And among other symptoms, indeed she was. Julia, a bright 40-something, had written \u201cfatigue,\u201d \u201cpain,\u201d \u201cbad digestion,\u201d and \u201cbrain fog\u201d on her WholeHealth Chicago intake paperwork. She\u2019d been ill for years and brought with her two binders full of medical info on herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The thicker of these contained accumulated medical records, lab tests, imaging studies, and physician summaries. At first glance, it appeared the various specialists she\u2019d seen simply kept ordering the same tests, month in and month out, before telling Julia everything checked out as normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second binder was a multi-paged chronology of her symptoms written in her own words, carefully noting details about what made things worse or better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the margins, she\u2019d written notes to herself like \u201cCould this be Lyme?\u201d or \u201cMust read Shoemaker on this.\u201d (Ritchie Shoemaker, MD, is a pioneer researcher on mold-related illness. His website is survivingmold.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Julia told me she\u2019d spent a lot of time on the internet trying to get some idea what was happening to her body. She had requested tests for Lyme disease at the university medical center that conducted her diagnostic evaluation and was told that they had considered Lyme first and the tests came back negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, they\u2019d selected a mediocre test for Lyme and had not checked for co-infections. Julia remembered tick bites as a kid, but never recalled a bulls-eye rash or becoming ill afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only Lyme, but mold \u201cNo,\u201d she replied, \u201cThe mold produces a toxin in my body that\u2019s making me sick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her doctor at least had heard of the medical issues with black mold and over time had referred her to a string of specialists, including a rheumatologist, an infectious disease specialist, and an allergist, each unhelpful, each offering suggestions like \u201cFind a new house\u201d or \u201cGet a new job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Actually, had the specialists ordered the right tests for Julia (all are available in the hospital lab), they would have seen evidence of the chronic inflammation from mold (called chronic inflammatory response syndrome, or CIRS) as well as antibodies not to Lyme, but to the so-called co-infections often occurring with it (Babesia, Bartonella, and others).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only Lyme and mold, but revived herpesviruses The number of separate symptoms in Julia\u2019s diary had likely intimidated her primary care physician and prompted his flurry of specialist referrals. Looking up from her well-ordered catalogue of symptoms, I inquired about a second group, less related to toxicity and inflammation and more geared toward hypersensitivity (odors, sensations, weather changes, new food intolerances, even electromagnetic sensitivity).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh,\u201d said Julia, \u201cI wrote about those at the end. Keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, you might be wondering \u201cWhat in heaven\u2019s name is happening to this poor woman?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multiple diagnoses related to climate change and enviro toxins I\u2019ll walk you through step-by-step what happened to Julia and it should slowly begin to make some sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –Julia is among the 25% of people genetically sensitive to the biological toxins (biotoxins) produced by certain species of mold. The remaining 75% of people have immunological systems that safely inactivate these toxins. However, for Julia they not only don\u2019t go away, they keep accumulating inside her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –Mold is everywhere. Noticed some rain lately? Julia\u2019s exposure, probably via inhalation, may have occurred at home, at work, or even in her car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –The biotoxins in Julia trigger widespread inflammation (pain, fatigue, brain fog) plus an assortment of reactions in her body that produce a smorgasbord of apparently unrelated symptoms (\u201cbrain zaps,\u201d<\/a> muscle twitching, and visual changes among them). The biotoxins also weaken her immune system to the extent that previous infections held in check for decades (like the Lyme co-infections and the awakening herpesviruses mentioned above) can now emerge and produce their own menu of discomfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –Although her body does try to rid itself of these mold biotoxins via her liver as it secretes bile into the small intestine, there\u2019s a recycling system called enterohepatic circulation that\u2019s intended to recycle bile but also ends up recycling the non-metabolized toxins back to the liver. And the whole mess starts again, sort of like the movie \u201cGroundhog Day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n –In addition, these toxins literally stick to every cell in Julia\u2019s body, making the cells hypersensitive. Although there are gentle meds and supplements to extract the toxins, we\u2019ll need to move slowly and cautiously to avoid slamming Julia with side effects. This is where microdoses of homeopathy and low-dose immunotherapy (LDI) can save the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –One of the most interesting aspects of all this (to me, at least) is that each of these symptoms can occur in the absence of mold biotoxins. Julia could simply have chronic Lyme disease (or one or more of the co-infections). She might have had the tick bite at age 11 (the average age in the US) and carried the Borrelia in its dormant (sleeping) state for decades, until something other than a mold biotoxin awakened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The catalyst could be anything: chronic stress, childbirth, environmental exposure, a severe flu. And now Lyme takes the upper hand, without a black mold trigger. Yes, the symptoms of mold biotoxins and chronic Lyme are virtually identical, differentiated only by readily available lab tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wrote two previous Health Tips on mold, one on diagnosis<\/a> (not difficult if it\u2019s on your doctor\u2019s radar) and one on treatment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How we approach treatment Each new case is approached individually. Patients are definitely not one-size-fits-all when it comes to treating mold or Lyme (or anything else, for that matter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most highly regarded methods of detoxification is intravenous (IV) phosphatidyl choline, a type of phospholipid (fat) that detoxifies by unlocking the biotoxin stuck to the cell wall and allowing the cell to heal itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One last word: intravenous therapies have become more and more a vital part in the treatment of chronic illnesses as well as maintenance of overall good health. However, far too often I\u2019d see the look of disappointment cross the face of someone who needed this treatment (ozone, phosphatidyl choline, glutathione, poly MVA, etc) but couldn\u2019t afford it. We have been working diligently to lower our cost and make IV therapy more affordable to our patients, and we are pleased to announce a significant drop in our IV treatment prices. If you are interested in learning more, please contact our office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be well, And among other symptoms, indeed she was. Julia, a bright 40-something, had written \u201cfatigue,\u201d \u201cpain,\u201d \u201cbad digestion,\u201d and \u201cbrain fog\u201d on her WholeHealth Chicago intake paperwork. She\u2019d been ill for years and brought with her two binders full of medical info on herself. The thicker of these contained accumulated medical records, lab tests, imaging studies, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2087,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1731,50,2335,256,226,296,130,3,2342,104,2346,43],"tags":[2016,121,2037,1229,2038,2026,2039,2040,2029,2041,2036,1732,2042,1974,2043,2044,2045,2046,2047],"class_list":["post-15297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-environmental-sensitivities","category-healthy-lifestyle","category-homeopathy","category-i","category-immune-system","category-inflammation","category-integrative-medicine","category-knowledge-base","category-low-does-immunotherapy","category-lyme-disease-morgellons","category-mold-toxicity","category-nutrition-nutritional-supplements-vitamins-herbal-remedies","tag-a-better-way-to-heal","tag-chronic-lyme-disease","tag-cmv","tag-homeopathy","tag-hsv","tag-iv-lyme","tag-iv-ozone","tag-iv-silver","tag-iv-therapy","tag-ldi","tag-lyme","tag-mold","tag-mold-illness","tag-mold-toxicity","tag-ozone","tag-poly-mva","tag-silver","tag-viral-infections","tag-viral-syndrome"],"yoast_head":"\r\n
<\/strong>Julia\u2019s research also revealed that her symptoms were not only in line with chronic Lyme disease, but also with the inflammation linked to mold disease. When she mentioned this, her doctor asked, \u201cDo you mean you\u2019re allergic to mold?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>They also might have noted that once-dormant old infections Julia had years ago–Epstein-Barr<\/a> (mono), Cytomegalovirus<\/a>, Human Herpes Virus 6<\/a> (HHV-6)–might be in a stage of reactivation. Would it surprise you to know that these are all herpesviruses? Click through for more information on each of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Actually, Julia is experiencing diagnoses (note the plural) we\u2019re seeing pretty frequently with the rise of climate change and environmental toxins. Rain and flooding bring mold. The clearing of forests sends ticks and the animals that carry them into the Chicago suburbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Treatment might be a little dicey for Julia simply because she\u2019s already developed significant sensitivities. The practitioners at WholeHealth Chicago are well aware of biotoxin\/Lyme hypersensitivity and generally use a combination of low-dose prescription medication (cholestyramine, a binding agent), supplements, herbs, and homeopathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David Edelberg, MD<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"