Re: To SHaron!

[Guest guest]

I know we have tried many different things...but keep trying until you find the

one that works for you. Don't give up.

Terry

>

> >Dearest Sharon,

> >

> >

> >This could be my story. One difference being for me that weeks the invasion I

had felt things crawling on my legs. I thought they were ants. We had gone

through an intense heat wave recently of temps up to 112 degrees outside; one of

the hottest heat waves I've been through in No. Cal. The ants and tiny baby

spiders were marching through my office sliding door in lines because the heat

was killing them. By a week or so later, an explosion happened in my house. The

whole house was infiltrated with something we could not see other than the tiny

spiders and a few ants, but we felt them. We were getting bit all over. We had

exterminators here too and signed a big contract for many sprayings and PCOs

found nothing. I called the County Vector, they found nothing except they did

say that we had rodent feces outside in the open space near the door that were

full of mites. My sister from Nebraska had come to visit so I had gone outside

to clean up debris of

>  leaves and twigs to tidy up. Did I track something in the house from muddy

shoes? I had also gone to help out at church by doing massive yard work hauling

buckets of debris to a truck. Did I get something like springtails on my

clothing while doing volunteer work? Also a friend had had birdmites so I

thought maybe I had gotten something from her. She and I got together once in a

while. And on top of that my husband and I had gone bird watching a few weeks

before that. I had dropped my wrap around neck scarf in the dirt (it was cold

that day) and I developed a day later an elongated 4 " rash on my neck that would

not go away from the scarf I had wrapped back around my neck. The rash migrated

from one side of the neck to around the neck in the back near the hairline.

Nothing would make it go away. There were so many possible scenarios that might

explain how I got an organism on me, into my house, etc. And on top of that, my

husband and I so stupidly had

>  not changed our air filter in our house for the last 11 years, not knowing

where it was (near tall 10' ceiling). For years I thought we just happen to have

a filterless central air furnace... the humidity in the house was unbearable,

and in the summer!!!! Up to 80% humidity in CA is practically unheard of IN A

HOUSE.

> >

> >

> >Those were some of the things that possibly led up to our infestation. But

from there, the story is like yours. The swarming on the body, getting the

medication Hydroxyzine helped me through this so that at least I could sleep. My

husband was infested too (another difference with you, but HE WAS infested as

badly as I was). I want you to know that eventually things do get better. My

brother and father-in-law paid for our treatment outside of our HMO to see our

LLMD. Thank goodness someone believed us and wanted to help us. We suffered

terribly. We got rid of all we had and lived out of zip lock bags that held

ironed clothing which I washed and steam pressed with my Singer steam press

every day, including all our sheets and all bedding. We slept on an airbed

upstairs on a bedframe from Ikea. Everything was sprayed and wiped down daily.

We had fly paper wrapped around the legs of the bed. I still sometimes had

swarming to feet and face, and did some very

>  bizarre things like sleep in painter's suits with duct tape around any

entrance. to sleep. It didn't work. Try to get out of it in the middle of the

night when nature calls... or it was so hot in the house I couldn't breath and

had to strip down outside to breath. Anyway, many trials and tribulations to my

story... I too wanted to burn my house down. We stopped going to church too. I

was so glad my daughter lived in Germany with the grandkids as we wanted no one

in our house. I wondered if neighbors had this too, but we said nothing to

anyone. When we had the trucks here to take furniture to the dump I did tell one

neighbor who lives quite a distance away, and she backed away as fast as she

could. We removed all carpets and rugs and replaced flooring downstairs with a

vinyl. The cement was coated with some type of thick glue to keep the vinyl

down. My husband took off the baseboards in the house downstairs and replaced

those, but not until we totally

>  sealed off the bottom of the drywall to the floor (there is usually a large

gap between drywall and floor which is covered up by baseboards) with a thick

sticky substance used for sealing out air) to keep anything from getting to us.

He did a great job on the baseboards because he used to do carpentry and

cabinets for a living.

> >

> >

> >I do buy the idea about the military testing. I'm sorry, I do. Something is

definitely going on. Two examples: my son and daughter-in-law came over on

Sunday for Mother's Day brunch. 1) In conversation I found out that my former

husband has scabies (I doubt that it is scabies... I think it is either

birdmites, springtails or this mysterious thing that most of us here have

experienced). He is so stubborn he won't ask for help (he is a very egotistical

sort of attorney). He has his law practice in his home, along with a whole slew

of dogs. He is my son's dad. 2) my daughter-in-law shared that her 60 year old

co-worker has springtails... she has had them for 2 years and still trying to

work while treating herself. She is afraid if her boss found out she has them

she will lose her job. She has all the SAME symptoms we have all had. I told my

daughter-in-law not to hug her or sit in her chair. This poor woman rents an

apt. Landlord has had PCOs come in with

>  no relief. She really needs to remove all carpeting. This co-worker woman

has CFS and Fibro. So they seem to like most of us who have immune problems

(pre-existing Lyme?). But we know that anyone can get these, even if healthy.

> >

> >

> >Anyway Sharon, my hopes are that these monsters start to recede for you and

you get a real handle on it (it took 10 months for any big differences to be

felt here)... I'm available if you ever want to talk. We finally did discover

the air filter problem and also bought a dehumidifier, ran it 24/7 for about a

year. Treated all drains, continued with all the usual like spraying, cleaning

everything constantly, no clutter anywhere, all plants tossed, we had no

animals, so one less problem there... things are 90% better, but I still get

sensations and occasional bites. So my problem is not 100%.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Post # 1 of the end of my horror

> >

> >This is an e-mail that I sent to two pastors at my church on May 9th- one

being a PHD of Psychology:

> >

> >Something happened to me at the end of February that has shaken me to my core

and I need help because of it. I have tried to journal it but will try to

summarize it here.

> >

> >I am an accountant and was in the midst of a very stressful tax season, along

with lots of stressful family situations.

> >

> >I woke up one morning with things crawling all over me. It felt like an army

of insects had come over the head of my bed and were swarming my body. I

couldn't see them and I couldn't bathe them off. From that point on there was

nowhere I could lay down in my house. I couldn't take a nap when I was exhausted

and that took it's toll emotionally.

> >

> >I called three different exterminators. The first two told me it sounded like

bird mites and wanted me to sign a contract so they could start extermination. I

resisted because I needed more information so I googled Bird Mites and found the

site BirdMites.org. There is a link to find an expert in the field. I applied.

The one who came out basically told me " it's all in your head " . At least that's

what I heard at the time. He used his 30x magnifier on " samples " I'd trapped but

couldn't see anything so he gave me an address to send the samples to the

Entomology Dept at the U of FL in Gainesville. I " trapped " some more from my

body on glue boards and sent them off. The results were that they saw nothing.

He also referred me to a woman in Winter Park whose whole family had been

suffering similarly. I called her but her case was quite different than mine.

The whole family was affected and they gave up, disposed of all their

belongings, sold their home and

>  moved.

> >

> >My husband has been working with the folks at DIY Pest Control in Oviedo,

where we have spent a fortune on different treatments. It seems like mites, all

kinds, are rampant and mostly untreatable. The curious thing is that my husband

is not bothered by them. The info on the internet says that frequently they will

pick a host, usually a female, and not bother anyone else in the household. In

fear, I have isolated myself from my family - the worst thing is from my

great-grandchildren who need me to care for them, often. I am in such fear of

infecting others that I have not been to church but once or twice in the first

days since this hit me. If I run to the store and see a friend who wants to hug

I get sick. I avoid anyone I know like the plague.

> >

> >I made it through tax season but I could barely work with things crawling on

me every moment. It was horrible trying to talk to a client professionally but

feeling like a crazy person feeling things crawling on my neck and face and

wondering if they could see them.

> >

> >Where did these mites come from? Did I pick them up from somebody? Did I

bring them in with something I bought? Are they from some animal or something in

the yard? They find me wherever I am. I moved from my bed to the sofa bed. I

slept outside in my van a few nights. I bought an air mattress that I moved from

room to room. We even stayed in a hotel for four nights. Each night their

presence on me was increased so much so that on the fourth night I laid in bed

feeling them going into my mouth, nose and ears and asking the Lord to just take

my life. Nothing kept them off me and I rarely got more than two hours sleep a

night. I cannot sleep in my bed which we have sprayed and wrapped in three

layers of painters plastic drop cloth and sealed with packing tape. There were

many occasions at night that I laid there feeling as if they were coming out of

my body because they were just " appearing " without having crawled to get

wherever they were. I have

>  considered suicide on more than one occasion. I began to believe someone had

put a curse on me.

> >

> >I have been to my primary care physician 2 times and felt like she didn't

believe me so I changed doctors. She did however give me 2 prescriptions.

Methylprednisone (for 6 days) and Hydroxyzine (to take at bedtime each night).

Can you imagine! The purpose of that medicine is to calm me down enough so that

I can sleep when things crawl on me!

> >The first appointment I can get with my new primary care is May 23rd.

> >I have been to a walk-in clinic twice. The doctor there seems more concerned

than anyone else I've been to. However, her treatments for Scabies brought no

relief. I guess if you don't know what it is treat for anything. She referred me

to a Dermatologist who travels worldwide on mission trips and has seen things we

don't see here in the US. I have not yet made an effort to see him.

> >I've been to a doctor outside my plan and paid $75 out of pocket to be told

to order some skin cream off the internet. I guess she thought my rough skin was

the cause. I've been bathing in Epsom Salts, Clorox, Lysol, 20 Mule Team Borax,

Dawn Dish Detergent and Arm & Hammer Washing Detergent. Many of these things

were recommended by a person at DIY Pest Control and some of the like sufferers

on a forum I found.

> >

> >I've been to two different acupuncturists a total of three times and have

some of the worst tasting concoctions anyone could ever imagine. One is treating

for parasites and the other says it's my circulation and nervous system. he gave

me some " relax " herbal pills.

> >

> >One Saturday morning, after many days of less than two hours sleep on any

night and taking several baths each day and using lice shampoo (sometmes 3x in

one day alone) to get them off my scalp, my husband took me to the ER at 5AM.

They gave me an IV with Ativan and I got about four hours sleep there. They gave

me a prescription for some over the counter allergy pills which I already had in

the cabinet.

> >

> >Let me add that prior to this I had no health issues and am on no meds. I

resist drugs and believe in the healthy way. To get relief from this I RAN to

the doctor(s), etc begging for help and swallowed everything they suggested and

more.

> >

> >My husband has been praying for me. Friends I have told have been praying for

me. And, I've been calling out to God, begging, pleading for help. April 21st I

put an anonymous prayer request on the church prayer request link.

> >

> >We paid for a week at the hotel but the fourth night was so horrible we

checked out and returned home. At this time suicide was first and foremost in my

mind. Knowing that we need more help than I've been able to get I called the

exterminator who came out at the beginning of this. He had news for me. He is a

Christian and told me that first and foremost I need to have my church praying

for me. So here I am. Then he told me he has been in this business for many

years, over thirty I believe, and his experience has been that if you can't see

something it isn't there. Then he added " there is always the possibility that

the government has created something to use in warfare, but as yet we don't know

that " . I didn't think that strange because in my search on the internet I had

already seen that as a theory. Then he told me of someone who had called him. A

retired police officer, swat team member. Intelligent, educated, sharp and

analytical. All the qualities

>  associated with someone in that field. His malady came on the same as mine,

in that it struck in one day. Just as for me, no treatment worked. He was so

stricken that he considered burning his house down. So have I. The end of that

story is that he had experienced an emotional breakdown and St Wort healed

him. Other than that, I have no information. I hope the exterminator will put us

together so I can get more info.

> >

> >St Wort is one of the things I didn't have on my counter so I ran to

Whole Foods and bought what appears to be the best St Wort on their shelf

and began taking it immediately. I don't doubt that I had an emotional breakdown

because of all the pressure on me at that time. It all makes sense now but I

rejected that theory until yesterday.

> >

> >I also went to Home Depot and bought wide double sided tape. I came home and

cleaned the top of my mattress, already wrapped in three layers of painter's

drop cloth and sealed with packing tape, vacuumed both the mattress and the air

mattress, sprayed them both down with Lysol and then made a border on both with

the very sticky double sided tape. I washed my pillow in Arm & Hammer laundry

soap and a little Ammonia. It was dry at 1:30 AM and everything was ready

Nothing was going to crawl on me that night! I went to bed crying because I

could no longer sleep in my nice fluffy bed with crisp sheets and a down

comforter. Now, my bed is a vinyl air mattress with no sheet and very sticky

double sided tape around it. I sleep covered with a Queen size flat sheet folded

in half crosswise and am always fearful that it will droop off the side and

allow the mites to crawl up that way. Last night there was no chance at all of

that happening because I was double

>  protected by the tape on the air mattress and the outside border of the

mattress on my bed.

> >

> >At 4:30 I woke up with things crawling all over me from the soles of my feet

to my scalp. I quickly jumped up and ran to get the black light the exterminator

had told me to use. Shining it in the dark will reveal anything that is there. I

checked the vinyl air mattress from top to bottom, I saw lots of white specks

but none of them were moving. I used a very big magnifier that I use for my

sewing and crafts to see better. Nothing moving. Then I took the light and

looked into my 10x mirror in my bathroom, at spots on my face, chest and body

that I felt the crawling. Nothing! Then I knew that the exterminator had to be

right. I can't tell you how much that calmed me, really calmed me. I went back

to bed and right to sleep and slept till 9AM when the phone woke me up.

> >

> >I know it's far from over and I need help to get over this and make sure it

never happens again. I feel that crawling all day and night and I have been

reluctant to call for help because I believed I was infested with mites and was

fearful of infecting people with whom I came in contact. I don't know what help

to ask for other than prayer. If there really is something then our home needs

to be anointed and prayed over. Since the first day only a little over two

months ago, this has cost us close to $3,000 in co-pays, out of network doctors

and meds, etc, every kind of herbal thing from Leaves & Roots you could ever

imagine, cleaning supplies I don't ordinarily use, pesticides and equipment and

on and on and on. And the work has been beyond exhausting. Spraying, scrubbing,

cleaning, steaming, washing every item that I touched even one time. I really

want my life back.

> >

> >Sharon

> >

> >I will post what followed tomorrow.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >------------------------------------

> >

> >