Re: Quick question, with long post on BG

[Guest guest]

, Please order a copy of Mold Warriors by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker. It

will tell you and your Dr. everything you need to know about a toxic illness

from exposure to mold. You can order his book from the office 410-957-1550,

Amazon.com OR I can probably get one for you and mail it to you. Just let me

know.

I was exposed to mold at my school and became very ill. The school had

numerous pathogenic & toxic molds & has not been properly remediated for me to

return. I have been a patient of Dr. Shoemaker's for almost 2 yrs. and am

feeling SO much better.

Sue

[Guest guest]

After I left my workplace where I became sick, I did become a bit

better. The first thing that I noticed is that my IBS attacks

vanished totally (BIG RELIEF), I no longer got rashes but still get

itchy some times, My candida oral yeast infection was cleared up

with Nystatin prescription. My lung infection has not cleared up yet

as we are still waiting for test results for x-rays of upper GI and

chest x-rays. After being off for a 1 & 1/2 months I had to go back

to that building to get my disability check and within two days I

had a raging sinus and chest filled up again, ached all over. Belly

became very tender and swollen. Possibly re-infected (had to wait in

that building for over an hour for check). Tender belly went away

after a week. I don't ache as much now but do have a few bad days

but not like before. I find my eyes do not itch like before but

still have some discharge from eyes. I do have a nasty cough that

seems to be getting worse now. Possibly due to lung re-infection

getting worse. Hope this helps .

Take care, SW

>

> Anyone willing to offer a quick comment or two on how much better

you felt

> in the first month away from irritating molds, assuming you've

been able to

> leave your major source(s) of mold behind?

>

>

>

> I know that people on this list have a variety of exposures to a

variety of

> organisms, and a wide range of sensitivities both in terms of

allergic-type

> reactions and reactions to toxins. So everyone's experience will be

> different. I'd just like to get some idea of the range of

responses possible

> during an initial gross decontamination period.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> That's the quick question. Here's the background to it, to read if

you have

> the time and inclination.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> I am in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have been ill with slow-onset

CFIDS for

> a decade. Finally made some modest progress with the illness 2000-

2001,

> using mostly Eastern approaches to medicine but a little Western

medicine

> too, then relapsed spring 2002 after a move to a townhouse with

some leaking

> windows. Realized over time that my increasingly fragile health,

increasing

> intolerance of Western treatments and decreasing benefits from

Eastern

> treatments all coincided with living in a leaky home. My body

became more

> problematic for both the Western and Eastern practitioners to work

with, I

> had some serious setbacks such as a nasty pneumonia, my number of

systemic

> infections started to once again climb, and I had systemic Candida

for the

> first time in 20 years.

>

>

>

> I started to pay attention to how I felt after rain or leaking

snow made its

> way into my home via windows and walls, especially once the

existing water

> paths were extended by some heavier rainfalls. Realized that water

leaks

> were indeed coinciding with some setbacks and symptom flares and

also

> realized that I was having increasing symptom spikes that I'd had

most of my

> life around friends' musty basements, molds in biology lab, spring

mold

> season (snow mold) and autumn mold season (leaf molds).

>

>

>

> I was living in a condominium townhouse, the water was leaking in

from the

> exterior and the exterior of the complex, of course, was the

responsibility

> of the condo association. The condo association had great

difficulties

> identifying and correcting various exterior problems. So…no point

to

> remediation and remodeling of the interior when the exterior

problems were

> not being corrected.

>

>

>

> Moving to a new home has been an exhausting ordeal. I am one week

in a

> lovely home I will rave about in a future post, thanks to a whole

bunch of

> people, at least one of whom is on this mailing list.

>

>

>

> I am currently recovering not only from all the usual effort to

spiff up and

> sell an existing home and find a decent dry home to renovate to

safer

> standards. I had a hard crash the first couple of days after the

actual

> move. Friends and family had to partly carry me to see my qigong

master,

> `cause major back and leg muscles went into serious seizure. My TCM

> practitioner simply said " Everything fall apart—EVERYTHING " and

left the

> detailed explanations for later follow-up treatments.

>

>

>

> I was walking under my own steam (albeit like a duck with

arthritis) by the

> time I saw my MD this week. He's willing to accept that living in

a leaky

> house may have exposed me to mold, which may have had an effect on

my health

> the last 3 ½ years. He hopes that simply being away from the

source of

> irritant will make a big difference in my health within a month,

much as he

> would hope that being away from a family pet one has become

allergic to

> would relieve a person's allergies. He knows my body's

mysteriously much

> more problematic than it was early 2002, so he doesn't hope to just

> introduce new treatments or re-introduce old treatments as if we

could turn

> back the clock nearly 4 years.

>

>

>

> But I'm remembering when I was a teenager, very sick with

> improperly-diagnosed multiple, severe food allergies. By the time

a good

> allergist put me on a super-strict elimination diet, my body was

traumatized

> by months of diarrhea and vomiting, dizziness with jerking eyes,

etc. It

> took several weeks of elimination diet to get me to a reasonable

plateau

> where we could start doing food challenges—not the DAYS that other

docs

> recommended, but WEEKS.

>

>

>

> I don't want to start any new Western treatments (for example, a

new form of

> immune system booster my doc's keen on) or retry any old

treatments (oral

> and IV chelation for arsenic and mercury were devastating to my

health)

> UNTIL I can regain a modicum of stability. I have no idea what

degree of

> stability and symptom relief I might regain in the first weeks of

simply

> being in a healthier environment.

>

>

>

> My doc seems to be assuming that a month in a leak-free home, with

washable

> floors and a decent furnace filter and maybe some washing of

possibly

> contaminated personal belongings will prove one way or another

whether mold

> was an issue for me at my old home. (He doesn't understand some of

the

> additional home modifications and decontamination procedures that

my mold

> experts have recommended and I didn't have time to go into much

detail this

> week.) My doc's also clearly hoping that the new place will prove

> immediately very helpful, to the point that we can soon

incorporate new and

> old ways to address multiple systemic and localized infections and

high

> levels of heavy metals. He's eager to once again have me try

treatments that

> have clearly helped so many other patients at the clinic

(including the wife

> of one of the docs).

>

>

>

> If simply being in a healthier environment is a PASSIVE way to

improve my

> health, I welcome it. But I wonder how long to simply " let the

clock run " in

> order to see how much a healthier home (along with my various

prescribed

> long-term qigong exercises and basic supplements) can boost me and

stabilize

> me.

>

>

>

> After 10 years, I am one very tired soldier in the war against

CFIDS, and

> wouldn't mind a slightly less aggressive phase of this " war " —for a

little

> while at least. Can I afford that, however badly I yearn for it? I

don't

> know.

>

>

>

> I've been knocked on my butt for weeks and weeks at a time with so

many

> treatments over the years (from antibiotics to antivirals to

immune system

> boosters to chelation formulas), and gone downhill for so long

(this last 4

> year period has really scared my family and friends and formal

health

> advisors) that I've kind of lost sight of what base level of

> physical-emotional-spiritual resources I need in order to get back

on the

> treadmill of Western treatments.

>

>

>

> My doc's been letting me coast with painpills and sleep meds and a

modest

> amount of supplements and saunas and lots of individualized qigong

home

> exercises during my 4-month effort to get moved to a healthier

home. My

> qigong master has seen me only on an emergency basis this calendar

year, due

> to budget constraints, but I am faithful in following my homework

program.

>

>

>

> So my more open-ended questions to you all are:

>

>

>

> Have you ever taken a break (or breaks) from the ongoing war to

improve your

> quality of life and allowed yourself a more passive phase of

restoration or

> at least a less aggressive form of body-and-environment

remediation?

>

>

>

> How do you get a little bit of R & R, when you're sick and tired of

being a

> good soldier? (Reasonable levels of self-care vs more vigilant and

more

> aggressive health strategy.)

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

I think the first main thing was you are out of the mold place. One

doctor once told me you can take all the medicine in the world, etc.

but as long as you are in the mold environment there isn't much that

will help. My mom just moved out of a moldy condo. It took her

about 6 weeks to move. I hope she will feel better soon. For me

getting out of the moldy place was a main thing but I had three moldy

places so I guess it is taking me longer to get better. I do not have

mold in my life anymore but I am left with the chemical asthma or

reactive airways disease. I have chronic yeast that I can't seem to

get ride of yet. Probably food allergies. I do have times when I am

doing good working around the house and we turn on the oven or I am

exposed to fragrance and I get muscle pain, twitchy, have lung or head

pain. I think my problem mainly starts at the sinuses. Then I either

get head pain, lung problems. After I get the congestion out of my

body I start to feel better.

[Guest guest]

,

It took me some time and treatment by Shoemaked to get rid of the major

symptoms.

What took me too long was identifying the sources of my exposure. Once we found

and

remedied the source of the exposure in our home, and symptoms presisted, I had

to start

looking at other places were I may be getting exposed. I found that it was just

about

everywhere that I went. I would get a mold hit at the local Walmart, grocery

store, friends

homes most importantly my biggest exposures were coming from my job! I was

working

for a long term care pharmacy, I am a nurse, and my job was to go to several

nursing

homes in land, Delaware and New Jersey. Even though I would not be in the

nursing

homes for an entire day, spending a hour or several hours did me in. Several of

the

building were terribly moldy and I was unaware of it. A few have since started

remediation.

I have been living without exposure for several months now, which means I stay

in the

house, go outside or go into a public building with a mask on only and for a

short time.

(Makes going to the dentist tough!) I have done the entire protocol that

Shoemaker treats

with and for the first time in 23 years I feel almost 100% normal. I will need

to continue

treatment forever as I have grown very sensitive with CNS symptoms at each

exposure, but

more importantly I will have to remain exposure free for life. To have a

healthy life I am

willing to do anything I have to.

Bobbie

>

> Anyone willing to offer a quick comment or two on how much better you felt

> in the first month away from irritating molds, assuming you've been able to

> leave your major source(s) of mold behind?

>

>

>

> I know that people on this list have a variety of exposures to a variety of

> organisms, and a wide range of sensitivities both in terms of allergic-type

> reactions and reactions to toxins. So everyone's experience will be

> different. I'd just like to get some idea of the range of responses possible

> during an initial gross decontamination period.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> That's the quick question. Here's the background to it, to read if you have

> the time and inclination.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> I am in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have been ill with slow-onset CFIDS for

> a decade. Finally made some modest progress with the illness 2000-2001,

> using mostly Eastern approaches to medicine but a little Western medicine

> too, then relapsed spring 2002 after a move to a townhouse with some leaking

> windows. Realized over time that my increasingly fragile health, increasing

> intolerance of Western treatments and decreasing benefits from Eastern

> treatments all coincided with living in a leaky home. My body became more

> problematic for both the Western and Eastern practitioners to work with, I

> had some serious setbacks such as a nasty pneumonia, my number of systemic

> infections started to once again climb, and I had systemic Candida for the

> first time in 20 years.

>

>

>

> I started to pay attention to how I felt after rain or leaking snow made its

> way into my home via windows and walls, especially once the existing water

> paths were extended by some heavier rainfalls. Realized that water leaks

> were indeed coinciding with some setbacks and symptom flares and also

> realized that I was having increasing symptom spikes that I'd had most of my

> life around friends' musty basements, molds in biology lab, spring mold

> season (snow mold) and autumn mold season (leaf molds).

>

>

>

> I was living in a condominium townhouse, the water was leaking in from the

> exterior and the exterior of the complex, of course, was the responsibility

> of the condo association. The condo association had great difficulties

> identifying and correcting various exterior problems. So…no point to

> remediation and remodeling of the interior when the exterior problems were

> not being corrected.

>

>

>

> Moving to a new home has been an exhausting ordeal. I am one week in a

> lovely home I will rave about in a future post, thanks to a whole bunch of

> people, at least one of whom is on this mailing list.

>

>

>

> I am currently recovering not only from all the usual effort to spiff up and

> sell an existing home and find a decent dry home to renovate to safer

> standards. I had a hard crash the first couple of days after the actual

> move. Friends and family had to partly carry me to see my qigong master,

> `cause major back and leg muscles went into serious seizure. My TCM

> practitioner simply said " Everything fall apart—EVERYTHING " and left the

> detailed explanations for later follow-up treatments.

>

>

>

> I was walking under my own steam (albeit like a duck with arthritis) by the

> time I saw my MD this week. He's willing to accept that living in a leaky

> house may have exposed me to mold, which may have had an effect on my health

> the last 3 ½ years. He hopes that simply being away from the source of

> irritant will make a big difference in my health within a month, much as he

> would hope that being away from a family pet one has become allergic to

> would relieve a person's allergies. He knows my body's mysteriously much

> more problematic than it was early 2002, so he doesn't hope to just

> introduce new treatments or re-introduce old treatments as if we could turn

> back the clock nearly 4 years.

>

>

>

> But I'm remembering when I was a teenager, very sick with

> improperly-diagnosed multiple, severe food allergies. By the time a good

> allergist put me on a super-strict elimination diet, my body was traumatized

> by months of diarrhea and vomiting, dizziness with jerking eyes, etc. It

> took several weeks of elimination diet to get me to a reasonable plateau

> where we could start doing food challenges—not the DAYS that other docs

> recommended, but WEEKS.

>

>

>

> I don't want to start any new Western treatments (for example, a new form of

> immune system booster my doc's keen on) or retry any old treatments (oral

> and IV chelation for arsenic and mercury were devastating to my health)

> UNTIL I can regain a modicum of stability. I have no idea what degree of

> stability and symptom relief I might regain in the first weeks of simply

> being in a healthier environment.

>

>

>

> My doc seems to be assuming that a month in a leak-free home, with washable

> floors and a decent furnace filter and maybe some washing of possibly

> contaminated personal belongings will prove one way or another whether mold

> was an issue for me at my old home. (He doesn't understand some of the

> additional home modifications and decontamination procedures that my mold

> experts have recommended and I didn't have time to go into much detail this

> week.) My doc's also clearly hoping that the new place will prove

> immediately very helpful, to the point that we can soon incorporate new and

> old ways to address multiple systemic and localized infections and high

> levels of heavy metals. He's eager to once again have me try treatments that

> have clearly helped so many other patients at the clinic (including the wife

> of one of the docs).

>

>

>

> If simply being in a healthier environment is a PASSIVE way to improve my

> health, I welcome it. But I wonder how long to simply " let the clock run " in

> order to see how much a healthier home (along with my various prescribed

> long-term qigong exercises and basic supplements) can boost me and stabilize

> me.

>

>

>

> After 10 years, I am one very tired soldier in the war against CFIDS, and

> wouldn't mind a slightly less aggressive phase of this " war " —for a little

> while at least. Can I afford that, however badly I yearn for it? I don't

> know.

>

>

>

> I've been knocked on my butt for weeks and weeks at a time with so many

> treatments over the years (from antibiotics to antivirals to immune system

> boosters to chelation formulas), and gone downhill for so long (this last 4

> year period has really scared my family and friends and formal health

> advisors) that I've kind of lost sight of what base level of

> physical-emotional-spiritual resources I need in order to get back on the

> treadmill of Western treatments.

>

>

>

> My doc's been letting me coast with painpills and sleep meds and a modest

> amount of supplements and saunas and lots of individualized qigong home

> exercises during my 4-month effort to get moved to a healthier home. My

> qigong master has seen me only on an emergency basis this calendar year, due

> to budget constraints, but I am faithful in following my homework program.

>

>

>

> So my more open-ended questions to you all are:

>

>

>

> Have you ever taken a break (or breaks) from the ongoing war to improve your

> quality of life and allowed yourself a more passive phase of restoration or

> at least a less aggressive form of body-and-environment remediation?

>

>

>

> How do you get a little bit of R & R, when you're sick and tired of being a

> good soldier? (Reasonable levels of self-care vs more vigilant and more

> aggressive health strategy.)

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>