: alternative to CSM?

[Guest guest]

I don't know whether they help with the mold toxins, but I'm a dreaded

genotype and I seem to collect every sort of toxin. I primarily use

these foot detox pads: http://www.healthmarvelsdetoxpatch.com/

I've not yet invested in an ionic foot bath and am just too lazy to go

to the local places regularly, so the foot pads, which I use daily are

a convenient approach. I don't think they're as effective as the foot

bath, so if you have one of those at home, I would do that rather than

the foot pads.

The FIR sauna is also on my wishlist - I do the poor man's sauna here

in Texas by cycling in the hot weather and I do know that since I moved

and have started cycling more regularly, I have days when I feel normal

again. But, my plan is to have one in the house by the time the

weather turns cold again (which will be November/December here in

Texas).

There are good recommendations for reasonably priced sources for all

three of these products on this website:

www.betterhealthguy.com

There's also a link to an interview that the author of that webpage did

with Dr. Shoemaker - the focus of the webpage is Lyme disease, but it

really addresses overall chronic health issues and he's got more info

on Shoemaker under his Mold link. Also that website has a link to the

company I used to analyze the foot pads, so I knew what toxins were

being pulled out. I would have been skeptical except I did them for

myself and two sons and we each had different results, with myself and

youngest son (also a dreaded/mold genotype) having many more toxins

than my oldest son whose a mold/low msh genotype.

Based on my personal experience, Dr. Shoemaker is well worth the

investment (overall I have spent far less with him and he has helped me

far more than many other doctors) as I could not find a local doctor

that would believe I was really sick (I think they just all thought I

was either a malingerer or just needed some anti-depressants). It

really seems absolutely insane, but I (and my two sons) travel from

Texas to see him and it's worth every penny.

Be well,

B.

--And of course, as KC reminded us yesterday, these are just my

personal experiences/opinions and not medical advice. I do make my

doctors aware of all the " wacky " alternative things that I think help.

>

> , do you think the FIR saunas or foot bath help with detoxing

mold,

> or just detoxing in general? I have an ionic foot bath and have been

> saving for a FIR sauna. If I end up seeing Dr. Shoemaker, that will

> wipe out my savings for the sauna.

>

> thanks,

> Beth

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks , I purchased a foot bath from Ionic Oasis from their Ebay

store. I got a pretty good deal and although it's not fancy, it seems

to work as well as the higher priced units.

By the way, what is the dreaded genotype?

Thanks,

Beth

[Guest guest]

A dreaded genotype is from Shoemaker's research where he looks at a

patient's HLA-DR (which is a standard labcorp test that tells you what

genes you have) to help assess whether their illness is mold related

(this is just one of the things he looks at, there are other criteria

including symptoms, VCS test, inflammatory factors and hormonal

imbalances). The HLA-DR test typically yields a triplet in the form

of a DR1, a DQ and a DRB3, DRB4 or DRB5. Some combos of DR1 and DQ

don't have a DRB3, DRB4, or DRB5. I have a DRB1 of 4, which is also

called a DR4. Then I have a DQ3 (subtype 1, also called DQ7) and a

DRB4 of 53, which often goes along with with the DR4. This combo is

referred to as 4-3-53, which Shoemaker's research shows is multi-

susceptible meaning that any sort of toxins (mold, Lyme,

dinoflagellates, etc.) will make us sick and we usually have a harder

time getting well.

I also have a mold genotype (you get two of these things) which is a 7-

2-52B (DRB1/DQ/DRB3) combo.

This combination means that I am likely more sensitive to mold than

someone who might just have one mold genotype and a low MSH genotype,

which is what my oldest son has and he was not as ill as my youngest,

who also has a dreaded/mold combo.

Shoemaker's research shows that 25% of the population has the genes

that pre-dispose to mold issues. I'm recalling it's about 3% that falls

into the dreaded category.

This research explains why not everyone is made as ill as some of us

from the exposure to the same sick building.

I hope this helps. The table for the genotypes can be found in

Appendix 5 of Mold Warriors. Some doctors have difficulty intrepreting

the test results, but there is a description of how to do so in

Appendix 6.

B.

>

> Thanks , I purchased a foot bath from Ionic Oasis from their Ebay

> store. I got a pretty good deal and although it's not fancy, it seems

> to work as well as the higher priced units.

>

> By the way, what is the dreaded genotype?

>

> Thanks,

> Beth

>