[kcpopps]

Hi there everyone - this is my first post!

I've been taking a liquid vitamin, Omega-3, and a few other supplements daily for about 6 months. I've been feeling better too.

Recently, I've read a lot about EDTA and decided to start taking it. Unfortunately, I get some pretty strong heartburn within minutes of swallowing the capsules. It lasts for several hours.

It took me a while to figure out it was the EDTA causing that - but now I am sure.

The potential benefits make me want to keep taking it. It is supposed to help clean the arteries of plaque and fatty deposits - I'm almost 50 and I'm sure that I could use that! Also it is said to help with kidney stones, which is something I suffer from.

I've searched the web and not found any other complaints or reports of EDTA causing heartburn. It perplexes me, because I am one of those people with a "cast iron stomach" - I can eat almost anything and never experience heartburn. Before I figured out it was the EDTA, and because heartburn is not a familar experience to me, I was frightened that it was a sign of heart problems.

Have you heard this complaint before? Is that a normal reaction for some people? Any ideas on why this happens to me? Any advice or comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

[orthomolecular]

My common sense tells me that what you experience makes sense. The EDTA will chelate out heavy metals and also needed minerals. You are probably losing calcium (among other things) which would be the way your body buffers the excess acid in your stomach. So, it doesn't surprise me that you have this problem.

You need to know how to do the EDTA properly. That includes when you supplement the minerals that you are losing. I have no experience with that so I have no idea what cycle you would be doing with oral chelation. But you do have to cycle that stuff, I think. You do have to put back the needed minerals at some point, on a regular cycle.

Did you get tested for heavy metals? Do you feel any improvement? What heavy metals did you test high for?

I do not think chelation therapy is something anyone should do on their own.

[Chemar]

Originally Posted by orthomolecular

I do not think chelation therapy is something anyone should do on their own.

VERY wise advice!

[mrsD]

I personally don't know too much about oral chelation therapy.

However, it is complex, and not easy to understand.

What I did find was this:
http://www.chelationtherapyonline.com/articles/p113.htm

In this article it is stated that only about 5% of EDTA is absorbed. The rest remains in the GI tract.

Many things can cause heart burn. Even simple ginger can reflux if taken improperly.
Many drugs do too (Fosamax, Actonel are examples).

Since EDTA requires many pills to get any effect, you are swallowing alot of EDTA. Solutions would be to space them out...and take with a full glass of water--not on a full stomach. DO NOT LIE DOWN, and remain upright for at least an hour or two.
This is a good monograph, but does not discuss oral:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupple...cidEDTAcs.html

Many oral forms are the calcium salt ..
Others are the di-potassium magnesium form mentioned in the first link above.

There is not great evidence that EDTA oral will fix any artery problem.
And there is evidence that it will create a chromium deficiency.
Oral EDTA does not affect zinc absorption, and was thought at one time to enhance it.
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/5/1102
(this is complex article with pros and cons).
But I would not expect severe losses of zinc from an oral EDTA since I could not find that to be definite in the literature.

Now, this chelating agent which is RX only is different:
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/succimer_cp.htm

If you have kidney stones composed of calcium oxalate (about 80% of patients), the best preventatives for that are 1) avoidance of oxalate in the diet (Google oxalate in foods) 2) use of calcium citrate --which actually prevents stones composed of calcium oxalate.
Stones composed of other substances, require other means, usually a solution of citrate to change the pH of the urine.

The oral chelation craze has paralleled the popularity of the book The Calcium Bomb. It is still controversial.

I also echo Chemar's and Ortho's suggestion to have medical supervision.
Continued heartburn can lead to esophageal erosions, damage, and serious
consequences.

Please be careful.

[carolyn_lsc]

kcpopps,

I agree with the advice already given that chelation shouldn't be done alone without a doctor. I've been doing chelation therapy for 1 1/2 years now and would have been very scared to do it myself. I still would be scared to go at it alone. There's been too many times I've needed to ask my doctor why is this occuring, what's wrong, etc. Certain labs need to be drawn such as a CBC, CMP, and mineral levels throughout the entire chelation therapy process.

Personally I haven't seen much talk about oral EDTA. I've seen IV & suppository EDTA be discussed a lot, but this is specifically for heavy metal chelation in children. From what you say, it sounds like heavy metals is not what your intending to use oral EDTA for so maybe that's different.

You should really seek a doctor for chelation.

Carolyn

[kcpopps]

Thanks everyone, for the replies. (I thought I had email notification turned on, but it wasn't - so I didn't know there were any replies until I checked back just now.)

I didn't realize any risk involved with taking EDTA, but your replies have made me re-consider. I had read a lot of web pages that contain text like this:

"it removes plaque and returns the arterial system to a smooth, healthy, pre-atherosclerotic state."

and this:

"EDTA chelation has been around for a long time and has been used successfully, even "miraculously," in many people for dissolving plaque in arteries. Administration can be either intravenous (IV) or oral. Both forms are safe and effective."
"....essentially cleans out your cardiovascular system. When plaque builds up in your peripheral blood vessels (atherosclerosis), the result can be high blood pressure. When it builds up in the vessels of your heart, a heart attack can occur. And pieces of plaque can break off and find their way to the brain, resulting in stroke. As we all know, these conditions can be permanently disabling, even lethal. Atherosclerosis is not limited to the heart vessels or any other local area of the vasculature, but can occur anywhere in the body. If your coronary arteries, for example, are filled with plaque, it's a sure bet that your brain arteries are in a similar state. This also goes for the arteries in your lungs, kidneys, and other vital organs."

Obviously, those sites are all selling their version of EDTA - or a mixture that contains EDTA as the main ingredient.

Also, a friend told me of someone he knew, who had been told he would need heart surgery in the near future... and that person took an EDTA formula for a year, returned to the doctor and was then told he no longer needed surgery.

It all sounded great to me... and at minimum, I didn't think it could do any harm.

My thought in taking it was as a preventative/restorative.

I don't know that I have heart disease.... I just know I have been negligent with my health and have lived a lifestyle that likely puts me at risk. And I have seen several people my age suffer heart attacks in the past couple of years, some fatal... and that has gotten my attention. I have had some mild to moderate chest pains from time to time also... so I was attempting to take some action before something does happen to me.

As for seeing a doctor.... I'm not really able to do that. No insurance, no money for doctor visits. I've had two kidney stones in the past two years. The first time, I went to the emergency room because I had no idea what was causing the severe pain. Now, I have debt collectors after me for that $5000 bill that I cannot pay. The second stone passing - I knew what it was that time, and spent 7 hours in agonizing pain rather than returning to the emergency room. Not a pleasant day - to state the obvious! (However I am thankful it passed in hours rather than days)

My only option, when it comes to healthcare, at the moment anyway, seems to be a vitamin & supplement routine that will contribute to overall better health.

Figuring out just what should make up that "overall better health" plan, is a little harder than I thought it would be.

I'm feeling pretty foolish now... I should have attempted to learn more about EDTA before taking it. And it is embarassing to confess my financial situation too.

But I thank you all for your considerate and thoughtful replies. You have been helpful - and I appreciate this forum!