I cannot believe the response I got back from sharing our story. So many reached out with “I think this might be me/my family. What do we do?” Because there are so many variables with the testing and the healing process, I wanted to try and put together what that phase was like for us. I did a lot of research, read other stories, watched videos on interpreting data and how to test etc. I am not an expert by any means, but I can find one who is and learn from them. I hope this at least helps get you started to healing.
If you need caught up on this, here is the first part of this story: Healing From the Hidden
Reminder: you will still have people who “don’t believe you.” Some people just don’t understand or even think “mold can be the cause.” Go with your instinct on this and block out those who haven’t felt your pain or done their own studying up on the issue. I’m telling you, even your family will shake their head and disagree with something you might not be able to see that you know is making you or your family sick. You do not need a medical doctor to get your answers or treatment.
Find the hidden mold:
In your HVAC system hub and vents
In your attic
Under laminate vinyl plank flooring – very common even without a water spill! Scary! (We had this all through the house. I don’t even want to know what it looked like under those floors. I personally do not recommend this type of flooring unless you have a solid moisture barrier underneath.)
Crawl spaces
Basement walls
Behind/under dishwashers/washing machines
The obvious places: bathroom sinks, floors, toilets
Repair or remediate – because I sold my house before truly knowing or testing, I am not much help here. This was the part I denied mold for so long because I knew it would be an undertaking and expensive task to get rid of in a home I knew we weren’t staying in longterm.
For foundation issues, I can recommend the company Thrasher locally. They did work on our office building to repair a wall we had water in. We have a draining system installed as well. Constant dehumidifier going because I am terrified of water in my living space. Ha! Either way, hire a professional company who deals with mold. Do NOT go tearing walls and such up yourself without blocking off exposure to the rest of your house. This stuff spreads – it’s all airborne – hints the reason it’s everywhere even if you just see it under your floors. Proceed with caution!
Don’t forget… spores live in your couches and mattresses. Toss them.
Detoxing
The detoxing for us was…painful. To go through and to watch. Each one of us handled symptoms differently. I’m going to reshare our symptoms so you have a better idea of how we reacted. I have read kids bounce back faster than adults as far recovery goes. I would have to add, your lifestyle might determine this. We are very mindful of what goes in our bodies. Food, supplements, water etc. We regularly consume whole foods and herbs that assist our body in the natural detoxification process. This might be how we all “became new” so quickly, I am not sure. We are not totally in the clear just yet. There are a few underlying things or even environmental triggers that might fire up those reactors again, but I can tell we even recover faster or don’t get as bad as we did before.
Common detox signs:
Fever and flu like symptoms
Frequent trips to the bathroom
Symptoms worsening
One thing that happened to me was extreme and horrid mouth sores at the tail end of what I think was my detox phase. I think because I had so many digestive issues it was the final goodbye to the bad bacteria in my body. I had some crazy mouth wash I was using about every hour so I could simply talk. Fight through this detox phase!
Liver Truth
I want to provide a fair warning, if you aren’t already experiencing this, your liver is in overdrive during the detox phase. You might have noticed this throughout your exposure too. But with the liver working so hard to fight for you, you might get “more angry” feeling. In the mold world, I’ve seen this refer to as “mold rage.” You might be on edge, uneasy, snappy, exhausted easily. Remember, this is a phase because your liver flushes so many toxins, even those happy hormones and can’t keep up to help your mood like you know it can. Hang in there. Take quiet moments to yourself. This one got me several times because I am not one to “get mad” yell, or even curse ha! There have been times I did to which I was immediately like, what the heck just caused that over something I could have easily handled before? I can even tell now too, I almost tense up because I am afraid of how I or my son might react in an instance… but we have both become such chill pills again – thankfully. (Of course, he’s six, he has his high emotional moments that he needs and works through now just as he should.)
Family Symptom Recap:
5 year old –
Speech regression (baby talk)
Easily upset/angry
Swollen eyes
Red watery eyes
Persistent cough
Coughing so hard throwing up at night or during the day a “cough attack” turns purple/red then looses all energy/scared
Cognitive shifts in behavior
Hard to breath at night from cough / short breath
Wakes without knowing, crying, panicked from cough, unresponsive to me & does not remember anything
Heart murmur
Blisters on feet (from the carpet)
Crazy reactions to bug bites
Body aches, spiked fever (signs of detoxing/eliminating)
1 year old –
Cradle cap until new house or long times away
Easily over stimulated as a baby
Upset easily
Startled easily
Apartment:
Blisters on feet
Red eyes
Persistent cough
Throwing up at night from coughing
Hard to breath at night from cough / short breath
Her detox stage was her worst. The time we moved out of the apartment. Do a lot of skin to skin and keeping calm and cool. Extra medications like cough suppressants or antibiotics will not help – most cases. Allow the body to rid itself of the exposure, it might be hard to watch, but keep fighting!
Mom (Me) –
House:
Hashimotos diagnosis (thyroid issues are very common with mold exposure – fatigue, cold, weak etc.)
Severe body aches and easily in pain
IBS / high food intolerances
Easily overstimulated, fear, frustration, anxious
Always thirsty always having to pee
Easy sinus infection / bloody nose
Brain fog / weak memory
Facial numbness, sagging eyes
Weak eyesight
Apartment:
Arm and hand numbness at night
Unusual headaches (that actually caused me to take pain relievers -you know something was off for me to do that!)
Dad –
Anxiety
Skin issues
Body pain
Dizzy / vertigo
Dogs –
Throwing up randomly. Chip at least once a week over the 2 years. Did the first week at new house hasn’t since. Gunk in ear of Cookie that required a deep clean. (Slept on side on the carpet at apartment.) Threw up occasionally, no cause.
Detox protocol:
Each person will vary for the proper protocol. Age, underlying health conditions, certain medications, are all factors to take into consideration when starting a detox protocol. I would work with a functional medicine doctor if you are unsure.
Like I said before, we are really healthy eaters so I kept our protocol pretty simple. Tip: if you or your child do not poop at least once per day, this needs addressed immediately. Part of getting the mold and mycotoxins out of your body is through waste.
Chlorella and Spirulina – I upped all of our chlorella intake daily. This is an important one. These are binders meaning they grab the gunk in your digestive tract and send it out. My kids love them. They chew the tablets, my 1 year-old even chews up the full capsule. It comes in a powder too you can toss in a smoothie or food. I did about half the adult dosage for the kids. Dark green poo is a good poo for a few days starting this!
Favorite brands – Wuji and Perfect Supplements
Bioray droppers – I found these through the mold specialist and I really love the line for our entire family. I did the full Immunity Hit Bundle for Kids as well as the Get Sleepy for Kids. I have the Immunity Hit for Adults, with the Get Sleepy and Adrenal Lover. These all have great herbs, plants, digestive support, and micronized chlorella. They actually taste really good too. We do them morning and before bed. There is a step process you could do as well, but these are things we are used to taking so I did what I felt was best for us.
They do have more intense options if you are looking for a heavy detox protocol. I would certainly trust them for doing that.
Microbiome labs – Sporebiotic, RestoFlora (I have these available through the clinic as well.) I have taken this brand for years. They are a powerhouse company for digestive healing.
Drink plenty of water and eat clean whole foods so you can get all the gunk down the toilet and out of your body.
If you are local, I have Bioray, Wuji and Perfect Supplements in our clinic. Let me know and I can set aside what you’ll need for pickup. (This stuff goes quick so make sure ahead of time I have it in stock.)
Homeopathic blend – BioAllers Mold, Yeast, & Dust homeopathic drops. We do a few drops of these, especially if around a lot of dust.
Chest Care by Mountain Rose Herbs – this was for my son who reacts easily by coughing. I mixed with the Bioray blends in tart cherry juice once a day. I think this did his chest wonders in knocking the cough.
Pets:
I have had my dogs on probiotics for years now. I upped this during our detox phase.
I also give them omega-3 fish oil regularly.
If there are some behavioral or digestive issues, hemp oil and slippery elm powder, even milk thistle is safe for dogs. Reach out, I’m happy to give further tips here.
Remedy Pet Shampoo – I shaved Chip because he could be. I bathed both dogs several times before bringing them home. I am not the best at regularly grooming these extra large dogs, but if I could, I’d do it 2x a month at least.
Self testing:
I did a simple hair test on my 6-year-old not even expecting a mold to show in his environmental profile. I send 6 strands of hair to my contact in Nashville where she gives to the lab from there. I am emailed the results. Super easy and rather affordable compared to most tests. This also shows nutritional deficiencies and sensitivities, hormone, and gut health. Whatever foods he showed a sensitivity to I kept from his daily diet during the detox phase, and still avoid if I can just to be on the safe side. We will reintroduce one at a time and see how he does.
*If you want this test, reach out to me directly. I do not want to put my contacts info on here unless you are serious about testing. It is $185 per test.
Functional Labs:
Organic Acids test – this is a good one that can show a wide variety of health issues. You’ll want to watch the mosaic videos to better understand which markers are mold specific vs candida etc. Very informative.
Mycotoxins lab is a urine test that you can do at home.
Mycotoxins from mold cause damage to many organs and systems in the body. Mold toxicity is a root cause for so many people that gets missed with regular labs in western medicine. Mycotoxins aren’t checked by regular labs, it can only be done with specialty functional labs.
Mold Inspection:
While it could be very important to hire a mold inspector to get some reports and such ran, I do not recommend relying on one to advise or guide you in anything further than getting the proper testing. Most mold inspectors are that, inspectors that get test results. Some don’t even know the concerns or symptoms of mold. They use the term “environmental” loosely as if all the issues are “common.” Remember, if you are symptomatic, whatever type of mold is in your space is dangerous enough to be concerned with and complete further testing.
Home tests:
EMRI and EMRI+
You can do the home kits from Lowes, or an air quality test and get plenty of answers, but if you want full reports to show exactly what you are dealing with, I recommend these very thorough tests. Air quality weakens as it travels so your report is not as accurate. The EMRI is based on collected dust that has settled for an extended period of time providing more accurate analysis. Of course, spendier but again, you really need to know what types of mold you are dealing with to know your next steps in removing.
Here is where you can order this test:
Best of luck, friend. I am here to help where I can. It’s time to take the steps to get yourself and family well, however that looks for your home and the process.
