Posted 6/20/2014 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
I lived in a house with black mold, did not discover till I moved out in 1995. So the toxins from the spores got on my stuff, like books and wool rugs. I still had all of those until a few years ago.
I got Lyme in 1998, but went undiagnosed and untreated for 10 years (now 16.5 years). Tests came back negative or indeterminate or just 1 or 2 bands, which my docs ignored. I was given lots of doxycycline because it helped my autoimmune. Also antivirals as I had a lot of reactivated viral infections. At 10 years, I got positive results from Igenex. Currently I would be CDC positive IgM, but was one band short at the time.
Finally, I realized that my brain-swelling-have-to-lie-down symptom was a reaction to stachybotris toxin. Then I realized that it had been in my office at work (I became disabled after Lyme). Before I got Lyme, I tolerated it. Afterward, I could not hold my head up in there after an hour, much less concentrate.
Mold toxins are very serious for some of us. I have SNP's on many detox pathways, some of which are specifically used to get rid of mold toxins. So, I wish it were so that detoxing could get rid of the mold toxins which seem to be stuck in my body, but it has not proved easy.
A big part of the issue is that the biotoxin produced by Lyme is similar in some way, I believe the shape of it. Or possibly they are both trichothecenes. (Sorry, still have brain issues!)
It was expensive and painful to do this, but I eventually got rid of everything from my old house. I moved into a house which had never had a water leak. I visited buildings with a person who knows how to recognize her own stachybotris toxin reactions and learned how to tell (for me, it's an intense dizziness in the center of my forehead that comes first, for her, it's suicidal thoughts).
Anyway, I had my house re-textured and painted inside. Carpet pulled up. Moved old papers to garage, sealed up old photos. Gave away clothes. Hardest was getting rid of books from my father and grandmother, but they made me so ill when I was putting them back on the newly painted shelves, I sent them to the dump!
Once I began to get rid of the constant exposure, I became much more aware of the toxins that were still around.
I still have active Lyme and it's still making toxins. But I'm very careful where I go and what I bring home. I avoid old buildings where I get symptoms, even friends' houses.
It's a lot to sacrifice, but there is plenty of evidence that mold toxins can kill. Some people can handle them. According to Dr. Richie Shoemaker, about 25% of the population have immune systems unable to recognize the toxins.
If you can, do a test of going camping with all new stuff. If you feel better, you will be motivated to make the changes.
Another thing that helps me is to wash my hair and shower and change clothes when I've been exposed. If it's a light exposure, I wash the exposed clothes in Borax. If I get a box in the mail, it goes in the garage until I feel it's safe. I now have a sort of 6th sense which I think is my body warning me that something is dangerous.
My life is much, much better when I avoid mold. Recently, I started on a clean diet, because food also has toxins in it. I can think better and remember better and I feel better. It's worth the adjustments.