Do you need to address mold before Lyme disease?

I keep hearing that you need to treat mold first before treating lyme. I've talked to several shoemaker doctors and they all said if you have been on antibiotics for over 1 year and have not gotten better then mold or another issue is preventing you from healing.

Does anyone know if this is true or if mold really needs to be addressed to heal from lyme. And if so do you need to follow the shoemaker protocol?

My house tested positive for toxic mold. I'm not sure what to do. I was told that I need to move out. Leave all my belongings behind. Quit my job. And that I can't use my car. (due to cross contamination) This all seems like overkill. I know almost all my symptoms are from lyme but could the mold really be the reason why I'm not getting better from treatment?

bump (because I don't have knowledge to share)

Mold is what triggered my Lyme. It was all downhill from there until I treated for mold. Remediation efforts are ongoing because there are no pros where I am at.

My story is here if you are interested.

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXRaB6M4cMA

I am much better now than I was when it happened. Unfortunately, I will be battling for a while longer.

I live with my parents but remediation is too expensive and they will not do it. We have some small water leaks in the ceiling that are old. We also had our basement flooded a while ago. I'm not really sure what to do. My doctor told me that almost every house where I live has toxic mold in it. He said to get a trailer or cargo home but I can't afford that. I probably can't even afford to rent a small apartment. I also can't quit my job because I need the money and health insurance.

I keep putting off my shoemaker appointment since my brief phone consultation because I know what they want me to do. I feel like this issue can only be resolved if you are very wealthy. I thought lyme was bad but toxic mold is so much harder to treat. Any suggestions? Thanks everyone!

So I've been on abx and other treatments for about 18 months and I'm not even 40 % better. Should I have my house tested for mold? We've never had any leaks but do live on a lake with a sometimes swampy area next to us.

I have read that all cars no matter what you do get mold in them due to the weather. Has anyone else read that?

I also know that your car insurance might cover some of your medical expenses. At least it did when my son stepped out of his truck and slipped on the ice and broke his leg.

I feel really sorry that you have to go through this. It all sounds so overwhelming. I'm overwhelmed now too. It all sucks.

Sean - is there anywhere else you could stay for several months...and see what the difference is?

Do you have any other family members that would help you...or close friends?

Sean - when you say 'toxic' mold - are you talking about the black mold?

Yes black mold and mold from water damage are the worst. There may be others but I'm no expert.

Black mold can cause life long problems.

Remediation is costly because not one little spore can be left to re-colonize the area. And the initial problem that caused the mold has to be addressed.

My LLND just recently explained the 'mold' issue to me. There's blood tests that can be done to see if you have mold toxicity. When they say 'mold', its likely theyre referring to the biotoxins that are being recirculated in the body.

The recirculation of the mold toxins aka biotoxins, results in a cytokine firestorm, aka inflammation. The cytokine(cellular) firestorm attacks the HPA(Hypothalamus, Pituatary, Adrenal axis)

1 sign of this scenario is a low or below range of the MSH(melanocyte stimulating hormone). Mine was below range.

After an efficient detox method of HIGH Omega 3's(1200epa & 900dha), and cholestryamine which binds to the biotoxins in the gut, retesting of the MSH revealed 'in range'(although low in range).

Oh, and low or below range MSH is the ultimate CAUSE of continued pain, fatigue, brain fog, dizziness/balance issues, depression/mood disorders, insomnia, skin problems, and zero libido!!!

Wow, what a domino effect!!!

To control the mold spores I first fixed leak, vented roof, and installed and exhaust fan to exhaust the attic air.

Then I oznonated each room with a commercial ozone generator that I got from ebay. I paid $80 but it looks like the same or similar unit can now be had for $20 (I might get another at this price!) its title is :

"Commercial Industrial Ozone Generator Pro Air Purifier Mold Mildew Odor 5000mg" from 'dbfbcae2d'

Even after you kill the mold spores you can be allergic to dead mold spores so you have to remove them out of the air.

You will want an air circulator unit with a HEPA filter. These are a life saver while you have mold in the home.

Hamilton Beach makes one with a reusable AND cleanable filter. They sell units with UV light sterilization which is good. Put it in the room after you ozone the room.

They are reasonably priced. You can add one to each bedroom and one for the living space. Or you can buy one unit and rotate it throughout the rooms in the house.

I keep one running in the bedroom while I sleep and it makes a sedating white noise on the medium speed.

Dont apply ozone to any room for more than 2 hours (30 minutes in car or closet) and use a fan to circulate the ozone.

Close the door to the room being treated, so you arent breathing ozone (dont stay in the same room with a commercial ozone machine on).

You can then clean the environment of unwanted bacteria using an enzyme cleaner like Kleen-Free through a cold fogger. Let it sit on surfaces and do its thing for a week month to 3 months before moving on to the next step.

Then add Concrobium Mold Control Spray applied with same cold fogger a week later. It crushes the spores to keep them from growing.

I also use a bee propolis vaporizer that I got from beehealthyfarms online. I run it for 2 hours in any room to fend off unwanted toxins. These can be a bit pricey and are completely optional.

I like mine but if it came down to it the HEPA filters make a huge difference.

Best of luck to you.

Some of my notes and testing options you can ask for:

I would consider getting tested for mold sensitivity from ALCAT. Spiro Stat Technologies has a new panel for mold and fungal issues that include organisms such as Candida, Stachybotrys, Histoplasma, Cryptococcus, and others. This panel, as I understand, is not looking at allergic reaction or sensitivity but looking more at colonization in the body of specific molds/fungal forms.

From my notes:
•Methylation – LabCorp now runs MTHFR. Does your pee smell like ammonia? This could be an indicator that a CBS mutation is present and you are unable to produce adequate glutathione. Deplin is an RX for some with MTHFR. Aurora brand Lipo Gutathione is a good product as other forms may be useless.

Info on Genomix testing is here:

www.survivingmold.com/about/mold-announcements/2012-08

Additional notes from the site:
•20 minutes of exposure to mold can result in a C4a rise in just 4 hours.

•Antibody testing for molds is not useful for most of his clients.

•Quest for C4a test. Labcorp for MSH

•C3a and C4a can be monitored over time, approximately a month, after having been on treatment to reduce them. If C3a and C4a are both high, this suggests Lyme may be a factor. If C3a is normal and C4a is high, this may suggest a mold exposure. This assumes that MARCoNS is not present as this is not a reliable indicator if staph remains unaddressed.

If you have limited options some antibody tests are here:

www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/candidatests.html

Other resources for testing:

www.fungusfocus.com/html/diagnostic_lab_tests2.htm

www.t2biosystems.com/t2candida/