Are you suffering from debilitating pain all over (Fibromyalgia), fatigue (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), an autoimmune disorder, leaky gut, brain fog and other problems, while the routine tests that your doctor or specialist runs keep coming back negative? You know something is wrong with you, but no one seems to believe it. They think you are depressed or anxious and want you to take psych drugs and get counseling. But you know there is something physically wrong. What can it be?
I would like to continue my discussion on Biotoxin Illness. The real name for this disorder is Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), brought to light by Richie Shoemaker, MD and detailed on his website survivingmold.com. The causes are indoor toxic molds from water damaged buildings, chronic Lyme Disease, and several other biologic organisms that produce neurotoxins that poison your brain and set off chronic immune system inflammation.
I specialize in the care of these patients, both in my office, the International Center for Health and Wellness, and my free medical clinic, the SW Florida Free Pain Clinic, both in Fort Myers. I utilize Dr. Shoemaker’s diagnosis and treatment protocols, because they are the only scientifically validated protocols published in peer reviewed journals and proven to work. In my experience treating CIRS patients for 10 years now, I believe that every Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and autoimmune patient has this as the cause of their problems.
In my last blog, I detailed some of the elements needed to establish the diagnosis by history, symptoms, VCS testing, and laboratory studies. I would like to discuss briefly the treatment needed to correct this disorder. I believe that we are on the verge of an epidemic of CIRS due to all of the recent Hurricanes and floods resulting in water damaged buildings growing toxic molds.
If you are suffering from CIRS, the only effective treatment is a comprehensive detoxification program developed by Dr. Shoemaker and confirmed by those of us around the country that are treating patients by his protocols. They work! You can get better! But it is not easy and there are a lot of steps to take.
The first thing to understand is that you are not crazy and that there is something seriously wrong with you. It can be confirmed by the right testing and then a plan developed to fix it. You can find a lot of treatments on the internet for toxic mold and Lyme disease, but I warn you that they have no science behind them. I wish that they would work or even help, but they don’t. And wasting time on them will keep you from getting the effective treatment that you need.
The first step in the treatment of toxic mold induced CIRS is to remove yourself from the exposure. This sounds pretty basic, but it is not that easy. NIOSH says 50% of the buildings in America are water damaged. Any of these could be growing toxic indoor molds. The incidence in SW Florida, especially after Irma, is obviously higher. We can’t control every place we go, but we can at least try to make sure we live and work in a safe environment.
This requires testing your environment. Mold testing is not complicated, as long as you know the facts and do the right tests. The gold standard is ERMI testing, which was developed by the EPA after testing homes around the country. It involves collecting a dust sample using a specific kit and instructions, but you can do it yourself. The dust is sent to a company that specializes in this testing and they do a DNA alaysis of the dust looking for mold organisms. A report is sent back detailing the amount of mold in the dust, the organisms, and a score on the structure called an ERMI score. This tells you how “moldy” the building is compared to others.
Based on the ERMI testing, we can look at the organisms and determine another score called the HERTSMI-2, based on the five worst organisms. This will tell us how safe or unsafe the building is to live or work in. Don’t do air sampling, swabs, petri dishes or other techniques that do not work. If a remediation company or so-called mold certified specialist suggests them to you and does not mention ERMI testing, then look for someone who knows what they are doing. There are a lot of people out there who have not kept up with the latest information or are looking to make a few dollars at your expense.
In my next blog, we will discuss remediation and how to create a safe “bubble” to live and work in while you are undergoing detoxification.
God bless you,
Alan