Introducing Dr. Shoemaker, the Leading Expert on Mold Illness & Biotoxins

Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker -- www.SurvivingMold.com -- a medical doctor from the Eastern Shore of Maryland educated at Duke medical school and has taught at Duke, Johns Hopkins and is still teaching at University of Maryland medical schools.  He has done extensive research and has treated patients for decades in a private family practice and focuses on biotoxin illnesses.  (See his C.V.)  He has written many books but these two are the ones we will be focusing on...  (the newest one Surviving Mold is downloaded in my iPhone).

                   

Instead of rewriting a great synapsis of Dr. Shoemaker's discoveries with testing and treatment of toxic mold illness, I am including several excerpts from a web site (www.BetterHealthGuy.com) summarized by Scott Forsgren, another mold illness victim.

TESTING & TREATMENT

Are you genetically susceptible and therefore have a predisposition to a biotoxin like mold?

A blood test looks at HLA (human leukocyte antigen) to find this answer.

"The immune system uses HLA to determine the difference between "self" and "non-self". HLA is involved in the steps responsible for antibody formation. These genes have been associated with an inability of the body to recover from illnesses resulting from Lyme disease, molds, and other sources. In the event that a person has a susceptible genotype, the body does not recognize the toxins as a foreign invader and thus, they are allowed to remain in the body. This causes long-term and perpetual ill-health. It has been asserted that nearly 100% of people that become ill after exposure to a biotoxin can be shown to have a predisposition to that biotoxin through the HLA-DR genotype. Many of us have bodies that simply do not recognize the presence of these toxic substances and thus do nothing to eliminate them. Dr. Shoemaker uses the terms "mold susceptible" to categorize one's HLA genotype."

It is just one part of the puzzle discovering you are genetically susceptible.  If you are exposed like I was to significant inhalation of mold spores when cleaning and sweeping dust for hours in a mold basement and you are susceptible to mold illness, then your body cannot fight off the biotoxins in its tissues and organs by itself. 

What other blood tests are done to monitor the body's response to a biotoxin illness like mold?

The “Biotoxin Pathway” shows the cascade of events that starts a biotoxin illness in those who are HLA-susceptible the moment that they are exposed to a biotoxin. It leads to increased leptin, increased cytokines, increased MMP-9 (MMP-9 is a global measure of cytokine activity in the body), reduced VEGF, and reduced MSH (alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone). Reduced MSH leads to reduced ADH (antidiuretic hormone), reduced sex hormones, changes in cortisol and ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), prolonged illness, resistant staphylococci infections, gastrointestinal problems, chronic pain, and sleep disturbances. All of these are downstream effects of a biotoxin in an HLA-susceptible individual. It is mind-boggling to try and comprehend the magnitude of negative impacts on so many body systems caused by a biotoxin.

Dr. Shoemaker's Monitoring Protocol:  The labs are monitored (MMP9, VEGF, C4a, and TGF beta-1) and Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) discussed below at each step.  The next intervention is continually enacted that fixes each uncorrected item until we get to the "top" of the treatment pyramid.

 

My results fall in line with being exposed to a biotoxin:  I have increased cytokines and reduced VEGF.  I've also tested low for thyroid hormone, have tested high for dairy/egg food allergy, struggle with nightly insomnia and other mold illness related symptoms like those listed below.

"The symptoms of mold illnesses include:

• Fatigue  

• Headaches  

• Weakness  

• Stabbing sensations  

• Light sensitivity  

• Rashes  

• Memory loss  

• Concentration difficulties  

• Confusion  

• Joint pain and morning stiffness  

• Shortness of breath  

• Cough  

• Blurred vision  

• Sweats  

• Abdominal Pain  

• Metallic taste  

• Static shocks  

• Sinus congestion  

• Numbness and tingling  

• Skin sensitivity  

• Muscle aches and pains"

What is a simple online test you can do to see if you have biotoxins in your system?

The online screening test is a measure of one of the neurologic functions of vision called contrast.  I have failed this test twice in 2012.  Try it to see if you are suffering!

What is Dr. Shoemaker's treatment protocol?

"Dr. Shoemaker contends that people with mold-related biotoxin illness are not necessarily infected with a mold or fungus, but that they are exposed to the spores that these produce which are highly toxic. When biotoxin illness is confirmed, Dr. Shoemaker often uses a combination treatment of Cholestyramine (CSM) and Actos, along with a low amylose diet. CSM works by removing the toxins that have entered the body. Though it should still be a key goal to avoid the toxin-producing substances in the first place, CSM can help to bind to the toxins already in the body and shuttle them out of the system. A low amylose diet is an extremely important part of the treatment protocol, as it helps to minimize (along with the Actos) the pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are often elevated in individuals with biotoxin induced illnesses."

 

To see more on this subject from Scott visit his web page at: http://www.betterhealthguy.com/topics/mold#sthash.z9iIlENw.dpuf

My World Turned Upside Down

On a Saturday morning, I still had not felt my baby's kicks yet.  I knew I had an anterior placenta and hearing the heart rate was never easy but I just wanted to check in because the last two days I felt different.  I felt like I lost weight.  I felt like I just wasn't pregnant anymore.  I was able to easily put on a Halloween costume the night before which should have made me look more round but it didn't.  So as my husband put the kids in the car and took them to their soccer games and I was a few minutes behind in my minivan with my 10 month old, Sara Beth, already in her car seat waiting for me, I pulled out the handheld Doppler to listen for my baby's heart rate...

Back in late July 2012, I got a positive pregnancy test!!  Most mothers would be ecstatic but I was less than that.  I was scared.  Here I was sick with an unknown illness later to be determined to be related to the mold found in my home that I swept up one Labor Day weekend 2011 and breathed in tiny mold spores that became my toxic illness leading to pain, neurological and vision changes, etc...  I knew I was "fertile" because I chart my cycles but 2AM happened ;) and here I was... pregnant with #6!

...so on that morning, I failed to find the heart rate.  I knew immediately that baby was gone.  I didn't want to believe it.  I got into the car and drove to the soccer fields.  Outside of the fields in the parking lot, I ran into another fellow Catholic minivan mom of many who also had experienced miscarriage in the past (I lost Baby Groves 4 in January 2011).  She asked me if everything was OK.  I shook my head "no" and we clutched each other in a strong embrace and cried as I told her that I couldn't find my baby's heartbeat.  My husband still didn't know.

I sat through the soccer games of my children and told a friend who was also a nurse and was also pregnant at the same time as me and due at the same time I was.  She said to come to her house after and she'd try to find his heart rate with her Doppler.  After the games were done I told Austin the plan and we went over to her house.  The kids oblivious to anything played with their close friends while we tried again.  Unfortunately, there still was no sound.... boom, boom, boom, boom.  Nothing.

Austin and I got into the car and drove to Sinai where my hospital team awaited our arrival and they too got out the Doppler to try to hear and heard nothing though I told them they wouldn't hear anything and that I was ready to see my baby on ultrasound...now.  They wheeled in the machine and a student doctor put the wand on my belly with the necessary amount of goo and there my baby was... still.  No movement.  No heartbeat.  Silence fell over us all.... then tears.

My baby had been dead for a week they guessed.  I waited for spontaneous labor to come but it never came and I decided to push things along 9 days later and at 17 weeks of pregnancy I gave birth to a baby boy, Christopher Gabriel Groves, November 5, 2012 at home.  We interred him with the remains of my previously miscarries baby months later in a Catholic cemetery in Maryland.

Video of my pregnancy and birth of Gabriel 

My Symptoms Now...

Just a few weeks ago, I had experienced year-long pain throughout my body.  Weakness.  Couldn't do normal activities without throbbing muscle pain, shooting nerve pain, fatigue, low-energy, etc...

Today, I feel better, yes.  But I am not 100%.  I'm not sure what % I am.  I'm so grateful not to be in that pain every day I want to sing about it from a mountain top!  But I still suffer.  Today, I...

• still have shooting pain sometimes in my left thigh and less often in my arms or other places I used to feel it daily...all day long
• have hands cramp after writing, typing or extensive use like cake-making
• have daily inflammation in my hands and arms when I wake each morning so mornings worse and much more noticeable than others
• my mind has gotten clearer and I can remember things I learned more recently but things just weeks ago or especially months ago, I struggle with greatly.  In fact, I don't remember much of the last year unless I took a photo, wrote about it or regularly recall it like the birth of my daughter or this blasted illness and its journey!
• I am still very sensitive to light, almost any noise near me that isn't what I want to focus on is too loud, very sensitive to fragrances especially those hellbent on wearing daily bottles of perfume and cologne (yuck!), the laundry detergents, too!!, I'm still quite sensitive to cats.  I hate cats.  Sorry, but they make my life miserable so I don't want to even see your cat's picture!
• I feel a level of weakness that is hard to describe.  I can easily feel faint when i get up from sitting or lounging.  I get very lightheaded.  I need a minute.  When I sleep, I sleep hard and deep.  And when my body needs sleep (even that daytime nap), it takes it with or without my permission!  I have to call people to get safely to my destination or sleep in parking lots to avoid excessive driving. 
• When I eat even though I strive for a low sugar diet and to balance my meal with proteins and carbs of all kinds, I still want to fall into a deep coma.  Not normal folks.  And eating 5-6 meals a day, that crashing gets old quick!

I'm  glad I have more energy than the sloth I felt like for so long.  And I've gotten a ton done in the month of September that I'm quite proud of.  I have a lot more to go.  A lot more to get caught up with and words cannot express how thankful I am to those who help me.  Babysit so I can go to appointments to get well and learn answers, help with the kids when I need a break if even for 2-5 minutes, surprise soup-making, and I'm sure other things my short term memory won't allow me to recall as I write this post.

I'm still struggling.  I worry most now about my children because I'm well enough finally to do so.  I also worry about my in utero baby.  Only time will tell if this exposure has affected my little growing bean.  I know what the worst can be and I pray for normality, health and LIFE.

Pray for us as we go through this journey back to wellness.  Full wellness.  I'll accept nothing less.

A Month Later... Has Removing Mold from our Home Helped?

It only took 1 1/2 weeks after moving back into our home for the pain that I had shooting through my body in my muscles or nerve pain to nearly completely go away.  I suffered all day every day.  Amazingly, I rarely have this pain today.  It is a true testament that mold exposure illness does exist and it can wreak havoc on our bodies!

Over the last month (despite being in the first trimester of pregnancy), I have noticed my energy level has improved.  I've gotten so much done around my home, in my business, with my kids, running our family...  I've caught up with things I was greatly behind on.  The mental fog I had and debilitating pain and sluggish energy daily wore on me.  I couldn't get anything done.  Didn't want to.  Didn't even care after awhile.  Now I care again!  Now I'm motivated!!  I feel happier, more peaceful and hopeful. 

When you feel like what you imagine is like living an elderly life where you are days or weeks from death, you have a deep appreciation for wellness!!!

I've been able to not only focus on myself, my new pregnancy including lining up a new team for prenatal care this time (a wonderful perinatologist and midwife that work together at a local hospital), but I can now also focus more on my children's health and how this biotoxin and mold exposure has possibly affected them.

My oldest son is 7 and has been exposured since the age of 4 or 5 years old.  He has developed a focus/attention/concentration issue which is prevalent in children exposed to toxins.

My next son is now 6 and has been exposed since the age of 3 or 4 years old.  He has a bit of an obstinate streak (gets it honest) but has been emotionally more extreme in his reactions to things which we thought would improve with age but has yet to do so.

My daughter who is 3 years old seems fairly normal for her age as far as my parent analysis goes but does have persistent swollen glands in her neck which I'm not content with.  I want her to be evaluated to rule out anything concerning causing these or anything I haven't myself observed.

My baby girl is 9 months old now.  She is at least 3 months behind in developing teeth for our family.  All 3 of the others got teeth in at 6 months.  She has no sign of teeth.  She's also delayed in talking.  She doesn't making any syllabols at all but what makes me feel good is that she can mimic sounds we make (not syllabols) and she has very well developed and early gross motor skills - early to crawl, stand and walk holding onto things.

I've been looking for a doctor who specializes in mold exposure illness, who understand what we are going through, who does Dr. Shoemaker's extensive genetic and mold illness diagnosing tests, who takes our insurance or at least can help us file for insurance reimbursement (a biggie for us right now!), who will see the entire family in one day for initial evaluation and blood work, and is within 1ish hours of our home. 

I believe I found someone!  A doctor in Gaithersburg!  Dr. Alan R. Vinitsky is a medical doctor, an internist and pediatrician who specializes in environmental medicine.  Who treats autonomic nervous system dysfunction which comes from exposure to toxins like mold.  He's written books, articles, given lectures, workshops, severed on boards, etc...  He seems extremely experienced in this area in which we are in need of evaluation, diagnosis and treatment.  He "gets it".  So many doctors don't fully understand that people like me who are sick are very sensitive to light, sound, chemicals, perfumes, fragrances, and that their allergies like food/cat, etc... become worse with mold exposure illness.  He understands all of this and doesn't allow his staff or other patients to wear scented products.  :) 

Dr. V.

His testing includes: 

• Autonomic Nervous System Testing.

• Visual Contrast Sensitivity (screening for neurotoxicity).

• ELISA/ACT testing for non-IgE mechanisms of sensitivity to foods and substances.

• Skin testing to evaluate and treat food and other sensitivities (perfumes, fragrances, tobacco, cats, etc.)

• Comprehensive Digestive Stool analysis with Parasitology - evaluates digestive function, dysbiosis, inflammation, and parasites of the GI tract.

• Metal testing - heavy metals, nutritional minerals, and challenge for metal elimination.

• Organic Acids, Amino Acids, Essential Fatty Acids and minerals for nutritional and metabolic analysis.

• Porphyrins, Histamine, Zinc, Copper, Magnesium,Vitamin B6,  Folate, B12, to identify nutritional causes for depression.

• HLA DR genetic markers for Mold Toxins, ANA, immunologic markers,    TNF- a, lymphocyte distributions, natural killer cells, titers for toxoplasmosis, EBV, CMV, HHV-6, Lyme, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma.

• Carbon monoxide, venous and arterial blood gases.

• Identification of pesticides, Volatile organic chemicals (aromatic and aliphatic), herbicides.

• Hormonal Evaluation - including Adrenal, Thyroid, Ovary (or Testis), Pituitary, by blood, saliva, urine, or all 3.

• Pulmonary Function Testing.

• EKG

• Other testing as indicated based on above results

Note many of these tests are those Dr. Shoemaker uses to diagnose mold exposure illness!  

I'm really hopeful this is the doctor for me and for my family!  He seems on paper perfect!  I'll update after I set up a consultation and get to check him and his staff out!  Maybe this will help our family to change everything!

Mold exposure illness is serious.  If you live or work in a water damaged home/building, please consider removing yourself or getting your toxic home/building remediated asap!  You don't want to go through what our family is still going through.

Some Blood Tests are IN!! Good and Bad...

My test results are incomplete.  :(  One, they take weeks to come in, and two, the doctor I'm no longer with actually canceled my tests before they were finished so only partial results came in.  What does this mean?  Well, when my chronic illness brain fog self gets it in gear and gets an appointment with the new doctor, he'll have to redo most of these tests and I'll have to pay out the nose for them I'm sure as he uses a specific lab.  This could be more weeks of waiting, waiting, waiting...

Good news:  Lymes Tests - Dr. Burrascano (the Mold Doctor Exper) who recommends testing for Chronic Lymes using a bunch of IgG B.Burgdorferi test were all NEGATIVE!  This finally lays to rest that it is not Lymes or even Chronic Lymes which can go undetected with regular Lymes testing.  Woot!!

Bad news:  My VEGF result is low outside of the normal range.  

What is VEGF?  

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor - Wiki it here.

Definition:  VEGF is a signal protein produced by cells that stimulates vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. It is part of the system that restores the oxygen supply to tissues when blood circulation is inadequate.  It's normal function creates new blood vessels during embryonic development, after injury, in muscles following exercise, and to create new vessels to bypass blocked vessels.  

Low VEGF causes muscle pain, fatigue and shortness of breath.  (I suffer from all of these off and on.)

Dr. Shoemaker, the expert in mold illness, states that a low VEGF inidicates inadequate oxygen delivery in the capillary beds.  In other words, there is a reduction of blood flow in the small blood vessels (called capillaries) throughout my body.  Having low VEGF like I do is one of the most common abnormalities he sees in chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) caused by exposure to water-damaged buildings.

This capillary hypoperfusion means that there is reduced blood flow in the smallest, most abundant blood vessels (and the tissues in the body they serve), which means a lack of normal oxygen delivery.  Restore normal perfusion and then watch as the devestating fatigue and all of its associated symptoms fade away. 

Normal blood flow in the tiniest of blood vessels is essential.  It is important to understand how our cells burn sugar.  The abnormal, inadequate delivery of oxygen leads to wasteful burning of limited cellular resources, including make-up energy sources like fat and protein - especially protein.  If there isn't enough oxygen in the cell, it only gets about 5% of the total available energy from sugar that it should while the other 95% is wasted with rising lactic acid which is a good measure of how little oxygen is being delivered.

My good days and bad days...remember those?

Well, I'll have a good day and get stuff done and then I'll have to rest for about 2 days to make up for the "good" day that I had energy and overdid it.  What constitute overdoing it?  Normal activities you do every day - showering, taking care of kids, cleaning around house, driving to places, working on a project, shopping, running errands, little things or big things with the big things draining me more for sure.  Well, when I burn up the small supply of glycogen I have, that's why I need two days to rest - my body is replenishing the glycogen used up.

Bad advice:  "Exercise more, Eat less"

For chronically ill patients like me, this is bad advice.  The more physical activity I do the more I hurt and the harder my body has to work to deliver oxygen to my starved tissues.  Eating less - well, I'm on a Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free, low-sugar diet as it is.  But my body needs more protein in order to have more back up for the sugar I deplete with just a few hours of an activity.

There's so much more to learn and so much more testing to be done.  I hope we have a treatment protocol soon.  I'm growing impatient, admittedly, but more than ever I really need these answers.

(Parts of this post are adapted from Dr. Shoemaker's book, Surviving Mold downloaded to my iPhone on iBooks.)

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Meralgia Paresthetica

Recently in July, my neurologist tenatively diagnosed me with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and Meralgia Paresthetica.

CTS causes numbness, pain and tingling in the fingers, hands, arms.  This began about 25 weeks of pregnancy and got progressively worst at the time of birth and continued for 6 weeks postpartum.  Today, I still feel weakness in my arms and pain in my arm muscles but not much tingling or numbness.  Losing 54 pounds in 7.5 months postpartum has greatly reduced the swelling that existed in my arms putting pressure on the median nerve in my wrist.  But another cause of CTS is relaxed muscle tissue.  As long as my body is filled with biotoxins, this muscle tissue will continue to be relaxed to the point of not being able to prevent pressure on that nerve.  Biotoxins must go!

Meralgia Paresthetica is a syndrome that comes from damage to the LCNT (Lateral Cutaneous Nerve of the Thigh).  The LCNT arises from the lumbar area specifically the L2 and L3 spinal nerves emerging from the border of the psoas muscle and the iliacus muscle deep to the iliacus fascia passing to the anterior superior iliac spine.  This condition can be cause by involvement in a motor vehicle accident like the one I was in 2 years ago as the seat belt is across this nerve over the hips.  Other causes or worsening conditions can also be caused by muscle weakness from Biotoxins!

My chiropractic history has revealed some definite low back pain!  More recently, after my accident I had pubic bone pain and hip pain for the first time in pregnancy.  I also had this pain only after the exposure to mold during mid-pregnancy.

My neurologist would love to do nerve conduction studies or electric shock tests but I'm gonna forego that for now.  I know I have pain in both areas of my body.  I accept his diagnosis.  The question is, would there be complete healing once Biotoxins are removed from my body?  Only time will tell us the answer once a final determination of which Biotoxins I'm suffering from is revealed and treatment is rendered.  But for now, I'll deal with the symptoms knowing that already both conditions have gotten better in the last week or so living out of my home, back in my remediated home and taking supplements like anti-inflammatories and probiotics, diet changes like gluten-free, low-sugar and being in a mold-free environment for the first time in years.

Treatment from a neurological stand-point would be with medication like steroids including shots or surgery neither of which I'm hoping for in the end.

My CTS and Meralgia Paresthetica will either disappear or need further treatment because too much damage has been done.  Stay tuned on these neurological conditions.

Dr Mary Short-Ray, Toxic Black Mold Syndrome Expert

Today I had a phone consultation with a wonderful D.O. who specializes in treating patients exposed to black mold and a combination of other issues.  She herself suffered from toxic black mold syndrome and shares her story.  If you read it, you'll find many of her symptoms are similar to mine. 

Dr Mary Short-Ray

She is trained in how to interpret my blood test results (she is also trained in Dr. Shoemaker's testing analysis) and asked me to send them to her when they get in.  Today I went online to Quest Labs and downloaded their Gazelle iPhone app that allows me to get my test results right to my phone!  So much for needing the rude, unprofessional doc I saw a few weeks ago to do it!  Dr. Mary said to just email her the results!  Cool!!

After reviewing my emailed timeline of symptoms including my history of IV antibiotics with the boys years ago and subsequent antibiotic usage, illnesses, infections, etc... She believes I also have Candida or Fungal Overgrowth in the Intestines.  She suggested I get my PCP to test for Candida - IgA, IgG and IgM.  I wonder if my PCP's test would be more reliable than the candida test my naturopath wants me to do.  Both are blood tests but one is a finger prick test and one is a blood draw.  I'll have to look into that.

Dr. Short-Ray said my newly found food allergies can be a direct result of Candida and leaky gut syndrome.  Wow.

She was thrilled we had already removed the mold from the house rather quickly upon its discovery by an expert and had some suggestions for treatment some of which she sells on her web site:

• Modifilan (a pure and natural nutritional supplement made from the brown seaweed, Laminaria Japonica. Extract of this seaweed contains the life essential properties of organic iodine, alginates, fucoidan and laminarin.  Detoxifies the body from toxins.)
• Zeolite (removes heavy metals and toxins)
• Limu Drink (a drink of brown seawood - sounds yummy) :)
• Grape Fruit Seed Extract (antifungal)
• Renew Life Fiber supplement
• Flax Seed Oil
• Drinking green veggie juices (more yumminess!!)

I have to look into the ingredients and make sure they are safe as I'm still breastfeeding.  I will follow up with my naturopath too and see what her thoughts are on all of these suggestions.

She also recommended more cleaning of curtains and bed linens with borax and replacing carpets if possible and having an air purifier.  

I look forward to having my results in a few days and more blood results in a few weeks.  Waiting truly is torture!

I really liked Dr. Short-Ray a lot and could tell she understood patients like me who suffer from conditions mainstream medical doctors really don't know what to do with but label and suggest drugs and surgery but are perplexed as to what the cause of "conditions" might be.  She found healing after her exposure and illness.  I hope I will, too.

Let's see if the blood tests confirm either mold exposure, candida or something else entirely.  Waiting...

Mold... What??!!

Where do I begin?  In the last few weeks, everything has changed, evolved and is making more sense than ever!  One night lying awake in the bed, I got an email from a doctor of osteopathy that I subscribe to, Dr. Mercola.  He spotlighted Dr. Shoemaker, the expert on Mold Exposure as a Biotoxin and Treatment.  He's written books like "Suriving Mold" and "Mold Warriors".  I've downloaded the former on my iBooks app and read through some here and there.  As I laid there, a thought came to my mind.  A memory.  A realization.  Could this be my underlying cause of all my health issues and what appears to be fibromyalgia and neurological conditions like Carpal Tunnel and Meralgia Paresthetica.  People don't just suddenly have a litany of diagnoses come up.  What is causing these health issues??  MOLD?

The memory was of last summer over Labor Day weekend 2011.  Austin and I cleaned out our basement and organized it and donated items, etc...  We threw out a lot of stuff too.  When done, I remember he was making trips to the landfill and Good Will as I swept up what I thought was only brown construction dirt left by the builders 8 years ago.  I remember seeing spots on items and cleaning them off with just a damp cloth and water.  I remember sweeping the blackish color on the floor from towels that were used to dry up a leak we've had issues with off and on for the last few years but could never find the source despite calling out a basement expert to try to figure it out.  I remember my nose dripping profusely while down there sweeping that last day.  I was 25 weeks pregnant at the time with Sara Beth.  I definitely remember feeling this water in my lungs feeling that night and for the next 12 hours.  I felt like I was drowning when I laid down flat in bed and had to sleep sitting up.  Eventually, it subsided.

Whoa!!  What if the spots, the leak for years, the respiratory difficulty was from mold?  When did my weird symptoms begin?  In my prenatal history at my 28 week midwife appointment on September 27th, I reported to my hospital midwife that I felt pain in my arms when typing or using the remote, I felt old and elderly like I was near death, I felt pressure in my eyes a lot, I felt general malaise, weakness and fatigue.  I had been having these symptoms for about 3 weeks.  Wait, 3 weeks?  The day I swept in the basement and had difficulty breathing was Sept 5th.  Oh, my Goodness!!!!!

I immediately contacted a local mold specialist (The Mold Doctor) and met the wonderful Tony who came and did an immediate mold test of our basement and upstairs where we sleep and our bathroom which about 2 years ago we knew had mold and when we had it painted had the mold removed and painted with mold resistant paint.  Tony took me around the basement.  He was wearing a respirator.  I was just breathing it all in.  He showed me mold on the duct tape on the duct system, mold around the A/C unit, mold in the carpet at the base of the stairs, mold on the drywall at the base of the stairs, mold growing on the basement ceiling underneath our Dining Room that is upstairs above the basement, mold on the insulation lining our walls which he refered to as "mold food", mold in our master bath on the door frame that wasn't painted with the mold-resistent paint, mold on our bathroom blinds, and I showed him the toys the kids used to play with that had black growing inside and he said throw them out!

What we thought were just water stains turned out to be mold from a leaky basement.

He also walked around the house and found mold growing on the side.  He did a mold test that Friday and the results came back on Monday. 

Types of mold found in the Basement:  Basidiospores, Cladosporium, Penicillium/Aspergillus, Smuts/Periconia/Myxomy, Pithomyces, Stachybotrys (the Black Toxic Mold!!)

Types of mold found in the Master Bedroom:  Alternaria, Ascospores, Basidiospores, Bipolaris/Drechslera, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Penicillium/Aspergillus, Smuts/Periconia/Myxomy, Pithomyces

Elevated mold condition exists:  Yes.

Source:  Southeast Environmental Microbiology Laboratories, Inc.
506-A Laurens Rd
Greenville, SC 29607
Phone: (864) 233-3770 

We spent the next week working out the logistics of getting contractors in to do mold remediation and living somewhere else for 4 days.  The entire basement had all insulation removed, all drywall and carpet at the base of the stairs (other parts of basement were unfinished) removed, all pieces of any wood that was effected removed.  Then, they painted the entire basement with a mold resistant paint so now it is all white, all ceilings, walls, and even most of the floor.  They also discovered the source of the leak!  Perhaps, we never would have if the mold didn't exist.  When the removed parts of the plywood from the basement ceiling under our front door, they could literally put their fingers through a large crack that went outside underneath the brick front of our home.  It was never sealed.  We also had a leak in the front foyer window that was never sealed properly.  We sealed it some years ago but it too caused damage and the entire foyer window area had to be remediated and painted, too.  Mold, mold, mold and lots of damage done but now it is all fixed.

You can see where the contractor had to pull back the plywood once covering this surface completely.  The sunlight is under the brick front leading out to the front of the house under our front door.  This is where the leak came from.  :(

This process was mentally exhausting and hard to digest.  How did we not know?  Well, for starters the basement isn't used but for storage so we didn't go down there much throughout the year and then there is our very busy life with the kids and work that kept us from focusing on it more seriously when we should have believing what we did see were just water stains from the leak.

Tony also said our humidity in the basement was 57%.  This is high because that was on a dry day.  All it would take is rain falling to cause it to go above 60% and that's when mold starts to grow.  So when the big rainfalls caused the basement to leak, it was well above 60% and mold grew rampantly.

We had to remove all of our belongings from the basement and check them for mold.  Any mold growth on fabric was discarded in plastic bags, any mold growth on a cleanable surface was cleaned with a mold surface cleaner we picked up from Home Depot.  We bought the respirators, suits, gloves, goggles.  Austin looked like a typical contractor suited up to remove a serious toxin.  It took us all weekend to do it.  We have what is safe to still use in our garage now.  We'll have to bring it back to the basement now and reorganize everything.

We also hired duct cleaners to clean out all of the ducts in the house.  This gives us more peace of mind and is recommended when doing mold remediation. 

We had the outside siding powerwashed to remove the mold growing on the siding and the contractor sealed the crack under the brick front.  We just had a nasty storm a few days ago and no leak.  We hope that will continue to be the case.  Until we know for sure it is the source, we aren't going to finish the basement anytime soon. 

We still can't believe this.  I think of few times I exercised down in the basement (and while pregnant!! and worse took the baby down there to sit in her bouncy chair!!!!).  We never really let the kids go down in the basement so that is good and no visitors to our home were in the basement for long periods of time because it wasn't finished except the carpeted stairs going down to the basement, so that made me feel a lot better, too.  But the fact it was in parts of the house, too, is very disturbing.  I started doing research on children exposed to mold and what the side effects could be and had to stop.  First, I've got to take care of me and figure out if that is indeed what my "biotoxin" is.

I saw a doctor who specializes in this area and trained with Dr. Shoemaker above but I won't be returning to their practice.  They are not professional or nice.  But when I did see her, she did the VCS Aptitude Test which tests for neurotoxins doing a visual test.  I failed it.  She ordered the 14 vials of bloodwork and some might be back now but I'm in the process of finding a better fit doctor for me who is like all of my other doctors - caring, sensitive, professional and wonderful to work with.  I have a consultation with a doctor today who also specializes in this area and who has been a victim of mold exposure and its effects herself.

A well depicted summary of my last year only leaving out the pain/fatigue/brain fog, etc...

I will update when I have blood test results back.  But please know this, everyone....  mold is toxic and harmful.  Especially, black toxic mold - stachybotrys.  Take leaks seriously.  You can have a beautiful new home like we do and be a victim to it.  You can have it hiding for years behind your walls.  If you sense a water problem or see stains, please have them checked out sooner rather than later.


Introducing Dr. Shoemaker...

YouTube video - Biotoxin 101:  Part 1 (Mold, CFIDS, and Fibro Treatments)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULJLAExjEDk

Questions, Questions, Questions...Answers Cannot Come Fast Enough!

OK let's start by laying out what we already know...

1) I'm not well.  My litany of symptoms makes this all very frustrating and confusing.
2) Inflammation is very much present in my body in multiple systems
3) I was found to be Vitamin D deficient in March 2012
4) I've been diagnosed with food allergies in late May 2012 - dairy/egg
5) I was recently diagnosed with two neurological conditions (both caused by inflammation in the body irritating nerves) although I am confident this neurologist is missing the mark - neither of the conditions he believes are my issue lead to either pain in the lower extremities past the thigh or memory/focus issues, so although he may be correct those nerves he diagnosed are affected, they are not the only problems. 

Now where to go from here...

1) I'm very well read on Fibromyalgia.  To-date it is the one condition I've extensively researched that seems to match all of my symptoms I suffer with daily.  But what is next if FM is my true diagnosis?

• I need to find a practitioner to do the body mapping to confirm FM and have a starting point.
• I would go on Dr. St. Amand's guafenisen protocol to reverse the symptoms of FM

 2) My naturopath is testing for candida at my next appointment end of July to see if this is a major factor.  I do have regular issues with yeast.

3) I'm going to make an appointment with an LLDM (Lymes Literate Medical Doctor) who can definitively rule this out.  So far, I've tested negative for Lymes in the April 2012 including the Western Blot test.  When I got an email from someone who was in my Guai Support Group that had undetected Lymes not FM, I decided to follow-up on my negative tests because they could have been wrong.  Dr. Burrascano's list of Lymes symptoms is extensive and also match my litany of symptoms. 

Visit www.LymeNet.org  and  www.ChronicLymeDisease.com for more info.

4) Neurological:  I will do the nerve conduction studies with my neurologist.  I'll also find a neurologist at Hopkins or surgeon if needed at Union Memorial for further evaluation, testing and possible surgical fixes if time will not heal these issues.  I still believe if I find the underlying cause of my inflammation taking over multiple systems, then the inflammation causing these nerve pains will disappear, hopefully.

My goals...

I hope to get better within the next 12 months.  No matter the ending diagnoses, I want to find the best, healthiest and most long-term healing and treatment plans possible.  I'm in pain every single day.  All day long.  I live with it.  I type now through the pain radiating in my hands.  I try to make sense in these blog posts despite my sharp mind fading in focus, concentration and memory.  My house is suffering because I have a hard time doing any physical work.  I want to exercise but I hurt my back severely whenever I attempt it.  I want to have energy not fatigue.  I have four kids to raise and want to have more.  I have a life to live.  I can't live it like this.  This is taking over my life.  It's slowing down my success as a mother, wife, household manager, childbirth educator, doula, midwifery student, etc...  I will not allow this to go on.
I will find MY cure. 

More Doctors Practicing Outside of the Norm: How Candida Causes Fibromyalgia

I wrote about Dr. St. Amand last who is an endocrinologist that is the leading expert in Fibromyalgia, a rheumatology disease.  Across our nation there are many doctors who don't just look at your bloodwork, see something negative and send you away.  There are doctors who don't just say "it's all in your head" or "you are too stressed out" or "you have so many kids" and that's why you are chronically ill.

In all of my research and reading on my symptoms including inflammation and a host of others listed on an earlier blog post that most likely fall under Fibromyalgia, I keep reading about candida and how it wreaks havoc on our bodies.  I've read about this many times over the years.

Many think yeast and candida is just a "female" issue but it is not.  And it also isn't just a vaginal infection that women suffer from who do have issues with candida.  Candida becomes systemic when the friendly good bacteria in our digestive tracts are destroyed by antibiotics (been on many this past year but even before from time-to-time), eating the typical Western diet filled with carbs, carbs, carbs, the effects of stress, and other medications (women who take birth control pills), etc...

The candida will thrive in our bodies when this happens and when it goes systemic, our bodies react in different ways.  For me, if this is *my* underlying major cause and tigger of Fibroymyalgia, then I'm going to treat it and hope the side effects it causes (like Fibroymalgia symptoms), melt away!

Dr. Michael McNett, Fibromyalgia Specialist Links Candida to Fibromyalgia


Dr. McNett practices in Chicago running a practice there as both a family physician and in emergency medicine over the years.  He stated in an interview that he sees a link between those suffering from hypothyroidism or fibromyalgia and candida overgrowth.

He believes...

1st - Something causes the immune system of that person to aggressively attack candida cells that most others tolerate,

2nd - This immune attack then causes rupture of the cells and release of their contents

3rd - Our bodies absorb chemicals released by the yeast which then interfere with the thyroid's ability to cause its effect in the cell, and

4th - The patient then develops Fibromyalgia symptoms.

This series of events leads causes the candida to lead to hypothyoroidism and fibromyalgia symptoms.

Dr. McNett addressed the question of why women like me might test negative for hypothyroidism (my tests several times over the years are in the normal range but low and never outside of that range).  He stated this happens because the type of thyroid hormone receptor the blood tests is looking for is not the same as the one present in the brain, skin, muscle, bones and connective tissue.


How to Test for Systemic Candida

First, you can try a home spit test.

Instructions:

How To Tell If You Have Candida  -  The Free and Accurate Candida Spit Test.

THE TEST: In the evening, put a clear glass of water by your bed. First thing in the morning, briefly rinse your mouth, swallow, then gather some saliva in your mouth and spit into the glass of water (be sure to spit out saliva, not mucus). Keep an eye on the water for half an hour -- especially the first few minutes. If you have candida overgrowth, you will see one or more of the following:

1. Strings (legs) hanging down from the saliva.
2. Heavy-looking saliva at the bottom of the glass.
3. Cloudy specks suspended in the water.

My Results:  Positive.  Strings hanging after mere seconds.

Also, there are blood tests that can check for candida overgrowth in your body.  My naturopath has a test kit for me that tests IgG, IgH, etc... using a finger prick test looking for candida overgrowth in my body.  I'll have that test done after I get back from vacation.

Thought, Dr. McNett believes that just conducting a simple questionnaire of the patient and their symptoms and medical history will reveal whether their body is overgrown by candida.


How Do I Get a Balance of Yeast and Good Bacteria if I Test Positive for Systemic Candida Overgrowth?

First, a low-carb diet so that it will starve the yeast and prevent it from growing back. Second, nystatin or another anti-fungal to drive the yeast counts as low as possible.  Third, acidophilus which inhibits the growth of yeast and replaces good bacteria like from eating yogurt and taking a probiotic.


Again, Why Aren't These Conditions Tested and Treated by More Mainstream Doctors?

Dr. Crook who wrote The Yeast Connection basically chose to write a book rather than publish his findings in a medical journal.  More doctors are finding that candida is indeed a real issue and a real problem.  Until the mainstream medical doctors accept this, begin to test for it and treat it, there will continue to be unnecessary suffering.

I plan to get tested beyond my positive spit test above next week by my naturopath.  I'll tackle anything to move forward and get rid of my Fibromyalgia symptoms. 

Resources:

Click here to read Dr. McNett's full interview.

BioTek test kits used by my naturopath - http://www.usbiotek.com/Services_specialty-testing.php

Fibromyalgia: Every Body System is Affected

"We believe there is a genetically defective kidney enzyme, which causes phosphate retention to accumulate to critical levels within cells. This interferes with energy formation, a substance called ATP, and to a malfunction in susceptible tissues. Excess phosphate induces calcium retention, and together they cause all of the manifestations of fibromyalgia.  Fibromyalgia would be more appropriately named Dysenergism to better describe the overwhelming fatigue and the metabolic disturbances throughout body tissues."    
~ Dr. St. Amand, practicing medical doctor in Los Angeles, CA who stumbled upon the reversal treatment for Fibryomyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

For years, I've had one issue pop up after another.  I thought... it was just because I worked in an office environment in a sedentary job, I didn't exercise enough, I have 2, 3, 4 kids, I "do too much", I attend births in the wee hours of the night, I should have eaten more protein in pregnancy or hydrated better, it's pregnancy's fault, no, it is breastfeeding's fault.  I'm here to say, it sometimes takes us many years of suffering various conditions and recurring issues with a symptom big enough and painful enough to grab our attention, SHAKE US, and proclaim, "there is something really wrong with you!"

 No one wants to have anything medically wrong with them that is serious.  No one wants a terrifying, depressing diagnosis.  No one wants to suffer with chronic illness.  But, sadly, I do.  :(

As I'm writing this, my cousin on my mother's side of the family writes to tell me there are a few suffering with this condition in our family.  I suspected but didn't know anyone was diagnosed.  I'll have to get more info so I can understand my family history of this illness more.

For now, I'm going to attempt to remember (see the letter B above for why I say "attempt") all of my symptoms and issues to-date:

• Chronic fatigue
• Insomnia
• Restless legs and arms
• Muscle and joint pain in legs, arms, toes, fingers, back
• Feeling that I'm elderly and near death's door
• Anxiety, history of panic attacks
• Getting really hot but when I'm cold feeling super cold
• Chronic infections (yeast, mastitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, colds, stomach flu, etc...)
• Chronic low back pain before children
• Short-term memory loss (getting worse)
• Inability to focus and concentrate to finish a project efficiently or even a sensible conversation
• Post Partum Depression twice, other low points in life some caused by traumatic events
• Stress of being a busy mother of many, wife, running a household and finances, involved in organizations, work, studies
• Skin problems - new places popping up out of no where
• Low energy - hard to exercise when it makes me feel worse or exacerbates my low back issue
• Flu-like body symptoms following too much exertion like painting a room, day at Disney that takes 2 days to recover from the immense pain especially in my feet and legs
• Muscle weakness making daily activities hard like washing hair, brushing teeth, lifting baby, holding baby to breastfeed, changing the channel - the weight of the remote, typing, handwriting, knitting, driving - holding the wheel for long periods
• Digestively: stomach upset after eating, gas, bloating, nausea between meals
• Diagnosed in my mid-20s with Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Diagnosed last month with dairy/egg allergy resolving a lifetime of constipation and regularity issues.
• Easily irritated due to the frustration of the above symptoms and any minor amount of stress
• Apathy at times feeling like giving up then determined at times to find a solution

Every part of my body feels dragged into this symptom nightmare.  In pregnancy with my fourth, I even had high blood pressure (from 90/60 to 130/80 with some bad days in the 140/90 to 148/101 range but thankfully not that last week), diagnosed with proteinuria using 24-hour urine test, diagnosed with hyperuricemia, had pitting edema, gained the most weight ever (so much was retained fluid!), and the metabolic panel showed changes but thankfully the liver enzymes though elevated were not outside of the normal range.  This all came to a head a few days before she just plopped out in one hour of labor making induction talk moot.

I refuse to give up searching for ways to reverse, eliminate, or lessen all of the above symptoms.

I want my life back.

Closer to My Inflammation/Pain Cure! What's Fibromyalgia Got to Do With It?

A week ago this time, I was reading up and researching inflammation.  I wanted to know everything I could about it and how to minimize it or even cure it!  Friday, June 22nd, God put a thought into my head to see what was on the Health/Auto-Immune bookshelf at Greetings & Readings in Hunt Valley.  I stumbled across what is the best kept secret in medicine today.  How to REVERSE Fibromyalgia!!

Fibromyalgia - the "Catch-All" Diagnosis or Is It?

After I picked up Dr. R. Paul St. Amand's book, and read through a few pages in the store, I was WOWed!  I immediately purchased it, and as of 4AM today, finished reading all 300+ pages of it!  Fibromyalgia is more than what you think it is and more than what I thought it was.  Most doctors, pharmaceutical companies and Fibromyalgia sufferers and their families believe this just causes painful muscles and joints. Dr. St. Amand explains that it is so much more!

Fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms include fatigue (especially chronic and severe fatigue), irritability, nervousness, depression, insomnia, impaired concentration/focus "FibroFog", impaired memory, anxiety, hunger tremors, palpitations, panic attacks, frontal headaches, occipital headaches, general headaches, dizziness, vertigo, eye irritation, nasal congestion, abnormal tastes (bad, metallic), ringing ears, numbness, restless legs, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, dysuria, pungent urine, bladder infections, vulvodynia, weight changes, itching, rashes, sensitivities (chemical, light, odor, sounds), and allergies.  FM sufferers also have chronic infections, skin rashes, itchiness, digestive upset, some have been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, some lose their hair, and the list goes on...  As you can see, the name Fibromyalgia isn't a good name. It means pain in the muscles/fibers.  It is so much more than that!

You may be treated right now for these conditions separately by more than one doctor.  This is how so many millions of sufferers go without treatment.  They don't realize they really have one condition causing all of these things!  Especially because your body goes through cycling - good days and bad days with flares then a period of remission or at least days that are better than your worst days.

FM is genetic.  Parents, siblings, grandparents, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles - someone in your family suffers from FM whether properly diagnosed or not if you are a FM suffer.

FM can start in young children.  Children today diagnosed with arthritis or ADD might simply suffer from FM.  Most doctors wouldn't think of FM because it is such a confusing condition to many. (There's a whole book on this if you want to know if your child might be suffering - What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pediatric Fibromyalgia by Dr. St. Amand.)

FM has no diagnostic blood test (yet!!) but Dr. St. Amand and his team are very close to making that happen!  When that happens, finally, family doctors and rheumatologists can test patients blood and know right away what the problem is - Fibromyalgia. They have already proven with research that proteins in our blood are increased for FM sufferers.  This diagnostic tool will make lives change forever once it is finally fully developed and in use!

Another way to confirm FM today is to do "mapping" of the body to find the lumps and bumps in your muscles that show you do indeed have FM.  This can be done by a chiropractor or massage therapist or someone trained in how do perform mapping.  (Your provider, if willing, can even learn more about FM and mapping by purchasing Dr. St. Amand's CD on how to do perform mapping.)

How Many of the Below 18 Points are Tender on Your Body?

What is the Reversal Treatment Plan by Dr. St. Amand?  More Prescription Drugs?

No, not prescription.  Not drugs with dangerous or frustrating side effects.  Dr. St. Amand discovered that Guaifenisen, an over-the-counter medication in doses of 300mg or 600mg or 900mg or 1200mg twice a day will reverse your symptoms of FM!  The dosage depends on how your body reacts to the lowest does and if in time, that isn't producing the reversal effects desired (more pain before less pain), then the dosage is increased until your body begins to respond - you feel worse.  After so much time feeling worse, you'll finally feel amazing!  You'll have good days like you haven't known in years.

After all, you cannot forget that every drug you take for the above listed symptoms only mask the pain like putting on a band-aid and does not prevent the symptoms or reverse the symptoms like Dr. St. Amand's protocol will.


Why Should Anyone Trust This Doctor's Protocol Over a Rheumatologist Prescribing Anti-Depressants, Sleep Disorder Medications, Pain Medications, Anti-Convulsants, etc...?

Dr. St. Amand has been studying this condition and its symptoms for 50 years and he himself suffers from it.  His entire family suffered too.  He has devoted his career to doing a study in 1995 that failed but was also successful (more on that soon), writing recently published scientific articles, and treating 10,000+ patients suffering from FM.  That's a lot of experience!

The 1995 study was unsuccessful because it seemingly showed his reversal treatment didn't work.  However, it was a success because he learne two new things that patients must do in order for "the guai protocol" to work for them - 1) stop using all salicylates and 2) if you are also hypoglycemic (HGs) adhere to his diet for HGs.

Thousands have benefits from his findings and have felt completely or partially cured by the guai protocol.  There is a web site, support group and list or providers who guide patients through this protocol and do the mapping to test to see if the bumps and lumps are going away as you take guafenisen each day without using salicylates.


Why do FM have to Avoid Salicylates?

Salicylates block guafenisen from working properly.  Dr. St. Amand describes how guai works by having us imagine there are little parking garages inside of receptors in our kidneys tubules that the guai must park in to remove the excess phosphate that is in our body.  But if we are using salicylates topically or taking them in concentrated form orally, we can block the guai and the salicylate will take the space in the garages first preventing phosphate from leaving the body.

What is the Cause of Fibromyalgia?

It is genetic, as I said, and it is triggered by life events, stressors, age, hormonal changes, injury, trama, etc...  Essentially, your body systems are suffering because your kidneys are not properly ridding your body of phosphate which is in so much we consume and are exposed to.  This surplus of phosphate then leaks out into the cells of our body;s tissues, muscles, organs and that is why the list of symptoms above is so long - this can (and usually will after years left untreated) affect the entire body and all its systems.

What is My Plan?

Well, I'm being the good patient and am waiting for my neurologist appt mid-July 2012 to rule out neurologic conditions.  Once that is done, I'm sent back to my rheumatologist who already says she suspects Fibromyalgia.  My first rheumatologist suspected Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  Dr. St. Amand believes both conditions are one and the same and that there are millions of suffers in the U.S.

I also have to set up an appt with someone who can do "mapping" on my body and mark on a chart where all of the lumps/bumps are on my body.  This will also confirm a diagnosis of FM and give me a starting point to work from.  Once I've done this, I can go on the guai protocol at 300mg twice a day and if my symptoms get worse, I'll know that it is working.  If they don't do anything after awhile, my dosage will be bumped up until it does get worse.  Getting worse is what I have to do to get better.  I long for the good days I know are ahead of me!

In the meantime, I'll start replacing products with salicylates in them.  It isn't easy but I've been practicing already on how to read the labels using the great resources in Dr. St. Amand's book and his web site.  I'll also begin a journal of my symptoms so that I can know what my bad days are like now to compare them to the worse days coming when the body is ridding my tissues of phosphate and then compare that to the days I long to see - the good days when I'm symptom free!


My Hope

One day, I hope to report to you that I am free and clear of all symptoms (as long as no permanent damage has been done but I'm hoping considering how young I am that has not happened).  I hope to take what I've learned and help others.  I hope that all I know with symptoms like the ones above will understand each person suffers differently with FM and no two suffers are exactly alike but very similar to one another and that they will take this information and apply it to their lives and live normal again.

Many FMs stop living, live in their home, don't work, can't work, withdraw socially, have guilty feelings because of all they cannot do, don't pay bills on time, have depression from all of this, cannot stop sleeping in cars, feeling too tired to even begin their list of to-do's, can't take care of their kids/family well so their relationships suffer, have strained relationships because no one around them understands mostly because most FM don't even understand their own condition.

I don't want to be this way forever.  I don't want to get worse.  I want to be pain-free, live without digestive upset, have my memory back, my ability to focus and concentrate returned, my energy to be awake all day long, etc...

I will find my cure!


Resources:



The Fibromyalgia Treatment Center - operated by Dr. St. Amand and Claudia Marek, his medical assistant

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia
 by Dr. St. Amand and Claudia Marek

Mapping Chart

Research behind the Guafenisen Protocol by Dr. St. Amand

Salicylate-Free Products Guide


Find a Doctor Near You that Knows of Dr. St. Amand's Treatment


Hypoglycemic or Think You Might Be?

The Medical System is Broken but You Can Find Answers!

"THE medical world has built an infinite literature without any (except erroneous and vacillating) ideas of cause.  Medicine is rich in science, but now, as well as in all past time, it suffers from a death of practical ideas. The average doctor is often educated out of all the common-sense he was born with. This, however, is not his fault. It is the fault of the system. He is an educated automaton. He has facts—scientific facts galore—without ideas. Ford has mechanical and philosophy facts—not more, perhaps, than thousands of other mechanics, but he joined them to an idea which made him a multimillionaire. Millions have facts, but no ideas. Thousands of doctors have all the scientific data needed, but they have not harnessed their science to common-sense."  ~ J. H. Tilden, M.D. from Toxemia Explained: The true interpretation of the cause of disease. 

How the System is Broken

Wow, what powerful words of truth and insight into the crux of the problem with healing disease today.  Medical technology and advancement is quite amazing and we are all thankful for it.  But a big problem exists when the medical system does not create more room for stepping outside the medical norm in diagnosing and treating a specific condition.  We have experts in natural remedies, out-of-the-box testing, nutrition, exercise, alternative health care modalities, changes in lifestyle, etc...  These experts are naturopaths.

However, naturopaths are not licensed but in 16 states so how a naturopath can care for you like in Maryland where naturopathic physicians are not licensed yet is greatly limited.  For instance, if you present to a naturopath with complaints of symptoms that require blood testing with a blood draw, they cannot perform this test without violating the law.  They can only educate you about what might be going on and recommend you get testing, etc... from other providers who are licensed.  Naturopaths cannot even diagnose you.  This is truly an insult to these professionals and a huge problem for consumers needing this unique testing, care and advice on nutrition, exercise and lifestyle.

(Get involved in licensing Maryland Naturopathic Physicians - www.MDANP.org) 

 How are YOU affected?

As a consumer of healthcare looking for your diagnosis like I am or at least the underlying cause or causes so you can "fix" your medical issues once and for all, you are negatively impacted by the broken medical system and how it is set up.  We must go to our Primary Care Provider (PCP) and get assessed.  From there, we are shipped out to an "expert" in certain types of medical conditions like if arthritis is suspected, you are sent to a Rheumatologist.  If digestive problems are plaguing you, you are sent to a Gastroenterologist.  If your gums hurt, you are sent to a Periodontist.

Our medical system today contains doctors who are not specialists in nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes.  Certainly, that does not mean you won't get such advice from a physician, but most medical doctors would submit that they do not consider themselves experts in such advice.  Especially when it comes to use of homeopathic remedies, herbs, supplements, vitamins and which alternative health care practitioner can best take care of the patient's needs.


Do We Really Need Care by This Many Specialists?

The simple answer is probably not.  If all ailing consumers were receiving care, diagnostic testing and treatment from a naturopath first and foremost, most consumers wouldn't need to have highly specialized testing and medications prescribed by a medical specialist like a neurologist, a psychiatrist or a dermatologist.  Amazingly, just altering diet, exercise, habits, lifestyle, reducing stress, getting more rest, taking supplements or vitamins, etc... are all most people need to correct their ailments.

Some consumers might need testing outside of the normal CBC, metabolic panels, lipid panels, etc... not offered or sometimes just not thought of by PCPs or specialists.  Some digestive or arthritic or auto-immune conditions would never prompt the typical medical doctor to refer you for further testing like to look for allergens, toxic metals, etc...  A licensed naturopath can do all of these things and help you avoid going through the frustration of weeks of waiting to see a specialist, highly technological and even invasive testing, receiving a diagnosis and then medication to relieve the symptoms.  However, none of this will get rid of the underlying CAUSE of your newly diagnosed condition and most medications come with side effects that cause other health issues to occur.

Understanding the Root of ALL Problems within Our Bodies

Let's start with what is inflammation and why it should matter to you.

"The most powerful concept in disease prevention and treatment today is inflammation...  Inflammation touches every aspect of our health.  In a series of medical breakthroughs, scientists have discovered that inflammation is a common thread linking heart disease, some forms of cancer, diabetes, osteoarthritis, asthma, migraine, headaches, Alzheimer's disease, fibromyalgia, periodontal disease, sinusitis, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome...What they thought was a relatively simple body function turned out to be massively complex,  involving many different types of body cells and occurring in multiple stages...Until recently, most inflammation research has been disease-specific, mainly because research scientists tend to specialize in particular areas of medicine".    ~ William Joel Meggs, MD, PhD from The Inflammation Cure

Dr. Meggs believes all conditions go back to inflammation in our bodies.  He also believes there is a cause for all types of inflammation whether you have diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, muscle pain, memory issues, digestive complaints, etc...

 Many of us think our conditions of the body are isolated and are not connected.  Research is showing scientists and doctors who will listen that all of our body's conditions are related to one or more causes that when removed, the condition would be cured providing the body has not experienced irreparable harm in the time since becoming inflamed.  Dr. Meggs wants us to set aside compartmentalization of medical conditions we've all been trained to do, and instead to think outside the box...

"When the artificial boundaries of specialization are ignored, a pattern emerges: inflammation is not disease-specific.  It affects the entire body, not just individual body parts.  And research has shown that disease we thought were unrelated are actually intimately linked...This inflammation connection tells us that caring for our health means more than just caring for individual body parts...When we treat inflammation in one part of the body, other parts of the body also become healthier."  ~ Dr. Meggs

Using My Medical History as an Example

Over the years, I've been diagnosed with or experienced the following symptoms with no diagosis:  anemia, irritable bowel syndrome, anovulation, amenorrhea, anxiety, heart palpatations, chronic bronchitis, low-back pain (pre-pregnancy), extreme fatigue, unusual systemic body itch lasting months with no relief from any type of treatment nor any diagnosis after three bags of IV antibiotics, muscle pain, joint pain, nerve pain, inflammation of nerves in my neck and back, hot flashes, freezing cold in arms/legs, memory issues, focus problems, cat dander allergy, food allergy (dairy/eggs), sensitivity to all kinds of fragrances/detergents/odors, vitamin D deficiency, yeast infections vaginally/breast, mastitis, and in my last pregnancy, proteinuria, high blood pressure for me although under 140/90, hyperuricemia and nearly pre-eclamptic (liver enzymes were elevated but still inside the normal range just days before delivery). 

Today, I primarily suffer from pain in my back, arms, legs, feet, hands, toes, fingers off and on.  I also suffer from mental focus issues, memory issues and chronic yeast infections, colds (recently pneumonia), extreme fatigue (dangerous while driving and experiencing this), nausea, digestive upset, low energy for hours or days, and all over weakness which leads to irritability.

My most recent cause of immune system issues came after my naturopath gave me a home finger prick blood test kit so I could test myself for IgG and IgA food allergies.  That's when I learned I have a high immune reaction to eggs and a moderate to moderately high immune reaction to all dairy from bovines including milk, cheese, yogurt, etc...


How I'm Doing Today


I have experienced a drastic reduction in pain, an increase in energy and strength since going dairy/egg free in the last few weeks.  But my symptoms are not completely resolved.  Dr. Meggs said we may have more than one cause.  I think mine is certainly multi-faceted.  I have my theories and will explore them later on this blog.

Why I Don't Just Pump My Body Full of  Medications to Relieve Symptoms and Neither Should You

A couple of weeks ago I had a very inflammed nerve in my back that was so painful it felt like I was being constantly stabbed.  I went to the chiropractor and then another one who uses physical therapy.  It helped but didn't take the pain away that prevented me from moving, holding my children, breastfeeding my daughter, sitting and standing or any other normal function of a mother of four.  I simultaneously had a horrible cough that was worsening with unusual noises.  With my history of bronchitis, I knew it wasn't that.

I went in on a Saturday to see my PCP.  She gave me an antibiotic for my pneumonia (yikes!) and a steroid to relieve my back pain.  For days, I had been living with ice affixed to my back most of the day.  Within a very short period of time after taking the steroid, my back pain was gone.  The steroid took away that inflammation but also took away inflammation I felt in other areas - I had more energy and less pain all over.

This was a welcomed relief!  However, with every anti-inflammatory drug there is also the down side - it can lower our immune function.  Getting over the pneumonia and cough was now even harder for me.  It was also only safe for the short 3 days I took it for my daughter who is exclusively breastfed and is only 6 months old.  This remedy was a nice quick fix and a great "break" from the chronic inflammation I experience daily but it was only that, a quick fix.  It didn't remove the cause and it wasn't "the cure".

There is so much more to explore from here.  For now, I'll end with Dr. Megg's words...

"Inflammation is influenced by what we eat, how much exercise we get, the level of pollutants in the air we breathe, the toxins in the cleaning products we use, the insectisides we spray, the amount of sleep we get, how much stress we experience, the intensity of our emotions, and the quality of our social relationships.  In short, everything we eat, breathe, think, feel and do has an effect on inflammation." 

Coming soon... "My Inflammation Story"  -- a post about my journey to-date and what daily life has been like for me and my family.  


More about inflammation:  William Joel Meggs, MD, PhD is a professor and chief of toxicology division of Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and is board certified in Medical Toxicology, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Allergy & Immunology.  You can buy his book, The Inflammation Cure.