When Recovering Health is a Puzzle
This is a tough one to write because there is no easy answer. I get asked this question all the time, and I really don’t know how to give a truthful answer, at least not in a conversational way. So, my response is usually, “Doing better, thank you.” Or, “Better than I was.” But those are only partly true. The truth is that I’m still identifying and fitting together the pieces of health and healing.
The Pieces I Know
The good news is that some things did get better almost immediately upon leaving our moldy home. We unknowingly lived in a toxic home for five years. I began to get sick about a year and a half into our stay. One of the first problems to appear was that of hormone dysregulation. By our last year in the house, I was regularly seeing a breast surgeon due to unexplained breast pain that showed nothing unusual on a mammogram. I was also having a period every 12-14 days. Upon leaving the house, that regulated itself back to a 28 day cycle almost immediately, and the breast pain went away.
I often had nerve tingling like there were spiders running up and down my feet and lower legs. My vision was so constantly blurry that my eye doctor would blame dry eyes. They didn’t feel dry, though. Increasing food sensitivities left my hands and feet itching, bleeding, and cracking into blisters. I had a candida overgrowth that manifested as an intense itch that no doctor could figure out or successfully treat. I also had night sweats and would wake up to pee more times than I peed during the day. All of these symptoms went away quickly after leaving our moldy environment. I’m thankful for that health and healing.
My Broken Brain
In the house, especially peaking in the winter, I had horrible brain fog and difficulty with word finding. For a long period of time, I could not even read because I would just look at the same sentence over and over without comprehending what was on the page. When I saw a neurologist about this, my short term memory was so bad that I could not repeat a list six of colors that he spoke to me.
Before having brain fog, I could mentally add up the cost of all my groceries while shopping and be within ten cents of the total when I got to the register. When I told my doctor that I wanted my brain back, giving that example, he laughed and said no one can do that. But I could. At one time. Losing your ability to think and process the world around you is perhaps the scariest symptom of toxic mold exposure. Luckily, my brain fog has much improved. I would say I’m 85% back to normal here. (While I know brain fog is super serious and can lead to permanent loss of brain function, I also see the need to find humor where I can. See below. Laughter is good for healing, right?)
It All Adds Up To Mold Exposure
If you check out Dr. Jill Carnahan’s list of Toxic Mold Symptoms, you will see that these issues were all classic symptoms of mold exposure. At the time, in the house, it all seemed like one big puzzle, because I didn’t know anything about toxic mold. Now, everything that happened fits together. My current toxic mold specialist told me that the night sweats and excessive urination were my body’s attempt at detox. The food sensitivities were due to Mast Cell Activation, where cells that are designed to heal and protect the body against attack began to fight against things like food as they weren’t able to identify the actual invader (in my case, toxic mold).
The hormonal issues all tied back to MSH (Melanocyte or “Master” Stimulating Hormone). This hormone controls many of the other hormones in the body. When exposed to toxic mold, MSH goes very low, meaning that all the other sex hormones all but disappear. When my MSH was tested after leaving the house, it was 15 on a functional range of 35-81 pg/mL. While my hormones have not 100% regulated, I have seen some health and healing where they are concerned.
Bonus Symptoms
Since leaving our home, a few odd symptoms have come with me. I still get intense tension-like headaches about two to three times a month. I have also developed a chemical sensitivity and light sensitivity. The chemical sensitivity means that I react to perfumes, household cleaners, and artificial scents. I also have a strong sense of smell (and reaction) when it comes to moldy buildings.
The light sensitivity made it hard to drive during the summer, as my eyes would involuntarily close with bright sun exposure. That seems to have improved. Or at least I don’t notice it as much since the fall sun is not as intense as the summer sun.
Thankful For Health and Healing
While I am not living with constantly blistered hands and feet, I do still have some issues with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Thankfully, it seems to have calmed down quite a bit as my attacks are not nearly as severe as they had been. Also, now that I know what it is, I can treat it with Quercetin, Omega 3s, and avoid high histamine foods when I sense a problem coming on.
These are all of the improved or not so severe things that I am dealing with. The other half of the story is what has not improved. I’ll save that for Part 2 as there is a lot more to explain. If this is all there was, I would answer “How are you doing?” with a resounding, “SO. MUCH. BETTER.” But since it’s not the whole story, I’ll still say, “Better than I was,” and know that deep down I’m praying for the healing hand of God to touch my life (again) and finish piecing together my path to health and healing.
