Marz
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3446
posted
Back in 2007 my wonderful LLMD back then did a whole panel of tests for food, pollen and for 4 kinds of mold.
I came up negative IgE and IgM for mold then.
I had 4 mycotoxins in urine test from Great Plains recently. I asked Great Plains if that stays the same and she said with a lot of exposure it could change.
I'm thinking it would be a good idea to get tested again by blood. I saw an allergist recently who when I got there said he doesn't do that.
Could it be that I'm just not sensitive to mold?
It costs a lot for home testing, Hepa vacuums and hepa filters. I am washing down my house with borax, running a diffuser with tea tree oil, taking NAC, garlicin, orananol, etc. etc.
Posts: 1297 | From USA | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
Marz
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3446
posted
In other words, I'm wondering if my symptoms are from lyme and co's or mold?
Posts: 1297 | From USA | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
If you haven't lately you may consider looking at what this labwork shows. It can also give a baseline of variables that can be monitored for progress if one must undergo treatment for mold illness.
Posts: 474 | From US | Registered: May 2014
| IP: Logged |
Marz
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3446
posted
Thanks gz! is this something a primary care MD would order? Or would he laugh or not even know about.
Since my LLMD is the who pushed me to do Great Plains urine test, I'm wondering why she wouldn't have told me about this. Not Shoemaker follower maybe?
My LLMD would send me to A lab that's not nearby so primary care preferred.
Posts: 1297 | From USA | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
Marz
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3446
posted
Mold found only by air and slightly under the limit but that's debatable since any is bad. I might get a second opinion by a company that gets to the source.
I don't have drywall or a furnace. one of experts said mine is kind of house they tell people to move to.
Posts: 1297 | From USA | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
LisaK
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 41384
posted
im so glad you posted this! you asked same question I have... what happens after you clear the mold from your space.
we are diong things you did also. seems to be helping a lot
-------------------- Be thankful in all things- even difficult times and sickness and trials - because there is something GOOD to be seen Posts: 3558 | From Eastern USA | Registered: Jul 2013
| IP: Logged |
TX Lyme Mom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3162
posted
We do not consider these very popular and well-known methods of dealing with mold sensitivities to be cost-effective at all -- not when compared with another less well known method of mold allergy desensitization which is offered by AAEM doctors. Here's what I wrote about the AAEM method under another similar topic about molds:
Mold desensitization shots turned our daughter's life around dramatically after she moved from a relatively dry area of our state to a damp coastal area where mold proliferates year round.
I'm not talking about indoor, household mold which can be remediated, but I'm talking about outdoor mold which proliferates year round and which you cannot get away from without moving to another climate.
I was convinced that she was experiencing a Lyme relapse, based on her symptoms, but she was absolutely certain that her symptoms were related to the damp moldy climate.
We found an AAEM (American Academy of Environmental Medicine) who was experienced with mold desensitization, who uses provocative neutralization (PN) testing for individual molds -- NOT a stock mold panel, like many ordinary allergists use because then you are at risk of under-treating some molds and over-treating other molds.
Sublingual drops are one option for treatment, but her doctor explained that mold shots gets the antigen into the tissues and stimulates the immune system more effectively.
Her mold antigens were made up for her individually by a nearby compounding pharmacy which her doctor recommended.
It's not cheap because this method of testing is time-consuming and labor-intensive, so insurance does not cover it because it is more expensive that routine mold panels, but it is "cost-effective" -- and the results were nothing less than amazing, immediate and dramatic!
She had walked into his office quite ill that morning, and she walked out well enough to make the long 5 hour drive back home that same evening, after a very long day of allergy testing, following her first mold allergy neutralization shot.
We cannot recommend this method of mold desensitization enough for mold allergies which cannot be avoided because they are prevalent year round in the warm coastal climate where she lives.
You can read many websites on the internet which recommend "extreme avoidance" of moldy climates, but not everyone is free simply to move to another geographical area. And besides, there simply are not that many climates where the outdoor air quality is guaranteed to be perfectly clear and pristine year round.
To find an AAEM doctor in your area, there is a doctor referral search function on the AAEM website (link below), but these doctors are few and far between, so you can expect to travel longer distances, even out of state, to find someone qualified in this unique method of testing and treatment.
Remember though, it is absolutely essential to look for the key terminology of "PN" (for provocative neutralization) when you search through the list of doctors for your geographical area.
Also, remember that ID (intradermal) shots are considered to be more effective than sublingual drops -- although sublingual drops are indeed another option which some patients prefer.
Either way though, whether desensitization shots or sublingual drops, each patient's antigens are prepared for him/her individually by a compounding pharmacy who specializes in this method. Refills of antigens can be mailed to you, usually on a monthly (or perhaps quarterly) schedule.
Symptoms of mold allergy and Lyme symptoms are often very difficult to distinguish, so don't just assume that all of your symptoms are due to chronic Lyme or to a Lyme relapse.
I'm not sure how or why a history of a tick bite followed by chronic Lyme disease sets one's immune system up for being so highly reactive to molds, but I think it probably has something to do with cytokine imbalance. The popular book "Toxic" by Dr. Neil Nathan discuses this topic, but I can't remember his explanation well enough to summarize it easily.
Our daughter's example is living proof. She is well now and has remained well, without relapse, for over a decade -- after having suffered from undiagnosed chronic health problems for several decades prior to that, since early childhood following a tick bite at age 8.
Posts: 4563 | From TX | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic