saraeli said...
I'm sorry you are still doing poorly!
Mold is so tricky. Urine tests can show which mycotoxins are being processed out of the body, but not which ones are still stored inside, or whether you're currently being exposed. The Shoemaker panel of blood tests can show inflammation, but not differentiate between mold and infectious causes of abnormalities in the results. No one can really tell you for sure whether mold is causing your symptoms or not, and it's very frustrating!
That said, mold in a home is often hidden very well. Have you ever lived somewhere with any history of a roof leak? Somewhere with a basement, especially a finished basement? Carpeting? A window AC until more than a season old? And have you taken belongings with you when you moved? My point is just that there's a good chance we're all exposed to mold more then we think. And of course not everyone is sick, so there's more to the story.
On the other hand, mold exposure just during childhood could trigger conditions and cement pathological neural pathways that cause symptoms for the rest of a person's life, even if the person processes out mycotoxins just fine and isn't storing any. Mold can do lasting damage that might need to be addressed directly. For example, you could have developed CIRS, MCAS, dysautonomia, migraines, hormone disruptions, nervous system and immune dysfunction, CFS/ME, multiple chemical sensitivities, and plenty of other issues that persist even once the trigger (possibly mold) was removed from your environment and body.
Sounds like you're probably thinking through all of these things, so I'm just rambling here based on my own experience. It's just such a tricky rabbit hole because it's all guesswork.
I turned a major corner when I read Toxic by Neil Nathan and started addressing the reactivity and dysfunction in my body. Suddenly all the symptoms I'd been attributing to active infections or mold toxicity went away. So while I always want to know what caused what, and figure out the roots of everything so I can make sure to address them, I also learned that (in my case) I needed to clean up the mess left by infections and mold, not just clean up the infections and mold themselves.
Thank you Saraeli! That is really helpful information. I wasn't aware of the lasting damage mold can do, and considering the amount I was exposed since infancy, I'd say I have my work cut out for me. When my family bought that house when I was a baby, the owners had covered up the mold smell with Febreze. Apparently we couldn't move in right away until my dad had ripped out some walls and cupboards that were too far gone. Even after cleaning it up, there was still plenty of mold, especially in the basement. We didn't move out of that house until I was almost 17. Our current house seems to be fine and has been ozone treated as well.
Thanks for the book recommendation, I'm not good at reading anymore but I'll definitely read that one.