​DIAGNOSIS, STRUGGLES, HEALING

I began experiencing mild anxiety and panic attacks the middle of December 2021. I have always been an outgoing and social person, so to all-of-a-sudden have social anxiety was not like me. I was living my happiest life in Nashville, I had just started a great job, was in school to further my education in the nutrition field, and had a good group of friends. After New Years in January of 2022, my anxiety and panic attacks when from mild to severe. I would have multiple throughout the day at work- a job I was confident in and had the best co-workers- so nothing should have contributed to it in my work environment. My friend's and I's favorite things to do were try new restaurants or watch our friends play at local bars on Broadway or Midtown. Things I enjoyed doing slowly became miserable and I was incapable of following through with plans because of how severe my anxiety became. The girl who was down to road trip, make spontaneous plans, be the life of the party (not including alcohol all the time), and encourage others to live their funniest and happiest lives was rapidly slipping away from me. I thought maybe I was just home sick (something I've never really experienced since moving away from home to go to college 15 hours away and then to Nashville) and needed to spend time with family. So I drove down in February and ended up staying for about a month. My anxiety was the most severe during this time. I tried getting adjusted by my chiropractor in Nashville before I left, different probiotics, 5-HTP, MinTran, Ashwagandha, any supplement, vitamin, or herb you can think of to stop anxiety... I tried it. Nothing worked.

 

When I got to Naples, I saw my other chiropractor and went to get a muscle test done. What came up was adrenal fatigue which had made sense because I was working 40 hours a week, in grad school full time, trying to balance a social life, as well as living in a hectic city. There was still something telling me that this wasn't the full answer of why I'm feeling like this but I ignored those feelings, as I contributed those to just the intrusive thoughts I was struggling with. My 8 minute drive home turned into an hour and half as I had to pull over in a church parking lot because I was shaking so severely and couldn't breathe. Tears rolling down my face and all I remember in that moment was asking God to give me another day and help me find the answers, praying that I could get myself home safely because the last thing I wanted was to end up in the ER on a Benzo. I ordered B vitamins and the other adrenal support that my chiropractor suggested and stayed on those for a few weeks but saw no improvement. I finally went off of everything and decided that maybe I didn't need anything and to try and let my body reset itself.

 

Several months go by and I am still experiencing terribly anxiety that has taken away my joy and daily routines. Things as simple as going into the grocery for an avocado were impossible. Getting a coffee? Impossible. Even getting up out of my bed to get water in the kitchen would send me into a full panic attack. Dizzy, vertigo, tight chest, etc.

 

In August, I finally gave up the control of constantly trying to diagnose myself or try any new supplements. I fell on my knees to the Lord. Giving up control was the hardest thing for me to do but I did it because I couldn't do it anymore. I was struggling. Severely. Depression, suicidal thoughts, depersonalization, anxiety, panic attacks, vertigo, intrusive thoughts, emotional all the time, bursts of anger. So many symptoms consuming me that were not me. I am not an angry person. I am not suicidal. I am not depressed. So what was causing this? I didn't care to know anymore and gave it to God.

 

Within a week later, I came across Morley Robbins' work. One of my followers sent me an Instagram page and as I was looking through I saw her talk briefly on minerals and then Morley's name came up with the Root Cause Protocol. I looked into him more, watched his webinars, and joined their FaceBook group. This is where I learned about HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) testing. Something that, *you guessed it* conventional doctors don't typically do.

 

In October, I sent in my results and set up an appointment with a practitioner I found. From my results, I was copper toxic and had hypothyroidism. As soon as she told me that I broke down in tears (I was actually visiting a friend in Nashville when I got this call). I finally got answers as to why I have been struggling for nearly a year. All of my symptoms fell in line with copper toxicity or what we call copper dumping. For a few days I was kind of in shock to finally have answers that I was searching for, for so long. I immediately ordered all the supplements she recommended I take and changed my diet - some of you know I was doing carnivore which can cause copper toxicity along with vegan diets. Within weeks of being on the correct supplements, I was able to do normal things I once enjoyed with no anxiety. I felt like myself again. Something that I thought was gone forever. 

​

2022 was one of the worst years for my health of my life. My life was completely taken away by undiagnosed copper toxicity for 11 months. I silently suffered and lost so many friends because of a lack of understanding. Due to this, I began training under Dr. Rick Malter in November of 2022 to become certified in HTMA testing. I believe at least 90% of women are suffering from undiagnosed copper toxicity and I have devoted my time to hundreds of hours (fun fact: more than most medical schools teach, which is around 25 hours) in nutrition and mineral training to help as many people as I can so they don't have to go through what I did or suffer alone. 

​

Through proper HTMA testing and interpreting of the results (this test cannot be read at face value and you must use a trained professional to analyze your results), nutrition, supplements, and thorough coaching, one might find that balancing minerals can lead to a better, increased quality of life.