I was not sick and had not taken the vaccine when the arm pain started. During the early days of the pandemic, everything was online, which I think contributed to poor posture and pain related issues. I also developed TMJ during this time, so I think they were all interconnected. My TMJ, like my arm pain is much better, and is only worsened by excessive use (i.e. chewing hard food). Stress was a big factor for developing TMJ, however.

I did get my blood sugar markers tested during that time, and they were considered normal. I don’t have access to the test results anymore because they were done in another country.

I was not taking any supplementation (vitamin D, magnesium or otherwise) or medication during that time. I used to cycle on and off birth control pills (few months on, few months off), so there may be some overlap there.

A few months after my arm pain started, I did start taking a B complex supplementation (not sure if it had pyridoxine) for a few weeks. I do not remember noticing a significant difference.

My symptoms for my neck are consistent throughout the day, so not worse or better during the day or night.

My symptoms for my arms are dependent upon sleeping position (i.e. if I slept on my arm like today ) or if I overwork them.

I have not tested B12, B6, or heavy metals. I eat a variety animal meat  & seafood 1-2 times a day, and I do not have any mercury fillings. I have recently started filtering my drinking & cooking water, but it is possible that I do have some from before. Would you recommend a blood or urine test for heavy metal testing?

I do have cold hands & feet in the winter only even when I wear socks. I did a full thyroid panel, and everything seemed okay. You did comment that the Free T4 and T3 could be higher [The low body temperature no longer remains an issue. I realized the low temperature readings were due to how cold the room was, and keeping the thermometer in my mouth for a few additional minutes gave me a more accurate reading]

To invetigate this further, I am getting some blood work done next week. Right now, I have a CBC, CMP (including fasting glucose), iron, vitamin D, HbA1c, lipid panel, and hs-CRP ordered. 

I will see if I can add B12 (cobalamin, serum), and the others you suggested from the pregnancy planning post. Do you have additional recommendations? 

Thank you!

 I’ll look into it, thank you!

 It does, thank you!

Thank you  and !

I’ll start off by using a new thermometer and checking my CRP levels (since I’ve been wanting to measure it anyway) before I do any additional testing for nutrient deficiencies.

I was reviewing the videos from mineral balance, and I don’t think I have any deficiency (except Magnesium, but I do take supplements for it) from what I can tell based off of signs and symptoms

I had two follow up questions:
1) What CRP test would I do? My local lab has the following options: hs-CRP or just CRP. 

2) Since poor liver health can contribute to high rT3, I’m wondering if taking taurine will help. I recently got it, and plan on taking it starting this week for billiary tract congestion (based on the recommendation Bernadette provided on my Gut Health post). What dose should I take, how often, and should it be with or without food?

Thank you!

 Sorry, it was a typo. It was pg/mL. I’ve attached a copy of the results with the reference ranges as well
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 It’s a under the tongue digital thermometer. I do try to take 2-3 readings in the morning to make sure they are accurate. I have noticed that my second or third reading sometimes is higher. However, the ranges that I provided take those second and third readings into consideration.

Thank you for your response, !

The questions I had were:
1.  Should I continue the dietary guidelines from step 1 as well throughout the entire process?
2. Does my fat intake need to be adjusted?
3. In one of the gut health masterclass videos, you mentioned that cabbage juice is anti parasitic. I was thinking of including it soon too. What do you think of that?
4. The hyperlinks take me to FullScript Recommendations, but it doesn’t show me which brand you recommend. The Swanson. Jarrow Formulas, and Integrative Therapuetics, and other brands on Amazon use gelatin, which I cannot consume. Are there any alternatives? Would artichoke extract/artichoke leaves provide similar benefits?
5. For the parasite cleanse, would it be possible to use GI Detox or Ultra Binder instead of the Biotoxin Binder? I’d prefer ordering from FullScript than CellCore because it would be more cost effective. What would be a good replacement for Para 1?

Thanks once again for all your help! I’ll post the parasite images in the next comment

Hi . I’ve completed the first step which I have outlined above (the only difference is that I was unable to incorporate broccolli sprouts or cabbage juice, Mg stayed 2-3x/week, and avoided cheese because it causes digestive symptoms). I had to restart again, but now it has been 30 days of adhering to it strictly. 

My gut health is better, but it is still not as good as I’d like it to be. At the beginning, my bowel movements were pretty good (but only 1x/day, sometimes 2). On day 6, I broke out in a whole body skin rash followed by a fever the next day. When I had the fever, I just drank fluids, took some vitamin A and D, and rested (still followed the diet though). I did take an antihistamine for the rashes since they were really itchy and prevented me from sleeping, but it did not work. The rashes are gone now, and I have no lingering symptoms, fortunately. However, I did not have a bowel movement the first day I had the rashes, and had diarrhea the next day when I had a fever. I had assumed it was my body’s way of expelling out whatever infection caused the rashes to begin with. It does not seem to be a food allergy/sensitivity since I was eating food I normally eat at home and I was aware of all the ingredients that were used. The only suspicion I have is that I did not cook my shrimp properly and it contained a pathogen. However, my husband ate it as well and did not experience any issues. 

Since then, I have been alternating between good bowel movements (type 3/4), not having any bowel movement in a day, which are followed by 2-3 bowel movements the next day which are usually type 4 for the first one and the next ones are type 5/6. 

I’m not 100% sure how to proceed. Do I continue with the first step until my bowel movements all become like type 3/4? Or should I move on to step 2 (replace, replenish and innoculate)? In regards to step 2:
• I have gotten a full thyroid panel and everything is in the healthy range (based on your course) and ruled that out as a possible cause of constipation. 
• I already eat a blood sugar friendly diet
• I am able to digest meat well, and I eat it for 2/3 of my daily meals, so I hope this means my stomach acid is good.  
• Probiotics: I eat yoghurt on a regular basis. I have homemade sauerkraut, fermented carrots, and dill pickles available to consume as well, but I have not eaten it the past month so I can adhere to the protocol more strictly. 
• Prebiotics: My diet includes 1-2 cups vegetables already. I was eating more before, but have decreased my consumption with less seasonal vegetables being available as the weather is becoming cooler. 
• Supporting GPS: Some of my type 6 stools have properties that indicate fat malabsoroption (lighter shade of brown, sticky/floating). I do not have any known history of issues with any of these organs. I do eat quite a bit of fat – 3 eggs in the morning cooked in butter, various grass fed red meat cuts or 85% lean ground beef, soaked nuts and seeds in homemade granola (eaten as a snack or for breakfast in yoghurt), and olive/avocado oil in homemade condiments 

I’ve also been confused on whether I should move on to step 3 – fight because I suspect parasites may be a concern given my house has mold issues. I also recently (on Day 27) noticed very small (1-3 cm long) worm like things in the toilet bowel. During my first bowel movement, it was white, and during my second bowel movement, it was striped (black and white). I can share pictures if you want and are comfortable (they don’t look gross because they’re so small lol). I also had a lot of nausea that day, and it did get better as the day went on (maybe from passing stool/parasites?)

Other relevant information:
• For reference, my bowel movements before starting the protocol were between Type 1 and Type 3, and had some days of no bowel movements. 
• I only take myo-inositol as a supplement (besides the occasional magnesium glycinate), and do not take any medications
• My sleep is pretty good, and my stress levels are low
• I do not snack usually. If I do, it’s once a day and usually a fruit or some hot cacao with collagen.
• I dont have any belching or acid reflux. I occasionally bloat, but it isn’t common or severe. 

Thank you for all your help!

Thanks for the explaination, ! I think it’s a low iodine diet at play, so it is smart to start with iodine supplementation given the symptoms + diet. Do you know how it would take to see any changes i.e. are they immediate (a few days) or take longer (a few weeks)? 

Thank you !

Thanks for the detailed response ! I am still unsure if supplementing with iodine *alone* is okay without taking Selenium supplementation if there is no autoimmune thyroid disease. I’m assuming it is given that 1100 mcg is the toxicity dose.  

What are the normal ranges from a functional perspective are for these lab tests?