My Journey with Hashimotos Disease and Toxic Mold Exposure
MY STORY:
Mold is one of many root causes of Hashimotos Disease. It’s what I like to call the sneaky, silent destroyer of our immune system and thyroid.
Over the past 9 years, I had been living and working in several different severely water damaged and moldy buildings.
My on and off again exposures created a ton of ongoing symptoms, flare-ups, and stubborn elevated TPO antibodies (despite doing everything “right” with diet and supplements).
There are a ton of symptoms associated with mold toxicity. My personal ones were:
Weight gain that didn’t improve with nutritional changes
Ear ringing (especially at night)
Rashes (all over my hands and arms)
Insomnia
Air hunger (waking up gasping for air)
Brain fog
Numbness in my hands
Frequent urination
Blurry vision
Mood swings and irritability
Night sweats
Reoccurring candida infections, food sensitivities, and bloating
Frequent urination and bladder infections
My journey with mold started shortly after starting my career as a teacher in 2014. Every classroom that I taught in reeked of must, mold, and dust. I even taught in one classroom where the ceiling tiles were black! (I complained to the school district, but they ignored me—schools like to pretend mold doesn’t exist because they have no money to fix it). I also suspected that my apartment at the time had mold as well.
After I left the teaching profession, I worked briefly for a local community college and my symptoms starting flaring up again. My rashes came roaring back and my insomnia and ear ringing kept me up at night. I complained to Human Resources about mold being an issue for me and they all looked at me like I was crazy. They told me “We checked the air quality levels, and everything is “in normal range.” I had flashbacks from when a doctor used the exact same words but with my thyroid labs. I was furious. My body felt anything but normal.
I then invested in the Mycotox Profile by Great Plains Labratory test. As suspected, I had elevated mold levels in my body. Other tests that I like to use as a practitioner are Organic Acids Test and the Total Tox Burden by Vibrant America (testing available for Hashimotos 101 students ). You can also use score yourself based off your symptoms in the Toxicity Symptom Assessment linked inside of Hashimotos 101.
After leaving those jobs and starting my health coaching practice, 90% of my symptoms subsided. I felt relief and started feeling more like myself again.
Until….October of 2020. 40% of my symptoms came back out of nowhere. All of a sudden, my pants started to not fit anymore and my face became puffy again despite eating healthy and having made no changes to my diet. I developed itchy rashes that bled all over my hands and arms. I had horrible insomnia that kept me up all night no matter what supplements I took. My hands felt like rocks at night as they became numb. Emotionally, I felt angry and irritable without any rhyme or reason.
I began house sitting for a friend on and off and started noticing that my symptoms disappeared whenever I stayed at her house. When I came home, my symptoms started flaring up again. This was the confirmation that my living environment was in fact causing problems. I didn’t end up testing my place for mold because I then could physically see it (bubbled walls, cracks in the walls, stained ceiling etc.) and my symptoms were clear indicators it was an issue. Luckily, I was a renter which made it easy for me to move out and find a new, cleaner place to live (which I know is not always feasible for everyone).
About a month after moving out of mold, I started to notice things shift in my body. My rashes started to go away and the inflammation started to subside. Diligence and consistency with my routines have been the key factors in seeing change quickly. I also went into detoxing with the mindset of trusting that my body would recover in its own time which I believed has helped a ton during the process.
I’m currently 1 year out of mold and there have been many ups and downs. The difficult thing about detoxing is that you often feel worse before you feel better. I experienced a few “die off” reactions. This means I had days where I had fatigue, headaches, and mood swings as parasites and candida/mold were dying off in my body. The good news however is that since I’ve been detoxing many parasites, many of my food sensitivities have subsided and I can eat foods I once was very sensitive to. I’m not fully recovered, however, I feel a world of difference than I did 1 year ago. I’m currently still detoxing (and probably will be for a while.) It’s not a quick fix process, so patience and compassion with my body has been key.
FAQ:
How do I know I’m sensitive to mold?
It’s estimated that around 25% of the population have a mold sensitivity. Many of us with Hashimotos have the HLA-DR genetic mutation. This often explains why you can be in the same building as your spouse, co-worker, or friend and you experience symptoms and they do not.
How do I test for mold in my home?
Mold is tricky and extremely stressful. Just because you don’t see it or smell it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You can however, test the levels of your home using ERMI by Enviromics. I also recommend checking out Weinspect. Brian @moldfinders has great resources for detecting mold in your home as well. The pictures to right were taken straight from my the place I was living when my symptoms started flaring up.
What steps have I taken to detox from mold?
I moved out of the environment: It can be really difficult to get well if the place we spend most of our time is making us sick. I feel grateful because I was a renter and moving was an easy option for me to start feeling well ( I know it’s not an easy option for others— see #13 for recommendation.) I also sold and donated all my furniture and most of my clothing. Mold grows on anything porous and I wanted to prevent as much cross contamination as possible in my new space.
Ate a whole foods diet with no-low sugar (mold + parasites feed on sugar) For more information and resources around food, check out module 3 of Hashimotos 101.
Infrared saunas: (use code RASSP10 for 10% off:) Sweating allowed my body to excrete toxins from inside my body. I used mine 2-3x/per week.
Use code: RASSP10 for 10% off
4. Dry brushing: Each morning (helps move stagnant lymphatic flow)
5. Coffee enemas: 3-4x per week
6. Yoga + walking: 3-4x per week to get lymphatic system moving
8. Nasal rinse: Mold spores like to hide out in your nasal cavities. I filled this nasal rinse up with warm water and added 1 drop of hydroxygen— be careful, it can burn! (Practitioner code available for Hashimotos 101 students)
9, Cellcore Comprehensive Protocol: When looking at mold, it’s best to open and support your drainage pathways (colon, liver, lymphatic system) and tackle parasites first. Parasites are connected to mold because they hold onto mold, bacteria, viruses, and heavy metals. I share more about parasites here. My body has been so toxic that I’ve seen many of them come out with just doing drainage and not even taking any herbs to kill them off. It’s been wild! Addressing drainage is an important first step (see products below) before killing off parasites as they like to burrow themselves under mold and biofilm in the digestive tract. (practitioner code available for Hashimotos 101 students)
10. King Coffee: Anti-candida, anti-parasitic, and contains immune supporting reishi spores. I could never tolerate caffeine because my adrenals were a mess, but this coffee is nothing like your regular coffee. No jitters, gut health support, better mood, and amazing energy! I’m officially addicted!
11. Slowly started incorporated Carboxy: This is VERY potent and is used to kill off candida and mold in the gut. I experienced crazy mood swings with just a tiny bit of it when my body wasn’t quite ready for it. Best to wait 30-60 days after taking Biotoxin Binder and go extremely slow. (practitioner code available for Hashimotos 101 students)
12. Drank lots of water with electrolytes + minerals: Water helps keep your lymphatic system going while flushing out toxins. Minerals and electrolytes are great to add to your water when you are detoxing as many detox modalities like coffee enemas and saunas deplete them. I love adding some Sea salt to my water for electrolytes and Cellcore’s CT minerals.
13. Used an Air Doctor Pro Air Purifier: (link gets you $120-$300 off): This air purifier is different than your average air purifier in that it captures 0.003 microns of mold, dust, viruses, bacteria, and smoke. I’m obsessed with mine and can instantly tell the difference in the air quality in my house. This can be a more affordable option if moving and remediating are not an option for you. I also used this mold detergent to wash the clothes I did bring with me in the move.
What can I do if I suspect mold, but moving houses, jobs, or remediating is not an option?
The sad reality in today’s world is that around 50% of homes in the US have mold. My philosophy with toxins is always to control the controllables. Fixing mold can be extremely costly and stressful. If things are not in your control, here are a few things you can control:
Invest in an Air doctor Pro Air Purifier (link gets you $120-$300 off)
I’m not going to sugar coat it— Dealing with mold can be an extremely stressful, frustrating, and costly.
However, the good news is, there is a lot of small and big steps we can do to start feeling better. Your body loves you and wants to be healthy. Hang in there and never give up HOPE that it’s possible to feel more like yourself again.
To heal safely from mold, it’s best to work with a knowledgeable practitioner that can guide and support you step by step in the process. For instant access to my step by step mold protocol (with my practitioner code to order), join us inside Hashimotos 101.
Sending you so much love and healing!
Warmly,
Allison
Disclaimer: The information provided in is this post is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure disease and should not be a replacement for medical advice. Always consult your doctor before trying a new diet, lifestyle or supplement protocol.
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