Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[CarlaB]

Sorry Kassandra.

April, we'll be moving the mattress out tonight. If you go to the website, you will see photos of exactly what my bed looks like. Even looks like the same model. The top unzips.

I've already exchanged emails with the class action attorney and left a message for a man who I know who does mold remediation. He'll tell me whether I really need to clean it up more than just getting rid of the mattress.

[Rachel--24]

Carla....OMG about the MOLD!!

I totally wouldnt be surprised if thats the whole reason the Lyme became such an issue.

I think mold is involved in so many illnesses....and ususally we just arent aware of it at all. Same situation with Scott.

I hadnt read the thread....came home from work, changed clothes and was on my way out the front door.... my mom stopped me and said "Thats crazy about Carla and her mattress!"

I was like "huh??"

I had no idea my mom was still reading this thread.

I was wondering who the heck Carla was and what crazy thing could have happened with a mattress??

She told me she read it on the thread.....that your mattress has MOLD!

So yeah...it got me thinking because I got a new mattress the same time I got sick too.

Of course I DID have the exposure to mercury at that same time....but still I'm gonna look at my mattress for sure!

I remember wondering if I was "allergic" to my mattress.....but at that time I wondered about every possibility...so it was just one of many "ideas".

Anyways, definately something I'm gonna check.

I have no idea what kind of mattress I have....I have to wait till the weekend to find out. You KNOW that this is gonna drive me totally crazy until I find out!

Thanks for the info Carla.

I dont think its "the answer" for me because I'm usually not sleeping at home and I dont feel all that different...but if there's mold there I definately wanna know about it!

Mia and Jin... good to "see" you.

Kassandra, bummer about this "specialist"....sorry it turned out to be a disappointment.

Dont give up though!! I've been told alot of different things from my Dr.'s.

First, the endocrinologist was calling me the "odd bird" (because he had never seen anyone with my symptoms). Since then I've been called "special", "complicated", "one of the worst", "one of the most challenging", etc. etc.

I tried to never let it bring me down. Theres an answer for every one of us.

I'm pretty sure there was something else I wanted to reply to but I forgot what it was.

Will have to backtrack.

[ShadowSwallow]

Kassandra,

I'm so sorry about the disappointment with that doctor. Ugh! I'm sure you'll eventually be able to figure it all out.

Carla,

Wow. I just stayed at a hotel that had sleepnumber beds in it. All I could think about were the EMFs. I'm fairly certain that they were installed after 2005, though. That's just unbelievable!

Birdy

[confused]

I just wanted to say im so glad that others hate mold as much as I do. I really do believe that mold is an issue for so many of us. I just wish there was an magic pill to take to get all the mold out of us. It just seems mold is everywhere anymore and it is driving me crazy.

rachel,

Since you brought up scott and the mold. Do you think all the steps he did would be beneficial for me. I know i did the sampling and they found mold, but i thought i got it all out. Now i sit here and wonder/

I figured one reason why im feeling worse again the last week. It is cause i have not been in the sun and im sure im back to lacking vitamin d.

paula

[Rachel--24]

rachel,

Since you brought up scott and the mold. Do you think all the steps he did would be beneficial for me. I know i did the sampling and they found mold, but i thought i got it all out. Now i sit here and wonder/

Paula, you just reminded me that this was what I had wanted to respond to.....your post about Scott's newsletter.

Yes, I read it. Most of it I was already aware of (from emails) but I always look forward to the newsletters and find them to be informative and interesting.

I thought about you with regards to the mold situation. YES....I do think that it would be beneficial for you to follow these steps. He's been struggling for quite awhile now....not being able to fully recover and kind of "stuck" at around 80%.

Something HAS to be getting in the way of his recovery. He has worked harder than anyone I know and aquired so much knowledge during this process. I think he has definately tried more things than anyone I've gotten to know....and yet something is still holding him back.

I think this is definately a big deal and I'm totally rooting for him and hoping that he will now be able to get much closer to 100%.

You have many symptoms of mold sensitivity and toxicity....and you also have the history of exposure in your home. I think its pretty difficult to get rid of mold once it has become a problem in the home....but I'm definately not an expert on this.

It wouldnt be a bad idea to contact Scott for some advice.....but I do think that mold may still be causing you alot of problems. I think Scott also has the genes which make him more susceptible to the mold and Lyme toxins.

Personally, I think that when it comes to our health its definately better to be safe than sorry. Much better to investigate as much as possible....than to continue to suffer without really knowing why. I would investigate this furthur if I were in your situation.

[mftnchn]

Carla, how appalling! Boy do you have a case for the lawsuit!

Kassandra, I am so sorry to hear this. Don't lose hope, maybe one of the doctors will really do some research that will find an answer.

Sherry

[CarlaB]

Rachel :lol: :lol:

Well, last night Adam carried the old mattress to the detached garage .... carried our son's mattress upstairs (the one I slept on when I was in the apt. with Morgan two years ago .... I stayed back in IN and Adam moved here with the kids .... more on that in a minute), so I slept on his mattress.

Usually my air hunger is worse at night .... last night NO AIR HUNGER! This morning my breathing is a little raspy at the end of the breath, but it's a full breath. My sore throat is still there. I don't expect the symptoms to completely disappear overnight, but I feel 100% today (except for my back which I hurt playing racquetball yesterday).

Well, I was getting ill when we lived in IN and had this mattress. The first thing I was tested for was asthma because of air hunger. Then in Dec. 2005 I went gluten-free and Jan. 2006 moved to the apt. with Morgan. Lived there for four months on my son's mattress. Thought the gluten-free diet was working miracles. Then summer of 2006 moved with the rest of the family, and if you look at my posts from then, that is when I declined again and started cutting out other foods. By Dec. was diagnosed with Lyme (which I have).

If you also remember, anytime I visited Morgan in IN at college, I felt fine while I was there, it was almost a miraculous "better." Good thing is, ALL this is DOCUMENTED HERE!

It's only been air hunger bothering me since going off abx. I don't know if you remember, but back in Jan. when I went to herbs, the reason I went back on meds was the air hunger. When I started the meds, the fatigue, etc. came back too.

I know I have Lyme and babs .... but I've lived with it 35 years .... I'm really excited to see how this plays out over the next couple days .... will this be the answer? Did this cause the Lyme to flare?

I'm talking to the lawyers on Monday. I'm adding up all my expenses for my illness before then. Before I sign papers for the class action suit, I'll ask select comfort to reimburse me for all the expenses.

I need to go read about Scott's experience with mold .... I didn't see that. He suggested on my LN thread that we move. I know he's serious, but if it were airborn, then it would be in all our furniture, clothing, etc. Also, I had talked to a mold remediation guy at a party about possible mold in our house (just last summer) and he said with our hardwood construction, plaster walls, etc. that it's unlikely to ever have more than surface mold. He said not to make it airtight though, that old houses breath better than new and that's part of why it's good as well. So, since it's likely no bigger problem than the mattress and maybe wiping the walls down (don't know yet, need to talk to mold guy), I don't think moving in necessary.

It's a busy day .... talk with you tomorrow.

[aprilh]

Carla,

So maybe it wasn't "air hunger" at all in regards to lyme - it was MOLD!

OMG! I'm not glad this happened, but I am REALLY glad you discovered this fact.

This might be the little piece of the puzzle you have been missing!

Let us know what the mold guy says.

Kassandra,

Sorry about the doc. We should be able to ask for our money back in situations like that. The stupid docs get to sit there all high and mighty and act like WE are the ones who are stupid. AND then get paid a hefty amount for a "nothing" visit.

It's just not right.

I think we should start asking for our money back - we could start something here! Or refuse to PAY! They don't have to have our insurance card until we check out and we could refuse to PAY!!! Ha! Ha!

I ordered the book on the SCD and It's still not here. I am really read to start this diet because I think it fits me. I have been eating more carbs than usual lately and its obvious this causes my digestion to go crazy, then I feel yeasty, and sluggish.

I really hope it helps!

[AndreaB]

Carla,

That is amazing! Hoping for continued improvement. Really sounds like a big piece of the puzzle for you.

[confused]

Paula, you just reminded me that this was what I had wanted to respond to.....your post about Scott's newsletter.

Yes, I read it. Most of it I was already aware of (from emails) but I always look forward to the newsletters and find them to be informative and interesting.

I thought about you with regards to the mold situation. YES....I do think that it would be beneficial for you to follow these steps. He's been struggling for quite awhile now....not being able to fully recover and kind of "stuck" at around 80%.

Something HAS to be getting in the way of his recovery. He has worked harder than anyone I know and aquired so much knowledge during this process. I think he has definately tried more things than anyone I've gotten to know....and yet something is still holding him back.

I think this is definately a big deal and I'm totally rooting for him and hoping that he will now be able to get much closer to 100%.

You have many symptoms of mold sensitivity and toxicity....and you also have the history of exposure in your home. I think its pretty difficult to get rid of mold once it has become a problem in the home....but I'm definately not an expert on this.

It wouldnt be a bad idea to contact Scott for some advice.....but I do think that mold may still be causing you alot of problems. I think Scott also has the genes which make him more susceptible to the mold and Lyme toxins.

Personally, I think that when it comes to our health its definately better to be safe than sorry. Much better to investigate as much as possible....than to continue to suffer without really knowing why. I would investigate this furthur if I were in your situation.

I am going to contact scott. Maybe he can help me figure some of this mold stuff out lol. I am so tired of good and really bad days. The mold stuff has caused my anxiety to come back with an vengence and it is ruiing my life.

I wanted to say more but hubby is walking in with groceries, so i better help him put them away lol

paula

[Rachel--24]

If you also remember, anytime I visited Morgan in IN at college, I felt fine while I was there, it was almost a miraculous "better." Good thing is, ALL this is DOCUMENTED HERE!

Alot of the times that you were away from your house you were doing better.....at least it seemed that way to me. I always wondered if mold might be an issue for you but I never imagined you were sleeping on it!

I just thought it was around your home because I thought you'd mentioned mold in the bathroom (or was it the kitchen?) before.

I think it might not be a bad idea to do whatever Scott did to determine the mold problem where he was living. I know he had already looked into it (awhile back) and did not feel he had any major mold problems there....but recently he found out differently.

I think the main things which seem to keep the Lyme chronic are the metals and molds... also the additional infections.

I've seen various posts from other board members where they have lingering symptoms which seem to totally go away (or improve) whenever they go out of town. Usually they're thinking they are getting glutened in their home.....I'm usually thinking its mold or some other environmental toxin. I think its a pretty common occurance and the part that really sucks is that the mold is usually not obvious AT ALL.

It makes it really difficult to make a connection to health problems and mold.

Scott thinks mold is a HUGE part of the chronic lyme picture....even before he found out about his own situation. I totally agree with him on this....but yeah...its still really hard to make the connection.

I also think its like anything else....some people are less susceptible....and others are very susceptible. If Adam was sleeping on the same bed....his body is obviously more capable of dealing with the mold toxins (not that its good for him to be sleeping on mold!).

Same thing with me and the mercury....some people can handle the same exposure much better than I did. This stuff is genetic though....so some of your kids may also be susceptible to mold in the environment. Its a good sign that noone else is sick......might indicate that the mold isnt a big issue in the house...just the mattress.

Stupid moldy mattress!

The resperitory symptoms are pretty common with exposure to toxic mold. My guess is the air hunger is mainly from the mold.....which means you might not have to deal with it anymore! YAY!

I dont have any of those type of symptoms but I'm still really anxious to look at my bed!

[Rachel--24]

Yeah....and when my mom was talking about "Carla's mattress".....I was soooooo confused!!

I thought she was referring to something on Oprah (which she was watching) and I was thinking SHE was crazy for expecting me to have any clue as to what she was talking about.

It never occured to me that she was talking about "Carla from the OMG thread".

[mftnchn]

Carla, it is going to be so amazing if getting rid of the mattress is the final answer!

On the mold theme--I think this may have gotten me good yesterday. I have been making and using goat milk yogurt just fine in the US; made my first batch here this week, and my first cupful with a little honey and I became so ill. All day yesterday and still today. I was depressed about probably having to give up one more thing in my diet...planning to test the components separately.

Then it dawned on me, I *think* I gave my mold shot about the same time!!!! This would be a typical shot reaction if the serum is suddenly too strong. Its happened repeatedly with all my shots over the years, but especially this year at each season change. Coming back here at this time of year to a closed house (this is the time of year I have most problems and my doc thinks it is mold) the mold count is probably up. And my mold reactions are strong without necessarily showing any skin reaction at the shot site.

I'll still test the components of my yogurt and the honey I used. But I hope it is the shot as I can deal with that.

Sherry

[mftnchn]

I ordered the book on the SCD and It's still not here. I am really read to start this diet because I think it fits me. I have been eating more carbs than usual lately and its obvious this causes my digestion to go crazy, then I feel yeasty, and sluggish.

I really hope it helps!

April, be sure to look over www.pecanbread.com as well. Then there are questions and answers by the author of the book posted that cover a lot of odds and ends. All helpful in addition to the book.

I am feeling much better on this diet.

Sherry

[nora-n]

Good you found out the source of your exabercation, namely mold in matresses. What are the matresses made of, we do not have the same beds here but the materials may be the same, is it somekind of foam? I have thick latex matress (natural latex from Ikea) on top of a spring matress, or the other way around.

Have you heard over there too that rice bran is full of arsenic? I did a google search on arsenic rice and got some hits. I serched mercola.com but nothing about the rice bran and arsenic. But one thing about spirulina being the only cure. But he always writes that arsenic is in the water.

We have had a scandal here with beef being full of arsenic, because farmers buy zinc oxide in big sacks intended to be used for making white paint. It comes from china and also contains arsenic naturally. I talked to a hardware shop owner twentyfive yeras ago about pigments and he told me lost of farmers come and buy zinc pigment for their animals. When the scandal surfaced here, the authorities finally traced the arsenic to zinc and of course they never heard of farmers using zinc bought in hardware shops....

Open Original Shared Link is one of the pages I found in a google search, so it is true. (arsenic being in rice in toxic levels. The reason is new deep water wells instead of surface water like before)

Open Original Shared Link about american grown rice containing a better form of arsenic (organic vs inorganic which is bad)

nora

[CarlaB]

Here's the mattress we bought. Open Original Shared Link :) Nora, it's exactly as you describe .... and we were told Europeans use this type of mattress, so I'm glad to hear that's true, LOL. It is the most comfortable bed I've ever been on.

This company makes sure the bed has ventilation. That is what the mold guy had told me at the party a couple months ago ... that old houses aren't sealed that well. I talked to him yesterday and he said the mold could be a problem, or getting the source out could be adequate.

Mold is everywhere. He said when he tests, he tests outside, in the room in question, and in another room so he can compare the mold contents of the various places. It's $400 for the testing. He said he'd gauge it by my health. If I don't get better by getting rid of the mattress then have it tested.

I remember talking to him about mold at that party because I knew my symptoms could be mold-related, but I didn't think they were the house because I moved two and a half years ago. So, I started getting sick at our old house, not here. Never thought of the bed!

I'm going to try airing the room out, it's not too hot today. I can stay in the air conditioned downstairs when I open up the upstairs. He said wiping things down just spreads it, so no sense in trying that. He said the next step after testing would be vacuuming it (walls, everything) with a hippa (sp?) vacuum. That's how they get the mold out.

My doctor is sending me a script for mold testing on ME!

The bed might get delivered today. I got the new pillows on the website .... I did breathe better just like they say.

[confused]

carla,

Do you know what the hippa vaccum would be to vacuum up the mold. Im thinking I want one.

paula

[CarlaB]

My Oreck has a HEPA filter. The problem with my Oreck is I can't vacuum the walls, ceiling, etc. I don't believe the smaller Oreck has a HEPA filter.

I'm thinking that getting rid of the source and giving the room this thorough cleaning is going to be enough .... but time will tell.

[mftnchn]

Carla, I think your experience is going to have us ALL reviewing the mold scientificness. Can everybody repost their favorite links?

Sherry

[aprilh]

Does anyone know....do you have to take chlorella away from meals or other supps? Or is it okay to take with everything?

[aprilh]

Sherry,

I am checking out Pecanbread.com now.

I'm just not sure if I need to start at stage 1 - limited OR just eliminate all grains and starches.

Not sure if the book will tell me or not.

[mftnchn]

Does anyone know....do you have to take chlorella away from meals or other supps? Or is it okay to take with everything?

What I understand it is better to take before the meal 30-60 minutes so it is down there waiting when you take food and bile is released to help digest. The bile releases toxins too, so the chlorella is there to soak it up.

Sherry

[mftnchn]

Sherry,

I am checking out Pecanbread.com now.

I'm just not sure if I need to start at stage 1 - limited OR just eliminate all grains and starches.

Not sure if the book will tell me or not.

Well some people hop into the full diet right away and seem to do okay. Others say that they have had to go back and do the intro later. Others have said they did intro but then added things too fast and have had to redo the intro several times.

Everything I have read highly encourages starting with intro and gradually introducing foods. That's especially true for people with diarrhea and stuff. But apparently applies to other symptoms too. I assume that since I know my gut is very compromised even though I don't have symptoms, that I need to go slow to give it the best chance to heal.

I'm trying to go really gradually and I think I have noticed that the more advanced foods--when I try them--can cause some symptoms.

I've developed a recipe that I use a lot that is a modification of the intro diet carrot and chicken soup. I do that as the base but add fresh ginger to the soup. Then I grind it up in the blender along with the carrots and the meat, and onion when you add that later. I freeze it in serving containers. Then I warm up a bowlful, add a little honey, curry powder to taste, cinnamon and nutmeg and salt to taste. I then add a little yogurt to the hot soup--and stir it in. That cools the soup (hopefully keeps a little of the good bugs alive) and makes it wonderfully creamy. I only blend up enough broth to make it blendable, the rest is a very very tasty broth that I just drink by itself after adding enough salt. It is a thick enough curry that you could eat it over other things too--not rice of course. But I just love it as a very filling soup. It is also good with fruit added.

Sherry

[nora-n]

They have had beds like this Open Original Shared Link in germany for ages, but I have only seen them recently here in scandinavia.

We slept in an inn in Germany in 2000 for some days (and they were closed each monday...) and some of the borads were missing or broken, and I have seen that in other places too. really uncomfortable when a board in the middle of the bed is broken.....Here we would be able to pull out a board from the end an put it in the spot where one is broken, as they are only fixed with ordinary nails. (I was summer-cleaning the dormitory of the secondary school I work at this summer and we just needed to hammer down some nails that had worked their way up, and on top were reasonably good foam matresses. No chance of mold there )

My matresses just happened to end up in the bed that way, I weighed 2kg more two-three years ago and I kept sleeping in a slump because the matresses were too soft. We then re-did the bedroom and I hanagged for some years to get the bed turned around to a better feng shui direction (=opposite) and we had to rip out the closets and move them to the opposite wall, that way could add another one, and we put in a wooden floor instead of the cheap vinyl floor, and we bought a new bed, and that day the heavy latex matress seemed fine at Ikea. Partner regretted because it was hard. I was okay on it. I lost weight and got better from the better feng shui energies. There was a three-months guarantee on the matress. We went and got a softer spring matress. I left for travelling for three months and when I came back, he had put the latex matress into the bed as well, instead of returning it and getting the money back. He thought they did not want the matress back, he did not understand the guarantee. Well it is still there now.....

The other popular matresses are Tempur matresses, and they are very expensive. There are two kinds, the ones you use alone, and those you use on top of the matress you have. I have no idea if they get moldy.

And we have ordinary top matresses from latex , or foam, or whatwver, to put on top of spring matresses. Sounds like and looks like from the moldy matress website that this is what you have and is moldy.

I still have to nag to get a mold test done here, as we had a moldy bathroom here downstairs a few years ago and I wonder if they got it all out. The downstairs is all made from concrete so it is quite possible they got it all out.

The HEPA filter:

I just got a new vacuum cleaner yesterday with a HEPA filter. We ordered it from the local shop here but the owner who is a friend of partner, said we should have ordered a different one, one that filters even better , it even filters mold.

So, there are different makes and models and some are guaranteed for mold.

Vacuums look like this here, Open Original Shared Link (the one I got) and we can vacuum walls no problem, but usually we use a wall mop to wash walls and ceilings. Open Original Shared Link We have a stack of them, and we put them into the washing machine when they are dirty, we would not wring them out in the bucket of water if would mop something contageous or moldy.

nora

[mftnchn]

BTW in the winter 2003 issue of Scott's newsletter, there is an article on recovery of the villi in celiac disease and a discussion of the inability to digest sugar.

Dissacharides such as lactose and sucrose are likely to be malabsorbed in patients with villous atrophy.

It mentions that the two year recovery rate for producing lactose is still only at 55%, sucrase 84% and maltase 79%. Also that the improvement in the digestion of these sugars is thought to be the reason for symptom relief.

So, the SCD makes a lot of sense in terms of speeding healing by removing what the gut can't handle. I suppose my double DQ2 is associated with the worse disease and slower healing, too.

Sherry