesses and then do what is required to restore true health.  There are obvious limits- age is a factor and sometimes people wait too long to try to make changes.

DMSA does not cure cancer, lupus, MS, autism, heart disease, ADHD, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or anything else.  All DMSA does is assist the body’s natural ability to eliminate heavy metals but calcium, magnesium, zinc, water and other nutrients are also needed, too.  Our bodies have a natural ability to eliminate lead, mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals and chemicals.   The addition of DMSA doesn’t cure anything but it appears to assist that process.
I hope we can count on you in preserving our right to choose safe natural products.
Sincerely, 
Van D Merkle DC

Name:                                                                              Date:
 
To whom it concerns:
(Please be as specific as possible)
 
I have used DMSA for ____________________ (number of months or years)
 
The doses I used were: __________ for the urine challenge test.
 
The doses of DMSA I used to improve health were:___________________________________________
 
The side effects I had from using DMSA were: _______________________________________________
 
These side effects lasted: _______________________________________________________________
 
Overall, DMSA had a positive health benefit: ___Rate 1-10 with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst.

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