By David Hong
It was late 2014 when the first signs of my mercury poisoning surfaced.
My family and I went on a holiday in Hokkaido, at the end of which I observed many new floaters at the top of my vision.
I didn’t pay heed to it until during a wake-boarding trip a few weeks later when a huge blanket of darkness came down quickly over my eyes .
I was rushed to Gleneagles Hospital where I had an emergency operation to save my left eye. I had a retinal detachment!
Fast forward to 2016, from May, I started to feel very unwell. I would go to a number of business meetings and social gatherings and left apologetically mid-way as I felt hands pressing on my head.
I also had a persistent cough, and on some nights, serious heart palpitations.
I quickly went for a thorough body check up. My brain, spine, blood and heart were all subjected to medical checks.
The doctors I met, who subsequently became my good friends because of my many visits to the hospital, thought I could have mental problems as all my test results turned out well. I was referred to a neurologist and a psychiatrist!
Urged by my wife, I took a toxins test as a last resort and went for a business trip to Japan before the test results were out.
It was really funny that during a sashimi lunch in Tokyo, I received a call from my doctor who told me stop eating fish and to return to Singapore asap ! He said I had mercury poisoning; the toxin test results showed a mercury concentration level of nearly 40 ug/L vs the normal of below 3 ug/L!
After I returned home, we figured out it was my many years of over-eating big fishes and my teeth amalgam that have together caused the mercury poisoning, giving rise to the serious symptoms over the prior two years, including my eye ailment in 2015.
I immediately went on a zero fish, high hydration diet and also on a daily brisk walk routine!
I went to a specialist to have my tooth amalgam properly removed. A specialist was required as any mistakes could lead to mercury going back into my body system and this time in an accelerated manner.
After six months, I managed to get rid of my mercury poisoning. I lost almost ten kg during that time, but had rebuilt my weight since then.
Looking back, I could have gone into a medical disaster if I had not discovered the cause of my condition in the nick of time. Acute mercury poisoning can lead to paralysis and even death.
It was also a tough period that I and my family went through. I realised that the best people and things in your life could be taken from you without any warning.
I am immensely grateful to my wife for her advice to go for the toxins test. I had since started to live my life more meaningfully!
By David Hong How Wai
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David Hong How Wai is Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Novalux Investment Management Pte. Ltd.
