What are the symptoms of mercury toxicity?

Hello doctor,

I have multiple questions. Recently, I might have been exposed to mercury vapor in a hotel room I was sleeping in for around 6-10 hours the room was small and the type of mercury was unknown. I remember the one type of chemichal was clear liquid watery substance and the other onces was more clay grey wich dissolved in water. I left the room around 6-10 hours later and did not touch anything but I might have breathed in the vapors in this small room. I also washed away the crystals that has landed on the carpet. All of these substances I have no clue about what was, except when I asked I was told mercury. 3.5 months later I got a pins and needles feeling in arms and feet wich has lasted a month, but no other symptoms until now I feel like I have some kind of internal vibration in my feet and my knees are shaking when I stand up like I am freezing or have done a hard workout from time to time. I went to the doctor in my area and told him about what had happend and showed him pictures of the various substances and I took a urine test and a blood test and this was made around 130 days after possible initial exsposure and the test came back at normal levels, but can it be that I had a toxic exsposure and the mercury has already settled in organs and therefore do not show in blood or urine I am not sure about the half life times in these metals or can I settle down and accept the test results are final and that mercury levels do indeed declear that I have not had an exsposure of toxic levels and that my symptoms might be of other cause?

2. If not number one is the cause then, a few months before that, I got an acute pins and needles feeling in hands and feet (paresthesia) which continued untill today and it increased over the one month before it stabilized a little, it went from pins and burning sensations different parts of the hands, and pins feeling in the legs. A few times I got shooting pain from a finger and up my arm but very rarely which has not returned. After alcohol consumption one weekend it went from stabilized to worse and I also noticed my knees shakes a little when I stand still but not when I am walking, the feeling can be compared to when you are freezing or after a hard workout on your feet. It started with a sensation under my feet like I was standing on a vibrating phone and then moved up to my calves which felt like they were bubbling inside and now my knees which shake when I stand, but the vibration under the feet is gone. My hands also one week felt like they was shocked and they turned red and stiff, the kind of feel like I put my hands down in hot water and then removed them, red spots on my hands underneath the skin appeared and the closest thing i found resembeling it was purpura when I looked up causes online, my hands are much better now but it still feels like some areas are "sunburnt" and my fingertips are peeling, but I think that is because of winter and dry weather (the red spots remains) I have taken multiple blood test for vitamins deficency and other things which turned out normal besides vitamin D which was a little to low and neurolgical test like standing on one foot with eyes closed and finger pointing and sensation test of sharp/cold/hot which all was normal. I am taking a MRI next month to check for MS and other conditions. Sorry for making this text so unclear and poorly written but I have no idea of what this might be. So doctor do you have any idea about what this can be?

Hi doctor,

Thank you.

It is a relief to hear that mercury intoxication might not be the cause even though I now read that in few cases there is a latent period before symptoms show up and that paresthesia is one of the first once to show up, I calm myself in that the test results show normal levels and I would belive that if a toxic exposure was indeed that at least the results would show an elevated level and not normal ones. I will take an MRI like you recommend and I hope I find the answers then. I also looked into vitamin D deficiency like I have and I see that there can be symptoms like this because of the deficiency I am also going to check for calcium levels to see if levels are normal or not , do you think hypocalcemia can be a possible cause for these symptoms if results show up to low?

Hi doctor,

Lately, my paresthesia has improved a bit, and I would say it has gone down from 100 % to 30 to 50 %. I have had brief episodes of low-voltage feeling going from my chest through my arms and episodes of my head feeling a little weird, which leads to a tingling sensation in my feet and in my lower arms. I guess the vitamin D deficiency is causing this.

Also, I have had a theory about what might cause this. Around ten years ago, I had maybe over 100 to 200 tick bites persistently throughout the year. I remember when I was on vacation, I had a tick full of blood crawling away from my skin, but there was no rash. So I never really gave it a second thought. And after ten days of swollen feet and one day, I had reluctant thoughts which were bothering me. But I just wiped it off and thought it was a possible sign of dehydration. I told the doctor, and he prescribed the tablet Apocilin 660 mg and suggested taking one tablet a day for ten days. And after four days, I did a blood test that came back negative. The next year I experienced dizziness and occasional visual disturbances. So I took an MRI, and the reports were normal. And I was diagnosed with BPPV, and my doctor told me that a few antibiotics take longer to cure it. I underwent a test once again, and it came back negative. Now years have passed, and this symptom of paresthesia shows up. I have read that Lyme disease can take months, possibly years, to show up and that 40 % can show false negative results. My question is, is there a slight possibility for me to have Lyme disease, which has been latent for many years and that now might have progressed to neuro Lyme disease? Also, I had numbness in my cheek five days ago, and I thought it might correlate, provided my previous history of tick bites.

Please give your suggestions.

Thanks again, doctor.

Hello doctor,

Thank you for your reply.

I have started taking vitamin D3 supplements of 400 IU daily, and I also underwent a blood test for Lyme disease, for which I am awaiting the results. Today at work, I had an event where I felt dizzy (nautical dizziness), had tinnitus in my ears and fasciculation in my nose, and had a general feeling of being unwell. In addition, paresthesia in my feet also got more noticeable. When I got home one hour later, I noticed a blueish rash underneath the skin on the right side of the nose and "stretch marks" kind of veins on the other side (similar to what you see in very old people). And I noticed red spots on the front of my nose. Later after a few hours, the tinnitus was less noticeable, and the fasciculation on the nose is gone, but the rash remains. I have also felt pressure on the sides and front of the head. I believe it is a tension headache or some issues arising due to my stiff neck and shoulders. I will attach a picture of the mark on my nose. Is this a sign of infection or some autoimmune disease?

Please help me.

Hello doctor,

Thank you for your reply.

I received my results for Lyme disease, and it was negative. My paresthesia has improved a lot, and for a few days, paresthesia on the left side of my body was entirely gone, but I still feel around 5% of it. But the right side of my arms and legs are still affected, maybe around 25 to 30 %. So I went out and drank heavily on the weekend because I thought I had recovered. Also, I took a little Cocaine and Amphetamines that night, which resulted in a severe burning sensation in my right calf, similar to the one I had one month ago, but it has now gone away. But the paresthesia is now back on the left side, and the severity has increased on both the arms and legs. I know I am responsible for this, and I have decided to abstain from alcohol and other substances from now on.

This event was similar to the one I experienced last year. I underwent a heavy metal hair test since I cannot really shake off the feeling of metal poisoning. So to clear my head of anxiety related to it I underwent the test. The MRI test I was supposed to take later was canceled because of COVID-19, and I am uncertain when I will be able to take it. I am thinking of taking a blood test to figure out vitamin B1, and B6 deficiencies. And I know my vitamin B9 and B12 levels are fine. So my question is, do you think I might be affected by some blood vessel disease or inflammation? Or do I have a thiamine deficiency? I know that vitamin B is depleted by the action of alcohol. Also, I have read that if a nerve is damaged, they grow an inch slowly in a month, and maybe that was the reason for my improvement in the last three months, but I know alcohol is a neurotoxin and might have damaged the nerves that were recovering. Do you have any suggestions or are you suspicious about something related to my condition?

Please give your sugestions.

Thanks again, doctor.