Mold Illness (CIRS)
I’ll never forget the years of my life my brother was sick with mold illness.
He was so sick that he became a different person. No longer his funny, adventurous spirit, his illness took over.
Christian’s symptoms were across the map. It all started with vertigo, and progressed to include mental-emotional symptoms like debilitating brain fog and fatigue, anxiety, depression, and rage (he’s a peacemaker at heart, so this was striking). He had digestive problems, skin reactions, and food sensitivities. He went to many doctors before he was finally diagnosed with CIRS—Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, also known as biotoxin illness. Also known as mold illness.
The diagnosis of mold illness changed everything
We finally had answers. Mold illness was at the root of (almost) all of it, and this diagnosis changed our lives.
Through treatment, slowly but surely, his symptoms started to improve. Eventually he felt his brain function returning. I’ll always remember the day he told me, “My brain feels normal again.”
My family’s experience helping Christian recover from mold illness catapulted me on the path to learning how to help my own patients with this devastating disease
How do you diagnose mold illness?
The diagnosis involves a thorough medical history, blood work, vision testing, and a brain MRI with NeuroQuant to assess the extent to which biotoxins have impacted your brain structure and function. Urine mycotoxin testing does NOT contribute to a diagnosis, because most healthy people also have mycotoxins in their urine from everyday mold exposures. We need to look at how your Immune system and your hormonal systems are responding to this toxin. We do that through the steps I listed above.
How do you recover from mold illness?
While recovery can be long and challenging, it is 100% possible to heal from this condition.
As I’ve grown in my career and continued to help patients uncover and treat their mold illness, I’ve recognized how complex and individualized this journey can be.
The most important ingredients in your recovery, even more important perhaps than your treatment plan at times, are:
The belief that you will heal
Resilience and grit to keep taking one step after the other
A community of loving, accepting humans willing to support your journey.
While I use a core treatment approach based on leading expert Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker’s research, treatment plans must be tailored to the individual. In many people, there are other interrelated root causes that need to be addressed through the treatment plan These include lymbic system rewiring, methylation issues, MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome), EBV (epstein barr virus), Lyme and co-infections, and autoimmunity.
You don’t have to do it alone
Navigating healing by yourself can feel isolating, confusing, and overwhelming. It is one of my greatest joys to support and guide individuals out of their suffering and into a bigger life and greater vitality. If you need help with diagnosis, treatment, or the mental-emotional heaviness of mold illness, I encourage you to find support, personally and professionally, to help you get to the other side. To inquire about becoming a patient, click the button below to get started.