Connect
It's Mold Illness, Stupid!
James Carville gets credit for coining the slogan "it's the economy, stupid" for Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign.
Well, for me, it turns out it isn't Long COVID, it is Mold Illness, Stupid!
My journey began in November 2021 when I had my first and last Moderna Booster. Within 2 weeks I couldn't exercise, think, and my fatigue was severe. Thus began my chasing of the Long COVID rabbit.
Figuratively speaking, saw every Doctor in the Charleston, SC area, visited Mayo Rochester, and had every test in the book, and of course all results showed I was a healthy 65 year old.
Never one to give up, I turned heavily to Dr. Google and Dr. YouTube late in 2024. I found Dr. Patterson and went through his regimen starting early 2025. Made some initial progress, but when Dr. Patterson saw that my test results (his proprietary blood test was the first in nearly 4 years showing that I had something wrong with me, yay! Seriously I was happy someone finally found something wrong) and my progress had stalled, he said "hmm, we should test you for Lyme and Mold Illness". Tested negative for Lyme and positive for Mold. Dr. Patterson hypothesizes that the vaccine reduced my immunity and allowed a lifetime of exposure to mold to do its dirty work and cause Mycotoxins to affect me. My body is full of Mycotoxins. Seems many of the symptoms of Lyme, Mold, and Long COVID cross over adding confusion for medical professionals. For me, Mycotoxins are causing my PEM, Brain Fog, Fatigue, and even an itchy scaly scalp that had my Dermatologist running in circles.
I am both grateful and angry. Grateful because Dr. Patterson found the murder weapon, but angry wondering why none of the dozens of medical professionals across nearly 4 years thought to test me for Mold.
I was waiting to write this post, because candidly I wasn't completely convinced I wasn't chasing yet another false hope. But, I am 1 month into what is allegedly a 6 month treatment regimen and I now feel better. Not as good as pre November 2021, but with hope that in a few more months that I will.
I found a local Doctor who treats Mold Illness and have listened to every single YouTube video produced by Dr. Andrew Campbell and am following a hybrid regimen of Doctor Weir and Dr. Campbell.
I hope this post helps some and wish you all the best.
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.
Connect
@arichards3 Thanks, you as well.
So far I've taken the urine test via Realtime Labs 3 months apart for the past year, while I tried to solve it with binders. Ultimately that didn't work, so after a long process I arrived at this method. I'll take the blood test as well, but that seems to be a point of contention, blood test vs urine test for mycotoxins. Nevertheless, hoping this works.
You mentioned you were feeling much better at 6 months, how is it going?
@mikesixtysix Yes, point of contention between urine and serum. I've done both and serum actually makes the most sense to me. If you have the antibodies in your blood, your body has been fighting mycotoxins. Dr. Andrew Campbell is adamant about that and he makes lots of sense to me. Campbell is also adamant that binders do not work. I feel pretty darn good. I do feel I have a bit of masking (GLP1 side effects clouding how I feel about mold illness) going on with GLP1, because GLP1 makes me feel a bit lousy some of the time. I can’t wait to be in weight maintenance mode and get a serum test that shows my antibodies on the wain.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@arichards3 plus i think the binders would interfere with the effectiveness of the antifungal since they both are working in the gut. it makes sense to try to lose fat when the toxins are hiding in there.
if you don't mind me asking how long did it take before you started to feel some improvement when you went on the campbell protocol?
@mikesixtysix I don't mind at all, happy to help others find their way to feeling human again. I started feeling lousy back in November 2021 so I have been journaling since then. All the classic LC symptoms, brain fog, PEM, fatigue. You've heard this before - all my testing was normal, but I kept self advocating and pressing. I tested positive for Mycotoxins late 2025, and that was after Dr. Bruce Patterson's LC treatment stalled and Dr. Patterson suggested Lyme and Mold testing. My first Itraconazole dose at 100mg twice per day was 5 December 2025. Warning - read up on Itraconazole interactions, there are quite a few things that will interfere with its effectiveness like magnesium. It took me about 6 weeks to start feeling better. For me I would notice feeling good in the morning which would wear off as the day progressed, but at 6 weeks I felt pretty good all day long. I started with a local medical professional, lost confidence and switched to a medical professional aligned with Dr. Campbell which has helped me immensely. So I started to feel better before the Campbell (his exact prescription which is Itraconazole, and, and, and) protocol but felt stalled. The gold standard is feeling better and I do. The acid test for me was when I could vigorously exercise and not need to go and nap for a couple of hours. By May I could hit the gym and feel good again. It had been over 5 years since I could do that. My naps are minimal and I can work around the house all day long. My labs (Mycotoxin Antibodies) don't show improvement yet, but I have confidence that they will.