How an HTMA test saved my life!

At one of the lowest points in my life, I was dying from a resistant fungal pneumonia. My copper levels were 30 times higher than normal. My medical doctors told me I had two months to live. I had a newborn baby and a body that was shutting down.

I was working in the medical field when I began experiencing what I thought—and what doctors believed—was asthma flaring up. I’d dealt with it on and off before, and with pregnancy hormones changing everything, we all assumed things would normalize after delivery.

We were wrong. Instead of getting better after birth, I became sicker. Much sicker. The antibiotics I’d taken during pregnancy—the ones we thought were helping—turned out to be the very ones the infection was resistant to. What we’d dismissed as pregnancy-related asthma was actually a life-threatening fungal pneumonia that was now winning.

I was so ill that my husband and I had to move in with my in-laws. I couldn’t care for my newborn daughter. I could barely care for myself. My in-laws watched her while my husband worked, and I fought just to survive each day.

One day, my husband came across a naturopathic doctor. He urged me to give her a try. She offered something I’d never heard of: Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA). When the results came in, I was put on a dietary protocol for my metabolic type along with a targeted supplement program. Four months later, the pneumonia could not be detected!

It took time but eventually I was able to take care of myself again. To take care of my baby. To actually play with her. HTMA saved my life, gave me back my role as a mother, and opened my eyes to a completely different way of understanding health.

Copper

Copper is essential in the right amount. It activates oxygen, supports the immune system, and plays a critical role in iron absorption, blood vessel integrity, and neurotransmitter regulation. But when it’s not bound properly in the body—when it goes “rogue”—it accumulates in the brain, liver, and reproductive organs.

This is copper toxicity: an overload of bio-unavailable copper that causes more harm than good. One of the root causes? Weak adrenal glands. When under chronic stress, the adrenals stop signaling the liver to produce ceruloplasmin, the protein that binds and manages copper. Without enough ceruloplasmin, copper floats freely in the body and begins to accumulate.

Worse yet, copper and iron work together. Low ceruloplasmin means not only is copper unbound, but iron isn’t absorbed well either—leading to the illusion of anemia. You might not have an iron problem. You might have a copper problem.

Why It’s So Common (and So Misunderstood)

Most practitioners never test for copper toxicity. And if they do? They run blood tests, which often miss it. Why? Because copper accumulates in tissue, not blood. By the time blood levels rise, toxicity is often extreme.

Here’s what contributes to copper buildup:

• Estrogen-based birth control and copper IUDs
• Copper pipes in drinking water
• Vegetarian/vegan diets
• Zinc deficiency
• Mold, stress, and adrenal exhaustion
• Poor liver and bile function
• Genetic transmission in utero

It’s no surprise that so many are silently struggling. And sadly, many are told they have “iron-deficiency anemia,” “depression,” “PMS,” or “adrenal fatigue”—without ever understanding copper’s role underneath.

Common Symptoms You Can’t Ignore

• Racing thoughts or obsessive thinking
• Depression, anxiety, or apathy
• Heightened PMS or emotional volatility
• Insomnia, paranoia, or mood swings
• Fatigue or burnout
• Recurrent yeast or fungal infections
• Low libido, infertility, or irregular cycles
• Weight gain or slowed metabolism
• Hair loss, brain fog, or poor immunity

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

How I Healed (and What I Learned)

The turning point for me was HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis). Through this tool, I saw exactly what bloodwork had missed. My copper was sky-high, calcium and magnesium off the chart (but biounavailable), and adrenal markers were tanked. Instead of guesswork, I had a roadmap.

But I didn’t heal overnight. Copper detox takes time. And if done too quickly (like taking high-dose zinc), symptoms can get worse—something called a “copper dump.”

Healing required a whole-body approach:

• Supporting my adrenals gently (not overstimulating them)
• Opening detox pathways with correct minerals
• Addressing trauma, stress, and emotional healing
• Adjusting lifestyle: diet, sleep, hydration, and more

Over time, I felt the shift. The thoughts quieted. I lost the weight I had gained from the copper problems. My energy returned. I could sleep again. I was able to show up as a wife and a human being again. Most importantly, I was finally able to hold my daughter, play with her, and be the mother I’d dreamed of being during those dark months when I could barely survive each day.