I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1998, aged 44, and after one year placed on standard anti-Parkinson’s medication. Initially this alleviated my symptoms, but within a short while my condition began to worsen. I assumed this was due to the apparently inevitable progression of Parkinson’s, and was told as much by my neurologist. One year after commencing the course, my neurologist suggested that I stop taking my medication before my next consultation – this made it apparent that many of the symptoms I was experiencing were in fact side effects.

This realisation resulted in me abandoning this course of treatment and accepting the unmedicated symptoms of Parkinson’s, causing me to consider other ways in which my symptoms might be being affected. This led me to being tested for heavy metal toxicity in 2001 by Dr Bruce Kyle (www.aarhusprivatklinik.dk), who diagnosed me with a combined toxic overload of mercury and copper.

I underwent a detoxification program (which included having several amalgam fillings removed) which, after some years, lessened my tremors and improved my mobility. However, my fatigue failed to lift, leading me to suspect a metal allergy.
I took the MELISA test which showed me to have a reaction against gold, nickel and cadmium. With this information, I had a gold crown removed and was fitted with a plastic replacement, alongside following a low nickel and low cadmium diet. By 2008, my fatigue had decreased too.

My symptoms are now less serious than when I was originally diagnosed, directly opposing the accepted opinion on Parkinson’s as an unavoidably degenerative disease, and I believe that the testing I underwent with MELISA helped me to isolate one of the factors in the exaggeration of my Parkinson’s disease.

To read my full story and for more information on heavy metal toxicity and its relationship with Parkinson’s, see www.blog.parkinsonsrecovery.com/2010/03/01/intoxication-with-heavy-metal-as-a-possible-cause-of-parkinsons-disease