I am about a year and a half into treatment, off antibiotics for awhile now. I was pretty sick last winter and my doc began to suspect some of my symptoms were mold related. I had intense brain fog, all over body pain and joint issues, etc.
I started feeling better last summer and my body pain had disappeared. Then early fall my symptoms came back. I now know that I felt better in the summer because the attic mold went dormant due to the heat, and we had our windows open which relieved my reactions a bit.
I initially thought I was having a relapse this past fall, but a portable air conditioning unit broke and leaked all over the carpet in my room, my symptoms flared even more and my eyes were itchy and my allergies got really bad. So I knew we had to seriously consider mold in the house.
So we pulled the carpet and had a mold inspection. The results were pretty horrifying.
Here are the problematic molds we found (outside results were negligible compared to indoor):
Searching through the house we found mold:
Under the wall to wall carpet:
This spot was where the air conditioning leaked. But upon pulling the rest of the wall to wall carpet I noticed that we also had mold in areas where moisture from the carpet cleaner had introduced water (we had a dog that had accidents).
The carpet and pad are excellent nutrient sources for the mold, and it just needs a water source. For this reason I would never recommend wall to wall carpeting unless you plan to replace it every few years. Its really gross when you think about the mold and dander and allergens that settle into it.
Mold behind leaky shower
This I had known about for awhile. My family didn't really believe me but once we pulled the wood apart they saw that the subfloor and wood inside the wall was damp with moisture.
Mold in attic:
This was the most frightening part. I highly suggest going up into your attic every year just to check. I don't think we had been up in ours for a couple of years. The issue here was ventilation, the contractor who built the house only put one gable vent in and we had no airflow, thus warm air from the house was condensing in the attic and providing the moisture for the mold to grow on.
We are in the process of fixing the last moldy area, then I will get retested. Professional mold inspections can be costly, but for us, it was worth it. We finally had a reason for my symptoms, and another persons sinus problems and another household member having serious asthma attacks last winter requiring a nebulizer.
After all my lyme related expenses it's been slow going fixing things. The inspection itself was pricey, but you can get a mold air testing kit from the store (lowes has mymolddetective)for about $60. Or you can make your own via keyboard vacuum and hosing and buy your own air cassettes, then find a lab to send them to.
I am definitely not 100% better, but my joint pain and body pain is gone. So at least one part of the onion has been peeled.
I wanted to share this with everyone because as a lyme patient, this mold made me really sick. I know I would not be able to get better with this continued assault on my immune system.
For the first time in 10 years I am off my anti-histamine, so already I feel a lot better.
Posts: 35 | From Boston | Registered: Jul 2014
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
Hi. I will be back. Im glad you posted. I began mold tx last june after over 30 yrs fughting lyme. Im not well today but i think your message is very important. Mold tx is ddifficult and a huge commitment but the more i am on the mold sites the more i see ppl who can do the protocol getting better frim both lyme and mold. Talk later
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I am new to all of this, but it seems you are saying mold makes Lyme worse. How would we know?
Posts: 50 | From KY | Registered: Jan 2016
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
Ive been on mold sites recently and i think whatthey say the most is ppl who get stuckwithlyme tx and cant get anybetter...if they tx mold the lyme sx gogo away
So it seems in many cases it would be better to do mold protocol first and if you still have lyme after that is funished then tx the lyme
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
Ive been on mold sites recently and i think whatthey say the most is ppl who get stuckwithlyme tx and cant get anybetter...if they tx mold the lyme sx gogo away
So it seems in many cases it would be better to do mold protocol first and if you still have lyme after that is funished then tx the lyme
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
AngiGigi, below is an old post about lyme and mold illness. It may help you figure out whether or not mold is a factor in your friend's case:
posted
I agree, anyone with chronic immune issues should think about getting their house tested for mold. I was really sick over this...I thought many of my symptoms were my lyme relapsing.
I feel a little bit better after fixing this. I don't take my allergy meds anymore either. That is a relief, not taking the daily anti-histamine. One mole down in my whack a mole game to get better!
Posts: 35 | From Boston | Registered: Jul 2014
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bcb1200
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25745
posted
Hi: What did you do for testing?
I just ordered an ERMI test from Mycometrics. Recommended by my LLMD.
-------------------- Bite date ? 2/10 symptoms began 5/10 dx'd, after 3 months numerous test and doctors
IgM Igenex +/CDC + + 23/25, 30, 31, 34, 41, 83/93
Currently on:
Currently at around 95% +/- most days. Posts: 3139 | From Massachusetts | Registered: May 2010
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