When The Data Proves Me Wrong…

Detox naturally, apheresis, cold plunge, sauna

When the Data Proves You Wrong: Gio’s Total Tox Glow-Up

One of my favorite things about medicine is when the body humbles me.

And by “favorite,” I mean slightly annoying, deeply educational, and usually delivered by my husband with a smug little grin.

This week, Gio got to say the words every spouse secretly loves to say:

“I told you so.”

And honestly?

He earned it.

We just got back his most recent Vibrant Total Tox results, and his numbers have come down significantly.

Not a little.

A lot.

And here is the part that makes this interesting:

He did not do the protocol the way I usually like people to do the protocol.

Because of course he didn’t.

Gio does not do well with itraconazole. It makes him feel awful. He consistently forgets nystatin. He refuses binders because he herxes hard on them. Charcoal, clay, aggressive antifungal strategies? His body says, “Absolutely not today, ma’am.”

So what did he do?

He leaned into what his body tolerates.

For him, that has been:

• Apheresis

• Sauna

• Stem cells

• Nervous system support

• Letting the body remove things in a way that does not completely flatten him

He told me he wanted to prove that a person could bring toxin numbers down with sauna and apheresis, without forcing binders and antifungals.

And annoyingly...

He was not wrong.

Gio’s Numbers Tell a Story

When Gio first tested, he had several concerning elevations.

His first Vibrant Total Tox panel showed high levels including:

• Diethyldithiophosphate (DEDTP): 1.22

• Diethylthiophosphate (DETP): 9.09

• Aflatoxin G1: 10.08

• Aflatoxin M1: 16.87

• Fumonisins B1: 15.04

• Gliotoxin: 418.39

Those are not tiny numbers.

Those are “your body is carrying a real toxic load” numbers.

On his current panel, after approximately eight apheresis procedures and multiple rounds of regenerative support, many of those markers dropped substantially.

A few examples:

• DETP: 9.09 to 5.52

• DEDTP: 1.22 to 0.19

• Aflatoxin M1: 16.87 to 5.85

• Fumonisins B1: 15.04 to 3.47

• Triclosan: 73.45 to 46.95

• PFDoA: 1.517/1.430 range down to 0.875

• Gliotoxin: previously 418.39 and no longer showing as a flagged high marker on this current summary

He is not perfectly “clean.” That is not the point.

He still has a few areas we need to watch, including DETP, thorium, several suboptimal environmental toxin markers, some PFAS markers, and a few mycotoxins lingering in the suboptimal range.

But the overall trend?

Significantly improved.

So What Does This Mean?

It means we have to stay humble.

In functional medicine, it is very easy to become protocol-heavy.

Mold patient?

Binders.

Antifungals.

Glutathione.

Sauna.

Drainage.

Repeat.

And yes, those tools can be incredibly helpful.

But Gio is a reminder that the best protocol is the one the patient can actually tolerate.

If a patient herxes so badly on binders that they cannot function, sleep, work, detox, move their bowels, or participate in life, then we have to ask an important question:

Are we helping them detox?

Or are we overwhelming the system?

For Gio, aggressive binders and antifungals were not the door in.

Apheresis and sauna were.

Apheresis: Why This Makes Sense

Apheresis is a blood-filtering therapy that allows us to remove and replace plasma or remove inflammatory and circulating components from the blood, depending on the technology used. We are still learning exactly which toxins and inflammatory mediators are most impacted by different apheresis approaches, and I do not want to overstate the data.

But we do have interesting human research showing that plasma-based removal strategies can reduce certain circulating toxins. For example, a randomized clinical trial in firefighters found that both plasma donation and blood donation lowered certain PFAS levels compared with observation alone, with plasma donation showing the larger effect for some markers. That does not prove apheresis removes every toxin, and it does not mean everyone needs it, but it does support why plasma-based toxin-reduction strategies are biologically interesting. (PubMed)

In Gio’s case, the real-world data matched the clinical picture.

He felt better doing what his body could tolerate.

And the labs moved.

The Other Side of the Story: My Results Went Up

Now let’s talk about my panel.

Because while Gio’s numbers made him look like the star student...

Mine decided to be dramatic.

My current panel showed increases in several areas, including:

• Deoxynivalenol (DON): 225.83, up from 20.24

• Diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS): 13.73, up from 2.28

• Ochratoxin A (OTA): 19.66, up from 2.00

• Palladium: 3.07, up from less than 0.1

• DEDTP: still high at 0.67, though slightly down from 0.70

• Atrazine mercapturate: still high at 0.06, though down from 0.14

A year ago, my panel was much quieter. I had a couple of highs like zearalenone and PFBA, along with several suboptimal markers, but this current jump is notable.

Do I think this means I suddenly became toxic overnight?

No.

I think this is most likely a mobilization story.

I have been doing a lot to move lymph, work on my lipedema tissue, prepare for upcoming surgeries, and get my body ready for the next chapter of healing.

And we know this about fat tissue:

It stores.

It protects.

It hides things.

Sometimes for years.

Some toxins are lipophilic, meaning they have an affinity for fat. Emerging research also suggests that certain mycotoxins can accumulate in adipose tissue and may remain there longer than in some other organs, making fat a potential secondary reservoir for chronic exposure. (PubMed)

So as I start moving that lippy tissue, mobilizing lymph, changing circulation, and preparing to remove inflamed tissue from my body...

It makes sense that some of those toxins may be coming out of storage.

I always joke that fat tissue saves toxins “for a rainy day.”

Apparently my body looked at my current protocol and said:

“Looks cloudy. Let’s release everything.”

Thanks, body.

Super fun.

Testing Does Not Always Mean “Worse”

This is important.

A urine toxin test is not always a simple “more toxic” or “less toxic” snapshot.

Sometimes higher urinary excretion can mean:

• You had a new exposure

• You are mobilizing stored toxins

• Detox pathways are finally opening

• Fat or lymphatic tissue is releasing stored burden

• The body is processing something that had been stuck

• You need more support before pushing harder

This is why context matters.

Symptoms matter.

Timeline matters.

Treatment history matters.

The same lab result can mean different things in different bodies.

Gio’s labs went down while he felt better.

That tells one story.

My labs went up while I am actively moving lymph and preparing for lipedema surgery.

That tells a different story.

Medicine is not paint-by-number.

It is pattern recognition.

The Biggest Lesson

Gio proved something really important:

You do not always need to force binders and antifungals to reduce toxin burden.

For some patients, binders are magic.

For others, they are misery.

For some patients, antifungals are necessary and life-changing.

For others, they provoke more inflammation than healing.

For some patients, the route in is gut work.

For others, it is sauna.

For others, it is apheresis.

For others, it is lymph, mitochondria, nervous system regulation, or opening drainage pathways before anything else.

The body will usually tell you what it can tolerate.

Our job is to listen.

What I Want Patients to Take Away

Please do not read this and think:

“Great, I do not need binders.”

That is not the message.

And please do not read this and think:

“Everyone needs apheresis.”

That is also not the message.

The message is:

There is not one right way to heal.

There is the way your body can tolerate.

There is the way your labs respond.

There is the way your symptoms shift.

There is the way we build enough resilience that detox does not feel like punishment.

Gio’s path and my path are different.

His body seems to like apheresis, sauna, and gentle steady removal.

My body is currently mobilizing from lymph and lipedema tissue, so my numbers may rise before they fall.

Both stories are valid.

Both stories teach us something.

This Is Why We Test

We test because guessing is not enough.

We test because symptoms do not always tell the whole story.

We test because the patient who looks like they are “not detoxing” may actually be moving mountains.

We test because the patient who is doing everything “right” may be mobilizing more than expected and need to slow down.

We test because every body is different.

And sometimes...

Your husband gets to prove you wrong.

Final Thoughts

I am proud of Gio.

Not just because his numbers improved.

But because he trusted his body.

He knew that binders and antifungals were not his path, at least not right now.

He found a strategy that worked for him.

And the labs backed him up.

That is real healing.

Not forcing.

Not suffering.

Not checking boxes because a protocol says so.

Real healing is when we match the treatment to the person.

At TLC, that is always the goal.

Because we are not treating lab values.

We are treating humans.

Beautiful, complicated, sensitive, stubborn, toxin-storing, sauna-loving, binder-hating humans.

And sometimes those humans prove us wrong in the best possible way.