What Mold Does to Your Body - Understanding Mold Illness

​Things didn't used to be so difficult to accomplish.  It didn't used to be impossible to make it through a day at work.  Now you find it almost impossible to get through a load of laundry.  You are so tired all of the time.  You are just hoping your disability is approved so you can live.

Maybe you were a star athlete at school and at the top of your class.  Now you just try to make it through your classes and survive the massive headache that hits by second period.  That's if you can handle the nausea and vomiting that starts, or the diarrhea that is inevitable.  Just trying to stay awake and focus on your studies at school becomes the goal of your entire day -not to mention remember what you are learning.  Gone are the days of zipping through your classes and getting to ball practice after school.  You can't even breathe well enough at school to make it through the day.  Dreams of being a part of that state championship athletic team have been destroyed.

This is what happens to people who are injured by Dangerous Buildings - those that are filled with biotoxins that your body cannot process because of your genes.  This is a real illness and wreaks havoc on your body.  Your body's response to the poisons causes such inflammation throughout the major systems of your body that life as you knew it has changed forever.

Of course while all of this is happening in your body, you probably still look ok.  You get told all of the time that you don't look sick.  But you sure do feel sick.

Maybe you have been to countless doctors and had countless tests, only to be told everything is normal or that you have allergies.  Or even worse, that you look fine, so your complaints must be in your head.  You are told you are just depressed and that you have a psychological problem. - Surviving Mold - Dr. Shoemaker

You can take the online mold testing for $15.  Please take note, I am not paid to offer this information to you I simply offer any new treatments I find available for all my readers.  Online Mold Screening Test.  

One book that will keep you on the edge of your seat!  Great down time for that much needed reprieve after a busy day.

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming. - Gullian Flynn

An uplifting story of love one small boy has for his enduring father.  Even though abnormally small for his age, Little Boy, brings hope and faith to a small community. 

Little Pepper Busbee (Jakob Salvati) enjoys an idyllic life in an American small town, but his world is shattered when his beloved father (Michael Rapaport) is sent off to fight in World War II. But a chance encounter with a stage magician (Ben Chaplin) awakens his dormant abilities and clues him into the power of faith. Now his devotion to his father will extend past time and space and into the realm of miracles. - IMBd

Adorable story creating Christmas Day over and over until you can touch each life in it.  

An overlooked middle child finds himself in the unexpected spotlight when he realizes his family's terrible Christmas day keeps repeating. As the only one experiencing the day over and over, he decides to use his unique gift to give the holidays a makeover and his family a Christmas they will never forget. - IMBd

Fibromyalgia patients suffer from undiagnosed deficiencies of calming neurotransmitters and excessive activity of electrifying neurotransmitters. The imbalance of neurotransmitters can be corrected when the underlying cause[s] of the imbalance is properly diagnosed.
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Diagnosing the underlying cause of fibromyalgia is obviously a better treatment than simply masking the symptoms of fibromyalgia with medications like Lyrica and Opana. These addicting medications simply “turn down” the excess “electrical voltage” caused by harmful toxicity issues. Big Pharma would have you believe their “symptom treatment’ is the solution, however, masking the symptoms with a medication that reduces electrical activity does nothing to correct underlying disorders that ultimately cause neurotoxicity and subsequently, damage to brain and body nerves.

A mycotoxin is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by mold. Mycotoxicosis, commonly referred to as mold toxicity, or mold illness occurs when a person who doesn’t have antibodies to mycotoxins has accumulated high levels of the dangerous toxins in their brain and body. “Not all species of mold produce pathogens (disease causing elements). However, many species of fungi are known as pathogenic and produce toxic substances, mycotoxins being one of them.” Indoor molds which are not visible to the human eye are highly dangerous, carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and life threatening.

A common misconception is that the only way you can get sick from mold is through ingestion of moldy foods. Mold infestations are usually hidden behind water damaged walls, around showers and bathtubs, and above wet ceilings. Mold spores are released into the air, and in most cases bacteria, amoeba, and sometimes mycobacteria and actinomycetes will be present in water damaged buildings, in addition to the mycotoxins. These organisms release a variety of toxic substances we cannot see or smell.

Dangerous molds have now been linked to a number of different diseases that are prevalent today, including learning disabilities, gastrointestinal disturbances and GERD, heart problems, cancer, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and several autoimmune diseases. The truth is, when your immune system is impaired, almost anything can happen in terms of negative health affects. When mycotoxins and other volatile substances invade and colonize within the body a slew of serious chronic illnesses emerge. Every cell and organ is affected by degeneration with continued exposure to mycotoxins. Chronic inflammation goes rampant in the body and brain, resulting in debilitating wide-spread chronic pain and fatigue with irreversible damage. The immunological and neurological systems are the most impacted as it becomes a systemic chronic disease multiply throughout the body. This generally occurs over a long period of time.
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Symptoms of Mycotoxicosis:

• Headaches, migraines, brain lesions
• Chronic fatigue, exhaustion
• Irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, sharp abdominal pains, stomach lesions
• Joint and muscle stiffness, pain and weakness
• Cognitive dysfunction (progressive brain fog); memory loss, slurred speech, confusion, dementia
• Balance problems, dizziness, vertigo
• Ringing in ears, loss of hearing (aspergillus niger)
• Chronic allergies, congestion, sneezing, sinusitis
• Asthma, wheezing, shortness in breath, coughing, chronic bronchitis
• Heart palpitations, irregular heart beat, tachycardia, heart attack
• Weight loss or weight gain (usually sudden and severe)
• Multiple food allergies/leaky gut syndrome/altered immunity
• Thyroid irregularities, sometimes leading to complete dysfunction; adrenal problems
• Bladder, liver, spleen, and/or kidney pain and problems (infections, disease and failure)
• Low grade fevers
• Enlarged, and/or painful lymph nodes
• Reproductive system complications; irregular menstrual cycles, miscarriage, infertility
• Anxiety, depression
• Behavioral issues; mood disorder, irritability, aggression, OCD, bipolar, addiction
• Rashes and/or hives, bruising/scarring easily, bloody lesions all over the skin
• Anemia, leukopenia, neutropenia, frequent infections
• Numbness, paresthesia, Bell’s palsy
• Muscle spasms, fasciculations, tremors, inadvertent facial movements
• Extreme blood pressure, cholesterol, or triglycerides irregularities
• Autonomic nervous system dysfunction (Dysautonomia); Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) , Neurocardiogenic Syncope (NCS), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA)
• Vision problems (floaters, auras, blurred vision, blindness)
• Night sweats, head sweats, profuse sweating, excessive salvia
• Hallucinations
• Burning in the throat and lungs (similar to acid reflux and often misdiagnosed as such)
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
• Intermittent face flushing; called the Mylar Flush (neurological)
• Large boils on neck
• Burning after urination, frequent urination, dark urine
• Insensitivity to heat and alcohol
• Nose bleeds (stachybotrys)
• Coughing up blood, black looking debris
• Difficulty swallowing, choking, spitting up (vomiting)
• Hypersensitivity (highly sensitive to smells, sounds, light, and touch)
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
• Hair loss, premature graying of hair
• Seizures
• Cancer
• Anaphylaxis upon re-exposure to mycotoxin producing molds
• Death

Have an environmental physician or toxicologist order one or more of these tests in to rule out mycotoxicosis. There are more test available these are just the ones which are regularly ordered. You can ask your general practitioner to test you for mycotoxicosis, but keep in mind many are unfamiliar with biotoxin illnesses and other environmental related diseases.If you test positive you need to get on a customized treatment plan as soon as possible.

Mycotoxicosis Blood Tests and Urinalysis: 
Mycotoxin panel, c3a and c4a, T1-T2 panels, cyrex autoimmune panel, candida panel and more.
Mycotoxin Testing Labs:
Real Time Lab
EHAF LABS
Mycotoxin Testing Lab

*Keep in mind that it is common to produce false negatives in urinalysis mycotoxin, especially for short exposure periods. If someone does indeed have mycotoxicosis, sauna, or some form of heat depuration just prior to testing can draw out some of the mycotoxins which should then show up on the panel.
Indoor Mold Testing:
You may search for ‘ERMI testing’ to order a test kit for your home or workplace.
Mycometrics – (Doctor recommended.) I’ve used this company a couple times, and tell anyone who wants to test their home to go through them.
IMPORTANT: Make sure the company is USEPA licensed, or accredited. Keep in mind that the cheap mold tests sold in stores such as home depot, etc. are simply not accurate indicators of relative mold index. Your health and your life may depend on this, so spend the extra money on reliable testing.

Have you ever felt that your symptomatology reflects an actual illness rather than the CNS disorder profile your doctor keeps stating?  Infections are a common trigger for fibromyalgia (FM), and fibromyalgia patients experience many ‘sickness behavior’ symptoms, but the medical profession hasn’t usually associated FM with viruses or immune system problems. 

At Pathways researchers and doctors study disorders like FM or chronic fatigue syndrome.  Dr. Pridgen’s pathway to fibromyalgia was through the gut. Pridgen saw a pattern emerge in his  treatment of thousands of patients with chronic gastrointestinal issues that intrigued him. A patient would get better, but then experience a stressful event that would send him/her back into the soup.  They would get better, but during the next relapse they would stay sick longer and their recovery period would be shorter. Eventually they would be sick all the time. 

The problem, he thought, had to be some sort of pathogen that was steadily increasing with every recurrence. Giving his patients antivirals helped, but problems remained. Then he found that adding an anti-inflammatory (which also had anti-viral properties) reduced their fatigue, gastrointestinal complaints, depression and anxiety markedly and improved their energy. Are you taking any anti inflammatory medications and noticing a relapse when you don't take it for a few days because the drug is labeled as needed?  An observational study indicating that the drug approach had a 90% ‘efficacy rate'.Pridgen’s theory fits glove and hand with several other fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome theories. As with Van Elzakkers’ vagus nerve infection theory for ME/CFS, Pridgen’s theory begins with a nerve loving virus that takes up residence for life in nerves in the sensory ganglia found across the body.  Pridgen believes viruses, are the key in FM/ME/CFS. 

One of those viruses the Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is a set of two closely related herpes viruses known as HHV-6A and HHV-6B that infect nearly all human beings, typically before the age of two. The onset of HHV-6 in infancy is often symptomatic, resulting in childhood fever, diarrhea, and rash (commonly known as roseola). Like the other viruses—Epstein Barr virus, varicella zoster virus, etc—HHV-6 establishes life-long latency and can become reactivated later in life.

Pridgen’s patent application indicates that he believes that stressors and peptides and hormones released by the sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis  set the stage for herpes simplex-1 reactivation. Pridgen proposes that repeated HSV reactivation can  kill the sensory nerve cells ( small fiber neuropathy?) and destroy part of the nerve ganglion. 

A growing number of these types of studies also suggest that HHV-6 may play a role in patients with chronic neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, status epilepticus, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Nearly 100% of us have been infected with the HHV-6 virus by early childhood and have antibodies to it, and at least 30% of us have small but detectable levels of latent virus in our blood (Alvarez-Lafuente 2002 & Clark 1996).  Sadly, tests cannot determine reliably if a patient has a chronic central nervous system (CNS) infection that has reactivated because there is so little virus circulating outside of the tissues.

Your best defense is finding a doctor who is familiar with this type of syndrome.  Take a few minutes for your health and look through your providers on your health plan.  You may be pleasantly surprised, with a bit of investigating, you find someone a bit more knowledgeable than your neurologist or PCP.  And, in the meantime, check into anti inflammatory medications to see if they help.   

They’re here.  The glory of Christmas is right around the corner and with it comes compounded stress.  You now contend with more traffic, bigger crowds and longer lines at restaurants and shopping centers. If you have fibromyalgia, it’s also time to protect your health.

Let’s pause right now and make a plan so you can enjoy the holidays as much as possible.

Time management is key to surviving the holidays with fibromyalgia.

Here are 7 fibromyalgia holiday survival tips. They’re the simplest, easiest tips for controlling stress and saving your energy to be with your family and friends:

1. Remember, you don’t have to do everything.  You don’t have to make meals or dishes from scratch or even cook every meal.  If you are hosting the holiday meal, make it pot luck.   Everyone loves to bring a favorite dish.
2. No need to go all-out.  Keep your meals simple.  Keep menu plans simple.
3. Decorating should be fun and bring you joy. Make it a family affair, or invite friends over to help decorate. Again you don’t have to have too many decorations, put out the ones that mean the most to you, or have special memories.
4. Decide first what’s most important to you.  Just do that.  Is it attending a service? Is it spending time with family? Save your energy just for those situation that make you happy.
5. Find family and friends you enjoy and savor the time with them. By now, you’ve learned that some people are more understanding of fibromyalgia than others.  Some people don’t yet ‘get it.’ You may be worried about offending some people if you don’t eat what they’ve fixed or take part in their plans.  Use what you’ve learned about saying no, and say no. Say yes to the things you enjoy and are important to you. Make good memories.
6. Tell others what you want.  Be as open as you can about what makes this time special for you – whether it’s having some holiday lights put up; having someone bring home a special treat, or having some time to yourself so you can relax, unwind, and have the rest you need.
7. Remember to breathe.  This helps decrease stress.  Get as much sleep as you can. Find a way to make your favorite relaxation techniques part of your day, even if your ordinary routine has gone out the window.

With all the hustle and bustle this holiday season, take time to watch this one. It will warm your heart.  

US Army sergeant Cody Cullen's horror tour in Afghanistan ends when his fellow soldier Jonesy is killed in an attack while they are delivering medical supplies in Nurestan. Cody is put on leave and goes to return private possessions to Jonesy's bride turned widow. On his way home he passes Nevada City, California, where he meets Faith Spelman, who writes the parish's Christmas cards to lonely soldiers, who had coincidentally included him, an orphan. He happens to save her dad Luke from a serious car run-over. The Spellmans invite Cody home for dinner, then the Christmas tide. He proves a great help in the family logging firm. Vietenam vet Luke wants Cody as son-in-law, but although charmed, Faith still seems committed to rarely present fiancé Paul, a wine broker. -IMDB

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SuperBrain Yoga is a scientifically validated method that will help you energize your brain and enhance its sharpness and clarity. It’s a simple technique which proposes to increase intellectual capacity and sharpen both memory and concentration.This practice is based on the principles of subtle energy and ear acupuncture.

Basically, SuperBrain Yoga allows energy from your lower chakras–or energy centers–to move up to the forehead and crown chakras. When this happens, this energy is transformed into subtle energy, which is utilized by the brain to enhance its proper functioning.

Some of the benefits of SuperBrain Yoga:

1. It energizes and activates the brain by synchronizing Alpha brain waves.
2. It reduces psychological stress and improves psychological stability.
3. It results in greater intelligence and creativity.
4. It promotes proper functioning of the brain.

​Best of all, SuperBrain Yoga is really easy to learn and you can do it in just three minutes a day.
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SuperBrain Yoga is essentially a form of acupressure and breathing technique used to balance both hemispheres of the brain and bring energy up to the brain. The exercise is easy to learn, takes only a few minutes to do and can be done by almost anyone, anywhere.

Start with 3 repetitions and build up. 

I enjoyed this one simply due to the fact it shows how far men will go for a pretty young face.  Sometimes the return isn't quite what they expect.

In the world of high-end art auctions and antiques, Virgil Oldman is an elderly and esteemed but eccentric genius art-expert, known and appreciated by the world. Oldman is hired by a solitary young heiress, Claire Ibbetson, to auction off the large collection of art and antiques left to her by her parents. For some reason, Claire always refuses to be seen in person. Robert aids Oldman in restoring and reassembling some odd mechanical parts he finds amongst Claire's belongings, while also giving him advice on how to befriend her and deal with his feelings towards her. Also a friend of Oldman, Billy Whistler helps him to acquire a secret private collection of master paintings. - IMbD