Symptoms

6 comments
The following list is taken from the book Mold Warriors by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker. These are symptoms of biotoxin illness (biotoxin definition: poison produced by and derived from an animal or plant).

According to Dr. Shoemaker, "Symptoms exhibited from the exposure to biotoxins affect everyone differently. This extensive listing is here to help you understand the many ways biotoxin illness can manifest itself. This listing does not mean that those who suffer from biotoxin illness will exhibit all of the symptoms listed here."

  • Body aches (joints, muscle, and sinus)
  • Headaches
  • Allergies
  • Allergic reactions to foods
  • Anxiety
  • Appetite swings
  • Bleeding ear
  • Bleeding gums
  • Body temperature regulation problems
  • Shortness of breath
  • Bronchitis
  • Charley horses
  • Chills
  • High cholesterol
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Abnormal circulation
  • Cognitive problems - difficulty assimilating new information; difficulty finding words; difficulty focusing; difficulty thinking or accomplishing other executive functions such as organizing and planning; difficulty with math or handling numbers; difficulty with short-term memory; short-term memory loss
  • Constipation
  • Coughing
  • Abdominal cramping
  • Delayed recovery from normal activity
  • Depression
  • Diarrhea
  • Dizziness
  • Endometriosis
  • Burning, red, or watery eyes
  • Fatigue
  • Fever
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Leaky Gut
  • Hypoperfusion (decreased blood flow through an organ)
  • Inflammation
  • Insomnia
  • Insulin resistance
  • Interstitial Cystitis
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Laryngitis
  • Light sensitivity
  • Lyme Disease
  • Metallic taste in mouth
  • Migraines
  • Mood swings
  • Morning stiffness
  • Muscle cramps, jerks, or twitches
  • Nausea
  • Numbness in the arms, legs, feet, or hands
  • Pain - abdominal, arm, back, chest, chronic, cycles, feet, growing, hip, joints, leg, lungs, mistaking cold and hot, sinus, stabbing, vulvar
  • Rashes
  • Raynaud's Phenomenon
  • Respiratory problems
  • Rosacea
  • Seizures
  • Sensitivity to bright light
  • Static shocks
  • Sinus congestion
  • Sinus infection
  • Skin sensitivity
  • Sleep apnea
  • Sleep disturbance
  • Stiffness
  • Sweating
  • Swelling
  • Sore throat
  • Tingling
  • Burning tongue
  • Tremors
  • Frequent urination
  • Vertigo
  • Blurred vision
  • Weakness
  • Weight gain
  • Weight loss
  • Wheezing

6 comments :

  1. Great list, Andrea! Of those, here are the symptoms I've had since my mold exposure:

    * Body aches (joints, muscle, and sinus)
    * Headaches
    * Allergies
    * Allergic reactions to foods
    * Anxiety
    * Body temperature regulation problems
    * Shortness of breath
    * Chills
    * Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    * Cognitive problems - difficulty assimilating new information; difficulty finding words; difficulty focusing; difficulty thinking or accomplishing other executive functions such as organizing and planning; difficulty with math or handling numbers; difficulty with short-term memory; short-term memory loss
    * Abdominal cramping
    * Delayed recovery from normal activity
    * Depression
    * Diarrhea
    * Dizziness
    * Fatigue
    * Leaky Gut
    * Inflammation
    * Insomnia
    * Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    * Light sensitivity
    * Migraines
    * Mood swings
    * Morning stiffness
    * Muscle cramps, jerks, or twitches
    * Nausea
    * Numbness in the arms, legs, feet, or hands
    * Pain - abdominal, arm, back, chest, chronic, cycles, feet, growing, hip, joints, leg, lungs, mistaking cold and hot, sinus, stabbing, vulvar
    * Rashes
    * Raynaud's Phenomenon
    * Sensitivity to bright light
    * Skin sensitivity
    * Sleep disturbance
    * Stiffness
    * Sweating
    * Tingling
    * Tremors
    * Vertigo
    * Blurred vision
    * Weakness
    * Weight loss

    I'd like to highlight that I did NOT have ANY respiratory symptoms. When a friend mentioned mold as a possibility earlier on in my illness, I didn't think it could be the case because everything I'd read about mold illness involved respiratory symptoms. As I know now, that's not always the case.

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  2. i'm taking this list to the doctor tomorrow when we go for our visit. thank you, andrea!!!!

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  3. I feel like the list covers TOO many possible problems! One of the difficulties I have had is convincing family members--even my husband--that our wide variety of symptoms is caused by the same thing--mold in our home. My extended family also doesn't believe that "this mold thing" is real, and that I'm overreacting. Actually, most of my doctors too. That's hard--mold can cause so many problems that seem like they should be totally unrelated that it's all but impossible for me to convince people to consider it as a possible cause of their sickness.

    Thanks for all the great info!

    Amanda

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  4. Thank you for great info here on mold. There's too many confussion out there on this subject. Some suggest there's not effect when one is exposed to mold and others suggest there is. Thank you for clearing this up.

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  5. Hi Andrea -
    I have been following your blogs on and off since we saw your story on CBN. It has been a long road for us too since we found it underneath our mobile home (it was our church parsonage). It sat there for 9 months without us there, waiting for our church leadership to do something. Finally they took it away because we are suppose to get a new one next week. I didn't go inside the house, but feel like I have unknowingly re-exposed myself to it. They found out it was there for quite some time as there were no foundations for the home. The ground was not leveled, and there were dips in the ground where water just pooled around it after it snowed or rained.
    I don't want them to just put something on top of it & have it lie there dormant...do you have any suggestions or maybe who to contact?
    Debbie

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  6. Debbie,
    I asked toxicologist Dr. Jack Thrasher for his opinion on this.
    Here is his response:

    "The first question is where is the moisture coming from that caused the mold growth in the soil? I would recommend that the earth be excavated and refilled with sandy materials.

    Before putting a new mobile home on the site, lay done a water impermeable barrier over the soil and then add a fan to the crawl space that would blow the air out of the crawl space and help remove moisture."

    I hope this helps.
    Andrea

    ReplyDelete