kathysgeek

I'm not a doctor. I just recognized symptom clusters consistent with my personal experience and shared information that would hopefully lead them to reach for effective treatment. Additionally, I only speak up when someone expresses frustration that their health provider has no clue what is going on.

You owe it to yourself to learn about Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). It can be caused by lyme but is more often due to exposure to water damaged buildings.

It is treatable and the science is backed by peer-reviewed academic papers. https://www.survivingmold.com/legal-resources/publications/p...

Reasonably priced lab testing can be obtained without jumping through insurance hoops: https://www.moldco.com/

I have personally suffered from CIRS-wdb (water damaged building) for decades. By 2012 (age 44) I was so chronically sick with severe neurological, endocrine and digestive symptoms that I could not work and barely slept 3 hours a night for months. Brain fog, "ice pick" pains in the gut, muscular weakness and balance problems were among the many symptoms. It was so bad that I was preparing for the end within a year and was spending my limited time with my wife and young children. Years of medical tests and consults (Cleveland Clinic) found nothing.

Fortunately, lots of googling found medical articles by Dr Ritchie Shoemaker listing many of the same multi-system symptoms. From the late 1990s he identified cohorts of patients with such symptoms and developed effective treatments. I drove out to Maryland and was treated by him from 2012-2013 following the Shoemaker protocol. We spent a substantial amount remediating the water damage in our home. My health improved incrementally to the point where I now work productively and actively mountain bike daily at age 59. I am about 91% recovered and have no doubt that I would have died without treatment. I take maintanence doses of Welchol and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) and avoid water damaged buildings.

I have no financial interest in Moldco or Dr Shoemaker but feel compelled to share my experience with those who seem to be suffering similarly.

I almost did not write this post. Nearly every afflicted person I have shared CIRS info with has ignored it and continued their health decline. I hope that you or someone reading this will take the steps and improve their health.

Unfortunately, urine mycotoxin testing is not diagnostically significant.

"Even if we are presented with impeccable lab results from ELISA and thorough use of standard differential diagnosis (we aren’t), based on world-wide control data, and a robust literature on CIRS, there is no basis to ascribe any diagnostic significance to urine mycotoxin testing" https://www.survivingmold.com/Publications/Urinary_mycotoxin...

However, there are significant blood tests including Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 and Complement C4-A. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGF_beta_1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4A

I highly recommend reading about it at https://www.survivingmold.com/resources-for-patients/diagnos...

You can do a visual contrast sensitivity test online: https://www.survivingmold.com/store/online-vcs-screening

I have been treated by Dr Shoemaker and am currently being treated by Dr Scott McMahon who is an expert researcher in the field. Call him and set up a consultation. There is a fair amount of blood tests but your symptom history and VCS tests will go a long way toward diagnosis.

YMMV, but after initial treatment I felt 40% better in 6 months. Ensuring a clean environment is critical. It took 5+ years of treatment to reach the 90% improvement.

However, each person is unique. Younger and less genetically susceptible patients improve much quicker.

https://www.survivingmold.com/shoemaker-protocol/list-of-cer...

Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome is the mother of all rabbit holes. But after suffering severe multi-system symptoms for many years I 90% recovered. Several experts in the field have told me that most if not all migraines are due to environmental exposure to toxins (mold and actinomycetes).

Environmental illness is real with measurable physiological effects. And it is treatable.

https://www.survivingmold.com/ https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/SHOEMAKER_PROTOCOL_ESSAY_...

I played for quite a while and found a dozen different worlds. Hitting the outer ring at speed usually ends up trapped but one time it followed a crack to the outside. This was a high gravity area and it could only scoot along the surface. Eventually there was a drop off and while plummeting chrome crashed. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Caitlin Johnstone is a lefty shilling for Russia. Chomsky blames NATO expansionism for the war.

I see lots of such posts by my lefty friends with nary a mention of Russian culpability.

https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/its-not-okay-for-gro... https://www.afr.com/world/europe/chomsky-we-re-approaching-t...

Very nice. I really appreciate the simple implementation and plan to load it with some of my favorite Kentucky hikes.

I was not aware of the Knobstone trail even though I live relatively close in Lexington, KY. We'll be hitting it for some day hikes this winter.

Thanks!

For geology lovers: https://kgs.uky.edu/kygeode/geomap/

Two meteor craters are visible as "broken windows". Middlesboro crater in the extreme southeast and Jeptha Knob near Frankfort (north central).