My CIRS or mould illness recovery
2020
As some of you may have read in an earlier blog, I lived in a mouldy house for 3 ½ years. I was not able to leave for complicated legal reasons.
The short version of what happened is that within 9 months of moving into our old house and a 3-week bout of non-stop rain, I collapsed a couple of months later with mould illness or CIRS, short for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. I’d never heard of this before and was lucky to have an integrative GP who knew the signs. I am one of 25% of people whose genetics don’t allow their body to clear mould and mycotoxins, meaning my body went into a chronic inflammatory cycle.
CIRS is a controversial condition. While some doctors understand that mould can be toxic, many don’t believe in CIRS. In fact, I recently watched a webinar on mould by a functional doctor I respect a lot who wasn’t willing to mention CIRS let alone discuss treatment. All he talked about was supporting the immune system, which doesn’t get to the root cause of why it’s under such huge stress. I was dismayed as there’s no way this would have been enough to save me as I was seriously ill.
For me, following Dr Ritchie Shoemaker’s protocol saved my life (I’m not exaggerating). It also allowed me to stay in that mouldy house until was finally able to leave. I wouldn’t recommend this as it’s best to leave as soon as possible, but sometimes this isn’t possible.
I won’t talk about the horrific and heartbreaking process of having to clean every single thing was could take with us while having to ditch tens of thousand of dollars worth of mouldy but otherwise pristine furniture, leather goods, family photo albums and other memories. The emotional and financial costs were huge.
So instead I’ll focus on the fact that I’ve been out of the house for 10 months now, and this is where my health recovery currently stands, which is after all, much more important that material goods…
As soon as I left the house, I reacted to Cholestyramine (the mould binder that worked for me) and had to stop taking it. I was supposed to take it for 6 months after leaving to remove all mould and mycotoxins
Instead I’ve completed two detoxes and am currently doing a third while also doing gut-healing protocols. This has been slow and difficult as my body couldn’t tolerate many supplements at first, they have helped considerably
I’ve been walking in fresh ocean air daily, and regularly practising yoga and pranayama (breath work) to clear my lungs
Practising this super ventilation the last couple of months has been great for clearing my lungs and oxygenating my cells (I miss it when I don’t do it) https://bit.ly/3poTBOP
My immune system was shot, as shown in stool testing and blood chemistry. I’ve been rebuilding it and my most recent bloods showed significant improvement e.g. no more long-term neutropenia
When I left the house I had problematic intestinal permeability and various gut infections as shown in tests. These are a direct result of CIRS. This included HPylori, SIBO, a yeast overgrowth (Candida) and gut infections among other issues. My gut protocols have improved all of these
I can now take most supplements after years of strong reactivity to the point I couldn’t take anything
I can also breathe easily again and suffer no more air hunger
I still have some food sensitivities and have to rotate foods. For example, if I eat something like cacao, eggs or coconut yoghurt too often, I suffer from inflammation. However, I am no longer histamine sensitive
My heavy metal count (mercury and others) was high after I left the mouldy house. Mould sequesters heavy metals. I’m not sure what it is now, but I’m hoping my detoxification protocols have released excess amounts
My thyroid and hormones have also been effected (many of our hormones are made in our gut or our gut is involved in their manufacture) and my weight is not responding to my usually successful attempts to lower it. This will take time and is my next project, but eating nutrient dense foods and good protein is something I need to continue right now to rebuild my cells and health
That said, there’s no doubt that some intermittent fasting has been a helpful part of my mould detox
I can’t tolerate alcohol. My body seems to be telling me it still needs to heal and no thank you to these gut-destructive toxins. I feel much better for removing it
Regarding Marcons, which I tested positive for a couple of years ago, I am using IonBiome nasal spray to resolve that. I may retest in a few months as resolving this is one part of the healing process
In terms of my family, my husband developed CIRS too as well as an autoimmune condition and histamine sensitivity. He is also slowly healing and is on his second protocol
My pets were also ill. One developed autoimmunity and all three got fungal skin infections. The latter have gone, the autoimmune disease is slowly responding to my treatment protocol using herbs and binders
My endurance left me, pointing to a lack of or inability to digest fatty acids, but is slowly returning to the point that I’ve been able to do weights again and go on longer, more challenging walks
I have a lot more energy again. Yay!
I rarely get migraines or headaches now
Slowly but surely my family and I are getting better, and in another few months I hope to be well enough to do more intense fasting and detoxes.
Early 2022 update
Over two years since leaving the mouldy house, I finally feel back to normal. In fact, I feel better than before I got CIRS…
I have completely overcome hypothyroidism, which began in the mouldy house, and my former hormone imbalances (naturally)
I have rebuilt my gut, eradicated candida, and have healthy levels of beneficial bacteria
My only outstanding issue remains leaky gut, but I suspect this is also due to hEDS. I have been focusing on closing my gut junctions up using food and supplementation, and it’s working
How can I tell? Because I barely have any food sensitivities now. I even managed some pumpernickel rye bread without reacting, and can have a bit of dairy and chocolate twice weekly. I can tolerate all supplements
But alcohol remains an issue. It’s just not good for me
Heavy metal levels have gone right down, but I still need to do some mineral balancing
I’m able to lift weights and do some HIIT again. I sleep well and have loads of energy
I’m doing another round of Marcons treatment using various natural sprays
Late 2022 update
I moved into a newly renovated house and went backwards a bit. I appear to have greater sensitivity to VOCs now
This prompted me to do more testing
While I have fully healed my leaky gut at last!!, I still have some mycotoxins. So I’m back detoxing naturally with a rotation of different natural binders
I also have some candida and an oxalate problem
I also discovered a strep infection in my nasal passage and throat, which I dealt with using natural nasal sprays
The message? Healing from mould illness often takes more than the six months it’s supposed to take.
For me to recover, it’s taken persistent and ongoing efforts to detoxify myself from mould, heavy metals and infections; and rebuild my gut, energy levels and resilience.