C4a and Tgf b1

Scgirl79 said...
Hello, I am new here. I have been sick for 4 years and trying to figure things out. My new doctor ran some tests and my C4a came back 11,195 and my Tgf b1 is 10,180. I don’t see my doctor for a few weeks and I’m so confused. She wanted me to take Welchol but I read the side effects are horrible. I feel rotten, and don’t want to feel any worse. Are these tests just for mold and Lyme, or can it be something else? I have a few vitamin deficiencies also, so she has me getting weekly b12 shots. Any help on this would be appreciated. I feel very lost in this, and it’s starting to get very depressing.

Welcome to the forum.

So did you have a test for Lyme?
And is your Dr lyme literate?

If you haven’t had a test for Lyme by a reputable lab - I recommend you do.
You can get a test for Lyme at Igenex Labs for $250.

Re: mold - we have a few knowledgeable members who can guide you.

Do not go on an anti-cholesterol drug. Geez these drs are ridiculous.

So both of those markers are indictative of CIRS. Lyme and mold can both cause this type of CIRS response. I think other infections can as well.

C4a is not specific, but I've seen it written in a few places that ultra high levels above 10,000 normally indicated mold, whereas moderately high levels like 4-5k can mean lyme. I think that's more a finger in the air generality than a hard and fast rule, as with everything in these diseases.

Here is a paper on c4a levels in neurolyme vs SLE vs muskuloskeletal lyme, can see the difference i was talking about. unfortunately doesnt mentino mold

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-3083.2008.02191.x

Walking By Faith posted this yesterday on CIRS, which i found helpful. https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/understanding_cirs_editv2a.pdf

But i would want to do lyme/co-infections testing as well as have a great plains labratory mycotoxins test. There are also certain autoimmune diseases that can cause a super high c4a. But what we can say for sure is that with a C4a that high you have significant inflammation.

Can you tell us your symptoms and your story, maybe that will help people give better input

Post Edited (dcd2103) : 4/21/2021 9:08:29 AM (GMT-6)

Hi and welcome!

Here’s a link to the CIRS labs, their ranges (according to Shoemaker, which in some cases is quite different than the lab’s ranges), and what the labs mean.
https://www.survivingmold.com/diagnosis/lab-tests

Failed VCS
C4a - 11,195
TGFB-1 - 10,180
Did have mold in home

These are very strong indicators of CIRS from exposure to mold/water damaged buildings. The Welchol is Shoemaker’s #2 choice for binding mold toxins. Cholestyramine is #1. Welchol, according to Shoemaker, is only about 25% as effective.

My mother took Welchol for a month and got 6 nosebleeds while on it. Never had a nosebleed before. I took Cholestyramine for only 11 days. I took too much too fast and had horrific symptom exacerbation. Switched to activated charcoal and Pectasol-C, which I took daily for about a year. Moved on to other binders - charcoal, chlorella, Zeobind, GI Detox, bentonite clay, Biotox, Metchem. I try to take 2-3 different ones and change it up every so often.

Step #1 is removal from exposure. What happened with the mold house? You still there? Remediation?

You were already sick before you landed in that house. You could have been exposed in the previous house or at work/school. Mold can be hidden. You could also have been sick from Lyme before the mold.

Did you get a Lyme Western blot? Any bands positive?

Have you ever at any time in your life had a known tick bite or bullseye rash?

I’m not surprised you have MTHFR. I never got tested for any of that, but I did get the HLA-DR genetic testing. I have a multi-susceptible gene for all biotoxins and the Lyme gene. I have a terrible time detoxing. TUDCA Plus from Microbe Formulas helped me with that more than anything else I have done, and I have done a lot.

Ask the doc if you can do natural binders instead of Welchol if you don’t want to take it.

Glad you found the right kind of doctor.

Post Edited (WalkingbyFaith) : 4/21/2021 7:02:45 PM (GMT-6)

Charcoal does work on some mycotoxins. Did you have a mycotoxin test done?

Is doctor in SC? What are her initials? I’m in GA.

Sounds like a strict doctor. I don’t do well with those. I don’t do well with any really.

The Southeast is full of mold. Not a good place to be if you have mold illness. Were you sick in CO? If not, can you go back there?

My doctor is a great doctor, I guess it’s just me being difficult because I don’t like medicine. Supplements I’m fine with but the medicine worries me. I have a young child that needs me and I feel if I get worse then he suffers too, but if I don’t take the medicine, I will get worse too. I’m going to talk with the nurse today and see if there are any other options, but from what I’ve read, it seems that the welchol IS the second option. I have been reading and researching so much and it’s all so confusing. The doctor has done hundreds of tests on me, I’m sure she did a mycotoxin test, I will have to try to find it. I’m also seeing that diet plays a huge role in this. I have a wheat allergy so I have been gluten free for almost a year now, I’m struggling with keeping weight on and need to find a better way of eating.

I became anemic in Colorado, and had b12 deficiencies, I have literally begged 27 doctors to test me for mold and Lyme over the past 4 1/2 years. I was tired all the time in Colorado (started a few months before I moved) it seems like being exposed to the mold activated something in my body, maybe the mold? We didn’t know we had mold in our house until my Doctor recommended an encapsulation in the crawl space, that’s when we found the issues. It was in the sub floor and it’s all been removed and replaced.

Hi SCGirl -

I have a fairly thorough amount of experience with most of the issues you have mentioned. My email address is in my profile. Feel free to email me directly - then phone calls are the most worthwhile, I've found. I'd be happy to tell you what I've learned over the years of dealing with this!