Why I Began to Use Chelation Therapy

As a physician I love practicing chelation therapy. But the road has not been easy.

Decades ago, when I was a medical student, I learned about the mechanism of chelation. (The name comes from the Latin cheles, which means claw. A molecule of a chelating agent acts like a chemical claw, grabbing on to a metal atom and holding on tightly.)

What we were taught at medical school was that it was only of significance in the case of metal poisoning. Desferrioxamine (Desferral) was used in the case of iron toxicity. Ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) was administered in the case of mercury or lead poisoning (plumbism). There was no hint that there could be any other possible uses in medicine.

Then I emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1970. I was working in a group family practice in Creston, BC and I became dissatisfied with the medical system. At the time, there was only one psychiatrist for the entire region and whenever I referred a patient to this psychiatrist, the diagnosis was always the same: catatonic schizophrenia! My colleagues in the community complained of the same thing, but tolerated it. I refused to accept the situation.

The Orthomolecular Connection

In the early winter of 1973 I spent several days with Dr Abram Hoffer, famous (or infamous depending on your viewpoint) for being one of the founders of orthomolecular psychiatry. I had known of Dr Hoffer and his colleague Dr Humphry Osmond through my father, who had been working with them on the administrative aspects of medicine since the 1950s.

Orthomolecular technique depends on treating human illnesses by providing optimum doses of substances which are normally present. This means problems of nutrition, diet, vitamins, trace minerals, other nutrients and various forms of sensitivities.

I tried the technique with patients suffering from schizophrenia and depression. It worked. By 1976 I had amassed enough statistics to want to report my results at a large, international meeting in Denver, Colorado.

It was at that meeting that I heard of the other uses of chelation therapy. Not only were there lectures about its value, but I had the chance to meet and speak with patients who had experienced the benefits of chelation.

The years went by and I learned more and more about the rationale of chelation therapy and its increasingly wide benefits that included the treatment of arteriosclerotic narrowing of coronary and other arteries, high blood pressure and the complications of diabetes.

I also learned that chelation therapy was becoming part of a more comprehensive, holistic approach to treatment including diet, vitamins, nutrient minerals and attention to other aspects of lifestyle. In other words, it was an aspect of orthomolecular medicine.

As a family doctor with orthomolecular medicine as an important part of my practice, I began to feel uncomfortable that I was not offering chelation therapy to my patients.

One thing held me back. It would take a considerable degree of re-organization of my office to do it, with the purchase of expensive equipment and supplies. But when I attended a conference on complementary medicine in Richmond, BC in November 1998, there was no going back for me I could no longer exclude chelation therapy from my practice. In July 1999 I began administering chelation therapy to those patients who asked for it. It had to be their decision. After giving nearly 300 chelation treatments, I find that almost everyone feels more energy. Many patients notice an odd discoloration of their urine, accompanied by a foul smell. I interpret this as the excretion of toxins in the body brought about by the activation of detoxifying enzyme systems. Kidney function improves as measured by testing blood creatinine levels. Blood pressures go down.

It's far too early for me to have seen the kind of benefits claimed by other, more experienced chelating doctors, but one thing is clear: chelation therapy is a vital part of medical practice but is still too full of potential pitfalls to be administered by anyone other than people with full scientific and medical training.

What is EDTA Chelation?

EDTA chelation therapy consists of intravenous injections of synthesized amino-carboxylic acid called ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA). When this solution is injected intravenously into the bloodstream it removes metals, including calcium, lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel and iron, which are components of the plaque that commonly clogs arteries. In addition to being a non-surgical alternative treatment for by-pass surgery and angioplasty, chelation is beneficial for a number of other medical problems.

Before a series of treatments is given, blood and urine tests should be taken to ensure there are no problems with the kidneys. Another extensive medical exam is also advisable. The chelation physician reviews and discusses this report with the patient, then recommends a series of treatments to take.

Provincial medicare plans pay for angioplasties and coronary artery by-pass operations, both of which are contested and unproven. Plans do not cover chelation therapy, which provide a vastly better quality of life for the heart patient at roughly one-tenth the cost.