OP
animalcule
Member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2019
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- 361
Well, I've gone from panic to ... acceptance and hope. The reaction to the mold biotoxin could be causing Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. Here are (roughly) the first steps you can take that don't require a doctor to sign off on a lab test:
The first step is usually to get an ERMI test for you home/potential source of mold. They cost $150-250. Unfortunately, I have already spent money on Immunolytics mold plates, so I'm just going to do that test and see what shows up. It won't be as accurate/useful probably, but it should still show how many different types of mold is in the air in my rooms under given conditions.
Next, look at the symptom checklist of CIRS. If you meet 8 of the 13 criteria, it's likely you have CIRS, and you should take a VCS test.
The VCS test (visual contrast sensitivity test). You can take it free here (but only one time free): VCSTest.com: Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) Test
If you fail the VCS test and you meet 8 of 13 criteria for CIRS ... you probably have CIRS.
Dr Shoemaker has a protocol for CIRS that includes taking Cholestyramine or Welchol, which will help remove the mold toxins out of the body, in a way that binders like clay or charcoal cannot.
Here's a run-down of the protocol: Steps of the Shoemaker Protocol | The Hoffman Centre
And a document explaining CIRS: https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/UNDERSTANDING_CIRS_EDITV2A.PDF
Now, there's the question of what do to about your living situation, and what to do with your belongings.... There are a few camps when it comes to mold illness. One camp believes you must drop everything and move and avoid mold at all costs + follow the healing protocol. Another camp believes that depending on your level of illness, and the level of mold in your home, you may actually find your current home environment livable (with some remediation/cleaning) after you begin the protocol, specifically taking cholestyramine. The idea is that panicking and throwing everything away and running to a new environment is actually quite stressful, and may set you back, not to mention you may end up running away from your home and into a home with worse mold problems. So, perhaps you only need to leave for a short while, get the mold in the house cleaned up, do the protocol, and see if you can tolerate your home once your internal toxin load has reduced.I don't know what this means as far as belongings go, but it does leave me a bit hopeful that at least some of my belongings, once properly cleaned, will be tolerable eventually.
Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) is something else I came across that some people have found helpful. The theory is that if you can retrain your limbic system, you won't be as hypersensitive to the toxins/stressors that once set off all of your health problems. It's not a substitute for cleaning up your environment or moving to a clean environment, but many people remain in a constant state of fight/flight after their illness, and so they're triggered by even minute amounts of the toxin, which normal people aren't affected by.
Here is a video that I found very optimistic. They're by carnivores (not going back down that route, but at least there are ppl in that community who are taking it seriously when carnivores see their health decline while on the diet, and they're trying to figure out why). One woman states that after she was treated for CIRS, she was able to eat dairy again, and even vegetables and all the things that carnivores say are evil. Refreshing.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbt7NhOpPmE&t=0
The first step is usually to get an ERMI test for you home/potential source of mold. They cost $150-250. Unfortunately, I have already spent money on Immunolytics mold plates, so I'm just going to do that test and see what shows up. It won't be as accurate/useful probably, but it should still show how many different types of mold is in the air in my rooms under given conditions.
Next, look at the symptom checklist of CIRS. If you meet 8 of the 13 criteria, it's likely you have CIRS, and you should take a VCS test.
The VCS test (visual contrast sensitivity test). You can take it free here (but only one time free): VCSTest.com: Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) Test
If you fail the VCS test and you meet 8 of 13 criteria for CIRS ... you probably have CIRS.
Dr Shoemaker has a protocol for CIRS that includes taking Cholestyramine or Welchol, which will help remove the mold toxins out of the body, in a way that binders like clay or charcoal cannot.
Here's a run-down of the protocol: Steps of the Shoemaker Protocol | The Hoffman Centre
And a document explaining CIRS: https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/UNDERSTANDING_CIRS_EDITV2A.PDF
Now, there's the question of what do to about your living situation, and what to do with your belongings.... There are a few camps when it comes to mold illness. One camp believes you must drop everything and move and avoid mold at all costs + follow the healing protocol. Another camp believes that depending on your level of illness, and the level of mold in your home, you may actually find your current home environment livable (with some remediation/cleaning) after you begin the protocol, specifically taking cholestyramine. The idea is that panicking and throwing everything away and running to a new environment is actually quite stressful, and may set you back, not to mention you may end up running away from your home and into a home with worse mold problems. So, perhaps you only need to leave for a short while, get the mold in the house cleaned up, do the protocol, and see if you can tolerate your home once your internal toxin load has reduced.I don't know what this means as far as belongings go, but it does leave me a bit hopeful that at least some of my belongings, once properly cleaned, will be tolerable eventually.
Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) is something else I came across that some people have found helpful. The theory is that if you can retrain your limbic system, you won't be as hypersensitive to the toxins/stressors that once set off all of your health problems. It's not a substitute for cleaning up your environment or moving to a clean environment, but many people remain in a constant state of fight/flight after their illness, and so they're triggered by even minute amounts of the toxin, which normal people aren't affected by.
Here is a video that I found very optimistic. They're by carnivores (not going back down that route, but at least there are ppl in that community who are taking it seriously when carnivores see their health decline while on the diet, and they're trying to figure out why). One woman states that after she was treated for CIRS, she was able to eat dairy again, and even vegetables and all the things that carnivores say are evil. Refreshing.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbt7NhOpPmE&t=0