After unexplained episodes of brain fog, anxiety, depression, and stomach pain, a lab test finally uncovered toxic mold poisoning.

It was unheard of for him to bail on a family vacation, so it got my attention. We headed home.

He had been struggling off and on for months with some unknown illness that wiped him out. It seemed inconsistent though. The medical doctors had not found anything wrong with him, although he had been having all kinds of issues from digestive problems, to fatigue, to what he called “brain fog.” The unresolved digestive problems (with a pain level of 7 out of 10) had put him in the hospital at one point, though the findings were inconclusive — gas, they said and prescribed Prilosec.

But, the brain fog symptom was the worst.

Jay is a brilliant and highly innovative antenna engineer with numerous patents to his name. His brain is an important tool in solving complex antenna engineering problems. He can tell when it is working correctly and when it is not. He had begun to notice that he would find himself pacing from room to room in a looping pattern, unable to remember what he was doing from one room to the next: brain fog, he called it.  And it terrified him.

His mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a couple of years earlier and was in Assisted Living deteriorating each month. It was scary to feel his brain slipping. Was this early Alzheimer’s? He lived in dread of himself succumbing to the illness.

We became stalwart in reading the most cutting-edge research on Alzheimer’s and began following Dr. Bredesen. Dr. Bredesen has an impressive background having graduated from Caltech, then earned his MD from Duke University. He has become renowned as an expert in the mechanism of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. When Dr. Bredesen’s book The End of Alzheimer’s came out in August 2017, we immediately purchased it. Dr. Bredesen’s book set forth a protocol for preventing and reversing Alzheimer’s Disease, including a greatly restricted diet to reduce inflammation, taking certain supplements, getting regular exercise, and paying attention to oral hygiene.

We immediately embarked on the protocol.

Later, when Jay began having these unresolved episodes of brain fog and other issues that the medical community had been unable to address, we decided we wanted to see someone who had been trained in the Bredesen anti-Alzheimer’s protocol. It was too complicated to try to explain the strict regimen we were following.

That day, when Jay was too sick to even enjoy our Christmas vacation with the kids, we returned home to Alpine, CA, and immediately began researching Bredesen-trained providers. We found one an hour drive from our home: Dr. Heather Sandison of North County Natural Medicine.

Thus, began Jay’s journey back to health, but it was not an easy one and it took us somewhere we had not considered.

Mold.

Dr. Sandison started by doing a comprehensive health interview with Jay. She spent a full hour with him asking him tons of questions and listening carefully to his responses. The experience was very relaxing for him. At last, he had found someone who not only listened to him but mirrored his inclination to investigate beyond the mainstream tests. She recommended a series of lab tests to give us more information. Among the lab tests she recommended was a Mycotoxin test. At that time, we had not heard of such tests.

When we returned for our follow-up visit, she went over what all the different blood tests showed about his particular makeup and then came to the Mycotoxin test. Immediately she asked us if we had a mold problem.

No, we told her, not that we were aware of. We had never seen any standing water and were not aware of any leaks. We’d lived in the house for about 6 years. We told her at one point we wondered about the discoloring of the wood flooring and had ordered an “at home” test where you scrape some of the black wood off and send it into a test. The results were normal.

She looked at us and said. “These numbers are off the charts. You have an existing and ongoing mold problem right now.” She was certain of it.

We weren’t sure what to do but decided to hire a company that checked the home for mold. That company came in and immediately targeted the area near our Sub-Zero fridge. They asked if the fridge leaked.

We shrugged and told them not to our knowledge. We had never seen water over the floorboards.

They pulled up one of the floorboards anyway and discovered standing water all over just under the floorboards, flowing under the wall from the kitchen into Jay’s office not visible to us but endemic. Then they showed us the mold. They investigated another area near the sink and another area in the master bedroom closet where a skylight had leaked before we bought the house. In each case, they pulled out a piece of drywall showing us the backside —covered in hidden black mold. We had no idea.

Since being alerted to Jay’s mold sensitivity, he has become like a Geiger-counter for mold. He can walk into a room and ascertain by a sudden onset of particular symptoms — primarily brain fog and fatigue — whether there is a mold problem. Recently, we had another leak in our house that we discovered when Jay started getting sick again.

How bad and how prevalent is mold anyway?

For some time now, mold has been seen as bad for structures and bad for people with asthma or other upper respiratory symptoms, but more is now being revealed as to other mold-based symptoms.

Psychology Today, in an article titled Mold Toxicity: A Common Cause of Psychiatric Symptoms, reports that toxic mold-based illness is a prevalent and underdiagnosed condition that causes a bunch of psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, brain fog, and insomnia in 25% of the population, who have a genetic predisposition that inhibits biotoxins from leaving their body. It is suspected, too, that mold might be behind other conditions such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel, and leaky gut.

Mold by the numbers

Although only 25% of the population might be adversely affected, the numbers of people being exposed have increased for a couple of reasons including that one of the most common building materials now used (as opposed to 75 years ago) is drywall, a great medium for mold growth. Plus, as we endeavor to make houses more energy-efficient and “smarter,” we contribute to less ventilation with outside air, increasing the potency of toxic mold.

So, how many houses in the US are affected? Berkeley Lab’s Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource Bank, in an article called Prevalence of Building Dampness, estimates close to 50% of houses in the US are affected by dampness or mold.

If you do the math, what this means is mold is likely affecting roughly 12.5% of the population, who likely are ascribing their symptoms, including depression, anxiety, brain fog, and fibromyalgia to something else.

Mold might be the most ignored public health issue of our lifetime

Dr. Sandison (from whom we sought help) had been trained by Dr. Neil Nathan, one of the experts on the subject of mold toxicity and author of the book, Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness. Treating toxicity is an important part of her practice now.

Dr. Sandison does not mince words when she says this,

I believe toxins are the most significant and ignored public health issue of our lifetime. The animal husbandry industry spends billions — yes with a b — of dollars on reducing mycotoxins in livestock because of the impact it has on morbidity, fertility, and mortality. The same is true in humans! It is estimated that 9 out of 10 people with chronic fatigue syndrome have toxicity as a root cause. When toxins are eliminated, fatigue resolves and patients get their energy back!

Dr. Sandison notes that the toxins associated with mold are fat-soluble and bind in the brain, nerves, and glands, so they can cause symptoms you feel throughout the body. The symptoms are often common and non-specific, ranging from fatigue and weakness to dizziness, brain fog, joint pain, anxiety, and depression. And, not every person will be susceptible to mold toxicity, which is why my husband had debilitating symptoms, while I did not, although our exposure was similar.

The upshot for us

For Jay, the brain fog was so debilitating he was highly motivated to track down the cause. Medical doctors could not find a cause, so we turned elsewhere for help. Under Dr. Sandison’s direction, we embarked on a plan to get to the bottom of his symptoms. We ran a battery of tests for all kinds of things, but including a test for mycotoxins. When we reviewed all the tests what stood out has that he had incredibly high numbers of aflatoxin and ochratoxin (two common mycotoxins) in his urine. Dr. Sandison said there had to be an ongoing exposure for those numbers to be present.

In short order, we hired a specialty company to come out and test the house. We found the source and took the necessary steps to eliminate it.

The upshot?

When we eliminated the exposure, Jay felt better — normal again. It took less than a week. There was zero question.

Now, as soon as he is around some toxic mold, he gets sick and suffers from brain fog. The solution has been simple: eliminate or avoid mold contaminations.

The good news is that when the environmental exposure is removed, he recovers well and quickly and his brain works well again.

Recently, he began complaining again of brain fog when he went into a certain part of the house. We discovered that a sink had begun leaking unbeknownst to us. This time we took swift action in repairing the leak, replacing the drywall, and having the area scrubbed and checked. Afterward, Jay’s symptoms went away and he could go into the room without a problem.

What to do about suspected mold

If you are having unresolved symptoms that cannot be tracked down by more traditional medical doctors, consider investigating whether or not mold might be a problem. This was our attack plan:

1. Test for mycotoxins in the body

The first step might be testing your body for mycotoxins. This will give you information about your own body. It will hinge on whether your particular body can take care of the mycotoxins or whether it is overwhelmed by them. Remember different bodies respond differently. Dr. Sandison recommends Real Time Laboratory. The test we took was a urine test that measured how many mycotoxins the body was eliminating. Mine was zero. Jay’s was off the charts.

2. Test for environmental exposure

If you discover that your mycotoxin numbers are higher than normal, the next step is determining the cause. Dr. Sandison told us that the high numbers that Jay’s test showed indicated that the exposure was current and ongoing. We needed to find the environmental cause and remediate it. Dr. Sandison told us the good news — unlike other illnesses when you eliminate the exposure the body recovers fairly fast. And some people don’t have a problem ridding their body of even a lot of mycotoxins; others get overwhelmed if the rate of exposure is ongoing and too high. Hire a company that specializes in locating mold in your home.

3. Find the source, eliminate the mold, and re-test the area

Once you have found the likely source or sources, you need to remediate the problem by removing all the areas with mold and replacing them with new material. This might include replacing floorboards and drywall. The rule of thumb for drywall that shows signs of mold is to remove at least a foot above the last place it appears. After finding the source and removing all the visible problems, you can have the area scrubbed and tested by an environmental hygienist who will test the air and certify if all the mold spores have been eliminated. We did this too — although Jay had become so sensitive that he could also tell by his symptoms alone.

4. Sanity check

First, allow some time to pass and simply ask yourself if you feel better. This is, after all, the most important litmus test. You can also re-test yourself for mycotoxins to determine if the numbers are lower.

Our journey to investigate Jay’s debilitating chronic symptoms, especially brain fog, digestive issues, and fatigue — symptoms of which traditional medicine could not find a cause — led us to Dr. Sandison. We are grateful to Dr. Sandison for her role in pointing us toward the testing which revealed his mycotoxin numbers and susceptibility to mold poisoning.

Ours is a happy story, for once we tracked down and eliminated the source, Jay got better. Plus, he recognizes the symptoms when they arise, and when they do, we know to immediately search for mold. Today, Jay is back to designing innovative antennas, and we are happily rock climbing with the kids again.

If you are having unresolved issues, I encourage you to get tested for mycotoxins and seek out professional help.