Mycotoxins and Mold

My naturopathic doctor recently had me do a mycotoxin test through BiotrekLabs.com. The reason for this is because the lab gave him a test for free, and I got to be the guinea pig and try the test out. If the test was not free, I highly doubt I would have had a mycotoxin test done. As it turns out the test showed I have "alarmingly" high levels of all mycotoxins in my body:



I was given my actual numbers over the phone, and I can tell you they up to 3x higher than the top of the range. This is alarming - I was really surprised. Many thoughts ran through my head: Why isn't the mold killing me? Since aflatoxin is one of the most carcinogenic toxins known to man, why don't I have cancer when my body is full of it? Why am I not suffering a daily bloody nose, which is my typical allergic reaction to mold (I tested very high in allergies to most molds many years ago.) Wouldn't my symptoms be A LOT worse than this? Sure, I can hardly move some days, but I'd expect to be completely bed ridden with results like these!

Let's back up a little bit. The company who makes the test is not the most reputable, and accuracy is a concern here. For a $650 test I would expect highly reliable results. These results could be very accurate, but there's reason to question it. That said, it's no surprise that mold is a major player in my illness, and I do believe I am high in the mycotoxins for several reasons.

I've had some awful mold exposures in my life. I've always been so sensitive that coming into contact with mold would give me an immediate bloody nose with mild flu-like symptoms, while people around me were just fine. I lived on the coast in Oregon for my teenage years, a place that was naturally moldy due to constant high humidity. I could never visit the city of Bend, Oregon without getting very sick. Every single time I stayed the night in Bend, which was at least once a summer, I would end up with the flu after several bloody noses. I think a big part of the problem was that I am also allergic to trees that grow in that area, so it was a double whammy. When we moved to North Dakota from Oregon, we lived in a guest house for 3 months that was not in good condition. My mom and I disrupted a big bush of black mold on a sliding glass door in that house (I call it a bush because it was at least a few inches by a few inches.) Next thing I knew, both nostrils were pouring blood and blood was flowing down my throat. Mom grabbed a mixing bowl to collect all my blood and I filled it at least half full. I wanted to go to the ER, and I was sick with flu like symptoms after that exposure. Years later my husband and I moved into an old house in Boise, Idaho. At first it was hard to tell if there was mold or not - it was old, needed repair work done, but nothing obvious as far as mold. I was getting bloody noses at least weekly, but I tend to get them in Boise anyway due to the dry air. It was in that house that I started gaining weight rapidly, developed arthritis, started to rely on coffee and energy drinks, and felt my physical decline. One day the wall of the shower fell into the tub, revealing lots of mildew. I was very stupid at the time, assuming it was just mildew and as long as the lining of the shower got resealed onto the wall it wouldn't affect us. We lived in that house for 2 years. We moved back to North Dakota into my parent's house (my parents moved out as we moved in.) The skylight in the main bathroom was occasionally leaking, thankfully into the toilet itself, ha! One day it wasn't just a drip, it was an actual stream of water and a larger hole opened up in the ceiling. The repairman said he couldn't find any mold, but when we replaced the skylight we found that the roof board below the skylight was heavily rotted. The bathroom was renovated and sealed up, and the roof was repaired. Shortly after that, we had our windows replaced, and mold was found in the window frames. Thankfully, replacing the windows took care of the mold!

(The mold test kit's results for the main bathroom when the skylight was leaking into our toilet.)

I have a history with mold, as you can read. The question today is this: Am I still living in a moldy environment? My dad hired a company to test our house for mold. The results showed that the upstairs, where my husband and I live, had half the amount of mold as the outside of our house had (which is the base range.) The downstairs, where another family member lives, had double the mold as outside of our house. They called it "slightly elevated." For me personally, "slightly elevated" can mean "not at all safe."

Another clue as my biotoxin illness was taking the VCS Test (Visual Contract Sensitivity Test.) The idea with this test is that mycotoxins build up in our eyes, making it difficult to see contrasting colors. It seems very simplistic, and I'm not going to explain it well, so I encourage you to read about on this site. Dr. Richie Shoemaker (the leader in mold illnesses) highly recommends the test. I tested positive for biotoxins based on this test (the test was free):


We had a new washer and dryer installed this week, and when the guys from Best Buy removed the old washer we saw a couple issues. The backside of the washer looked mildewy, something I couldn't have seen before. The valve for cold water was corroded and leaking, something I couldn't have seen before. They were unable to install our washer because of that valve, so they shut it off so it stopped dripping, at least. We have no way of knowing if it was dripping behind the sheet rock, but it's very possible. But that's when it dawned on me: was I washing my clothes in a moldy washing machine? It was about 30 years old, had a leak, and probably wasn't cleaned properly for years. Are ALL of my clothes contaminated with mold from that machine?

So... knowing my history, you can see why it's no surprise that mold is an issue in my health.

Normal people who get sick from mold tend to get over it and regain their health after leaving the moldy environment. This is probably the least moldy environment I've been in for most of my life. You'd think that I should be improving, but my level was still very high on that test! It was that high after 2 1/2 years of a perfect anti-candida diet (no sugar, no moldy foods, nothing to feed mold), and a 6 month long Candida cleanse (which should have killed mold too.) Either my levels were even higher and they have come down with all this work, or what I'm doing isn't working and isn't killing the mold in my body. (Or the test isn't accurate, but I don't think that's a big factor.)

When I've looked into why my body doesn't recover from mold, I keep seeing research and articles talking about the HLA genes. Apparently, only 25% of the population have these genes, and those that do are highly prone to mycotoxin illness. I've been told that the gene makes it so the body recycles mold back into the body instead of excreting it out like in normal people. I have the genes. *IF* this is true, then how can I possible fight it? I could be recycling mold from when I was a little kid, right? So what hope do I possibly have? If I do mange to kill all the mold in my body, wouldn't I just get sick all over again from new mold accumulation in my body? Mold is impossible to escape!

So I looked at mold treatment options. The first thing that came to my attention is Ozone therapy. Apparently ozone IVs can cause mold in the body to implode, killing the biofilm and the mold itself. It's impossible for mold to survive in ozone. Sounds like a miracle cure that's easy, right? Nope! Ozone is HIGHLY toxic to humans. It's so risky that it's actually illegal, but there are doctors administering it. Strong people can survive ozone IVs, but someone like me? It's extremely risky. You will find many doctors who swear by ozone and its safety, but I am very cautious. Alternatively, I get treatments in a hyperbaric chamber at my Naturopathic Doctor's clinic. This chamber is oxygen therapy, which can do the same thing as ozone, only much much much more safely. The problem is that I don't live near my doctor's clinic, and I'm unable to get treatments more than a few times a year. I have yet to find a hyperbaric chamber anywhere in the city I live in. I've been told to drink food grade 35% hydrogen peroxide, which is essentially the same thing as ozone, but supposedly more gentle. This is not something I'm willing to try without my doctor's support, especially based on what 3% hydrogen peroxide did to my mouth (check out my black hairy tongue post.)

The next option that was made aware of is the Shoemaker Protocol. I had several people tell me it's the ONLY option for treating mold, and all the mold support groups I've looked into treat this protocol like the Holy Bible of mold toxicity. It's so popular you'd think it has a high success rate, but I keep digging and digging through the internet and can't actually find much about the success rate, just people claiming to feel better and people claiming they can't tolerate the protocol. The protocol seems to be a mixed bag. From what I'm reading, there are plenty of people who do not do well on this protocol specifically because of the main prescription medication: Cholestyramine (CSM). It's a cholesterol drug. This raises red flags for me. First and foremost, my cholesterol should not be lowered! Secondly, I don't tolerate medication well - my body readily rejects most medications I've tried. Thirdly, negative reviews of this drug for mold toxicity are very negative. It causes severe constipation, and you must take it with a laxative, causing a great deal of distress for many patients. It also absorbs nutrition from your food and supplements, so you must be really careful about how to take the drug so that you don't malnourish and dehydrate yourself. I hope you can understand my hesitancy to consider this protocol! I understand that when it works for someone it works very well in that it makes them feel better. But what I don't understand is why this prescription drug could possibly be more effective than natural binders like Zeolite, Activated Charcoal, or clay?  Dr. Shoemaker claims that they don't bind to the same toxins, but why not? I plan to do a lot more reading up on this protocol since it's pushed so hard by mold patients, but I think I need to remain skeptical. Listen to or read this really wonderful interview on this protocol by Dr. Shoemaker himself.

The other option I was made aware of is a protocol by Dr. Nick Gonzalez, may he R.I.P., as outlined in Suzanne Sommer's book Tox-Sick. (I will write a separate post on this book once I finish reading it, but so far I highly recommend it.) He advocates for regular coffee enemas and far infrared sauna treatments in addition to taking food-grade bentonite clay daily. He claims that the clay's magnetic charge and honeycomb structure makes it an excellent binder to absorb mold and carry it out of the body. I'm intrigued by this, especially since I know how much better I feel when I take activated charcoal regularly. I also found this study about the effectiveness of clay on aflatoxins in humans. I see problems with this plan, though: dehydration and heavy metal toxicity. Apparently there is less lead in the clay than in some nuts and vegetables, and apparently it's not a bioavailable lead. I'm linking to Wellness Mama on this one simply because I'm having a very difficult time finding actual studies on the risks of the heavy metals in clay - even the FDA approves bentonite clay as a safe food additive. Maybe my hesitation about food grade clay isn't well founded afterall? I have been using bentonite clay on my skin and as a toothpaste for a couple of years now and absolutely love it. As for the coffee enemas, I'm interesting in trying. I get colonic irrigations a few times a year at my doctor's clinic and they are exceptionally helpful! Enemas won't be nearly as good, but I'm curious because I can do them at home. I already use my far infrared sauna many times a week at home (I haven't written a post on this - what's wrong with me!?)

I'm glad my naturopathic doctor had another option for me. He put me on a homeopathic nasal spray with oils designed to kill mold in my sinuses. This is not a full solution, but we just want to see what happens. Mold loves the sinuses because they're a dark humid place, so starting by killing the mold in my sinuses makes sense. The spray is also designed to desensitize me to mold homeopathically.  It's a bit intimidating spraying trace amounts of black mold into my sinuses, but I'm not foreign to the concept and have had good results with this type of treatment in the past. For now, I'm content to address my mold issue with this nasal spray while I work on making my house as mold-free as possible. Ideally I'd be able to do a hyperbaric chamber regularly too, but at least I can stick with my diet and my sauna to continue to kill off and sweat out the mold in my body. I might even consider the food grade bentonite clay, after a lot more research and talking about it with my doctor. I need to go slowly, and I like that this is a very gentle start to killing off the mold in my body.

How I Work With MCS

One of the most common questions I get is: "How are you able to work when you have MCS?"

The answer: "I didn't work for about 1 3/4 years because I couldn't. I'm working now because I got well enough to."

3 years ago I took a job that I was really interested in and wanted. I lasted for 1 year at the job before I had to quit because I was too sick to manage it. I tell this story in more detail in this post.
I quit that job just after I had my first appointment with my naturopathic doctor. After hearing his assessment about my health, I admitted to myself that I really did need to devote myself to full time healing. I wasn't making money during this time, and my doctor bills have been expensive. I relied 100% on my husband to support me, which wasn't fair to him at all since he ended up needing to work well beyond full time hours. This has been a major cause of stress. If I had continued to work, however, I likely would have been fired at some point. As I explained in the post that I linked to above, I could hardly look people in the eye and talk intelligently - I was not able to function like a normal healthy person most of the time. What choice did I have?

If I wasn't able to rely 100% on my husband during that time, it would have become a serious challenge, if not impossibility. A challenge that far too many chronically ill people face. I might have tried to fight for disability, but getting disability requires an expensive legal battle that usually lasts years.

I could have tried to take a lesser part time job and prayed that I could have handled it. But it wouldn't have worked out. Why? What I didn't know at the time was that a big part of my problem was Multiple Chemical Sensitives. I was too sick back then to know what all my symptoms meant, and I was essentially in a constant reaction. I did feel better at home than at work, and I assumed it was the stress of being at work that make me feel worse. Looking back, I was present when pesticides were being sprayed in our office, harsh cleaners were used on the carpets, automatic air fresheners were installed in the bathrooms, new ink was installed in the printers, etc. I was present around a lot of routine toxins. Toxins that I never used in my house. Any other lesser job would have kept me exposed to similar chemical toxins.

I have been incredibly blessed to have my hard-working husband supporting me through all this sickness. No other scenario would have allowed me to not work so I could heal. To those of you with chronic illness who are forced to work and stay very sick, live in poverty without medical help, and suffer financially due to your illness, my heart goes out to you. It's a wonder you continue fighting for your life. Someday when I'm healthy and rich, I'm going to start some sort of benefit fund for the chronically sick who can't get help. I want to do what I can to make the world a more hospitable place for the chronically sick.

It took close to a year of full time healing before my doctor was able to see that I have MCS. I had other health concerns, of course, but MCS made perfect sense. I'd been highly reactive my entire life, especially as a child. I've had a lot of food allergies, couldn't tolerate many medicines doctors had tried to put me on, many things caused me headaches (especially gray crayons,) and I regularly had unexplained eczema or rashes. At some point, my MCS did explode into something much worse. I got very sick (even got a sinus infection) from simply being in a Staples. I got dizzy with heartburn going into my church building. I went into a rage with harsh heart palpations in a JC Penny, later to have rashes all over. And so on and so forth. I had these reaction symptoms nearly every day for the year I was working, and they gradually became worse and worse. MCS makes perfect sense for what I went through.

It's been just under a year now of addressing MCS directly, but almost 2 years of healing my whole body from all its issues, and I've made a huge improvement. My doctor is amazing! But I've also put a lot of work into my healing.


How I, over time, worked up to being able to work my 12-15 hour/ week job:

1. I was spending as much time as I needed dedicating myself to healing my entire body, not just MCS. I highly doubt my MCS would have calmed down if I didn't focus on improving my overall health. You can't rush healing. It takes years to get this sick, it's going to take years to get better.

2. I stuck religiously to my doctor's diet for me. I made a few mistakes here and there, but I always suffered the consequences. My body has been incredibly picky about what food it will tolerate. I had no idea that my "clean organic" diet that I was eating before seeing my doctor was causing so many of my heath issues. It's not just about eating organic whole foods, it's about eating the right foods. As it turns out, I have no tolerance for grains, starches, sugars, alcohol, or dairy. I don't even tolerate brassica vegetables that well, but I will actually eat them in small amounts on occasion. Cutting out all the foods that I wasn't tolerating decreased my stress, improved my mental clarity, reduced the size of my gut, reduced the pain in my gut, reduced my inflammation, and allowed me actually gain energy from the food I could eat. Diet is so so so crucial!

3. I've been taking, and still take, my doctor's supplements and herbs. They're expensive, it's hard to take the 56+ pills a day, and my daily schedule gets tied to my ability to take them when I need to... but they have been worth it. They do help a lot. I have to heal all my organs which have become very fatigued and weak. The supplements are working for this. When organs such as the liver and kidneys aren't working well, they can't detox well. When they're overrun with toxins that they're too fatigued to push out, chemical sensitives only get stronger and stronger.

4. I've been taking my doctor's homeopathic remedy for MCS as well as his pills for MCS. I can't tell you what the remedy is - I just know it's made a big difference for me. I can tell you that taking his N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine and Reduced Glutathione have been, by far, the most helpful pills for MCS. I take 3 of each a day, but if I'm about to go somewhere with potential triggers (such as church or a store) then I'll take an extra one or two of each before going in. Glutathione is the body's natural antioxidant. N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine is the amino acid that's the precursor to glutathione, boosting natural glutathione production in the body. This antioxidant is very effective at cleaning toxins out of the body - the very toxins that cause reactions.

5. I get treatments. My doctor's clinic is set up with several treatments that promote healing. I do as many of them as I can afford. Each of them have provided me with a lot of relief.  http://humannaturenaturalhealth.com/treatments

6. I give myself a couple of "treatments" at home. I invested in a portable Far Infrared Sauna, which causes me to sweat profusely, meaning my skin is pushing out a ton of toxins. I also take detox baths that promote sweating and restore some minerals in my body. I use my acupressure mat very often. 

7. I regularly visit my local chiropractor and acupuncturist. (My naturopathic doctor would do these for me, but he's in a different state and I travel to see him.) I cannot emphasis enough how helpful adjustments are - they free up the nerves in your spine that go to your organs, helping the nerves to function properly so the organs can function well. Acupuncture has been incredibly beneficial to me as well, and I notice that my body slows down and reacts more harshly to things when I go a while without acupuncture.

8. I'm addressing a systemic candida overgrowth infection. Candida can cause or intensify MCS, as the candida yeast feeds on the chemical toxins. I haven't written much about this yet, but I still plan to. The candida cleanse I'm on is a big part of the reason why I haven't blogged much lately. It's taking a lot out of me.

9. I avoid as much stress as possible. I avoid as many triggers as possible. I allow my body to stay as calm as possible as often as possible. This meant installing an reverse osmosis filter on my kitchen sink, getting rid of all of my polyester clothes and blankets and replacing them with natural fabrics, replacing plastic in my kitchen with a safe substance (like glass, stainless steel, cast iron, or bamboo,) switching to only fragrance-free soaps and cleaners in my house, hiring an organic lawn care company with a safer product, hiring someone to clean the mold out of our house, and so on and so forth. It also means I no longer eat out too. I've had to alter a lot about the way I live my life in order to avoid triggers. It's a major challenge, but it's been absolutely necessary to avoid as many triggers as possible.

10. Once I felt ready and capable, I spent months searching for job openings at businesses that would have the least amounts of triggers. I found a few places in town that I can be in without getting sick, or at least not too sick. When one of them announced a job opening, I applied right away in person and tried to make a good impression. I actually ended up with a couple of offers, so I was able to choose the job that offered the least amount of hours with the most respect to my health condition, knowing I simply didn't have the energy for more than 15 hours a week. The job I chose is at a natural health products store. It's small, locally owned, and doesn't attract stinky customers that I can't be around without getting sick. The store itself is quite nice and sells foods and supplements I already knew enough about, but is challenging me to learn a lot more, which I love. The learning curve was small, it's usually a relaxed atmosphere, and it's not too often that there are stinky triggers in the store. It also keeps me on my feet moving, as opposed to at a computer all day, which would make me worse.


How I deal with triggers on the job:
This is harder to answer, but the fact is that I rely on all the healing tactics I do at home. The more I take care of myself, keeping myself clean, detoxing/ sweating regularly, makes it so I can tolerate more triggers with less harsh reactions. When I first took the job, I couldn't use the Sharpie pens without holding my breath. I got immediate headaches from them. Now I can actually use them for  a short period of time without holding my breath. I'm not sure why. Did I build up a tolerance, or is it because I'm using my sauna more and taking more baths than before I started working?

There have been a couple of times when a heavily perfumed customer needs my help. In one instance I was able to have a co-worker help that customer instead of me. I just politely said "My co-worker is better able to help you with this than I am, would you mind waiting a moment and I'll have her come help you?" In the other instance, I spent the least amount of time with the customer as possible and then ran back to the break room and took a few glutathione pills. My headache, fever, heart palpitations, and gut ache calmed down in about an hour. The truly amazing part is that I did manage to help her and was able to continue working through the reaction - that's how much I've healed!

But it did get to the point two days ago where I had to go home early from getting too sick. I wasn't feeling well all day anyway as I was overly exhausted and I was suffering some abnormally bad PMS (I'm on a new anti-fungal for my candida that is quite strong,) but then it hit me like a brick wall. I had no idea what was causing the reaction, but I got hit with an anxiety attack so strong that I had to leave. I was losing control. Once I got outside and started walking to my car I found the source: one single train cart was stopped on the train tracks right behind our parking lot. It was puffing out clouds of black smoke, which the wind carried right towards the store, and me. I didn't feel much better until the next morning, so it took the majority of the day and night to recover from that one.


In conclusion:
Healing is VERY hard work! It requires a lot of time, a lot of dedication, a lot of faith, a lot of money, and a lot of self-love. I always treated myself as "worth it." If I didn't, if I would have assumed that my life wasn't worth saving because I was a leech to society, I wouldn't have gotten better. I had to believe that God was keeping me alive for a reason, and that with enough work and medical help that I could live up to His will for me.

If you're suffering with MCS, looking for answers, I hope this blog has helped you, not discouraged you. I never looked at my healing process in the big picture. It would have overwhelmed me and scared me - I would have assumed it was too much for me to handle considering how fatigued I was! I always took it one step at a time, doing what I needed to at every moment. Before I knew it, I made a lot of progress!

I also want to stress that what has been working for me may not be what works for you. What causes MCS in one person may not be the cause in another person. There are other people who have had success healing from MCS who have used different approaches. I encourage you to read other MCS blogs, talk to natural doctors, and learn your own body. But don't give up. Don't give in. MCS might rule your life, but you can find a good life within the confines of MCS.

Teeth and Tongue Part 1

A couple of weeks ago my teeth started to grow sensitive... again. The sensitivity has come in waves for a few years, and the wave have picked up the pace and intensity since starting the Candida cleanse. I also noticed that the inside of my two bottom front teeth were turning black. Black like cavities, without the decay or sensitivity (it's my molars that grow sensitive.) I thought about what I could do. I know that oil pulling does work with sensitivity and whitening to some degree, but it's so inconvenient.  I wanted to try a different method. I looked at my container of hydrogen peroxide and remembered that it used to help with any tooth issue when I used it years ago.

I swished hydrogen peroxide for about 3 days before I noticed that my tongue had turned black. Yes, black:

If you're not too grossed out, expand the photo. You'll see that the black is actually fuzzy hairs. I immediately got a hold of my doctor, but I didn't think to tell him about the hydrogen peroxide at first. It was my mother who told me that the same thing happened to her tongue when her dentist told her to swish hydrogen peroxide in her mouth. Apparently hydrogen peroxide draws bacteria out of the mouth in such a way that these hairs form, collecting more bacteria and dirt, essentially turning them black. A bit later, I had noticed that I was developing some mild thrush on my tongue too. I never noticed that I had thrush in the past, which is one reason that I assumed I didn't have Candida before. This was the first time I saw it on my tongue, and I can only assume that the hydrogen peroxide pulled out some candida too, causing it.

My doctor had me swish plain yogurt once a day in my mouth for a week so the good bacteria in the yogurt could replenish my mouth. This was the first time I'd had dairy in my mouth in about 2 years (I quit dairy before I started working with my doctor.) This was the most disgusting thing I've done in a very long time!! Why did I use dairy? Frankly, because I live a town that doesn't sell any dairy alternative yogurt without added sugar. Dairy was my only choice, so I used grass-fed whole fat plain dairy yogurt. It tasted so disgusting that I've now lost all interest in dairy products ever again - not even cheese sounds appealing. How can any of you stand the taste?! I digress. The immediate problem was that it made me congested in my sinuses and throat (I never swallowed the yogurt.) Again, because I couldn't find an alternative yogurt, I kept using this, despite the allergic reaction it caused. The later problem was that my acne increased around my mouth. I can only assume this is in relation to the yogurt. All problems aside, it worked. My tongue is back to normal again! Well, normal for me, anyway.

But what about the black on the back of my teeth? No change. It's still there.

I have a few theories about what's causing it, but my guess is the quality of our water. When we used to live in a very old industrial building that was converted into an apartment, the water came through old pipes. We brushed our teeth with this water and it turned our teeth colors. I strongly question the quality of the water in out house at times, which is why I use filters on the water for drinking, showering, and bathing. Teeth brushing is the only time I use unfiltered water. I'm going to try to come up with a solution.

In the mean time, the next thing I'm trying is something that might seem very strange to those of you who don't already know this trick. I'm brushing my teeth with clay and charcoal. Here's the recipe:

Clay Toothpaste:

-1 part bentonite clay

-1/3rd part activated charcoal

Optional:

-1/8th part pure stevia powder for sweetness

-Ground cloves (For calming sensitive or painful teeth)

-Ground mint or cinnamon (for astringent properties and flavor)

Directions:

Mix together in a glass bowl. Do not use a metal bowl, which will deactivate the clay. (Plastic is technically fine, but I do not advise using plastic for any reason when a sustainable non-petroleum based product is available.) Wet your toothbrush, then dip it into the powder mixture. Scrub your teeth. Yes, it turns black! But it does not stain - I promise! It rinses with water very easily. For extra disinfecting and whitening power, leave in your mouth for 5 minutes after you're done brushing before you rinse with water.

(Non-petroleum plastic toothbrush)

In my experiment I'm just using the clay and charcoal. This isn't much different from the toothpaste I've been using and love: Redmond Earthpaste. The difference is that their toothpaste is a bit abrasive and does not contain charcoal. My DIY toothpaste is significantly cheaper and is not abrasive against the teeth at all, protecting the enamel. My hope is that the charcoal is gong to bring an extra level of cleaning power and help draw out whatever is making my bottom two front teeth black.

(This is "Part 1" because I'm going to say more about oral care and toothbrushes in another post. I plan to update this blog with the results of this toothpaste, as I've only brushed with it once.)

MCS Memes

My goal was to sit down and write a post. I have plenty to write about.

Then I sat down, turned on my computer, and crashed. Now my brain feels numb and my body feels heavy. I don't really feel like doing anything. And this feeling has been becoming more and more regular in the last month.

So instead, I'm going to leave you with this (it's on Facebook, but it's public):

https://www.facebook.com/laurajmac/media_set?set=a.10153330506660883&type=3

These are memes with quotes from people diagnosed with MCS. Each person quoted finished the sentence "For me, MCS mean______."







Thankfully, I'm not as reactive as many of these people are. In fact, I've been improving since starting my doctor's homeopathic remedy and his candida cleanse. Just today I went to the salon for a haircut. Someone just had a perm, so the air was very thick with horrible sticky chemically residue. I couldn't wait in the waiting area, as I got immediate heart palpitations and stomach pain from being in there. When I went back with my stylist, I had to walk through that area, holding my breath. I was expecting I'd be really sick for the rest of the day after that. Her area of the salon is right next to a window and is far away from everyone else, so I had much better air during my cut. And you know what? I was okay. Not great, but I was okay. My heart palpitated,  my head ached mildly, my lungs felt worn out and weak, and my stomach hurt. But I survived. Granted, I did take extra glutathione and NAC before going in. But I survived. Yes, I'm definitely getting better. This is closer to how I was with chemicals before my big breakdown. I never liked them and they always bothered me to some degree, but it wasn't debilitating.

Now that I'm home and took more glutathione and NAC, I'm okay. I'm just down to heavy fatigue, brain fog, and muscle pain now. If I were in that situation 2 months ago, I'd be much much much sicker!

What I should do is get in my Far Infrared Sauna to detox from the salon (it helps a ton!!), but I think I'm honestly too worn out to survive it.

PMS

Right now, my brain feels like: "Bbblllaaaaahhhhhhh."

It has felt this way for the past 3 days. I've been uninterested in anything, not feeling up to taking on a project, and a little too bored to sit around doing nothing. This feeling is torment. I can't simply just "push through it" and get work done, because I'll just discover that I don't have the physical energy for it either.

What's causing this? I wish I could blame it on an MCS reaction, which can cause this type of prolonged brain fog, but that isn't the case this time. It's that my energy has been overspent, then my body was further taxed by the start of my period. Blah. I just want to melt into the floor and stay a liquid puddle there until I find the strength to put myself back together.

For most of my adolescent life, I had no idea that my periods were not normal. I thought every woman suffered tremendously each month. The older I get, the more comfortable I've grown talking about my monthly substantial torment, the more I've come to learn that my periods have not been "normal" at all. It isn't normal to suffer so much each month! Thankfully, I'm no longer suffering to the degree I used to. It's taken a lot of work and effort, but my periods are actually manageable now. I still can't go to work on the first day of my cycle, but I'm no longer staying in bed screaming for hours. I'm continuing to get better as time goes on.

I'm not up to writing "Menstrual Solutions Part 2." I don't have that kind of energy to spend. I do, however, want to talk a bit about PMS. I do not understand it, and this is not an advice-giving post.

PMS is stereotyped as "getting overly moody the week before a woman's period." I never thought I had PMS because this was hardly ever an issue for me. Of course, I have suffered terrible acne (as in so much acne that it was hard to see my face's skin color,) bloating, tenderness and skin sensitivities, fatigue, and chocolate cravings.  I didn't know this through my teen years and early 20's, but those were all PMS symptoms. If I had to have PMS at all, I'm grateful that I had these type of symptoms rather than the mood symptoms. (I'll never be grateful for the amount of acne I've suffered, of course.)

That was then. About 3 years ago, when my menstrual issues got so bad that I was finally willing to see a doctor about it, my PMS symptoms had grown worse. I was feeling moody most of the month (both the very good moods and the very sour moods,) but I didn't quite recognize just how bad I was until my moods started to even out after getting help. My acne wasn't as bad as it was when I was 16, but I was an adult trying to hide teenage-like breakouts every so often. My breasts would grow so tender that it was painful to touch them. My bloat would get so large that I would need to go up a pant size on the day or two before my period started. I wanted chocolate all the time.

But after getting help from my Naturopathic doctor, my symptoms gradually changed. My periods slowly, but surely, eased up as the months went on. During this time, my PMS started to change. My chocolate cravings gradually went away, but my mood swings gradually got worse. I eventually got to the stereotypical point of being easily irritable the week before my period started. This lasted for several months, and then my PMS started to swing back towards being about acne breakouts and chocolate cravings again. And then it swung back to to being moody without the chocolate cravings. Let's fast forward to today. I now know that my PMS symptoms will either bring chocolate cravings or mood swings, but I don't know what type of PMS I'm going to get until I get it. Some months I get acne breakouts, other months I do not. It isn't in the least bit predictable!


What I have noticed, however, is that my acne breakouts have been big during both periods I've suffered since starting the Candida cleanse 41 days ago. My mood swings are substantially worse now too. I was so angry the week before the period I'm currently on that even my husband was feeling stressed about my stress levels.

And so I have a theory: Candida makes PMS worse, and causes it to fluctuate.

I hope to find that my PMS symptoms disappear after this candida overgrowth is gone. Please message me on Facebook or leave a comment here if you have a PMS story to share.

(I do appreciate all the Facebook messages I've received - I've had quite a few from readers who also suffer menstrual issues! While it's not normal for our periods to make us suffer, it's clearly a common problem among women.)

Candida

I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for me to talk about this issue so soon, but after discovering how common of an issue it is, I decided I would share my story so far. I need some type of outlet for this issue, because my goodness, it's the only thing on my mind right now! It also will serve as an explanation for what's going on - why I've been extra quiet and distant this week.

My doctor told me it's time to address my candida overgrowth. This surprised me. I didn't know I had a candida issue, and from what I knew of candida symptoms, I assumed I would have figured out on my own that I have a candida problem. As it turns out, I didn't know that much about candida, despite reading quite a bit of the Yeast Connection book two years ago when I was searching for answers. Yes, I had tons of the symptoms listed in the book: multiple chemical sensitives, rashes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, regular discharge, extreme menstrual pain and flow, and digestive issues. All of these symptoms, though, were explained by other methods. What I did not have were regular yeast infections (I've only had 3 in my life, one of which was expected as a side effect of antibiotics I was temporarily put on for a MRSA abscess.) So I dismissed candida, thinking it probably wasn't my issue. Even though it turns out to be one of my issues, it is good that I didn't try to address it on my own before seeing my doctor, because I was not nearly strong enough back then to handle a candida cleanse.

What I know now is that heavy antibiotic use throughout life causes candida overgrowth. As you may know, I've been put on lots of antibiotics - 1-2 rounds a year at least for most of my childhood and teen years. I was also on antibiotics for a full year when I was 1 year old due to a chronic ear infection. Antibiotics destroy both good and bad bacteria in the gut, and when there's an imbalance of good bacteria in the gut, the candida yeast spreads. I've also had several mold exposures, and yeast can feed on mold. I was also eating plenty of sugar, and yeast loves sugar. The Yeast Connection book I linked to earlier explains all of this. I suggest that you do your own research and talk to your doctor if it's something you want to know more about. There are tons of websites, books, and studies dedicated to candida. I am writing this post to share my experience, not explain candida.

My Naturopathic Doctor has me on a candida cleanse using lots and lots of herbs. I will not tell you what he's having me take. What I'm taking is very strong and cannot be purchased off store shelves. If you want to do a cleanse, talk to your doctor (I highly recommend finding a licensed Naturopthic doctor for this, but from what I've heard from others I've talked to who have also done cleanses, a licensed acupuncturist or Chinese Medicine Doctor can also provide the same type of herbs I'm on right now.) I'm taking 4 rounds of pills a day until the candida is gone. This is a process.

I'm currently on day 6 of the cleanse, but I should be clear that I've been on a diet that does not promote candida growth for over a year. I've had almost no sugar and I've been very low carb.

Here's what I've been going through, symptoms starting at day 2 of the cleanse:

- Intense bloating!!
- Constipation AND too many extra trips to the bathroom
- Rashes
- Night sweats
- Restless aching muscles that burn like acid after being worked
- Fibromyalgia flares like I haven't felt in a year
- Inability to eat much because of intense bloating
- Adrenaline rushes/ jittery uncomfortable energy
- Debilitating fatigue
- Sleeplessness and over sleeping
- Teeth sensitivity flares
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Muscle Tension
- Heart palpitations

Yes, it's been really unpleasant. Apparently most of this is due to the "die-off effect." Candida can go anywhere in the body and cause problems, so as the yeast dies off, we can have die-off symptoms where the yeast was.

Let me explain the bloating symptom, because I want to complain (ha!) I didn't think to measure my belly before starting the cleanse, unfortunately, but I do know that I've been wearing a size 6 pant, which translates to a waist size of 27 1/2" as far as fashion sizes are concerned (not hip size, waist size.) I measured about an inch below my waist once I started measuring.

On day 2 the bloating began, and it was so bad that I couldn't even get my loose-fitting dresses to cover it up. I looked 7-8 months pregnant. I didn't take measurements until the after noon of day 3. Measuring at about half an inch below my belly button, I measured 36.5". The morning of day 4 I measured 34.5", at 1:30 that afternoon I was at 36", and at 7:30 pm I was at 37". Day 5 morning measurement was 36", afternoon was 37", and evening 36.5". This morning, day 6, I measured at 35" (but I forgot to measure until after taking my pills, which is an instant bloater - I looked my thinnest of the week this morning.) I'm currently at 36.5" after eating breakfast.

I don't think my belly could grow larger than 37" without bursting open! The bloating has been painful because I've felt stretched to my limit. My stomach has felt very firm, like a balloon filled to capacity. This isn't the jiggly "feeling fat" type of bloating - it's about as firm as possible. My clothing hasn't fit, so I haven't left the house. I'm sporting sweat pants and over sized shirts.

I don't know how long this cleanse will take, but I'm seriously looking forward to being done with it. Until it's done, it's dominating my thoughts. The discomfort is constant, and it's making me less interested in anything else for the time being.

Please leave a comment here on my blog or on Facebook with your candida experience. I want to hear what you've gone through on your cleanses!