Mold Toxicity
Was doing some research on Symptoms of Lyme Disease the other night and ran into similar symptoms of Mold Toxcity. Does anyone know anything about it?
Thanks,
Sundance
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I know this isn't the topic of what you're writing about, but what are you taking for your narcolepsy?
Can you tell me more about your symptoms? I have a fairly small amount of mold in my house, and have two autoimmune diseases.
I find all of this interesting on the Mayo Clinic website. I just got off the phone with them and I’m desperate for someone to give me an actual diagnosis even though after getting my urine analysis back and doing the VCS vision test, reading up on mold toxicity I KNOW this is what has caused my chronic pain.
My husband wants validation and a real doctor to give me a diagnosis and plan and I just want to make myself and my mom healthy. She has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and she is 64. Ive never been more certain in my life that this is my issue after living in chronic pain DAILY 24/7 since 2013, my head feels like it is going to explode, I can’t think anymore, I’m short of breath, I have GI issues that are intolerable and down right desperate to be a human again before I feel neurological damage is done for good. I was praying my call with the Mayo Clinic today was going to be it. It’s not.
Any help, I’d take it. What blood test to ask my doctors for, etc. they all look at me like I’m crazy.
Hello @chronicpaingirl15, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. From what I've read, testing for mycotoxins in humans is a simple and usually noninvasive procedure. In most cases, only a urine sample is required. I'm wondering if this is the test you were given at Mayo Clinic. I'm not familiar with Mycotoxin testing but there is some information on the Mycotoxin tests National Institutes of Health website here:
Mycotoxin Detection in Human Samples from Patients Exposed to Environmental Molds
— https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2680627/
Mayo Clinic also has some information on mold allergy diagnosis and treatment that may be helpful
— https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351525
Also found some information from the on urine testing validity that may provide some information for you.
Notes from the Field: Use of Unvalidated Urine Mycotoxin Tests for the Clinical Diagnosis of Illness — United States, 2014 — https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6406a7.htm
Have you discussed if the doctor has any recommendations to help with your symptoms?
@johnbishop yes I’ve taken the urine test and it’s come back positive.
Besides myself, my mother is currently in the hospital and they won’t test her for anything I’ve begged and have tried to see if there is a blood test to ask for specifically to test her. Or how to ask to see if either of us have the HLA-DR gene. Both of our recent urine scans at the hospital had our leukocytes Estrace at 500.
All of her doctors, most of mine, and my husband all think I’m crazy about the mold.
My new psychiatrist and her team have put me on charcoal and Flagyl and I’m meeting with them on Friday to go over some other things that were screened for that is wrong with me.
My mother is being released from the hospital tomorrow and she supposedly has early onset dementia but I’m certain we both have mycotoxins have caused our pain and issues for possible decades. My mother has rapidly gone down hill in the past 3 years and is doing much better the last two weeks at the hospital.
I just find all of this mycotoxins interesting when I talked to the Mayo Clinic this morning and they said they don’t treat anyone for mold. I just want the BEST course of action to take, confirm for both my mom and I and to see if what is happening in my head isn’t going to last forever. I can hardly think straight and my head feels fried all day long.
@chronicpaingirl15, I'm not sure if this will help but it's the search results for mold toxicity on the OSHA website. It shows 400 or so links to documents dealing with mold toxicity.
https://search.osha.gov/search?affiliate=usdoloshapublicwebsite&query=mold+toxicity
At this point, I would seek the help of a Naturopath AND have my home inspected by specialists to see if I am being exposed to mold daily.
I’ve contacted many naturopaths and currently my primary doctor who is a MD and functional medicine then my psychiatrist and her team. Both have different approaches to how to treat which is infuriating.
I’ve reached out to some of the doctors on Shoemaker’s approved list on his website.
The one doctor I found that has great reviews wants $6-8k up front and my husband thinks it’s a scam. I just wanted a consult before I agree to thousands.
To have these reactions, you must have been or still are exposed to mold. I would spend some money to make sure it is not still present in my living space. I have discovered some in places I would never have thought of. I did live in an older home for 27 years and was exposed to mold every day without knowing it. I connected the dots when I moved out and some symptoms went away. Some are with me forever. I hope you find some answers.
@chronicpaingirl15 - If it were me, I would need to know the source of the mold toxicity and fix the problem at the source first. So it it was my living environment (house, etc..), I would want to have it examined or tested by an expert to determine if it's something that can be fixed or if I may need to move. The money up front seems to be another red flag if it were me making the decision.