posted
What do you guys think, I had my gall bladder removed and I am going back to the surgeon to follow up in a couple of weeks.
My concern here is we speculate the gall bladder failure to be from bacteria, or even mold. I also Googled and it said candida can cause this. Which I have never been tested for.
I have been out of my house for weeks now and I'm scared I still have high levels of bacteria or fungus in me.
Who should I see to make sure something like this doesn't happen again? I love my lyme doc but I have a horrible habit of blaming everything on lyme and saying it's all a herx. Then I just ignore it.
I was diagnosed with asthma this week after failing my breathing test. I also chalked this up to ly me and didn't do anything about it until the immunologist suggested it.
So, which doctor should I see? What kind of doc can cover most of these bases?? Id doc? Ent?
-------------------- Diagnosed with Lyme 4/7/14
KB Posts: 87 | From Townsend, MA | Registered: May 2014
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posted
If you suspect bacteria or fungus, but haven't been tested, then, why not?
I would think that your lyme doctor can help you with these tests, and the treatment.
I am also finding that AK testing is very helpful for such things. Applied Kineseology by a person who is experienced, esp. with lyme, bacteria, viruses, mold, etc.
Have you checked out the book "Why Can't I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease" by Dr. H. Could be helpful.
Best wishes.
Posts: 873 | From WA | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
I want to be tested I'm just not sure where to go. My lyme doc wanted to Check my hla factor but my insurance coverage on it is questionable.
They tried to stick me with the bill from labcorp to for the western blot, think I put that one to rest.
What doctor in the mainstream circuit would handle mold. I'm guessing an infectious disease doc.
I know I should steer clear but I need this covered since I am going to be unemployed shortly.
The immunologist I saw a week ago knew a little bit, but she's primarily for allergy testing.
Thanks for the info I'm going to research.
-------------------- Diagnosed with Lyme 4/7/14
KB Posts: 87 | From Townsend, MA | Registered: May 2014
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dbpei
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 33574
posted
Could the gallbladder have been harmed by long term antibiotics? I know it can be harmed by IV antibiotics. Just wondering...
Posts: 2386 | From New England | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
Why not just start on a diet that will clear yeast? You're bound to have it if you've taken abx for any length of time. I've never been tested for yeast, I just know I have it.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
I could be wrong, but I don't think there is any mainstream medical specialty that handles mold.
Over the last few years, I have listened to 2 speakers at lyme conferences who have discussed mold illness.
Let me post below the notes I took at these conferences. Perhaps they will give you an idea of where to go.
There is also the mold specialist in Maryland, a Dr. S., and his "surviving mold" website. He has a short list of doctors he has trained in how to treat mold toxicity. See his website. (I didn't see any near you, unfortunately)
Here are my notes:
2011 ILADS Conference
Identifying Environmental Illness & Mold Exposure in Patients with Persistent Lyme Disease
Dr. Lisa Nagy 10/29/11
The toxicity of mold is not well understood. Mold illness leads to chemical sensitivities. Many lyme patients have immune suppression/immune system damage first (due to mold, etc.) then they get lyme disease.
Usually, the cause is indoor mold from water intrusion. The key to this is a musty smell in the basement or other part of the house. A person with mold illness typically will have a white cell count of 3-4.
Mitochondrial disease: Dr. N. had this plus chemical sensitivity. Mold exposure in her home was the problem. (When she bought the house, the living room had a large, built-in aquarium in the wall complete with koi. A shed outside sheltered the aquarium. The mold from this structure was sucked into the house and sent throughout the house.) As a result, everyone in the family got Addison’s disease.
There is a $699 urine test to test for mold problems (it is a mycotoxin test).
Symptoms of a person with mold illness include: clothing tags itch them so they cut them off, bra gets too tight as they wear it (due to skin’s reaction to it)
If the mold is very toxic, you have to get rid of all of your possessions, including all clothing. It cannot be salvaged. If you wash and dry your moldy clothing at another person’s house, you will infect their dryer.
If you have this type of illness, you should prewash all new clothing.
Once a person with this problem gets away from mold, they will get sick the first 5 days (called “unshielding,“ I believe), so they must stay out of stores for those days. Don’t go shopping. She advises giving these patients oxygen during this period. She recommends 2 hours per day for 18 days.
She also advises IV nutrients if they can afford it. She advises them to spend 10 minutes in the sauna after a few weeks away from the moldy environment. If they can tolerate that, they can slowly work up to 30 minutes.
She also advises 4 grams 4 times per day of cholestyramine.
She said that Dallas has the best allergy testing. She gave the following website: EHCD.com
She advises this type of patient to build a safe bedroom to detoxify all night. They cannot drink water in plastic ever again, only in glass containers. She mentioned Mountain Valley water as coming in glass containers. Then, you carry your water with you in a small glass container throughout the day.
Regular detergent and fabric softeners make these patients sick, also air fresheners, perfume, diesel exhaust. Husbands often disbelieve that these things are making the wife sick, and the marriage suffers. Women generally show these sensitivities before men. The men just go right to severe illness and skip the sensitivities phase.
If the patient has adrenal insufficiency, they may notice that they get teary at movies and commercials that are sentimental, etc.
She mentioned giving patients DHEA, 5 mg per day for 2 weeks and then increasing the dose. This helps with anxiety.
Toxicity may now have become the most common cause of adrenal insufficiency.
These people will have dysautonomia (usually diagnosed as POTS). They will go to sleep for hours after eating. So, to avoid going to sleep at work, they will skip meals. (She had this and she did this. She also described how weak the condition made her as a practicing MD. She eventually had to stop work.) The following website explains how to treat POTS: NDRF.org She stated that dysautonomia must be treated.
She gives alpha lipoic acid to all of her patients.
Next set of notes:
Dr S. 101: An Explanation of the Treatment Protocols of Neurotoxin Illness by S., MD (Mold Toxicity)
Presented at 2012 ILADS Conference, Nov. 3, 2012
Dr. Neil Nathan
He prepared this presentation in conjunction with Dr. S. because so many people have commented that they cannot understand Dr. S.'s presentation. So, this is the presentation for "dummies."
25% of the population cannot process mold toxin. This is the definition of mold toxicity.
Not all molds are toxic. If you test your home with mold plates, the lab that analyzes them will separate out the non-toxic molds for you.
Mold is a sensitizer. So is lyme disease. They both make people hyper-sensitive to everything.
For example, there are people with electromagnetic sensitivities. These people can't think in the presence of an electric clock, for example. Tests were done that showed their brain waves go from normal (thinking) to the delta wave as an electric clock approached their head.
Delta waves are basically when "the lights are on, but nobody is at home."
Smart meters and many other electrical devices make these people unable to think.
Mold symptoms are similar to lyme disease symptoms. He discussed a few symptoms that are unique to mold. These include:
lightning bolt pains, profound nausea and vomiting (possibly projectile), weird paresthesias (that most doctors would say are impossible since "there are no nerves there"), and sensitivity to static shocks.
People with mold toxicity cannot make antibodies to mold toxins, so they stay toxic. The toxins recirculate, even if they move out of the moldy environment.
Mycoplasma and chlamydia also make these toxins.
In those with mold toxicity, the mold makes fat cells produce a flood of cytokines (causing inflammation), and people lose the ability to know when they are satiated (stomach is full). This effect is known as leptin resistance. So, they can gain 40 pounds in a year.
Also, these people cannot make enough MSH, so their endocrine system collapses. They will have many hormone imbalances (adrenal, sex hormones, etc.)
Also, the person cannot make VIPs.
Toxins can disrupt antibody formation. Therefore, these patients cannot heal. Their inflammation cannot turn off. They will have high C4a and C3a.
The mold toxin cannot leave the body. Shoemaker recommends using cholestyramine to remove it. Cholestyramine is a binder.
Also, high cytokines stop production of VEGF, so the patient will have post-exertional malaise. Without VEGF, the person cannot increase blood flow to cells when needed. That is what causes the post-exertional malaise that lasts for days after exertion.
Being low on MSH means that the body can't stop reacting to pain. (A normal person's body stops reacting to pain at some point.) So, these mold toxicity patients continually have pain. They are often diagnosed with fibromyalgia because of this symptom.
Being low on MSH also means that the person will urinate more, sweat more, and therefore have a small layer of salt on their skin. This is likely why they so strongly react to static electric shock. The salt makes them an excellent conductor of static electricity.
MRSA is a subset of MARCONS. MARCONS itself causes no symptoms, but it massively interferes with MSH. It causes more cytokines to be produced.
Culture the sinuses to look for MARCONS. Treat MARCONS with a nasal spray called BEG Spray. He uses the BEG spray and rifampin.
Also, autoimmune conditions are increased with mold toxicity. The symptoms can look like MS.
A VIP deficiency will present as air hunger. Treat this with the nasal spray. It works at the very first dose.
Next, he discussed the Visual Contrast Test. This test is a sheet of paper with various special types of lines drawn on it. It is held a certain distance from the patient to see if the patient can see all of the lines. This is a test for mold, lyme, and mercury toxicity.
(These toxins affect retinal function. So, that is how the test works. It is testing retinal function.)
Treatment of Mold Toxicity
Recommends the use of cholestyramine and sometimes also adds Actos. The cholestyramine should be obtained from a compounding pharmacy so that there is no sugar or NutraSweet in it. Welchol is weaker and is better tolerated. So, it can also be used if necessary.
The treatment mobilizes the toxins. Therefore, it produces a herx reaction.
Start with 1/4 scoop of cholestyramine per day and then increase. Don't increase dose too fast. You must take the cholestyramine at least 2 hours away from meds. He recommends taking it about 1/2 hour before lunch because the least meds are generally taken at lunch.
If the patient's leptin level is good, then you can also add Actos to the treatment. Actos can cause hypoglycemia and swelling. It works 15-20% of the time, but is well worth a try because if it works, it works within a week.
DHEA is low in 99% of his patients. Adding DHEA makes people feel better in a few weeks.
Zith 250-500 mg once or twice per week is a good biofilm buster. It liquifies body secretions and biofilm.
He gives his patients Melatonin so that they can sleep.
If the patient has pure mold toxicity and nothing else, Zocar 80 mg per day is the treatment. Take CoQ10 along with it.
If a person feels better when they get to an altitude of over 7,500 feet, that is a clue that their ? is low. (I missed the word here.) Going to high altitudes make these folks feel better, so that is the clue to this abnormality. Procrit may help. At high altitude, the body makes EPO (Procrit) and some with CFS feel better at 8,000-10,000 feet. Procrit is a series of 5 injections over 2.5 weeks
ERMI test kits are available on line to test your home for mold. Dr. Shoemaker has a scoring system for the ERMI test results.
Remediation of your home may not work. It is very expensive to remediate, so he wants mold patients to know this in advance.
Final word: mold toxicity is treatable.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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just kinda stumped. My first instinct is to call 20 doctors since I am going to take a leave of absence from work.
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