Hello. I'm new to the boards and have been posting questions on the Allergy board, with no response. I realized, after reading the questions and comments here on Environmental Disorders, that I might be mis-posting.

Like several others, I appear to be very sensitive to my apartment. We moved from a drafty 1890s era rental house due to concerns with regard to lead paint (our daughter was starting to crawl). Now we're in a place built in the 1990s. While our utility bills are significantly lower, I feel sick when I walk into the place. What's so screwed up is that this is the second, fairly-new place we've lived in the last 6 months and I had the same problem in the other place.

It goes like this:

1. I feel a slight burning sensation in my chest (almost like heartburn, but related to breathing)

2. My stomach begins to get bloated to the point of becoming uncomfortable

3. My lower abdomen into my groin area becomes bloated and painful

4. My lower back (and possibly kidneys) get sore. I’ve found that I am more susceptible to back injury when I’m feeling this pain.

Except for a few kind people at ALT.MED.ALLERGY, I have not been taken very seriously. As I am a life-long sufferer of allergies, I know my body and my reactions pretty well. I have not been able to find a physician that really listens to me about this issue. I am also far from wealthy, so experimenting with duct cleaning and professional carpet cleaning, without the assurance of addressing this issue, is problematic.

Can anybody recommend a strategy? I’ve tried to make some changes, but I cannot seem to improve my condition. Thanks.

bjlauder, here is a similar thread that might interest you on the same subject, in case you haven't come across it.

"SENSITIVE TO STUFF IN MY APARTMENT"

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=55342&highlight=apartment

I had been involved in another conversation with someone with very similar problems to yours, but I don't know if it was this forum or another one. I can't find the conversation.

Thanks. It seems kind of strange that this happens to people and that the medical community does not recognize MCS and other similar D/Os. I'm frustrated by my symptoms, by not knowing if it is allergies or something else and by the odd nature of my condition (I'm better off in my unfinished basement or outside), but I am furious that I cannot get a medical professional to fully admit that they don't know my condition and then appropriately refer me to someone who might. My allergist prescribed Prilosec! Am I getting acid reflux from the air in my apartment?

You asked about symptoms. I read that you had some trouble with your heart rate. I find myself waking up in a near panic in the middle of the night. Sometimes my chest hearts, but other times my heart is racing. A couple of times I felt like I was gagging; have you had any of this? The four major symptoms, not related to my sinus infections are:

-trouble breathing
-tight chest
-bloating and pain from the top of my stomach to my groin
-back pain

The symptoms occur in this order. Physicians seem to pick one of the symptoms and decide to treat it: heartburn, bronchitis, asthma, allergies… whatever. I also often explain past experiences I have had. I had to remove all plants from my bedroom. If they get the least bit of mold or mildew from watering, not to mention any kind of decay, I can’t breath when I sleep. I’ve had to clean my ductwork in the past when I realized that I could sleep only with the vents closed in my bedroom.

However, I have never had the stomach trouble or the immediate reaction to my dwelling space. Sorry for going on and on. On the positive side, I cannot wait to get to work in the morning!

Thanks. It seems kind of strange that this happens to people and that the medical community does not recognize MCS and other similar D/Os.

There are MCS doctors. MCS sufferers can also qualify for Social Security Disability.

I'm frustrated by my symptoms, by not knowing if it is allergies or something else and by the odd nature of my condition (I'm better off in my unfinished basement or outside), but I am furious that I cannot get a medical professional to fully admit that they don't know my condition and then appropriately refer me to someone who might.

Most doctors, just like any other profession, just do their job out of their professional manuals. Doctors only see their patients once in a long while, and only see a tiny microcosm of a patient's real symptoms, lifestyle and experiences. Each patient is different. Their immune system experiences are different. How a patient reacts to irritants is usually based and developed over many years. It is very complex. Each patient, like you, is like a chess game to a doctor.

A doctor could just take your case and almost spend full time trying to figure out how to cure you. Doctors really have almost impossible jobs. Then you have to figure in the factor that many doctors choose the wrong profession, and should have been mailmen or car mechanics instead.

In your case, the doctor scratches his head, looks your symptoms up in his job manual, finds something about acid reflux, and gives you a pill that he can understand. He can treat acid reflux. He just can't understand or treat the weird problems that we have!

My allergist prescribed Prilosec! Am I getting acid reflux from the air in my apartment?

Could be. Have you read about out-gassing? Paneling, carpets, furniture, etc. outgas stuff like formaldehyde.

You asked about symptoms. I read that you had some trouble with your heart rate. I find myself waking up in a near panic in the middle of the night. Sometimes my chest hearts, but other times my heart is racing. A couple of times I felt like I was gagging; have you had any of this?

You have nailed my main problems right on the head. I have a slight sensitivity to cotton. Usually this doesn't bother me. If I use 100% organic, pure cotton, and I lie under it, I will almost immediately get a little tightness in my chest and some problems breathing, my heart then will first start to skip a beat every once in a while, followed by a thud! Then, as time goes by, my heart will skip additional beats, and then get more erratic. If I fall asleep, I will wake up about 3am with my heart racing, thumping, skipping, jumping, and with me feeling totally exhausted, sweaty and weak. For the next day or two I will feel totally drained and ill.

Unfortunately, I experience these same problems at other times, for other reasons, so it just isn't limited to organic cotton, and when I go to sleep.

The four major symptoms, not related to my sinus infections are:

-trouble breathing
-tight chest
-bloating and pain from the top of my stomach to my groin
-back pain

The symptoms occur in this order.

I only get the top two, plus the feeling drained and fatigued.

Physicians seem to pick one of the symptoms and decide to treat it: heartburn, bronchitis, asthma, allergies… whatever. I also often explain past experiences I have had.

Explaining symptoms just falls on deaf ears. It isn't in their shop manuals. So, they wait until you say something that is in their shop manuals, like you have a sore big toe. They will look up sore big toe, see how much to charge your insurance, and then they smile because THEIR problems are solved.

I had to remove all plants from my bedroom. If they get the least bit of mold or mildew from watering, not to mention any kind of decay, I can’t breath when I sleep. I’ve had to clean my ductwork in the past when I realized that I could sleep only with the vents closed in my bedroom.

However, I have never had the stomach trouble or the immediate reaction to my dwelling space. Sorry for going on and on. On the positive side, I cannot wait to get to work in the morning!

There are so many problems with the air indoors, including mold, outgassing of furniture, paneling, insulation, rugs, etc. Add to that the dusts and chemicals used for cleaning and you really have a complicated mess.

Then....... there is the biggy! The outside air. You might be living in a place that has more pollutants and pollens in the air. There could be some plants or bushes or trees or flowers, in your neighborhood, that are spewing out their stuff, and making you react even worse.

I have similar problems to you. If I leave my home, and go outside on a low pollen/low pollution day, my blood pressure and my symptoms are diminished. On the other hand, if I go outside when the pollens and pollution are bad, my symptoms get worse.

So, as you, I realize that the environment where I live is not the best for my health.

I've got large air cleaners (cost about $50 each at auction) in each major room of my house, with two in this office, and two in my bedroom. I vacuum the filters often, and if there was smoke in the air, I will blow out the filters with a large fan that I own.

I also air my place out. I open all the windows for about 30 minutes, but not during rush hour, and not when the air pollution or pollen level is high. That seems to help. Otherwise, though, I keep my windows closed.

What am I doing right now to help stop these maddening symptoms and reactions? This note is too long. I will finish in the next note. I have made some major changes in my home to deal with my illness. I will cover those also in the next note.

Many similar symptoms, but worst was a swollen sinus headache. Always indoors, Allergist found no allergies - none. Going outdoors always relieved sysmptoms. I had occassions when I slept outdoors last year on the patio when the weather was nice, in the car otherwise

Then I found a bag of "the smells of Christmas" by Aromatique of Heber Springs Arkansas. Potpourri that my wife had placed under a living room table Christmas 2002 and forgotten. It had been there 9 months. I sufferred 9 months of misery. Getting rid of it got rid of the headaches but not the congestion. I had become sensative to many other odors because of the overload on my immune sysytem by the perfumed antagonist. Morning newspaper had to go. All of my wifes scented candles, etc - same. Gone! Snuggles fabric softener used on the bed linens was a major irritant and cause of my loss of sleep.. We have had the carpet and drapes cleaned professionally, upholstered furniture, too. CH/AC ducts were cleaned. bought electronic room filters. Open the house frequently when weather permits. I am getting better, slowly.

Some of perfumed soaps, house fresheners, etc can kill you. Be carefull with what you buy for your home.

Good luck

lhacker... that is really messed-up. What do you think was in that potpourri? The vent in my bedroom, several apartments ago, would drive me crazy. I would gag and my heart would race if it were left open. Some say finances cause the biggest trouble in relationships, but my spouse left that vent open a couple of times after vacuuming and I could always tell without looking. We’d have huge fights. She does not suffer from any sort of allergy or sensitivity and sometimes she forgets and my fuse is often short when I don’t feel well. I'm off of fragrances entirely. I'm thinking of having my sinuses removed!!! Seriously, I’m thinking of having the ductwork cleaned, but it’s expensive and I’m not sure it’ll help.

Beerzoids… you are always so helpful. I’d really like to hear about the changes you’ve made… as I’m in the process of making more changes myself. I think my big problem is that I’m inpatient and do not have the self-control to make changes one at a time. If I could be more scientific, maybe I’d figure out what my problem is. Do you know of a MCS doc in central PA?

Beerzoids… you are always so helpful.

I hope that something I said has helped.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you overweight? I believe I started having a lot more trouble when I entered the realm of being 30 pounds over my ideal weight. I have to admit, my ideal weight is too thin, but I could stand to lose 10 or 15 pounds. My doctor explained that there are complications for those with allergies and a weight problem.

I'm going to try to put some of your methods to use. Thanks again for the input.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you overweight?

I'm about 20 lbs overweight.

I believe I started having a lot more trouble when I entered the realm of being 30 pounds over my ideal weight. I have to admit, my ideal weight is too thin, but I could stand to lose 10 or 15 pounds. My doctor explained that there are complications for those with allergies and a weight problem.

Chicken or egg? Did your increase in weight cause the oversensitivities, or vice versa.

I'm going to try to put some of your methods to use. Thanks again for the input.

Let me know if anything helps.

I just got off of a calcium channel blocker (ccb) heart med. There has been a notable decrease in my heart rhythm problems. Some heart medicine side effects are worse than what they treat.

I still haven't tested the organic cotton sheets. Too chicken. They really made me very sick in the past.

bjlauder, well I just made several more changes to my environment and I think that I have finally made a significant discovery.

I recently got rid of some wooden storage cabinets and shelfing, both of which had a strong odor. That seemed to help a little. But, I was still having major heart problems.

After reading about problems with detergents, and that fabric softener was one of the worst chemicals to use in the home, we washed all my clothes, bedding, towels, socks, underware,etc. with baking soda, and used hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar in place of the softener. This has made a huge difference in my health. For two days, I have not experienced chest pains, a weak heart beat and a tight chest in the morning. I have more energy. I used to get extremely fatigued by just going grocery shopping. I was constantly getting palpitations.

It has only been two days, but the improvement has been remarkable so far. I think that the biggest benefit comes from not using chemicals on my towels. Wiping one's wet body with a towel containing chemicals is probably a potent way to get harmful chemicals quickly into the body.

I am hoping that, by keeping away from fabric softeners and detergents, that I will stop being so damn sensitive to so many other things. Time will tell.

bjlauder, well I just made several more changes to my environment and I think that I have finally made a significant discovery.

I recently got rid of some wooden storage cabinets and shelfing, both of which had a strong odor. That seemed to help a little. But, I was still having major heart problems.

After reading about problems with detergents, and that fabric softener was one of the worst chemicals to use in the home, we washed all my clothes, bedding, towels, socks, underware,etc. with baking soda, and used hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar in place of the softener. This has made a huge difference in my health. For two days, I have not experienced chest pains, a weak heart beat and a tight chest in the morning. I have more energy. I used to get extremely fatigued by just going grocery shopping. I was constantly getting palpitations.

It has only been two days, but the improvement has been remarkable so far. I think that the biggest benefit comes from not using chemicals on my towels. Wiping one's wet body with a towel containing chemicals is probably a potent way to get harmful chemicals quickly into the body.

I am hoping that, by keeping away from fabric softeners and detergents, that I will stop being so damn sensitive to so many other things. Time will tell.

Beerzoids-

I'm sorry I missed your post last month. I wish I could have your level of success.

In the past, I've been able to eliminate the “1” thing that was bugging me. Examples of this include the lovely plant my wife and I had in our bedroom. Got rid of it, I stopped gagging and coughing all night. Next rental, closed the vents in my bedroom (and then had the air ducts cleaned) and my heart stopped racing and my allergies decreased.

Unfortunately, this time I cannot find the offender(s). I spoke with a homeopath that explained that there is probably something wrong inside of me... why do I not have problems otherwise? I guess I’ll weather it through August and move!

Good luck to you sir!

-B

Beerzoids-
Unfortunately, this time I cannot find the offender(s). I spoke with a homeopath that explained that there is probably something wrong inside of me... why do I not have problems otherwise? I guess I’ll weather it through August and move!

Good luck to you sir!

-B

I don't understand this MCS disease. I've just made some dramatic improvements in my health by removing wooden cabinets from my home, and from not using detergents, mouthwash or fabric softeners.

But now my laptop computer makes me sick. If I use it, it makes my heart beat badly. If I continue to use it, it will cause my heart to beat badly for more than a day.

I am just beginning to feel better after two days of misery. I'm going to try and use vinyl gloves and see if that works, but I will wait a little while. I don't understand why this desktop doesn't bother me, but the laptop does. Could it be the laptop battery? I might remove it and try it again.

Could it be that I am going through some kind of chemical withdrawal? I've heard that it can take many months, or even years, once the body has gotten used to taking a medicine or drug. Could chemical withdrawal work the same way?

I'm sure that you have considered being sensitive to formaldehyde. It and other chemicals are in almost anything that is made, from rugs to furniture to materials, paneling, etc. It's everywhere.

Like several others, I appear to be very sensitive to my apartment. We moved from a drafty 1890s era rental house due to concerns with regard to lead paint (our daughter was starting to crawl).

What are your thoughts about being sensitive to the chemicals in the paint on the walls?

So far, I have heard of no one getting rid of MCS. No matter what anyone does, it seems that the only "cure" is avoidance.

Have you ever heard of someone getting rid of their MCS?

What are your thoughts about being sensitive to the chemicals in the paint on the walls?

So far, I have heard of no one getting rid of MCS. No matter what anyone does, it seems that the only "cure" is avoidance.

Have you ever heard of someone getting rid of their MCS?

I've heard "claims," but the procedure always seems odd. An example is when I posted a question regarding my condition on another board. I was immediately "told," in no uncertain terms, that I have LGS (leaky gut syndrome) and that I should do a liver flush. I looked up liver flush and there were many claims of successful reductions in MCS. I've also heard that acupuncture can address MCS. I'm too nervous to try the flush and acupuncture didn't do anything (overall, I hated it).

Here's how I feel today: some people are sensitive. Avoidance is the only way to control it. Looking for the historical cause is fruitless, as it does not help you in addressing your issue. Finally, expect that people will think your nuts. My wife and I will look at buying a home this summer. Either it will be a home that is old enough that it "breathes," or I will buy a couple $1000 dollars worth of "No VOC" paint and coat the entire interior!!!

Beerzoids, I appreciate your commiseration. I'd be pulling my hair out if I didn't know that others were going through it, too.