Fabulous, exactly what I was interested in. Thanks for the details Marie, really appreciate it!!! :)

I've posted my situation with the calcium before but I thought I would repost it since it was relevant:

I realized the calcium was giving me severe joint pain a few months ago. I was on a large dose per my ARL test results 2x2x2. I could only manage to take my supplements twice a day (so I took a total of 4 paramin daily).

I started having knee pain in February but I thought it was from my shoes or the way I walked. Eventually the knee pain became so severe I was having a lot of trouble walking (even around the house). I started physical therapy, bought new shoes, taped my knees, wore knee braces, etc. Nothing helped.

Then the turning point... I ran out of paramin! While I waited a week for my new bottle of Paramin to come in, I realized my knee pain wasn't as severe.

A quick google search of "supplements that can cause knee pain" and calcium shows up. Funny thing is... I asked my practitioner about the knee pain - she just said it was copper and aluminum dumping. But unfortunately in my case, it appears to be calcification of the knees or something?

I also just started 99mg of potassium and I feel like between stopping the calcium and starting the potassium - my hypoglycemia seems a lot better.

I've also become more involved/interested in the methylation cycle. I've started TMG, methylcobalamin, and methylfolate/5-mthf. I feel like the methylation is also an important aspect of balancing your mineral levels that Dr. Wilson and ARL hardly cover. For example, I have the genetic mutation (MTHFR C677T) which prevents me from converting inactive vitamin Bs to their active form. So me taking all that Megapan was only somewhat helpful. Now I take all of my vitamins separately and avoid combined formulas.

http://mthfr.net/mthfr-c677t-mutation-basic-protocol/2012/02/24/


I'm still doing Nutritional Balancing in a sense, because I am trying to balance my mineral levels. But after the calcium incident (and my practitioner encouraging me to take copper supplements - when they clearly made my symptoms worse) I'm just not following Dr. Wilson and ARL's protocol anymore. I'm doing my own thing - according to what feels right to my body.

Hi Onwards,
Appreciate your response and families story. It is really ringing in my ears that I may need to make the switch too, since I am sort of going against ARL this past month having not taken calcium when they advise me too and if my retest shows higher than normal calcium, I still plan to listen to my gut and not take it... which makes me consider switching my approach at this upcoming mark to TEI, when I am sort of in belief more of their protocol. and what you mentioned above with the calcium is exactly what I was having with the calcium supplementation, even when i was out of the four lows, I was told to take 5 paramin a day and I dropped it down to 3 and was still having various heart related and hypoglycemia symptoms and a disconnection and now I have taken zero for the last month and seen a huge improcement, just like you are noticing! Makes me wonder if it would have eventually thrown me back into four lows if I continued to supplement with all of this paramin when I came out of four lows 2 months back.

The only thing I can't quite figure out now with TEI in relation to ARL and perhaps you can help me... I know with ARL people go through various detoxing of heavy metals and such while on NB, sometimes they can be unbearable and such but apparantely it is all part of the dumping protocol on ARL. Does TEI's approach detox heavy metals at all? Or is it more just getting the ratios to normal. I know TEI seems to be more gentle of an approach, but is that because it isn't getting into the deep underlying toxics and releasing those in the body and just working on a surface level? Or is TEI also releasing toxic metals?

And I guess with the whole toxic metals thing, I even wonder if toxic metals is the issue. I have been told I am copper toxic, which I believe I am due to the symptoms I have... but I think that I have some sort of virus or something that got me here in the first place after watching dr. tent's video verus it being mainly a toxic metal. I know people who have been on NB for 3 years with ARL and never released the toxic metals they have been told they are supposedly high in as they still haven't showed high on the test... so it makes me wonder if this is all that big of an issue in the big scheme of things?

Also, it seems that in the past when I had symptoms on the NB protocol I was told that it was all part of the detoxing of copper (which I am supposedly high in), but when I was placed on two different supplements last month that my body did not take too (hence why I am now completing hair retests with 1/2 inch of hair versus 1 1/2 inches bc I think my patterns had already changed), I was told that this was all a detox reaction, until I got to the point where I knew it wasn't switched practitioners and was told that I was actually supplementing with the wrong supplements most likely and that I should retest with 1/2 inch to see what has changed.... but, the point I am trying to get to is I now wonder before I got out of four lows, when I was having symptoms that were supposedly me dumping toxins, if it was actually in fact not a dump of toxins and more so needing to adjust my supplement protocol but being told differently. i.e. being told I needed to take 5 paramin a day when my calcium was above normal. and being told I needed to take zinc, when zinc on it's own lowers sodium and my sodium needed to be raised.

It doesn't seem that TEI focuses as much on the whole dumping toxic metals and such, and makes me wonder if that is even the issue or if the dumping toxic metals via ARL is actually symptoms of taking the wrong supplements? Just something I am curioud about, and is interesting that you noticed symptoms with your family via ARL, but how adjusting supplements has made such a big difference.

Just my overall thoughts and ponderings on the two. Overall, I have made progress and am thankful to be out of four lows and made a proactive approach to switch practitioners and also keeping my options open to switch to TEI altogether. I think as people have said in the past, it is really a balance of always going with your gut and not sticking with one thing forever if you don't think it is working for you. It has also helped me to try new things versus staying with the same person as it is good to get a different opinion and research has helped me too... I think perhaps the viruses and parasites play an even bigger impact in how we got here in the first place versus the toxic metals....

:)