Lead Poisoning....this is not good news

[bcbr]

lead/metal poison

I ran across this thread and it took a while to register and git here.
Chelation thereapy works with very few side effectsas far as my situation,bad headaches are what happened to me but after that passes was good to go. The 3 to 4 hour iv was tough to take and some times the edta going into the vien felt a slight pressure burn,had to drink water as it went in the more the better,for me 20 to 40 ounces. I met several folks and they swore by the treatment especially for circulation and heart troubles,one of the side effects on me was the bulging viens on my calves are gone(my legs)
The bcbs ins. did not cover any of the cost.I paid for it ,most docs I have talked to have never heard of chelation therapy,but most of the radiologists lab workers had heard of it.
Baptist hosp corp was going to do a study on it ,it got canx
for some reason a while back .
the state of tn made the doc here stop the treatments donot no why. there is a doc down in Coldwater,Ms that offers the treatment.I donot know his name. Dr. Jerry Floyd,Millington ,Tn (901)
873 2555 is who helped me and we use him as our family doc or whatever.
Also ran across an add on news max of all places for an alternative to the iv therapy,Detoamin was the name and right now no link .
This may not be the right time or place for the conspiracy doubters,there are some active medical groups,docs,insurers,researchers,drug companies working hard to keep this therapy down and unavailable.
Most of the history of all this is available on line. Do a google or ask jeeves search and find more out about this.Supposedly this treatment has been around since WW2,an interesting part of history.
I did not have lead. Galium,nickel,manganese,and chromium are what we was fighting. the effects of that stuff are still with me ,the side effects of the edta chelation did not even really come into ? Good luck with your search and journey thru this. glad the doctor in one of these post was aware of what to do.
We had wondered where the metal came from,never found out.I drink bottled water or filtered,breath as much clean air as possible,and i wear a glove when loadin a magazine when we go shooting. I have loaded enough 10 22 ,25.30 and 50 rd mags in the last 11 yrs to have gone thru 1,000,000 rds . Its alot I know and thats why I wear the glove,and constantly use the orange cleanerand others when loading and shooting.
http://www.extremehealthusa.com/
http://www.tuberose.com/Metal_Detoxification.html
http://www.detoxamin.com/
Those are a few links . Thanks for a good thread and I am in no way a doc or telling you what path to take ,safety first and God Bless all.

 

[Tinker]

I'll give you guys something to consider. It's from an experience I had with my daughter when she was 3 years old.

I took her for a routine check-up with the pediatrician. 2 days later I get this frantic call from the doctor's office. They told me , judging from the bloodwork, that my little girl had the highest lead level that they'd ever seen to date and asked for us to bring her in immediately. When the doctor called she was runnig around, chasing the cat with a plastic baseball bat. Re-check showed normal. She was, after all, fit as a fiddle. The doctor couldn't figure out why the first test was so high.

Then it hit me. As I was preparing to put her in my truck that AM my daughter asks me: "What's dis, Daddy?" Those sharp 3 year old eyes had found an old .22 bullet that had been lodged down in a hem in the carpet floor board of the PU. I took it from her and put it in my pocket. They'd pricked her right index finger for the blood test. The same one she'd picked up the .22 shell with. Some lead residue must have stayed there till they did the blood test and gave such a high result on that first test.

Wonder if something simular could've given you a high result too? Something to think about.

 

[MP5]

One thing that might help reduce lead problems is using PMC Green ammo. I haven't tried it myself yet but want to look into it.

 

[Shane333]

"Minion82, I have seen the water soaking technique and I've done it once. They stick your feet into a large copper bowl and send a mild magnetic current through it. At the end of the session you can see the water change colors, I guess cause of all the impurities. In the end the water turned a disgusting color and at the bottom they found little bits of metal flakes that weren't there to begin with. I think it may have worked, but without testing who knows for sure."

Woah there! Magnetic current? I'm not convinced that you can really run a "magentic" anything through water unless it's already filled with a metalic solution.

My guess is that the water wasn't what it appeared. It was a solution full of metalic ions. I'm guessing that they ran a mild current through it, or introduced a chemical substance, that bonds the metalic ions together.

Poof! You get a metalic residue. Way too suspicious, unless someone can show me a reputable medical journal to back this procedure up. I'm not buying it.


Oh, and BCBR, nothing against you, but I'd want to see medical journal reports on the Chelation therapy too.

 

[M2HMGHB]

I had high lead when i was 14-15. The doctor put me on an oral chelatory agent to reduce the levels. From what i've seen on the test reports it's done pretty dang well. My insurance company called to see if it was for high levels of a metal or if it was just a "medical treatment". So they covered once htey were sent the copies of my test results. Anyways I have improved my habits and my lead is slowly decreasing naturally even after the chelatory agents. They brought the level down enough so my body could handle the rest.

 

[bcbr]

Update?

How is the situation on the lead levels?
What did you find out and solutions?
Any new info found out?

 

[hrb02]

J Miller,

Here is what the National Institute for Health has to say. I used to live in a 1920's house with LOTS of lead paint and small kids. :banghead: I found the site helpful.

Our Ped and GP both said the only way we were likely to get lead poisoning was to eat the paint. That wasn't really a problem with the kids, but me on the other hand...

Ask a local realtor about testing. If there is lead paint in the area, they will know who tests for it.

 

[macavada]

I've heard that it is not uncommom for seniors to go to Mexico to get chelation therapy in order to remove plaque in the arteries. A guy I know says he would try it before resorting to bypass surgery, should he ever need it.

 

[hso]

If you are concerned about lead paint test kits are available. They will not provide quantitative results, but will indicate the presence of lead.

CONSUMER REPORTS: LEAD IN PAINT
Copyright Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., July 1995 Transmitted Via Internet.
CONSUMER REPORTS RATINGS CR tested eight widely available home lead-test kits (one kit was not rated), priced from $5 to $73, and two that involve sending paint samples to mail-order labs.? The CR Ratings list the tested PRODUCTs by type.? Within types, they're listed in order of increasing price.? TESTS indicate the number of tests per kit.? SENS (sensitivity) is the minimum percentage of lead that the product can detect.? CONVENIENCE notes are based on CR's lab tests.? PRICE is the estimated national average, unless noted otherwise.? One test-at-home kit CR tested, the Sensidyne Lead Alert Professional All-in-One ($62), is not rated and cannot be recommended.? Several samples of this product failed to detect lead levels as high as 5 %.? Ratings: Test-at-Home Kits - 7 testedPRODUCT? TESTS? SENS? CONVENIENCE?? PRICELead Zone?? 6??? 5.0?? Very easy to use.?? $ 5.00? Results in 5 minutes or less.? Can run check test.?

Acc-U-Test? Many?? 0.05? Very easy to use.?? 7.00? Results in 5 minutes or less.?

Know Lead? 4??? 0.5?? Very easy to use.?? 15.00? Results in 5 minutes or less.? Can run check test.?

LeadCheck Swabs 8?? 0.5?? Very easy to use.?? 18.00? Results in 5 minutes or less.? Can run check test.?

The Lead Detective Many? 0.05? Very easy to use.?? 30.00? Results in 5 minutes or less.? Can run check test.?

Lead Solutions 5??? 5.0?? More steps.??? 30.00? Longer wait than with others.?

Merck EM Quant Pb++ 100 5.0?? Very easy to use.?? 73.00? Results in 5 minutes or less.?

? Note: Acc-U-Test's solution comes in a bottle with a dropper.? The number of uses varies.? Dark paint can mask results.? Alternate method for dark paint takes 24 hours.? LeadCheck Swabs can mask results of lead in red paint.? Not for gypsum (sheetrock), stucco, plaster dust.? The Lead Detective comes in a bottle with a dropper.? The number of uses varies.? Dark paint can mask results.? Lead Solutions must be used in 48 to 72 hours of preparing the solution.?

 

[esheato]

This post was brought back from the dead....I had completely forgot about it.

How is the situation on the lead levels?
What did you find out and solutions?
Any new info found out?

Well, for starters I actually started taking precautions. Basic stuff, but things that I had never worried about before. The "it'll never happen to me" mentality didn't help.

I no longer smoke in my gun room (quit after 10 years). I also no longer eat in there. I also cast a lot less often. I try to do a large batch of casting every couple weeks rather than casting every couple days.

I have yet to get another blood test done and, in all honesty, I probably won't. Every hobby has hazards....I'm acutely aware of what they are and how to minimize them.

What else can be said?

Ed

 

[280PLUS]

chronic exhaustion,,,

Get checked for "Sleep Apnea" especially if the person snores and / or can't remember dreaming.

I was chronically tired for years "chronic fatigue" or "General Malaise" we called it and I never dreamed. Doctor after doctor had no answers. Turns out I had apnea (difficulty breathing when sleeping) since about age 21 or so (47 now) it causes your body to "wake up" during sleep and you never reach the 3rd (REM) stage of sleep where the real resting takes place. I was unknowingly waking up 55 times per hour. They put me on a CPAP (Constant Positive Air Pressure) machine (no surgery for me, thanx) and life has definitely improved since.

Good Luck!

280

 

[XLMiguel]

I shoot at an indoor range 1-2X/mo., going thru 20-300 rnds/session, mostly fmj. I started having my blood tested a couple years agoe with physical, my doc said:

<10 - normal
>24 - significant
>39 - call OSHA

My lead leavel was 12. If I had a 35, I'd be talking to my doc, good luck.

 

[Evil_Ed]

Ed,
if you haven't already done this, I highly recomend making a simple fume hood for your casting area. You'll need a good metal vent hood and a high volume, low noise fan. It will help get some of that crap out of the air while you work.

 

[Kramer Krazy]

This thread must have been before my time here.

I used to work for Yuasa-Exide Battery in Sumter, SC (now closed), in the EH&S department. When you first started working there, they'd run a test for lead concentration (this is through bloodwork). When I first started there, my level was 8 or 9 ug/dl. I was tested every month for the first three months, then, depending on my levels, it would gradually expand to every three months, then six months. If the level got too high (I think 35 or 40 was the warning limit), we got tested once a month, and had to wear a respirator if our job didn't require one. At 50 ug/dl, they pulled you out of the manufacturing facility and into the front offices, until your levels came down. My level hit 46 once, but that was after being inside of a baghouse, changing bags. This was an environment that should have required an SCBA (Self-contained Breathing Apparatus - like a scuba tank). We were in there with only half or full-face respirators. As some stated, lead dust tastes sweet, and that was one way of knowing that your respirator was failing.

The lead-acid battery industry is quite regulated for lead. Not only were there blood concentrations tests, but each work station had to be monitored (I did this testing); the four corners on the OUTSIDE of the facility were had the ambient levels tested once a month, for environmental contaminations; the tables in the breakrooms were wiped down and tested for lead; we had work issued uniforms that couldn't leave the facility; work uniforms were washed in the plant; we had boots, gloves, and respirators given to us; we were paid to take MANDATORY showers before leaving for home; and we also kept logs of the bag houses and wet scrubbers (we did a neat little test on the bag houses with black-light dust to check for leaking bags, called visual-light testing).

Anyway, 35 is a level to watch out for, but I'm sure most of this is from you casting and eating and smoking near there. I'd be a little concerned if you have any children running around. We had a guy who worked in one of the areas with the highest levels of ambient lead dust. He was known not to take showers all the time before going home. He ended up with a lot of lead in the interior of his truck and took it home with him. His 3-4 year old son ended up sick, and it was due to the lead he was taking home with him after work every day. Kids can't handle higher concentrations, like adults can.

 

[esheato]

If I had a 35, I'd be talking to my doc, good luck.

I have spoken with my doctor and I've reported his findings within this thread.

if you haven't already done this, I highly recommend making a simple fume hood for your casting area.

I've already implemented a fan into my casting practices.

I'd be a little concerned if you have any children running around.

I don't.

Ed

 

[poe_9999]

I got my lead level tested 6 months ago. It was 20.4. I reload but do not cast. I always scrub up and shower after I shoot, reload, or clean my guns. I was rather shocked to see that my lead level was as high as it is.
I believe the culprit to be the poor ventilation design of the indoor range that I used to visit. (I probably spent less than 2 hours a month at that range, and I went there for about a year).
I highly suggest that everyone get their lead level tested. If you catch it early like I did you can avoid big problems in the future.

 

[Dead]

P.S. I have seen kids that had levels >100, I mean kids under 3!!!!

 

[bcbr]

Thread

Just finished reading Bypassing By pass surgery.
A book I found at a thrift store on this subject.
We have done a lot of asking and googleing on Heavy metal poison,chelation,oral chelation etc. Having suffered thru some of it ,just wondered if there were any more updates and info we could have missed.
Reading the book reminded me of this thread,and it was me 1st post /topic here. Yall,take care

 

[BEARMAN]

Do a search of " MISO AND HEAVY METALS". I seems miso, an oriental food can remove some heavy metals like lead , mercury and strontium 90. It seems like a most pleasant way to medicate yourself, by eating healthfood type foods. May be a little less drastic than some methods.

 

[RonC]

Chelation therapy has been around for a long time and is not the least bit mysterious. The chelator bind metals strongly. Various chelators are available for selective binding of particular metals. When I did some work at a nuclear weapons plant, the main issue was plutonium. If plutonium levels above a threshhold were detected in a blood test, then the individual would be treated with chelators.

Regardless of anecdotal eveidence and people claiming the efficacy of 'oriental' drugs or supplements, watch out! The imported food and drug materials out of China are completely unregulated. The so-called 'natural' weight control chemical ephedra is found in several Chinese herbs that can be found in health food stores. When tested by the FDA, it was found that they herbs varied from zero to small amounts of ephedra. The herbs also contained very high levels of lead and mercury! They still use lead arsenate in China for growing their 'medicinal' herbs and vegetables. So if you want more than your fair share of arsenic and lead, feel free to indulge in consumption of unproven herbs and drugs.

It was mentioned in this thread that adults pass out 95% of the ingested lead. That is valid. Young children retain 95%. Inhaled lead moves very quickly from the bronchioles in the lungs and into the blood stream and can cause lead poisoning that wouldn't be as obvious in the slower uptake in the digestive tract.

I just took my son and his two roommates to an indoor shooting range today. I going to wash my hands again!
Ron

 

[tellner]

One such method involved soaking the feet while running some kind of current (there's more to it, but I don't recall exactly what); my dad said the water turned black (!!) from the metals being removed.

Sheer quackery, I'm afraid.

 

[tellner]

But I think that's just because such methods are not common. I mean really, the idea of bombarding you with radiation in the hopes that it will kill the cancer cells before it kills you sounds far more quackish to me. I'm fairly convinced that future generations will look back on that practice in the same way that we look back on the medical practices of medieval europe.

Maybe. But radiation therapy for tumors has good science behind it, repeatability and a well-developed theoretical mechanism. I am alive today because of it and can tell you exactly how and why. This doesn't. "They laughed at Fulton. They laughed at Edison. They also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

Although I wouldn't worry too much about the lead paint unless you are eating it.

Remodelling is a serious cause of environmental lead where I live. There are many old houses with lead paint or lead paint under layers of latex paint. When the time comes to replace the siding or redo interior walls it can get exposed and ground into tiny airborne particles.

 

[kevin7]

Is there such a thing as non-lead bullets or shotgun shells?

 

[Taurus 66]

If you smoke you should never have you cigs with you on the range or while reloading ammuniton. You should never light up without double washing your hands first.

I hadn't thought about this. In the Navy during General Quarters, the battle simulation might be an NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) drill and the smoking lamp would be out on all decks. In part, there was no smoking because it posed a fire hazard if fuel lines ever ruptured or other flammable substances spilled out. The other part of this had to do with the tobacco smoke. The smoke is a vehicle for air born radioactive particles to enter the lungs. I guess it will be the same for any fine dust, including lead.

 

[tellner]

Yep, lead oxides are sweet. Really, really old chemistry books even refer to "sugar of lead." This is also, for those of you who ever wondered, why kids used to eat lead paint chips. one kid I knew who did it said that they tasted like "sweet potato chips."

Some old wine and spirit-makers' books I've got recommend adding "sweet sugars of lead" to sweeten soured wine or bad liquor Of course, they also talk about "therapeutic" antimony wine