Question: I'd like a doctor trained in toxicology and heavy metal poisoning directly and hand on experience please.
Dear Dr. XXXXXXX
I have worked in Hazardous Waste. I have a Bs degree in education. I have course work in environmental toxins.
My son worked for the City of XXXXXXX About 5 years ago he bagan to show great anxity, shaking, he told me he was getting solvent splashed on his arms above his gloves when working on lot of very old equipment. I told him to demand he have proper gloves that cover his arms. What I didn't know at that time: A year later he ended up in emergency. He told me he had tried to see mental health with his insurance program but they said he couldn't see anyone unless he was going to commit suside. He tried three times. He also told me he had wanted to see them because he was getting lost on the job at his station, he would get frantic and fearful, he also told me about a hallucination he'd had, He said mom I always used to feel so sure of myself now I don't trust any of my thoughts or decisions.
As a person working for the federal government in hazardous waste and given the complaints he had expressed to me about the equipment he was working one the year prior, and now he told me he not only had short gloves but often had no gloves as they would run out.
I immediately thought of lead poisoning and also now consider arsnic poisoning. They did not test him when he was finally commited while standing at the bank lost, with his children (he'd been afraid to let them go to school). It took this to get him attention and help. I had not known he'd been tryinig to seek medical help for a year and getting blocked. I asked if he'd been check for heavy metal poisoning. No they immidiately classified it as genetic. He father's family does have a history of this but after being married to him for 18 years before our divorce I'm not totally sure that one of these problems might not also be an exposure problem as my father-in-law would punished his daughter by pouring gas on the garage floor and making her sleep in a closed garage full of fumes. I was furious and had tried to bring her into the house as they gave me and their favorite son their bed. But when I awoke in the morning they had forced her back out to sleep in the garage in all those fumes...so where do genetic begin and toxins begin?
Any way. His break down was at 38. He had worked as a City Mechanic on very old equipment of all kinds for 15 years by then, taking apart all kinds of equipment and soaking this old equipment in solvents where crevecases and cracks would have been lined with lead. He has never been properly tested or treated for any kind of lead poisoning in fact his insurance company avoided even treating his mental problems until forced to.

Thank you Dr. Sheppe

I also was raised a Presbyterian (if you were) with an excellent Canadian Minister.

Do you know of a doctor that might work with me? My sons health insurance (Kaiser) keeps getting in our way to find proper treatment. First they didn't want to see him, treat him, and then, after 911 had him hospitilized, they didn't want to test him in any way.

After he had his original toxic attack I tried to take him to my Emergence Response doctors but the clinic would not even let me pay for a test for him. The receptionist said He had to go through his medical provider. I had to literally push my son for a year and a half to push Kaiser before they would consent to even do a simple blood test. It came out two micro liters/deciliter.

My Federal Emergency lab person told me the test would have only cost $39 but they couldn't do it for him and I couldn't pay for it because of his insurance. He tried but his insurance wouldn't even do it until it was impossible to use it as a determining factor of heavy metal poisoning.

I love my son and of course this is one of the factors i am fighting for to get him help as fast a possible before he loses anymore than necessary; However, I also am concerned as a past Hazardous Waste Safety Warden and worker, for a multitude of other people that are not getting the proper testing and treatment so they can lead as normal of lives as possible. I have found that 4 out of 5 people suffering from similar symptoms are men. Since I was the only woman working with 36 men in my profession, that says to me industrial toxins are misdiagnosed and not being addressed. As a Safety Warden and educator I also know the apathy, greed, and ignorance with which our safe guards have been taught and practiced in the past.

From your response I believe you understand the medical part of the problem. I understand the on-the-job problem as a past Federal employee. Things are improving slowly but the battle to do away with the safe guards and knowledge is constantly being attacked by greed, apathy and ignorance.

The blood test after he was removed from the source of exposure for a year and a half came out 2 microliters/deciliter. To me, since the blood no longer holds but perhaps 1/20th of the level still in the bones and brain (Alexander Gettler, 1924, New York Forensics Scientist that developed the measurement for lead poisoning, and found he could not delineate its level even two days after removal from acute toxic exposure with a blood analysis but the individual were still very sick. He found once the sick individuals died (26 of them) a few days later, and he examined the bones and brain tissue, their bones and brain tissue were saturated with lead. he also noticed horizontal lines in the x-ray images of their bones.)

I imagine as a doctor practicing in New Your you are familiar with his 1924 discoveries, as New York was the State that discovered this problem before it was covered up in 1925 by our industry and politicians under XXXXXXX Colledge (sp?).

This is another reason I am interested In you. You are practicing in a caring hospital in perhaps the one state that has the best handle on the problem and your response appears knowledgeable and caring.

There fore can you help me get treatment for my son? I took President Obama's Small World Initiative Class last year in my search for a good doctor. Learned a lot about bacteria and what we are trying to fight in our hospitals but found no doctor to aid my search or help my son.

I have a degree in Education and I hope to get my phlebotomy certification so I can do lab studies and meet more people involved in solving the problem and be of help to other poorly diagnosed and treated individuals I see walking on our streets in a mentally lost state. Also as a past Federal Employee I want to continue to add my voice to the proper diagnosis of toxic exposures and the preparation of MSDS sheets and treatment for the toxins our people are suffering from and being passed over as unimportant people. I almost feel like this happened to my son because of my work and educational experience on environmental toxins and Codes of Federal Regulations has put me in a special
position to add my voice to help save our country and world from this greed and apathy causing the problems of poorly diagnosed and treated toxic exposures.

Thank You for your kind reply and any useful help you can give me yourself or direct me towards that will crack this wall and lead to proper treatments and the best success possible. XXXXXXX Picariello