My mold results came back - would appreciate some help.

Whoa!!! Is that Great Plains or a different lab? The format looks a little different than mine.

Those results are very concerning. Treatment for mold requires REMOVAL FROM EXPOSURE. Not screaming at you, but I want anyone reading this to understand that. A lot more folks seem to be getting mycotoxin urine tests now, apparently because more doctors are using them. HOWEVER, I don’t see many people posted their ERMI results with it or even talk about getting an ERMI.

Before I go off on ERMI, let me say that if you have known leaks, water damage, visible mold, musty smells that normal people can detect, then you don’t have to waste money on an ERMI to know if you are in current exposure.

I also get the sense that quite a few people assume (but don’t test their current environment) that the exposure occurred in a previous home or workplace. There’s a lot of mold that’s hidden. If you have positive mycotoxin tests, you really can’t afford to guess whether or not you are in current exposure.

Any place you spend a lot of time could be it - home, work, car (especially if you spend a lot of time in your car - OMG!!! Bells are ringing on this one for me!!)

The ERMI test is not used by many remediators, so there’s a risk of having to test their way later. Just know that air sample testing has serious limitations, even though it’s the standard that they go by. Air sample testing is NO SUBSTITUTE for a thorough, quality inspection by an experienced and well-trained mold inspector.

WARNING:
Do NOT let any inspector do exploratory demolition (cutting a hole in the wall) unless they evacuate all people and pets, set up proper containment, and completely patch the hole with more drywall before removing containment. A good inspector will not do that but will order a remediator to do that.

This scenario happened to someone I know. They put a hole in the wall without containing the area, left it open, and spread (invisible) contamination through the house. She had to sue the contractor, as she couldn’t live in, sell, or fix her house. Don’t let that happen to you.

Post Edited (WalkingbyFaith) : 4/9/2021 2:40:16 PM (GMT-6)

just by way of balance and in case you are freaking out

the way i understand the graphic ( we could do with the full explanation on that from the report before we draw any solid conclusions btw) is that the colours represent percentile groupings of total number of samples. this is a very common in blood and urine testing.

basically they test 1000 random samples - and then express each new result as where they are on a scale relative to those other sample values
in this case it looks like the red colours represent results which are higher than 50% of random samples - that does not seem too alarming to me

- even if we take your worst ( furthest into the red Zone result ) for GLIOTOXIN it looks to be higher than around 80% of samples - but again that doesn't seem to be sky high to me - in 1000 people 200 will have higher levels than you ....if we understand the graphic correctly

apart from understanding the graphic / reporting method of this particular lab ( which one was it by the way?)

there is the topic of susceptibility - most people in the population will not be affected adversely by even moderate to high levels of mycotoxins - but those with a specific impairment in processing of these toxins may be - this is a genetic impairment and is thought to be present in around 25% of the population ( possibly higher % of the chronically ill patient population )

there are others here who are more well versed in mold topics - but if it were me - before launching on 6montsh of mold based therapy and expensive building works i think i would want to know if i fell into that susceptible group.

genetic testing for this is available i believe. cost should be far less than building remediation.
just wanted to add my perspective as its easy to kneejerk react to test reports with big red results in them

I am going to chime in with my own experience. First I never could even imagine I would physically be where I am and the cause be what it was discovered to be after a Mycotoxin Urine Test.

I had been asked if my symptoms could be possible mold several times by members on this site, especially WBF. But I literally didn’t even consider it was until my LLMD appointment on Nov 1 2020 and had been treating Lyme and Co for 2 years and my main debilitating symptoms of slurred speech and difficulty walkin/coordination had not improved but worsened. He said it’s time to test for mold.

A month later a positive test similar to those results came back and I was relieved for a short second and then I had to figure out how I was exposed!

It had to be mainly home or work tested first and a long story short, it was my work a job of 10 years that I instantly recalled a flood in my office that took 3 months to fix. So it has been apparently that long I daily have been exposed. The test were in the severe level for 3 toxic molds.

I haven’t been there since and have Dr M R in Washington treating me and have a long road ahead. My speech and walking are part of damage to my cerrabellum in my brain causing ataxia.

Mold should be considered especially after treating over a year and still have symptoms that can mimic Lyme!

yep - I'm not saying it doesn't make many people ill - just that I'm not sure a moderately elevated urine test on its own is enough to give a clear indication of the cause.

again its not something i have researched in depth - but i thought there was a genetic marker or HLA class or something fairly well documented that could be used to determine if you are likely to be susceptible - again this may not be 100% - but you could at least start to put the pieces together and corroborate the story from several angles before making super expensive changes...
-do i have mycotoxins at elevated levels in my urine
-am i in the high risk group
-do i have exposure in my house/work/ car

saraeli said...
Rooting for you!

Thank you saraeli