08/28/2007: Anonymous : "Dear Ted, I am 32 years old and I have been living with my parents for the past six years, unable to work as a financial accountant due to my illness... My Symptoms: I was always a healthy person but since age 17 I began to have obsessive anxiety disorder (diagnosed as OCD by ALL the psychiatrists) and it was kept under control with Anafranil. But after five years' use it stopped working and everything came apart very rapidly from my 26 th year. I could no longer work, gym, listen to music or watch television or read a book - nothing. People talk about brain fog. I had almost NO brain function at all - just anxiety thoughts and pain. A total mental collapse. Here are my symptoms: BRAIN Anxiety, Bizarre obsessive thoughts, Paranoia, little perception, depressiveness, no pleasurable thoughts - all negative, No focus or concentration, impossible to start any task, nothing seems "real" and I am in a different world, severe brain fog, no cognitive function/ low ability to comprehend/learn. Can't "experience" or "feel" anything like music or a movie. Can't really think or experience at all. I can see and hear but Im not really "here". Burning sensation like acid in the brain. Pressure in the head. Always aware of "burning" and "pressure pain" but not like a headache. Difficulty in forming words or sentences and talking very unclear so that I have to repeat myself constantly. BODY Lethargy and tiredness - have to sleep A LOT. Burning type of pain over the whole body. Very weak muscles. No power or energy. Nerve problems. Pain in neck tendons and shoulders, Tremor/twitching of muscles with muscle exertion like doing a push up. Constantly feeling VERY sick all over, like having a strange flu or something but it doesn't go away. OTHER Constant ringing in the ears, "Pressure" feeling - physical, Teeth grinding while sleeping - jaw ache, Achy/irritation around eye area, Nasal congestion, Vision sometimes very blurred, Irritable Bowel Syndrome with chronic debilitating pain in lower large intestine/rectum, Spastic/Inflamed Colon (Colitis) with constipation. Kidney pain/tenderness. Hypothyroid. Weak liver. Pain under the arms. Back pain and in spinal cord. Hair loss, especially in the front. Note: There is always some good days and then bad days. Always up and down. Some symptoms come and go and come and go. I haven't felt healthy/just normal in years. Please Ted, my whole life has been robbed from me and I have seen over 50 doctors and specialists and natural doctors so far. Me and my parents have spent so much money on this strange illness that it is not even funny.

1. Does it look like metal poisoning and the resultant candida infection and maybe viral infection to you too? What would you recommend for a case such as mine? A few more specific questions.

2. Do I have to kill the candida with borax first before the metal removal or can I do it alongside?

3. I want to chelate metals with cilantro and oil pulling. Would that be ok or do I HAVE to add chlorella in order to get the metal out of the body (colon) as everybody says you must? I will be VERY VERY grateful if you could help me. Thank you for the opportunity to have written to you and ask for your help. Thanks again for helping mankind in their search for affordable health alternatives."

Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "The symptoms, while heavy metals is a suspect appears that you have the same condition as a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome induced heavy metals that I have witnessed here in Thailand, where mental fog and obsessive paranoia, and ringing of ears was completely cured or I may be having just a fantastic strings of luck here. LOL. The major remedies that have helped the person appears to be:

1. Magnesium 250 mg x 2 times a day.
2. Malic acid 1/2 teaspoon + Baking soda 1/2 teaspoon taken twice a day. In the early morning hours and late nights.
3. Vitamin B complex taken once every other day, where B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B8 are 100 mg each, while B12 are about 100 mcg.
4. Hydrogen peroxide 3% 3-6 drops PLUS 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda in one full glass of water taken in the late mornings (about 9.00 am.) This helps with the brain fog.
5. Absolutely no sugar
6. A drop of clove oil added to the drinking water might help detox the liver
7. Some chelation using cilantro using a reasonable amount such as a tablespoon twice a week.

Those should do it, but my emphasis appears to be getting urinary pH to 7, by varying dose of baking soda more in the malic acid+baking soda mixture necessary. If a pH meter is handy, the baking soda added should be generally closer to 8. When varying dose, I usually mean more frequency. Getting sufficient alkalinity while important can only be done practically speaking 5 days out of a week.

The magnesium and the vitamin B complex, especially the alkalinity of urinary pH of 7 should solve the ringing of the ear problem. It takes about 3 weeks to noticed a general improvement using that remedy. I might be noted that should a person suffering from this condition that vomiting can result in improvement in condition as a result of excess acidosis. The remedy takes a while for an improvement, but the one I witnessed here with all the lack of taking properly, forgetting, bad communications takes about a year for a general trend of improvement, while a complete improvement were seen on the second year.

If candida is there, the remedy which is helpful was avoiding sugar, getting urine pH to 7 (using a cheap pocket pH meter), and 1/4 teaspoon (men's dose) of borax in 1 liter of drinking water usually once or twice a week at least for mild cases.

A general alkalinity formula I would use, such as 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid plus 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 glass of water is also possible alternative to the malic acid, but malic acid removes aluminum. I have found that it was not only the mercury, but also the aluminum that comes from the vaccines and malic acid is an efficient chelator of aluminum. I would leave no stones unturned which might mean if thing's aren't working out, then I would consider adding 1/8 teaspoon of tannic acid in a liter of drinking water and finishing it off.

Tannic acid binds tightly to other metals such as free metal iron, cadmium, and especially mercury. I do take this myself from time to time because the water here are contaminated. Tannic acid added to drinking water for tests about 1/4 teaspoon in a liter of water if left overnight turns into almost opaque black water just to dramatically show that the metal thing is more widespread than we think."

"5-HTP is the direct precursor to serotonin
According to University of Mississippi researcher Ronald F. Bore, Ph.D., in his article: Serotonin: The Neurotransmitter for the 90's. Drug Topics. 1994, October 10:108., serotonin is "The Neurotransmitter of the 90's" Of the chemical neurotransmitter substances, "serotonin is perhaps the most implicated in the etiology or treatment of various disorders, particularly those of the central nervous system, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, stroke, obesity, pain, hypertension, vascular disorders, migraine, and nausea."

5HTP is often used in the place of SSRI drugs and L-Tryptophan in the treatment of more severe depression and for epilepsy.

As a result, 5HTP has many similar uses compared to L-Tryptophan, such as the assistance of sleep and alleviation of age related mental depression, as well as alcohol withdrawal, but its affects are concentrated in the brain (L-Tryptophan has other roles throughout the body).

Very high doses of 5HTP must be avoided, unless also taking carbidopa to avoid serotonin crossing into the bloodstream. Normal doses are 50mg to 100mg (200mg-maximum) daily.

Avoid use with other serotonin enhancing agents, such as L-Tryptophan or other serotonin enhancing drugs, such as SSRI drugs like Prozac, etc., without your physician's guidance."

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  09/16/2010: Dan from Hoboken, New Jersey: "Hey everyone, I am 29 years old and have had OCD since about 12 years old. I have been searching for a natural cure and recently came across cayenne pepper. I put about 1 teaspoon in a mug of hot water, and it actually noticeably eased the OCD. And I mean my mind free'd up for the first time in years. The OCD is still there, but it became more tolerable. I'm interested to see if this helps out other people who read this. Please post if you try this and it helps. I also drink a lot of green smoothies, that may have helped too."

12/29/2010: Sailor from Waldorf, Maryland: "There is a link between OCD and Strep called PANDAS."

[QUESTION]  05/24/2010: Gean from Salina, Ks: "Hello, has anyone here had any experience with the over-the-counter supplements lithium orotate or lithium aspartate? This would be for OCD, or bipolar disorder, or anger, PTSD, etc. Thank you."

10/09/2009: Bee from Stl, Usa: "I have suffered from TTM for pretty much my whole life, and have struggled to get past the pattern of pulling and guilt and shame. Unfortunately, I have not found anyway to stop pulling; I pull my eyelashes and eyebrows until they are gone. I recently read that N-Acetylcysteine may help treat TTM and wonder if anyone has any experience with using this? I am considering trying it, looking up studies on pubmed as well. I would love to be able to have full eyebrows and eyelashes and not be embarrassed and ashamed. It's so hard to explain to people the compulsion to pull. Please if you know of anything that can help, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it!"

07/27/2011: Mommyof3 from Fairmont, Wv, Usa: "My daugther has been suffering with symptoms of OCD since she was about 11. She remembers a woman telling her once when she was leaving a public restroom without washing her hands that she was going to get sick. She tells me that she always worried about getting sick but that day it really struck her. She began washing her hands profusely. They at times crack and bleed. She is terrified of getting sick throwing up and direaha are the main things. If she thinks someone is sick she panics. She spends most of her time afraid. She has certain rituals she has to do or she feels something bad will happen. She gets thoughts that if she dresses nice she will get sick or if she does her make up she will get sick. She use to have terrible anxiety going out in public but she is better with that now through behaviour therapy I did myself with her and prayer. We need to find out how to treat this. I see so many things that I could use but I am overwhelmed. I need to know what to do where to start. Please help us. She can not even go to school as she is so afraid of the dirt and germs there. She carries hand sanitizer with her. Her favorite birthday presents are bottles of lysol wipes and hand sanitizer as she is afraid she will run out."