Hi - haven't been on here in a while and wanted to visit and update, and share my story in case it helps others.
I got suddenly severely sick with Lyme, babs, bart in 2011. This was 6 weeks after we moved into a new house - a beautiful new rebuild.
I was bedridden, and heartbroken because I couldn't care for my two young kids, had to hire a sitter for nearly a year. Folks on Lymenet helped me so much in those early confusing days. Found an LLMD, got out of bed. But while I improved, I was still barely functional and felt like a zombie. Heavy, heavy fatigue.
I saw a very well known LLMD, did aggressive antibiotics with him, did everything he gave me, did HBOT. But I was stuck, even downsliding. Developed allergies, an asthma type thing that no one could figure out. Developed new infections including CPN. Did tons of research, but never well enough to figure it all out.
Finally, I knew it was time to switch doctors but to who? Took me a long time to switch but I FINALLY did. That was a turning point. New doc was alarmed at my state; put all sorts of puzzle pieces together. The three biggest were:
Auto-immune - I had basically nearly developed a full fledged and scary autoimmune disorder. She felt confident she could reverse it with appropriate treatment but had to stabilize me with steroids. She is VERY holistic, understands the risk of steroids fully as do I. But the other risks were worse. I stabilized.
She is very alternative. I was so desperate at this point that I would have tried anything. Things that would have seemed crazy years before -- bring them on. I do IV's weekly, IV silver, IV minerals, IV anti-parasitics. I do Zyto, homeopathy. She does energy testing. Chinese medicine. A LOT of detox, including IV glutathione pushes. (Yes, she uses ABX too.)
Even being such a researcher, I lost track and just let her drive, and had faith in her plan.
Finally and perhaps most importantly - she identified mold as a big problem for me. She correctly identified that my house was a trigger for me. Remember I had my health decline 6 weeks after I moved in. We had found and remediated mold 2x while I lived there. At this point, I hated the house and was ready to leave but had to convince my family. Finally, I did but it still took us a year to move out since I had to come up with a better place to live that still kept the kids in their schools.
We moved out six weeks ago. Within three days, I felt like a fog was lifting. I had more energy. Didn't feel so weighed down. I actually felt motivated to exercise! Didn't feel like I had to drag myself through life. Have been getting through my days almost like a normal person.
Life isn't perfect - I still have symptoms, still have infections. My doc just identified some very truly nasty bugs and mold very deep in my sinuses. Still have breathing attacks (but dare I say not as bad). Babesia is flaring. Even with all of that, I don't feel that bad. I feel like a person, a member of society. I'm basically functioning as one. I am so hopeful that I will finally be able to achieve health now, but even if I never do, THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN BEFORE.
I never would have imagined that leaving my house - which had no visible mold, no real signs of issues - and believe me we looked -- could have been such a turning point.
Please wish me well as I continue on this journey, this time with renewed hope. I hope all of you attain the wellness we all deserve!
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I've read of so many folks that moved into new homes and got even more ill afterwards. After all while new homes are being built before the roof and windows go in....
and you get a rainy stretch. But I've also read of some that were built with moldy wood and toxic wood.
It's great that you are feeling so much better.
Pam
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
You never found the mold?
Here's hoping you will continue to feel better!
Posted by Lyme248 (Member # 51011) on :
That's very interesting . . . The first two houses we lived in, I felt fine. I never seemed to have any type of allergy problems. even though there was a musty smell in the walls of both houses.
Now I live in a newly-built house, and I've been having allergies ever since I moved in, and the only thing that helps is to keep the windows open. But there is no musty smell.
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
We did find mold 2x in the house (over a period of 7 years living there) - one due to a slow plumbing leak, and one in the attic HVAC system (we learned that attic HVAC systems are prone to mold.)
We had both professionally remediated, and they were very careful with containment. But my heath issues continued after fixing those problems.
That's all we ever found, and believe me we looked! But it's very hard to know what is inside your walls hiding in the bowels of your house. Maybe there was more somewhere. The house was a rebuild over an old foundation and we didn't build it, so we don't know.
The house did not smell bad at all, didn't look bad, mold inspectors were always stymied. It was a mystery. Mold inspectors were always stymied. That made it harder to give up on the house, so for years we poured money into it - on mold inspectors, then on improvements - dehumidifier, sealed crawlspace, ERV, other upgrades to HVAC, etc.
But then, finally, I was DONE. You know when you have literally tried everything else, and ypu are sick to death of being sick, and in your gut you know that this house is a problem somehow. At that point, moving out of your house doesn't seem so crazy anymore.
So now we're on a new adventure. We're in a small y.o. LEED certified apartment for the next year, and we are building a new house.
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
"Now I live in a newly-built house, and I've been having allergies ever since I moved in, and the only thing that helps is to keep the windows open. But there is no musty smell."
We didn't have a musty smell either!
In a new build, it could be off-gassing from the VOCs in the building materials- formaldehyde, etc. Do you have particleboard cabinets? MDF? Oil based sealant on hardwood floors?
Try to see if you feel better/worse in some rooms. Sleep in the best room, and keep windows open!
Posted by Lyme248 (Member # 51011) on :
Yes, I think it was toxic chemicals bothering me. Now, unfortunately I think some of it is my cats (which I'm probably allergic to).
The cats DO keep down the other problem in the walls - the mice. I wonder if you can be allergic to mice?
The problem could be much worse, and now since everything has off-gassed, things are better, so I'm thankful.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
lyme248, everyone would most likely be allergic to mouse droppings and urine. VERY toxic! Even old stuff.
Pam
Posted by Brussels (Member # 13480) on :
Great news!!!! Glad you found someone that thinks holistically, and CONGRATULATIONS for feeling your life is coming back to you!
It's a great feeling, glad you shared your story.
What homeopathics are you on? I would love to hear about them!
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
What homeopathics are you on? I would love to hear about them!
Oh, is this a Bioresonance device made 'homeopathy', meaning a frequency remedy (not actual homepathics from a diluted mother tincture), right?
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
Yes. I have used both but much more of the frequency one.