Has anyone been diagnosed or tested for this? If so what were your symptoms.

In June this year I developed fatigue, brain fog, muscle pain, headache and other symptoms. I have not been able to find the reason for my illness. I am wondering if mold could have been responsible for my illness. The crawlspace in my house has always leaked and I have a sump pump. Normally it isn’t bad, but with all the water this year it has stayed constantly wet, (last year it was totally dry). It has stayed very cool here until mid-June and then the heat went right up into the 90’s. Is it possible these conditions produced some kind of mold outbreak that I reacted to? Any ideas would be appreciated.
I do have hypothyroidism and my doctor is attributing my symptoms to that.
(I am hiring a firm to seal the crawlspace and will hire a mold removal company).

My symptoms have mostly been related to gastro related, culminating in a seizure disorder. I recently had my apartment tested & the mold counts are through the roof.

My children and I had to evacuate our home due to concentrated levels of toxic mold found after testing almost a year ago. My kids and I both suffer from a variety of symptoms (including memory loss and in my case, extremely so) but have not been able to find a doctor that will say anything is wrong with us, let alone treat us. Please post if you have ever been treated for toxic mold, and if so, how?

How do you get your home teseted for mold? I need to get mine tested and I have no clue who I am supposed to call. please help. Thanks

leelee

I highly suspect that my son and I are suffering symptoms from toxic molds, mildews and fungus. We have both been sick for several years with similar symptoms, occurring around the same times every year.

I do know, for a fact that there was black mold on a wall in an apartment where we lived for 4 years. It had eaten right through the dry rot. There was also mold on everything in my closet after the basement (located on the other side) had flooded. (Landlord evicted me after I complained about this). It never occurred to me that, that is when our symptoms began and that we continue to have symptoms.

Where I live now - the lower level, where our kitchen, livingroom and laundry area is, has moisture problems when the humidity outside rises (we need to maintain relative temp/humidity and repair/control moisture problems).

Our symptoms are flu-like and arise 2-3 times a year (late Fall, Late Spring/Early summer and sometimes middle-late Summer). When we have symptoms - usually mine are worse and last longer. Almost always - I have had to go on antibiotics, and a few times my son has had to.

Sometimes my symtoms are so bad that I end up in the ER. After an overnight stay at the hosptital, one of my doctors decided that my illness should be looked into further and he ordered a CBC then referred me to a hematologist.

I have been diagnosed with low IgG2 and IgG4 subclass deficiency. I then had my son tested for this and he is fine.

But weird things like that I had probably a better than average immunity in my younger days. I only had a few colds, strep throat in 4th grade and my whole family would have the flu, even pnemonia and I would be perfectly fine.

I started getting infusions last July - and have been getting them every month since. I had an infusion in November and then 2 weeks later, both my son and I got sick as 'usual'!!!!

The only difference I noticed this time around is that I didn't have to go on antibiotics and the symptoms (month-long) wnet away on their own.

So this illness that my son and I get appears to have nothing to do with my lowered immunity (but in a few, you'll see that perhpas it does). And I have been fed up and want to get some answers and some help. I went to oncology/hemotology and told them that I was sick depsite the infusion...and reminded them that it's not only me who is getting sick here!!!

The PA thought our 'seasonal' illness may be allergy-related and suggested that we see and allergist. Both my son and I went to an allergist almost a decade ago and had a full spectrum of tests. Both of us reacted a little to pollen, and nothing else.

Then I decided that, maybe my son and I have something infectious? A virus maybe? So I took us both to see a infectious disease specialist and he didn't think it was anything like that. However, when I told him that my son and I ended up in the ER when we were on a trip out West (smae symptoms, ended up with a massive sinus infection - all four sinuses on the scan)...he said he wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that we have 'Valley Fever'. But Valley Fever is a fungus and it is found in the soils out West - we were already sick when we left on our trip and had been sick many times before. So this doctor said for us to come back and see him again when (and if) we get sick again.

In the meantime, last week anyway, I was sitting downstairs in the kitchen and happened to look at the wall where I have a eucalyptus wreath hanging. It was drooped and soiled from dryed out mold. I have had that thing for years and it has even been through some times here when I've had high humidity/mold.

That's when it occurred to me that, perhaps my son and I have had symptoms from toxic molds, etc! And, I've been able to well keep track of our symptoms and their onset. I also realized that I feel so much better when I spend less time downstairs...my son too.

Around the holidays, when we got sick again and as we have for the last several years - we spend a lot of time downstairs. This whole thing has been starting to fall into place and makes some sense.

It was hard to do online research for toxic mold because most of what I found were ad-based sites. But I did find a few articles and research that our experinces to a 'T'. Even my immune system problems could be a result of toxic mold. And even fungus and molds can lodge into the lungs and stay there! I really do believe that is why we never quite fill up to par and are always feeling like we are about to get sick. And then possibly, when the conditions arise (e.g., high humidity) we get the full-blown symptoms!

Both my son and I have poor concentration. My memory has gone downhill (especially short-term). We tire easily and both get out of breath easily. Our symptoms start off with an unusual sore throat that last 2-3 days. Our throats are extremely dry and feel more of like a burning pain. and it will only be a 'partial' sore throat. During this time we become very lethargic and will get dizzy spells. We also get an awful amount of phlegm. We'll have a slight fever on the 3rd-4th day that will last for a few days.

We both end up hoarse - but I'll end up with laryngitis for about a month or so. Sometimes our symptoms progress to an infection and we have to go on antibiotics.

Another reason I supsect toxic molds is, I read that the mycotoxins from mold can cause an immune suppressive effect! Well that would explain the mysterious IgG levels.toxic molds and the like would explain a lot of our symptoms.

I have an appointment (and later, my son) at the allergist again. That seems like the best place for us to get started (or ended) on this thing. While it is dry downstairs, I am doing a thorough cleaning (walls, everything). Then I am going to use the dehumidifier and a/c more regularly (or buy a hygrothermogragh). I also want to get a good air purifier. and I will just have to be more agressive about monitoring/cleaning, etc.

Sorry this is soooo long but I wanted to be thorough, share some info I have discovered along the way, and be able to share experiences. Pam

Pam that is toxic mold if I haven't seen it. I live in the basement of my parents house and every summer I have to air it out from the winters infestation of mold. Now I use a space heater and dehumidifyer to kill out the smell from the crappy unfinished part.

But recently now I've been sick for 6 weeks. Was healthy as horse from 6 till now. Starting to think that theres a form of mold growing in some part of the large room and not sleeping down here anymore I refuse too.

Extreme Fatigue.

Gradual Weight Loss.

Would get confused easily like I didnt know where I was.

Been having GI/Bowel problems too.

Hyperthyroidism/Diabeties/Hepatitis/Aids was rulled out from the first day I went into the emergency room. Blood test, urine test was done Full Body X-rays to see anything.

Getting a Abdominal Ultra Sound and Endo/Colonoscopy and Air lung Quality testing in 3 weeks. each test is 2 days apart oh lord help me lol.

But sure sounds like it. Infact gonna clean out the basement again and see for mold. I do remember mushrooms where growing through the bathroom floor from the dryer the hose busted 2 years ago.

Malbojia
If you are going to investigate for mold yourself....DO IT PROPERLY. Make sure you get yourself and R95 mask(sold in hardware stores) clothing you can throw out and glasses and gloves. I have just been through a mold nightmare and learned the hard way, so If I can give any advice.Please do this carefully! Mold toxin can do very nasty things with your CNS. Please be careful it can be absorbed through your skin, eyes anywhere. 500,000 mold spores fit on the head of a pin and it takes little to disturb them and cause them to go airborne.
Sorry don't mean to sound pushy....just be safe....L

Thanks for the concerns I got my painters dissposable suits and air mask's with plenty of spare filters. I didnt do it yet this requires me to move stuff around to look at and I'm not that strong anymore to move around furniture and appliances lol.

But thanks for the heads up.

believe it or not avon sells a kit in which you can find out weather or not you have toxic mold in your home. They just came out with it and I bought it to find out if I have it in my home as well

believe it or not avon sells a kit in which you can find out weather or not you have toxic mold in your home. They just came out with it and I bought it to find out if I have it in my home as well
Can you tell me what this kit is called? I looked around avon but couldnt find it. I would love to order it as well.
leelee

browneyedsusan

I would so love to talk to you. We purchased a house in October of 2004 which we discovered mold in the basement. I was so upset I tore out the mold infested drywall and insulation with no protection. Soon after I had a tightness in my chest. By December I was no better. and went to Doc. He said I had allergies take Allegra. The Allegra has not helped. I feel as though I can not take a full breath. Within the last two weeks I have been experiencing cronic muscular pain. I feel like an 80 year old woman. This is from a woman that had all 4 of her children natural. I feel sure it is related. I am scaired and would love to know what you have found out. I have changed Doctors to someone who I go to church with and I know will take me seriously. I agree with you WEAR A MASK!
I would like to know more of your story. I have Dr. apt. March 14th.
Thanks! Mpriestley

You should check out the book Intelligent Medicine by Dr. Ronald Hoffman. He has a page or so about a family he was treating for mold poisoning. They were suffering headaches, nausea, and were spacey and lacked concentration.

Hello Priestly~
I am sorry to hear about your situation. I understand how you feel. First thing, Do you know what kind of mold you were dealing with? If not, can you describe to me what it looked like? color, texture, wet looking, location and anything else you can think of. Second, Do you have a compromised immune system? Chemotherapy, Prednisone use, HIV etc? Don't let any doctor tell you this is not happening. Some molds let off a toxin that can do some really strange things to the body. If you immune system is healthy then you don't have to worry about it causing any diseases like Aspergilliosis(which can affect the lungs, brain, any organ). My daughter and I got a huge dose of toxin mold spores. We opened a box of books and pictures that my Nana had stored away over 20 yrs. They were all moldy (inactive(not growing) as they were dry, but very dusty and covered everything). We sorted through that box and let mold spores fly all over!! We were told it was like opening King Tuts tomb! Anyway..within 48 hours we started with some pretty scary wierd symptoms...deep burning in the skin, twitching all over our bodies, our veins hurt in our arms, deep aching pain in thighs and arms, joint pain in fingers and wrists, tremors in different areas of our body etc. Well it did not click right away it was from the mold. It actually took us almost a month to figure out what was going on. The doctors ran blood work, and other tests and nothing. Then Kera (my daughter) grabbed a piece of fruit out of the basket and I said "Throw that away , it has mold on it" and she laughed saying "Your worried about that little bit after that box of mold!" Well needless to say a lightbulb went off in my head and the educating began. Where I live, traditional doctors only acknowledge mold causing allergy symptoms not neurological. I hired a company to come in and do air quality testing in that area and they found 3 strains at high concentrations.All were possible of being neurotoxins and some used for biological warfare!!!! By now 2.5 months had passed since the intial exposure and some symptoms had died down while others had shown up. We both had problems with word recall, I would use a word in a sentence that started with the same letter but had nothing to do with the word, for example I would want to say "problem" and pretty or another pr word would pop out. This happened quite a few times a day. Kera, was trying to say One hundred and twelve(112) in math, and not matter how hard she tried she would come out with one one two, or eleven two. It was so strange and scary. Anyway I could go on for months as you can tell. Be persistant. We had to figure out what to do on our own as we live in Rural Ontario and doctors just were not understanding what was happening to us. We did start a natural cleanse of very healthy food and supplements and it has taken us from feeling 20% up to 85% most days. If you would like to know more about them , let me know. Don't think you are exaggerating your symptoms. Answer the questions about hte type of mold and I will try to help you out!!....Take care......Lesley

Hello Priestly~
I am sorry to hear about your situation. I understand how you feel. First thing, Do you know what kind of mold you were dealing with? If not, can you describe to me what it looked like? color, texture, wet looking, location and anything else you can think of. Second, Do you have a compromised immune system? Chemotherapy, Prednisone use, HIV etc?
Hi I hope you dont mind me responding to your post but I really need help. OK, I moved to Illinois about two years ago, This house I moved in to had mold in the basement. I'm not sure what kind though. Acouple months after moving, My face started to hurt, like I got punched. Then my ears started to itch like crazy, so bad I wanted to cry. Well I moved out of that house and into another house in Illinois thinking I would feel better. WRONG! I feel worse. My ears hurt so bad and their so itchy, their really scaley inside. Plus I am dizzy all the time now. I get really spacey sometimes. The docter said I have fluid in my ears and told me to take an antihistimine. I tried but it dosent really work. I know there is mold in this basement. It is on the corner, looks wet and some brown, but mostly black. I also devoloped IBS since living here. I never really had any health or immune problems. I never had allergies either. untill I moved here. I forgot to mention, I also have post nasel drip. I am moving out of state very soon I just dont know how much more I can take. I hate being dizzy! I have been like this for a year now. sometimes it feels like something in my ear is stabbing me. Does this sound like mold to you? I appriciate any comments
leelee :wave:

Hi Leelee
From personal experience I can tell you , as you read above that mold can do wierd things. Ask your doctor to humour you and give you some antifungal drops for your ears. Tell him that you have mold in your basement!!! Wearing a mask (N95) from the hardware store. Take a piece of scotch tape stick it on the mold pulling some off onto the tape. Put it in an air tight container. Take this to your doctor and tell him you wanted it tested to see if it is Stacybotrus(sp) . I have to go away for today but will post more wehn I get back....L

i am at my wits end. my boys have been sick for over 2 weeks. we had our furnace checked and they said it was the worst case of mold they had ever seen. we have had blood drawn several times, xrays, and a number of doctor visits. they are trying to tell me that our boys are faking. they don't have enough energy to even get out of bed. they have headaches, bad stomach aches, fatigue, confusion, and aches and pains. i know this sounds like the flu, but it's not. can anyone help?

I compromised myself when we used pesticide in two of our previous apartments. Wrong thing to do! We know that now. Thankfully my husband has not been afflicted like I have been. I am now sensitive to just about everything you can think of. We have no wood or leather furniture in our home. Oh no, we had to give away our good furniture when I suddenly got so sick. It happened shortly after I began taking guainefesin for an alternative treatment for fibromyalgia - didn't dawn on me that I was reacting to the guai and I took the stuff for 3 years - I was already getting more sensitive as the years have come and gone. I stopped about 2 years ago and have built up my immune system and I found that the guai was getting rid of the toxins out of my system but seem to strip my immune system. I now do an light detoxing by taking greens+ which also helps in building up my immune system. I can now tolerate so much more now but still have to be on the look out for anything that can and will harm me or my husband.

Now we have anything that is made of steel, alumunin, glass, tin, ceramic for our furniture. No wood products period. Carpeting is okay after it airs out it's fumes when 1st new. I have an assortment of lawn furniture, office cabinets for entertainment center, mattresses on those trundle frames that usually go under an daybed. It's just lovely to have to live with but it's better than not being able to live in any home. There are people who live in warm places, where they are outside and sleep in their camper, car, truck, tents or outside because living in homes makes them too sick to stay there. I read and saw an article about this about 4 years ago and it made me so sad that they have to live this way. At least for now, I am able to survive in my home and have no plans on moving anytime soon.

Just recently we had to have a new floor put in the bathroom because of mold growing under the dang linoleum that they laided down when they renovated the apartment just before we transferred. We put in the industrial floor tile and they used an floor glue that was less odourless than what they normally used. By the time they finally got around to doing it, I was getting so sick and throwing up. He said he removed the dang stuff properly and done what he had to do to clean it thoroughly with javex bleach. He used an full bottle and full strength to kill the mold. We waited untill we knew that no more mold grew - about 2 months. Then my husband went to them and told them they were doing it on that following Monday [his day off]. We both had to wear mask when we went into the bathroom to use it for any reason. We kept everything out of the bathroom untill just recently.

I'm was fine after a few days when my husband removed that flooring. I found that the bleach didn't make me sick but I don't keep my bathroom door open even yet. I have lots of vinegar to help with the odour, alone with using an can of tomatoes everyday and the ionic breeze. It's getting much better than it was and soon will be able to stop using the tomatoes. The things we have to do and what can work can surprise us at times.

Lesley is right about keeping our systems cleaned out and taking supplements, so we can keep our immune systems built up. Be careful, do what you must do and don't stop till you feel better. Good luck.

sierrad

Oh Queene....My heart goes out to you. Are you in a financial situation you can afford to have the furnace cleaned up?? There is a product here in Canada that is made with natural bontanicals and it kills 99.9% of mold. I had my whole basement sprayed after we opened that box I mentioned in the previous post. If you really feel it is the mold...take your boys out of the house for at least 5days(Grandparents,understanding friends) if they improve significantly you really have to do something about the furnace and duct work. Now no amount of mold is good (some worse than others) but you mention your kids have been sick for 2 weeks. Were they sick at all before this? Mold in your duct work had to have started someplace else. It enters the duct work from mold spores through the air. Can they see mold ? and do you have it growing in any bathrooms or downstairs? Let me know

thank you for responding. we have taken the furnace completely off of the house. the unit that had the mold on there was our central air conditioning and also the unit we used to blow what we thought was fresh air into the house. we have had an air purifier from a mold company in our house for the last 3 days. the only sign of mold is on the air vents in the house. the boys are not getting any better. in fact their energy level is lower than before. the headaches, hot flashes, throat and stomach are worse. i have to find some answers. we need to know how long the mold has been there. noone seems to be able to tell me if there is a test for that. i'm at my wits end. i feel like such a bad mother. i can't seem to find out what's wrong with them. they did a blood test on friday. hopefully, that will tell us something. thanks again.

Queene~
First of all, Don't feel like a bad mother. Some things are out of our control, like mold growth. While they are doing the clean up , Can you take your kids out of the house. People often get better very quickly when removed from their environment. I live in a rural area and was able to find a company to test. Look up Environmental testing in your yellow pages or online. Or a local health unit can point you in the right direction. I would suggest you take the boys somewhere else to stay why clean up is going on , they could be releasing some in the air and making them a little sicker still. Let me know what you find out......Good luck L

thank you again for replying. i would still like for someone to tell me if you can find out how old the mold is. whether it's been here for 10 years or for a couple of months. that is very important. i just got a call from the doctor. they are sending them to a pediatrician. fat chance that's going to help. they've had about every test you can have. we still do not have the results from the mold test or the mono test. we should get those tomorrow. thanks for all of your help.

Not to make light of the fact of how long the mold has been there. But what kind of mold it is , is very important. Some are toxic, others are not. May I ask where you live?(just wondering on the climate) If it was in your a/c and you experience a full winter (cold,snow) then you know that the mold probably grew last season when you were using your a/c. It takes 72 hours for mold to grow in the perfect conditions. i,e, mold spores, constant moisture, and temperatures above 50 degrees farenheit(sorry Canadian here and lousy on the celsius thing). Even if it was there for 6 months, or longer you can guarentee that if it was toxic it would have caused symptoms in your boys longer than 2 weeks ago. Do they have fevers? Mold usually does not cause infections in ppl unless there immune system is compromised. (chemotherapy, HIV, etc). I know the reaction we had was from the toxins and we got initially very strange neurological symptoms because we breathed in hords of it as we stirred it up. But once the body (immune system) fought off the toxins we slowly lost most of symptoms. {removed} What kind of blood test did they give the boys for mold? I have read sooooo very much on this stuff since September but have not come across any known blood test available(here is Canada anyway)....Take care and post back if you have time.

Hi Leelee
From personal experience I can tell you , as you read above that mold can do wierd things. Ask your doctor to humour you and give you some antifungal drops for your ears. Tell him that you have mold in your basement!!! Wearing a mask (N95) from the hardware store. Take a piece of scotch tape stick it on the mold pulling some off onto the tape. Put it in an air tight container. Take this to your doctor and tell him you wanted it tested to see if it is Stacybotrus(sp) . I have to go away for today but will post more wehn I get back....L
so with the information I gave you, Does it sound like mold is the reason I feel so bad all the time?
leelee

Hi Leelee
Just thought I would let you know I did answer your post. It is the 1st one on page 4. If you have any questions though feel free to ask.....L

Leelee ...Oh I see you saw that one.....Yes fungal infections can definetly cause itchy ears and other allergy related symptoms. This is actually the more common symptoms they see with mold exposure. What did your Doctor say when you mentioned this to him? He should wonder about the itchy ears with no signs of inner ear infection. Let me know if there is anything else I might be able to help you with...L

Your doctor did say you have fluid in your ear....this can cause dizziness and make you feel off balance. Try this......very gently though(my pediatrician gets my daughter to do this) Plug your nose, close you mouth tightly and gently do the sensation of trying blow , like you would your nose. This can sometimes open the euthesian(sp) tube that runs from your ears to your throat and can release fluid trapped in the ear. Like I said......do it very gently. It does sound like you could still have sinusitis due to the mold and I would push your doctor to have your ears and nose swabbed and tested!!!

we live in the midwest. we live in a log home. we had our house redone on the outside. that included using a lot of water. when they covered the air conditioner, i believe they had already gotten it wet. it was covered for about 3 months. i know it seems like we are grabbing at straws, but this is the only thing so far that makes sense. the boys have no fevers. it's just headaches, stomach aches, lightheaded, confused, fatigue, cough. we have cladosporium and penicillium-aspergillus. we were told by the mold company that this could make them sick. were they wrong? i don't know for sure what kind of test they did. they said it was for mold. we should get the results back today. hopefully. our family doctor said he is baffled and is trying to send us to a pediatrician for more test. i don't know what that would accomplish. i'm going to try to get them in riley hospital for children if i don't get any satisfaction today. thanks for replying

Hi Queene~
I am soo sorry your going through this. It is so hard when our children are sick.Cladosporium is a common outdoor mold. It is common in the house as spores blow in the wind. We heat with wood therefore have a high count of it in the winter from the wood stored inside. Aspergillus has about 8 different strains, some toxic. I am glad your doctor is pushing forward, some allopathic doctors don't believe this stuff can make you sick. Like I mentioned before, ppl make an improvement (sometimes within days) when removed from the mold environment and our mold company suggested we leave for 4 days to see if we noticed this. Had your air conditioner been used before they cleaned it up or has it not been used since your renovations? Blowing spores into the house could definetly make them sick. However , healthy ppl's immune system usually can take over the toxin overload once the mold is removed. I am really glad your doctor is not sitting back doing nothing. Some allopathic doctors don't think mold can make you very sick. Have you or anyone else gotten sick? Keep up pushing for answers..L

after the air conditioner was covered, we still had the fan on to move air thru the house, not realizing it was covered. i hate to sound stupid, but what is ppl. noone else has gotten sick. i have aired the house out several times, hoping this would help. i guess the thing that bothers me the most is the severity of their fatigue and achiness (is that a word?) we really have nowhere else to go. i guess we could go to a hotel. but i don't know if they have the energy to get in the car and go. thanks again.

Hi ... Sorry ppl = people. Yes I can see why you would be bothered with the fatigue. How old are they? Will they do anything like watch tv or play for even short periods of time? Hmmmm noone else has been sick with similar symptoms, Are they in school yet(old enough I mean) just wondering if teachers could tell you if some viral infections are going around. Only reason I mentioned it is...I have 3 daughters and they have been sick on and off with high fevers and muscle aching etc since January. Mind you I have had muscle pain since Sept 04 . Are they eating well? Things that they like? I pray you get to the bottom of this as I can't imagine how frustrating it is for you.....L

they are 11 & 12. they watch tv, but it's really a burden for them to get up and go to the bathroom. i've talked to the teachers and of course there's the flu, but not much else. i hope you and your daughters are doing ok. that sounds miserable. they are eating well. i'll know more this afternoon, hopefully. thanks again.

Well I am sooo glad to hear that they are eating well, Mine are 9,10, and 15. And they did the same thing for just short of 3 weeks. Apparently they had a virus that was going, coxsackie. Sore achy muscles and bones, stomach pain, very tired and looked whooped. This actually came and went 2 more times after the three weeks. Well let me know how your app'ts went.....Take care. Lesley

hi leslie,

you are a dream for being so attentive in my time of need. we went to the doctor yesterday, they are drawing more blood today. but they are pretty sure it is mono. they are doing a test today that should have results in about 20 minutes. i can't wait to find out for sure. thank you again for being there. PJ

Queene~
Wondering how things went. Wow! Mono, that would explain why they are sooooo tired. And very contagious so would make sense why the both of them have it. Did they have swollen lymph nodes at any time? Well I hope this is the answer and your frustrations come to an end. I know it is heartbreaking watching your children be sick and not being able to take it away for them. Let me know the outcome....Take care
Lesley

hi lesley,

i can't thank you enough. you're probably getting tired of hearing that, but you have been such a help. are you sure you're not a doctor? they had more blood work drawn yesterday. they did a mono spot and they definitely tested positive. i know this sounds dumb, but that is such a relief. i told my husband i thought you were from canada and he asked what part? canada is a favorite place of ours. i think we have been to about every part of it and in May we are going fishing up there with the boys. i hope you and your family have health and happiness and i can't again thank you enough for all of your help. PJ

My pleasure...when my kids are in a crisis I will be looking on line for you!!! hehe. I am from Eastern Ontario, About 1 hour west of Ottawa in a rural area. Lots and lots of fishing here. No I am not a doctor, wish I was making that money, mind you would not want the stress. I just read (my husband says too much) . Like I said I have 3 children and am a caregiver for a 95 yr old that lives with us. So any little thing I have to know all about it, probably drive my doctor crazy! Well I am sooooo happy you got some answers. Hope they feel a little better every day. Very happy it was not the mold, I know it's nasty but at least now it is gone.......Hope your days get better....Lesley

Hi Lesley,
Can you go to the allergy board and go to the thread I thought it was gone but now its back. Thats my post, I would post it here but we cant double post. I just want to know what you think.
Thanks, leelee :wave:

hi leslie,

well, i'm at my wits end again. they did test positive for mono, but our youngest is getting worse. they have drawn 8 blood test, stool samples, chest xrays and stomach xrays. yesterday he asked me if he was going to die. they had us move out of our house to see if that helps. it doesn't seem to be working. we are scheduled to go to an infectious disease doctor next week, but i don't know if he can wait that long. i'm really scared. i know i can't show that in front of him but it is hard. could mold do this to a child. main symptoms are headache, bad, bad stomach ache, weakness and exhaustion. please let me know what you think. you seem to be the only one who will listen to me. thanks

Oh Queene..
I had sooo hoped you had the answers you needed. Rest assured though if they thought it was life threatning they would have your son admitted. I am sorry I have not been around. My daughter was admitted on Thursday. I took her to ER for a high fever and I knew she was dehydrated(even though she was drinking) and I was shocked when after they did blood work and put her on an IV they came back and said they were admitting her!! Anyway she is soooo much better on a good antibiotic and within 48 hrs we noticed the difference. The blood work and showed problems with her white cell and keytones. But enough about me....You can be very very sick with the EBV(mono) and as long as he is drinking and eating . He will want to sleep alot, I mean alot. I have a niece who had mono and she was sick for 4 weeks and then still very tired for another month or so. Glad you took him out of the house, it will take 3-4 days to see if this makes a difference. The symptoms do sound more like EBV than the mold but the combination probably would not help. Let me know if I can help you out anymore. Lesley...Please take care of yourself....I know its hard on you.

Hi Leelee
I will go see if I can find your post in allergy...I will post there. If I can't find it, i will check back here.....Lesley

i am so sorry to hear about your daughter. it sounds like she is doing so much better though. i'm sorry to have even bothered you with my problems. they seem small in comparison. i guess i'll have answers tomorrow. the thing is he does not want to sleep. i pulled up a site on the internet that described his symptoms to a tee and it was toxic mold poisoning. let's hope not. i'll let you go. i'm sure you have your hands full. thanks again. pj

Hey Queene, Sorry I should not have mentioned Marissa being sick as she had been all week and I did not want to bother you with it. He does not want to sleep? Does he find he is hypersensitive? Please do not hestitate to keep posting with me. My daughter has done a 360 and is feeling sooo much better now that the antibiotics have kicked in. Do you a have a reputable Nutrition store near you? I have some things that really helped remove the mold toxins from my daughters and my body. You can let me know if you want to try them. Garlic is one wonderful anti fungal but you need the supplement(unless he will eat alot alot of real garlic) containing allician as this is the component that kills fungal toxins. Also probiotics like Acidophillus and Bifudis. This replaces good bacteria in the body and helps remove toxins from the intestines. There are more...Let me know if you want to try them.
Keep your chin up ....and least try I know how frustrating this can be....whats mold and what isn't thats what we dealt with for months. Funny question but.....How are his bowels? and is your other son improving??..Lesley

hi leslie,
it's great to hear your daughter is doing so much better. how long did you and your daughters have the mold and how sick did you get? did you have any of the symptoms i've described? it seems his stomach is the worse thing. then his throat, cough, weakness, etc. what kind of mold did you have? it seems you are the only one helping me. i would really appreciate any help you can give me in nutritional things to help. should he stop drinking milk? did your doctor prescribe this or did you do research on your own? it seems your research is much better than any doctor i've ran into. dakota just asked me to take him to the hospital. he must be feeling pretty bad. his stools are dark in color and a little loose. carson seems to be getting a little better, but his stomach still hurts alot and he also has the sore throat and weakness. thanks again. pj

Hi....I tell a brief story of our mold exposure on pg 3 of this post. Our symptoms were mostly neurological but that could be because we got a one time big dose. We were dealing with molds called Aspergillus and penicillum as you were. We were not exposed long term but had an acute hit of it. I feel soooo sorry for your son, I know when a child asks to go to the hospital he is sooooo sick. Like I said in other posts, unless a persons immune system is compromised their body is able to fight off the effects of the toxin, however it is good to cleanse and remove all remnants of it. You mentioned he had xrays and I imagine they were of the lung or chest which would show any Apergillosis which is a fungal infection of the lung , it shows up very well on xray as a fungal ball. But again this disease usually only happens in immune compromised ppl. Have you done some reading on Epstein Barr virus? This is the virus that causes mono and it can be very debilitating until you beat it off. In a healthy individual, again it has no long term effects but when active you are a very sick person. Anything else....just ask....I would love to be able to help you in any little way. Les
p.s. Is he vomiting? or stomach pain or cramping? I always take my kids off milk products for 48 hours when they have any stomach bug , that is my preference as I use alot of holistic advice as much as I can. I did go to my doctor on this but got no help as she felt mold exposure would only have allergenic effects. I printed off a 2 inch thick pile of info off the net and took it to her to read. I did go to a naturopath and homeopath to find out what I could use to help get these toxins out of us!! L

Queene....I hope everything is ok....Thinking of you and your family....Lesley

hi leslie,

we went to the infectious disease doctor yesterday and he says they just have a severe case of mono. he dismissed the mold idea. i guess that's good, but they still feel awful and their stomachs ache all of the time. i appreciate you thinking of us and hope you and yours are doing better. pj

hi leslie,

we went to an infectious disease doctor and he says they just have a very bad case of mono. i guess i should be happy, but their stomachs still hurt alot and still have a sore throat. i appreciate all of your emails and i hope you and yours are doing fine. thanks again

Hi Queene
I started a post the other day on here and my puter froze and did not get back to it till now. I am so happy you have a diagnosis , even though the boys are still fighting the mono. I know from family members it takes alot out of you when sick with this virus. My neice used to say the sore throats were the worst. Their stomach may hurt because of the enlargement of the mesentric lymph nodes in the stomach area as they are trying to fight the virus. When Marissa was sick the doctors told me that this can cause the stomach to really ache. Well I hope with the nice weather returning your boys continue to improve, of course their immune system will be weak as it takes alot out of them fighting this . Let me know how things are going...Take care
Lesley

Pam that is toxic mold if I haven't seen it. I live in the basement of my parents house and every summer I have to air it out from the winters infestation of mold. Now I use a space heater and dehumidifyer to kill out the smell from the crappy unfinished part.

But recently now I've been sick for 6 weeks. Was healthy as horse from 6 till now. Starting to think that theres a form of mold growing in some part of the large room and not sleeping down here anymore I refuse too.

Extreme Fatigue.

Gradual Weight Loss.

Would get confused easily like I didnt know where I was.

Been having GI/Bowel problems too.

Hyperthyroidism/Diabeties/Hepatitis/Aids was rulled out from the first day I went into the emergency room. Blood test, urine test was done Full Body X-rays to see anything.

Getting a Abdominal Ultra Sound and Endo/Colonoscopy and Air lung Quality testing in 3 weeks. each test is 2 days apart oh lord help me lol.

But sure sounds like it. Infact gonna clean out the basement again and see for mold. I do remember mushrooms where growing through the bathroom floor from the dryer the hose busted 2 years ago.

Hi,

Sorry to hear that this is happening to you! How are you doing? What is your status?

I just had eye surgery last month and this is the first time I'm getting around to checking the boards.

I had the horrific stomach problems back in 2000. My son did not have them but (except for the mold in the bathroom vent) most of the mold was in my bedroom. I was getting cramping etc., and it was actually worse at night, when I was in that room!

I was telling my supervisor at work about the symptoms I was experiencing and she thought it sounded an aweful lot like giardia. Here I was going from doc to doc and going through the colonoscopy, etc. I told one of my doctors that I thought I might have giardia, and I did a stool sample that didn't detect it. However, it doesn't necessarly show up. I had every symptom I saw on the internet for giardia - but because I hadn't been to a foreign country, etc., the doctor's would treat me for it.

So my supervisor 'suggested' that I teel the doctor that I had drank water from a stream that was found to have a 'beaver problem' (giardia is also referred to as 'Beaver Fever'). This wouldn't have been a far stretch for the doctor to believe since I was working in the forest and there had been some recent newspaper articles referring to the high beaver population and beaver fever.

So I did finally get the antibiotic (the only one to treat giardia) and it worked!

And I had recently found a relation between the stomach symptoms and toxic mold (somewhere on the internet) and that the symptoms are a result of giardia, which is from the mold!!!!

Doctors are very hesitant to prescribe antibiotics nowadays but, my symptoms went away within a couple of days (after 2 months!). If there is no relief from symptoms while on antibiotics within a few days - I usually will stop taking them. Usually, it is important to take the prescription for the duration so an infection goes away as much as possible but, doctor's should tell patients not to take then needlessly if they are not helping the symptoms.

Anyway, enough of that. I do hope you are feeling better. BTW if you find any more of those mushrooms - store them in a container for identification. I had a mushroom growing from the area of the kitchen sink that I should have kept. I do recall what it looks like so I should try to ID it.

Please try to spend less time in the basement where you live and, see if you can get an air cleaner w/a HEPA filter.

All my best,
Pam

Not to make light of the fact of how long the mold has been there. But what kind of mold it is , is very important. Some are toxic, others are not. May I ask where you live?(just wondering on the climate) If it was in your a/c and you experience a full winter (cold,snow) then you know that the mold probably grew last season when you were using your a/c. It takes 72 hours for mold to grow in the perfect conditions. i,e, mold spores, constant moisture, and temperatures above 50 degrees farenheit(sorry Canadian here and lousy on the celsius thing). Even if it was there for 6 months, or longer you can guarentee that if it was toxic it would have caused symptoms in your boys longer than 2 weeks ago. Do they have fevers? Mold usually does not cause infections in ppl unless there immune system is compromised. (chemotherapy, HIV, etc). I know the reaction we had was from the toxins and we got initially very strange neurological symptoms because we breathed in hords of it as we stirred it up. But once the body (immune system) fought off the toxins we slowly lost most of symptoms. {removed} What kind of blood test did they give the boys for mold? I have read sooooo very much on this stuff since September but have not come across any known blood test available(here is Canada anyway)....Take care and post back if you have time.

Hi,

I just wanted to clarify something that you wrote about here - that "mold does not cause infection in ppl unless there immune system is compromised"....is not altogether accurate...

According to the CDC and other health agencies - will more or less state that people with compromised immune symptoms are more susceptable to the effects of molds, fungus mildew, etc. and that may lead to infections.

What the CDC, et al don't state, is that toxic (and perhaps other molds) molds can actually cause immune supression. And this is said (not by the CDC) to vary from individual to individual but presents itself in one of the immune subclasses. In my case, it has presented in a IgG4 (and low IgG1) subclass deficiency. That in turn does make it me susceptible to infections and hard for me to fight off certain infections. But I will initially react to mold exposure the same way as someone who does not have a subclass deficiency.

There are no 'symptoms' of a subclass deficiency and testing for this isn't done in a cbc, but there are factors in the cbc which can suggest a deficiency.

Such a deficeincy develops over time. My son gets the same flu-like symptoms from mold as I do - but he usually doesn't get them as bad as me and he can usually fight it off without antibiotics. Mold will cause infections, but some people can fight infections (even those not from the mold) on their own without having to go on antibiotics.

Because I now have the subclass deficiency - I can not fight off the infection on my own. Also, although my son currently does not have a subclass deficiency, he most likely will develop one in the future.

Also, not everyone who has had chemo and not everyone with HIV has a compromised immune system as you suggest. Someone who has had chemo is at risk of developing a subclass deficiency (IgG2 and IgG4, most commonly) and many do not develop this at all. Or their level(s) may drop, but not become deficient - meaning that they still have the ability to fight off certain infections.

People with HIV usually do not have subclass deficiency (unless it's from something other than HIV) until they develop AIDS. Most all AIDS patients will have IgG1 with IgG4 deficiency.

Another way to look at this - people with chemo are more apt to develop a immune deficiency because of the effects of chemo and how it disturbing the red and white blood cells in order to destroy cancer (and the possibility that they can get an antibody deficiency and the compromised immune system that makes them more prone to infections).

Replace the 'chemo' with HIV in the above and think of the AIDS as disturbing the bloodsystem and so on.

Toxic mold, the same.

How my son and I start off getting infections from the molds is from all the amount of phelgm that we produce as a result of exposure -is a welcome breeding ground for bacteria. How one fights off the infection is dependent on their immune system.

Doctors are currently not at liberty to diagnose people's symptoms as being directly caused by the symptoms of toxic mold because it is not currectly recognized by the CDC and the FDA as a treatable illness (which therefore an insurance company would accept the diagnosis and even have a code for it) and there are no medications designated specifically to treat a patient who has been exposed to toxic mold, etc.

There are treatments and diagnosis for certain fungi. But the point I was trying to make is that, until the scientific evidence and the medical field meet (a doctor is not going to treat someone for something there is no 'accepted' scientific evidence, etc., they cannot legally diagnose and treat for something that doesn't 'exist'). And currently the Federal Government doesn't recognoze the toxic effects of certain molds on people (although I have read that the government has used toxic mold as a biological weapon) so all they can state is that, people with supressed immune symptoms DUE to or as a result of certain treatments and conditions (those who have had chemo and develop antibody deficiency, those with HIV who have developed AIDS and antibody difficiency) and so on I've gone on long enough here and hope I've explained this well enough.

What toxic mold does is, as with an allergic reaction -it produces an immune response (symptoms). An allergic reaction in itself is an immune response. The CDC mostly makes toxic mold sound like a mild reaction to pollen, but some people have REALLY BAD reactions to pollen. Some people are allergic to shellfish and most of these people get really bad reactions and can die. Bee Stings, the same. And you know I can go on about certain things like this!

Another point I must correct you on is that mold does not take 72 hours to grow! All it takes is the moment the temperature and humidity reach a certain point...it develops almost immediately! Organic materials will inhibit mold growth (wood, cellulose) The safe bet is to keep you indoor temperature and humidity relative to one and other. If the temperature outside climbs - turn up the AC. If the humidity rises too -turn on the dehumidifier. If it is cold out, but it is humid - turn on the dehumidifier before you turn up the heat. You can monitor the indoor temp and humidity with a digital (or other) hygrothermograph.

Pam

Hi Pam
Thanks for the info. I guess I should have been a little clearer. The mold infection I was referring to was Aspergilliosis which from the Evironmental specialist I went to explained about the compromised immune system. This is actually a mold infection, affecting the lungs, brain etc. Aspergillus was the mold that Queene and I were dealing with. I can defintely see that being exposed to mold would lower your immune system as it has mine.When I commented on "only those with compromised immune systems I should have been much clearer, as I meant a mold infection itself, not sub infections. You are so right about the medical community not recognizing toxic mold as a health threat! Well Thanks for the update and information.

Hi, I moved out of my moldy house three weeks ago. I am even in a differnent state. I cant honestly say I feel better. Still dizzy, Its off and on. Headaches and itchy ears. its been three weeks. Do you know how long it might take for me to start feeling better if mold really was making me feel this way. I think I still have fluid in my ears too. Thanks,
leelee

P.S I also noticed I feel worse when its that time of the month :confused:

Hi, I moved out of my moldy house three weeks ago. I am even in a differnent state. I cant honestly say I feel better. Still dizzy, Its off and on. Headaches and itchy ears. its been three weeks. Do you know how long it might take for me to start feeling better if mold really was making me feel this way. I think I still have fluid in my ears too. Thanks,
leelee

P.S I also noticed I feel worse when its that time of the month :confused:


Glad you are feeling better leelee! The move was a good thing for you then. I hope all is going well.

My ears get the fluid/itchy and, I find much relief if I gently apply teatree oil in my ears with a Q-tip...works fast too!

Let me know if you find something that makes you feel better at 'that time of the month' because I've been trying to figure that one out for 32 years! hehe

Pam

hello

I fully understand about your situation. I move to illinois from Florida about 4 yrs ago. in very much likely rural area. I have moved here because of Husband going to the University. Houses conditions here are really bad. When I looked around the house I found black mold in the washer and dryer room. Then pink,green,red,brown,blue as many color you can imagine. They would show up on the food or other places around the house. Told the land loard--he said that cannot be. He didnot care. The first day I move to illinois in my house I felt back pain,neck pain,dizziness,blury vision,light headed ect neverending problem. Then more symtoms started to occur like_ shaky feeling, confuse,ear started to hurt,I would have ear fluid or pimples outer layer of the ear. more simtom like hair loss,eye alergy. which I had a surgery to remove eye tear gland. stomach flu(unessy feeling). I kept telling my husband that,there is a toxic mold, that is affecting me and making me very sick. he will ignore me or started to get angry at me. I was so scared and crying alone everyday. I had no one to listen to. I went to doctor billion time. They always told it must be allergy. make sure keep your house clean and change filter--and hand me whole bunch of allergy medication. I am a spot less clean person. I never had this problem in fl city. finally year 2005 I was diagnose with a Pneumonia. Which I never thought I can ever get. so, I went to doctor told me take allergy medication. Finally I went to emergency they gave me antibiotic/prednizon/cough syrup. Prednizone gave me lots of side effect. as u can tell I am tired of everything. I finally moved out from that old house and moved into a newer apartment. all my symtoms are gone. I feel much better. But I feel there is something affect me in the illinois outside air also. I am moving out of this place. My advice Please move out from a old house or apartment. There is no one will help you when it comes to toxic mold. Unless you have 10,000 to spend for a mold check where I live. That is what I was told by my layer. If u can totally move out from the state. I myself can't take it here. sorry for all this writting........
shim

I feel for all of you, for I tested positive for biotoxins ie: mold or fungi, yet to be determined. All the symptoms are so familiar...it worsens with each passing week of contamination. Please see the new post: There is hope!
prayers are answered, uvm :angel:

Hi everyone, its been about a month since my last report on this thread. I have good news, (it took 8 weeks, just like the last bout), now I'm feeling like my old self (prior to the illness) again! :bouncing:

The first week on medical leave, some of the symptoms started subsiding with being away from the office. After seeing the specialist and receiving some additional meds to eliviate the biotoxins (neurotoxins) out of my system.

There has been a slow uphill climb out of the pit. But, over the last three weeks there have been an overall improvement as my symptoms dropped of one by one. And the last 2 days I have been symptom free. Boy do I pray, that this will last, as long as I stay out of my workplace and take care of myself...eat right, sleep right, take my supps, and meds ontime, sticking with the program, and with PT & Massage therapy.

Hope this may encourage you with your fight or plight in the battle against toxins. uvm