TheBrain wrote:
However, she is recommending I do a
new mycotoxins test through Great Plains Laboratory. She said if the test is negative, it won't conclusively rule out mold illness, but she wouldn't attribute my current symptoms to mold illness. The test checks for seven different mycotoxins, from four species of mold, in the urine.
The test costs $299 through my FM PA, and insurance won't cover it.
I have been reading these forums for a couple months. Most specifically found online from another thread
My !POSITIVE! test results for mycotoxins testing through Great Plains Laboratory.
I feel a connection to many of you, since I have the exact symptoms that many of you have.
Unknown to me, my mycotoxin, aka biotoxin, aka CIRS (chronic Inflammatory Respond Syndrome) began years ago. After being to many different doctors and much research on the internet, I finally narrowed my own diagnosis down to 3 possibilities. I really wish I could locate that doctors website now, but as many of you know brain fog has set in and I cannot seem to find it.
At any rate, based on my symptoms, the 3 possible diagnoses were hyperparathyroidism, lyme disease and mold illness. As this doctor's article explained these 3 have many common symptoms. I asked my Dr. to test me for hyperparathyroidism. He reluctantly agreed. That was negative. So he wanted to test me for Lyme.
By this time in early July of 2019, I had found Dr. Shoemaker's website called
Survivingmold.com. I read through everything I could on that and thought that since the VCS test (at vcstest.com) is free (for the first time), then I should give it a try.
I tested positive on VCS test, so I wanted my Dr. to test for biotoxin illness. He refer me to the same test
MycoTox Profile test through Great Plains Laboratory.
Lyme Test came back Negative, but the MycoToxin test came back positive. They now test for 11 different mycotoxins, from six species of mold, in the urine.
Of course in my brain fogged state, as I was reading the MycoToxin test report, I initially missed that I was positive for Ochratoxin A. Finally, I had an answer to all my joint pain, muscle pain, memory loss, insomnia, twitching in my sleep, hand numbness, etc. It is very frustrating when doctors tell you that there is nothing wrong, but yet you know there is something wrong.
Here is the most interesting line that I read on my Great Plain Laboratory test results dated 7/16/2019:
"Some studies have hypothesized that OTA (Ochratoxin A) may contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's."
Of course my Dr. said he did not know how to treat mycotoxin illness, and I told him that was okay, we could follow the Shoemaker Protocol. I have been on Questran (Cholestyramine) powder since the end of July. That same week I had the Mold Guys come and inspect my home, workplace and camper. The workplace was a problem. About 9 years ago when I bought the building there were termites and the seller had to pay for termite treatment before I could buy the building. How they treat termites is by drilling holes 12" apart in the concrete basement/crawlspace perimeter and shooting their chemical in. When they were done they filled the holes with hydraulic cement. That was all fine. This small basement/crawlspace is not even used and only about 12 x 14'. Probably years ago they had a boiler down there to heat the building.
When the Mold Guys came and opened the floor door to the basement/crawlspace, I could smell it. Apparently through the course of years, the hydraulic cement holes popped and there was some water on the floor. Not a lot, but it was enough that mold was growing in various places. I had to spend thousands of dollars on remediation. The thing I did not think about at the time was that the basement/crawlspace was completely isolated from the remainder of the building. The moldy air from down there did not ever present itself in the main area of the building.
The other thing the Mold Guys did was perform 3 air quality tests. One was from outside for a baseline from the environment, 1 from the front of the building, and a 3rd from the back of the building. All 3 of the air samples collected and sent to the lab came back
Not Elevated. Of course, this is for people that have the ability to fight off mycotoxins. According to Dr. Shoemaker’s research, roughly 25 percent of the population is genetically prone to develop CIRS.
However, the air quality report showed that the sample from the back of the building had a Penicillum / Aspergillus spore count that was 9 times the outside baseline. OTA (Ochratoxin A) is within the Aspergillus mold species.
I continued to take the (Cholestyramine) powder and was sure I would get better. My joint pain was much better, but not much else.
I took the
vsctest again after 1 month and this time I was
worse than I was previously. I was actually STILL being exposed from the back of the building. How could this be? Unfortunately, I did not realize that a large quantity of used broke down cardboard boxes, which original were made in China was the actual source of the OTA (Ochratoxin A) mold. I was a retailer that sold on the internet. I received goods from my supplier in the USA, who sourced the products from China. So, these boxes were made in China a long time ago, then had things packaged in them and were shipped via sea freighter to the USA, then sat in a warehouse in the USA, until I ordered more product from my manufacturer. The Mold Guy told me that when broken down boxes sit for a long time, they will eventually get that mildew smell which is the beginning of mold.
A couple weeks ago, we finally got rid of all those boxes and bought an IQAir Plus. So at this point I have a mold free environment.
Since I have not been getting better cognitively, I insisted that the Dr. do a mercury test. The
blood mercury test is used to determine exposure to
methyl mercury. However a
urine mercury test is used to test for
metallic mercury and
inorganic forms of mercury such as amalgam dental fillings. From what I have read, inorganic mercury is also converted from methyl mercury by the body and is the main form of mercury in brain, which can lead to dementia, autism, ADHD and more.
Additionally, I paid $377 for a
Clifford Dental test at BetterLabTestsNow. The Dental Clifford Materials Reactivity Testing is a lab test that identifies existing bio-sensitivity problems in dental materials. So, the results are that I am sensitive to mercury, and at this point I will need to replace all my silver fillings with composites.
Best of luck to us ALL as we move through the process and share information.