Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[confused]

rachel,

I do have an good memory on mold and toxins. Just dont ask me to remember lyme. Cause i wont even remember that. I also think it is cause of everyone in this thread i have felt my issues were closer to the problems that you have. The only thing is you have sulfite issues and i have major mold isues. Even tho im sure i have sulfite issues lmao.

Andrea,

I get those nasty outburst and they scare me so bad. I come from a long line of bi-polar family members and my stepson is bi-polar. But i think it is from mold issues. I use to think it was from gluten, but im thinking it was more when i ate lots of cheese. I have been trying to think back, and that makes the most sense to me.

Everyone.

I have been thinking about my health the last week and I always blamed it on my c/section with my son. But what if it has always been the mold problem in this house. We have lived here for 8 years and my c/s son is going to be 8. Could i have been the verge the first yr living in the house and then once i had my son, it just threw me all out of whack

I was also thinking back about 14 years. I remember once i went to the show with my half sister and her mom and her moms friend. We had to drive 30 miles to the theatre. The moms friend had lots of perfume on and i got so sick. I was all shaky and almost passed out. Once at the show for about 30 minutes i felt better til we had to come back home. Could that have been my start of chemical sensitivity?

paula

[confused]

He's a little better, but still adjusting. He's not used to such a long structured day. I pulled him out of daycare and hired a nanny (my sister in Feb 2007) to help him reduce the burden on his immune system. And to reduce MY stress, too. It was a great move for his health, maybe not so great for him getting used to school. I couldn't afford to pay her AND do a 2 or 3 day a week preschool.

He's just going to have to get used to it! He has trouble adjusting to changes, but once he does i think this will be really good for him.

that is like my 5 yr old. She had more issues tho last year in pre-k. She was so confused that she only went 3 days a week for 3 hours. She did have a few hard days the start of k this year. But now she is much more happier that she goes all day everyday. I think it makes an difference. I really think pre-k should be every day, if k is going to full days.

Now my dtr that is 4 that is in pre-k only 2 days a week. does just fine with it. But my girls are complete opposites.

paula

[AndreaB]

Paula,

I would think it was the mold starting to cause problems for you. I've had 3 c/s and didn't have a major health decrease due to them. I think my health problems started with being vegan, although not sure when the gluten problems cropped up.

[confused]

Andrea,

Im with you on the addicted thing. Hubby laughs at me as soon as i get up i come straight to the puter lol.

I know this is off topic, but i just wanted to say never step on a thumbtack. I stepped on one yesterday and it went threw my foot and i can barely walk on it today.

paula

[AndreaB]

Andrea,

Im with you on the addicted thing. Hubby laughs at me as soon as i get up i come straight to the puter lol.

I know this is off topic, but i just wanted to say never step on a thumbtack. I stepped on one yesterday and it went threw my foot and i can barely walk on it today.

paula

My hubby and I are always "fighting" for time. We sit patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for our turn to come up again.

Ouch about the thumbtack!

[confused]

Paula,

I would think it was the mold starting to cause problems for you. I've had 3 c/s and didn't have a major health decrease due to them. I think my health problems started with being vegan, although not sure when the gluten problems cropped up.

Well i really think it was the turbeline they put me on. I also know it is when my anxiety kicked in cause they had told me there was a chance that i would die or the bb or both of us. I am one that has to be in control and it was the first time in my life that i had no control on what was happeneing and i hated it.

I was vegan also in college up tilthe time i got with hubby.

I guess looking back it could be so many things. It could be the veganism(is that a word), the c/s, the mold, the eating disorder, emotional trauma.

paula

[confused]

My hubby and I are always "fighting" for time. We sit patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for our turn to come up again.

Ouch about the thumbtack!

Hubby could care less about the puter, I just have to fight 5 kids for it lol

paula

[Rachel--24]

Everyone,

Hubby asked to be on vacation-leave of absence this week. He said itis time that i detox all this mold out of me and fight to get my health back. I have become very bad the last week or so. almost in a very dark spot and i need to get out of it, for me and for my kids. So starting sunday, I will be feeling terrible, so if i disappear, dont worry to much lol

paula

Paula, I'll be thinking about you and hoping things go well for you. Glad hubby is there to help you.

We are looking at starting the SCD diet, but probably not til February.

Andrea,

Are the children still having digestive issues? I have the book (Breaking the Vicious Cycle)......if you want I can send it to you so you can learn it all ahead of time.

Yeah I get that metallic tast in my mouth with mold or dust too. I don't know what that could be. I even get more thirst. It does make things taste more different. I hate it sssooo much.

I used to have the metallic taste until I got all the metals out. Since you still have the amalgams it could be that when your system gets overloaded with the other stuff (dust, mold, etc) you are less capable of dealing with the metals. Drink more water, take more binders and try to reduce your exposure. I think thats about all we can do when we get overloaded like that.

I have one question though and this is rather strange like me, but whenever I take chlorella my green peas turn white!! They taste like chlorella too. I don't know what to make of this.

Dunno.

Maybe there is some attaction between the peas and the chlorella??

I would take them far aprat from each other.....in case your chlorella is binding with your peas.

I looked over the scd a few weeks ago and i know i could not follow it no matter how hard i tried. I cant live in chicken soup for days. I cant make the yogurt, so it would be hard on me. I know I am just going to go to an basic diet for a few weeks, and eat just fish, meat, fruits and veggies and maybe some rice.

paula

I could totally live on SCD forever.....

Its WAY more foods than I can eat now!! I would totally be EXPANDING my diet on the SCD.....and plus I love chicken soup, yogurt, etc. And just think about all the things I can make with almond flour!

Heck...Sherry is eating the SCD cheesecake!

That sounds like HEAVEN to me!

Rachel, how frustrating! I would be even more upset that my doctor didn't have all the test results in front of him. Grr.

When I saw him I'm pretty sure he had my file in front of him....but its pretty HUGE. It has most of my test results from the past 6 years.....even the stuff from my HMO and from the HN clinic I was going to a few years back.

There was alot of notes from Dr. S. as well....and I think thats what he was mainly looking at....to get an overall picture of what was going on with me. I think it would take him some time to look over everything thats there....so I think thats what he wants to do between the time I spoke to him and when he gets back to me later this week.

Its alot of info. and the Igenex stuff is a couple years old now....he was looking at the more recent test results when I saw him. He probably never saw the Igenex labwork because its buried underneath a bunch of other stuff. We didnt discuss it when I saw him. With regards to Lyme I think I only metioned what Amy was finding with ART and my CD57 score.

I only had an hour with him and it was my first visit so I had to go over my history, symptoms, recent labwork, etc.

He seems pretty dedicated so I'm hoping he'll really have the time to sit down and go through all that stuff. Thats what sucks about switching doctors in the middle of everything because they have to get familiar with everything thats already been done....and in my case its alot of stuff.

Even though my son is gluten and dairy free, I can tell that something else is stressing his system and it seems food related. For instance, he ate gluten-free millett and flax chips with hummus for his school lunch that last two days. He has been *off his rocker* ever since. Wild acting, ADD like behavior, his eyes are red, constantly getting in trouble. Before I read the book i would wonder what in the world caused him to be that way. But now, I realize that the carbs might be too much for him and is causing internal reaction. I could be wrong! But this is my gut instinct about him.

Does he normally eat hummus without any problems?

I think I would react pretty badly to hummus because some of the ingredients can be problematic as far as food chemicals go.

Just something to consider if the hummus is something new to his diet.

[Rachel--24]

Rachel,

I'm glad you finally posted! I was starting to worry!! It's not like you to be gone so long. I figured you were feeling frustrated with the dr's and haven't been googling as much.

I would have been more frusterated with the waiting if I had been coming on here with nothing new to report. Everyone said the time would pass faster if I stopped thinking about it so much....so I just started doing other things so time would hurry up and fly by.

I was still Googling though....just not as much.

I was playing with my diet trying to really pinpoint certain reactions so that I can be clear about that stuff and let the doctor know where I think there might be some problems.

I was referring to my old food journals and "testing" certain triggers to confirm the reactions I get. My reactions are the same as they were a few years back.

So yeah....I gave myself lots of swelling, fluid retention, some minor cases of hives and rashes and other fun stuff all in the name of scientificness.

I never push myself to the point that I have to stay home from work or anything though. I cant miss work....I'm having way too much fun there!

Yuck! Did I say Yuck!!!!

Andrea said Yuck.

I notice I smell like onions when I sweat too, obviously not so much a problem that I have to take 2 or more showers a day.

I was smelling like garlic and onions when I was eating alot of that stuff a few years back.

Since I got sick the odor I get is kind of "different".

Its kind of a "sweet" smell....I cant really explain it but I think its from the phenols.

I take mine with supplements/without or with food or without. Zeolite doesnt absorb food or meds but can actually enhance the supplements you are taking.

From what I read zeolite absorbs biogenic amines (which I happen to be really sensitive to). I think for this reason the zeolite was good for me. I'd still be taking it but right now I'm waiting to see what new things are going to be given to me as far as treating deficiencies in my pathway.

Rach you should have been their. He knows a lot of scientificness.

Yeah....I love scientificness.

I'm sure I would have had alot of questions for him.

Kinda off topic, there is a colour test here: Open Original Shared Link

I scored 44 wrong, mostly in the greenest colour.

nora

Hmmm....a new computer test.....I must check this out later.

Off topic.....

Went to Seattle yesterday to see an old friend. Haven't seen her for 5 years. Long drive....3 hours one way. She took us out to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Anyway, we're working on me going up in 3 weeks to visit with her by myself. Her hubby will be gone, her daughter at her Dad's. So it will just be the two of us for the weekend so we can catch up.

I hope you can work it out Andrea.....it sounds like fun.

Rachel, you would know if you had a sleep number bed .... you would have put it together ... the center would be air mattresses .... you would have an air pump under your bed to inflate/deflate as much as you want.

Oh....in that case I definately dont have a sleep number! I didnt do nothing but lay on it at the store and then bring it home.

I had a waveless heated waterbed but when we bought this house I got an upstairs bedroom and I didnt wanna deal with possible leaks and water damage. I was using those inflatable air matresses (for camping). I just pumped it up....through it in the bedframe and used it until my cat would pop it....then I'd buy another one.

One day my ex took me to the mattress store and got me a "real" mattress....so thats what I've had since.

[Rachel--24]

Everyone.

I have been thinking about my health the last week and I always blamed it on my c/section with my son. But what if it has always been the mold problem in this house. We have lived here for 8 years and my c/s son is going to be 8. Could i have been the verge the first yr living in the house and then once i had my son, it just threw me all out of whack

I was also thinking back about 14 years. I remember once i went to the show with my half sister and her mom and her moms friend. We had to drive 30 miles to the theatre. The moms friend had lots of perfume on and i got so sick. I was all shaky and almost passed out. Once at the show for about 30 minutes i felt better til we had to come back home. Could that have been my start of chemical sensitivity?

paula

I think toxicity usually builds up over time...at some point we just lose our ability to handle it and we get sick. I dont think it would be the c/s by itself....or even the mold by itself. Its just a bunch of things contributing....the mold could be the biggest factor though....the thing that ended up pushing your body too far.

My hubby and I are always "fighting" for time. We sit patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for our turn to come up again.

LOL...thats funny Andrea.

I can just picture you staring him down while "patiently" waiting for your turn.

Whew!!!

I'm all caught up now.

[AndreaB]

Rachel,

If you could sent the book I'd appreciate it. I'm just trying to gather info right now. I'm wondering in the diet would help with T. I'd think she'd benefit from more testing for thyroid, metals, whatnot; but we don't have the funds. I'm thinking if I can figure out things we can eat and reduce our sugar and grain intake it might help.

[Rachel--24]

Rachel,

If you could sent the book I'd appreciate it. I'm just trying to gather info right now. I'm wondering in the diet would help with T. I'd think she'd benefit from more testing for thyroid, metals, whatnot; but we don't have the funds. I'm thinking if I can figure out things we can eat and reduce our sugar and grain intake it might help.

Andrea,

I'll send it this week if I can make it to the post office.

I dont know how often she has bad days or bouts of anger but it might be helpful to keep a journal in case its triggered by foods. That way if she has a really bad day you can look at what she's eaten that day....or the previous day...and it might help pinpoint some problem foods (if there are any).

[CarlaB]

Wow, until Adam got some pizza for dinner (I'm still sick, eating all this pizza isn't going to get me better, but maybe it will slow down the detox, LOL!), he said the place was packed like he's never seen it. There are over 750,000 in our area without power!!!!!

Our power never goes out. I think it's because we live on the same block (small block) as the fire station. Ours will go out, then come on about 20 sec later like it's turning over to generator power. So, we have power.

[ShadowSwallow]

AHHH!!!!! So I am incredibly worried at this moment.

There's been a patch of mold on my carpet for the past two years... I never really thought much of it (it came just after my health crash... kinda related to an angry outburst+glucerna+laziness ). Until now. Now I'm obsessing over just spending time in my room. And smelling mold in every other cranny of the house.

I'm trying to calm down. Really.

In about a month I will be having a blood test which measures mold/lyme toxins. I will know then whether or not this is an issue for me. Another month won't make much of a difference when it comes to toxin levels and detoxing.

But we are definitely changing that carpet ASAP. I just need to not freak out. This much adrenaline is not good for a healing body.

Birdy

PS: I got an 8 on that color test.

[Rachel--24]

AHHH!!!!! So I am incredibly worried at this moment.

There's been a patch of mold on my carpet for the past two years... I never really thought much of it (it came just after my health crash... kinda related to an angry outburst+glucerna+laziness ). Until now. Now I'm obsessing over just spending time in my room. And smelling mold in every other cranny of the house.

Bummer about having mold on the carpet.

Can you actually smell mold in your house??

Getting rid of the mold is definately important....regardless of what your labwork says.

Do you plan on replacing all of the carpet? Just wanted to mention that new carpet off gasses toxic chemicals (like formaldehyde) and is not really good for anyone.....but especially us "toxic" people.

Try not to stress too much but definately get rid of the mold. Dont forget to wear a mask, air out the room, etc. Probably best to have someone else clean it up while you are out of the house.

[ShadowSwallow]

It's this little piece (less than a square food), and it's right by my bed. Ideally we could replace the carpet before winter sets in, but I'm not sure if we have the funds to do it.

I'm not quite sure if I'm actually smelling the mold, or just thinking I'm smelling mold. But I've thought for a couple weeks that this place by the water bottle in the kitchen smells musty. We've had issues with the panneling on the house leaking for years. To the point where we would set a bowl to collect the water that had dripped through the wall into the basement. I'm almost certain there's some sort of mold there now. But my mother's in denial about that. Or at least won't deal with it.

AH! I need to get better for college next year! This is not good .

[Rachel--24]

I forgot to mention that during my "food adventures" of the past few weeks I almost certainly had a run-in with an old enemy....AUXIGRO!!

I've been eating lots of peeled russet potatoes the past few weeks. They've been just the regular average size organic potatoes. I usually eat 2 at a time because....well...I guess because I'm Rachel and one just isnt enough.

Anyways, I went to a different Whole Foods and they had the larger organic potatoes. I was all excited about the jumbo potatoes and of course went for the biggest ones.

I felt some head swelling from the first potato....and then the next day I had 2 more. Each time my reaction got worse so that by the 3rd potato I had a major reaction that resulted in alot of swelling, major headache, eye pain, fluid retention, achiness, etc.

That all happened last weekend.

I went back to the regular size potatoes and havent had any problems since. I guess I'd rather eat two at a time than have to deal with all the crappy symptoms I got from the stupid jumbo potatos.

I had pretty much forgotten all about Auxigro and wasnt really sure if it was "real" or not since I havent really been dealing with having much produce in my diet for a long time now. I thought maybe I'd confused possible Auxigro reactions with other food chemical reactions since this was all so long ago.

Well this pretty much cleared that up for me!!

I cant think of any other reason why the jumbo potatoes would cause that kind of reaction...when I am not having any problems whatsoever with the regular size ones.

So once again the produce dept. feels like a land mine.

I think I have also (for the most part) ruled out oxalates as a major problem. Its really hard to make these determinations 100% but I've been trying my best.

Most of the foods have more than one chemical that can be causing problems (some have several) so that makes it really difficult. Some chemicals are increased as a result of food handling, storage, cooking method, ripening, etc.

Its definately been interesting experimenting...and I still have some of the "battle scars" to prove it.

[Rachel--24]

Heres something regarding food chemicals and behaviors in kids...

Research suggests that about 70 per cent of children with behaviour problems are affected by salicylates, artificial colours and preservatives, compared to only about 40 per cent affected by amines. Many mothers have reported that their child becomes silly and hyperactive on salicylates whereas amines make them aggressive. In our experience, children who are expelled from day care centres due to aggressive behaviour are usually sensitive to amines as well as to other food chemicals.

My experience is kind of similar...amines make me more irritable and more ready to explode. Some of the other chemicals (although its hard to pinpoint which ones exactly) make me feel "high"....I'm more hyper and spacy....but then I end up crashing and feeling kind of drained.

They all cause me physical symptoms as well.

[mftnchn]

Busy day on the thread!!

Nice to have you back, Rachel. Sounds like you have been using the treatment delays really well by retesting all your sensitivities. Congrats on the other activities, like a clean car!!!

I scored 83 on the color discrimination--pretty poor, LOL.

Interesting links Carla. I wonder about getting those hormone levels checked.

Andrea, a weekend with your friend sounds like a treat!!! So glad you are reconnecting with some old friends these days.

SCD cheesecake--I only had that during the intro. Out here I can't get cottage cheese to make it. I might eventually experiment with dripped yogurt though. But Rachel, you are right. I can eat this way for the long haul. The ability to use honey and eat fruit really makes it okay; there are plenty of options for "treats." Of course traveling and eating out are hard.

I was out with family just before we left, and went to a mom and pop place that my in-laws always prefer and go to. There was hardly anyone there and the cook was willing to work with me. They steamed salmon, and steamed a medley of vegetables, then gave me butter on the table, salt and pepper. I had brought along some of the SCD foccacia bread not knowing if I could eat at all. So I had a whole meal, it was very good, and SCD compliant. My daughter who is recently gluten-free also had the same thing but had a baked potato. That was a good experience. I think over time I'll figure out the social thing. Right now the travel in China is a pretty big challenge to figure out.

Sherry

[mftnchn]

I tried to take some detox agents yesterday (resveratrol, NAC, andographis) and think that might be why I'm even worse today, so back to chlorella, zeolite and a little cholestyramine. I don't want to aggressively take cholestyramine till I talk with my doctor. PA appt. tomorrow.

Carla one problem might very well be the andrographis. I don't think of it as detox at all, it is a active anti-fungal I think as well as anti-viral and anti-bacterial. It is one of my main lyme disease herbs.

Sherry

[CarlaB]

Carla one problem might very well be the andrographis. I don't think of it as detox at all, it is a active anti-fungal I think as well as anti-viral and anti-bacterial. It is one of my main lyme disease herbs.

Sherry

Mine is a combination that has anti-viral remedies. Since detoxing mold can release viruses, I read an anti-viral is good to take ... bad idea. So, if it had just been andrographis, I wouldn't have taken it. The reaction I had was not herx-like at all.

[aprilh]

Does he normally eat hummus without any problems?

I think I would react pretty badly to hummus because some of the ingredients can be problematic as far as food chemicals go.

Just something to consider if the hummus is something new to his diet.

He has eaten hummus before and i didn't notice anything going on. But he did eat it two days in a row.

I haven't tracked it enough to see if its food/chemical related or if its more of a grain/digestion thing.

The food journal that you recommended to Andrea is a good idea. I might try that. If its the grain/digestion thing, the hummus would be illegal (chickpeas) and the crackers would have been illegal, too (millett and flax seed).

I think its digestion because his belly looks bloated a lot. Nothing like it used to when he was 1 and 2. But its still noticable to me. You can see all his ribs and then his belly sticks out.

[mftnchn]

Open Original Shared Link

Very interesting article--Carla I think this was a link you posted.

I think there are a couple of inaccuracies, for example the doctor in Holland that discovered the grain connection did this before the war and as a result of a mother's observations of her child which he then started tracking.

Also the incidence reported seems way off too.

The candida connection is pretty fascinating though.

Sherry

[Rachel--24]

I think its digestion because his belly looks bloated a lot. Nothing like it used to when he was 1 and 2. But its still noticable to me. You can see all his ribs and then his belly sticks out.

The food chemicals cause GI symptoms too....bloating, weight loss, gassiness, gurgling, etc. Thats the main thing that was causing my bloating and weight loss. There are physical symptoms as well as behavioral symptoms.

[mftnchn]

Carla, sorry about your parent's beach house, it looks lovely. Hope they can recoup enough on this loss.