Re: Hveragerthi, I like your style bro... Healthy skepticism and cynicism are good things.

So-called Amalgam illness is a part of my medical history and now I am very cynical about mercury poisoning and so I liked your contentions in the forums a lot...

Thanks.  It has always amazed me at how many people swear they have mercury poisoning from their amalgams even though their symptoms have nothing to do with actual mercury poisoning.  

I don't have health insurance right now, haven't had it in a while... I am planning to see an ACAM doctor where I am at in FL, 'cause quite honestly and sadly, none of the specialists I have seen have had any answers for me...

I guess it's best to start from the present and go back in my history and I am writing this email, not only to you but to myself as I am gonna do my best with relevance, ya know?

I have been experiencing explosive bouts of diarrhea consistently since July 2011, which began after I had taken amoxicillin for a cut that had turned staph infected on my earlobe and yet also at that time, I had contaminated myself with gluten (I am not celiac, but gluten intolerant)… In any case, I presented with steatorrhea at first and so I “suspected” dysbiosis and “promptly” started probiotics and even some other measures like EFA’s and fiber and even bentonite… These measures were refractory though…

And then I noticed something about one of my teeth, the one that had been a botched root canal I never wanted and never finished, it kinda “hurt” sometimes… So I got it checked out and yeah it was infected (surprise? not) and so it was extracted… I was thinking, holy smokes, focal point of infection and so I started taking Rifaximin from a gastroenterologist to control what I thought to be bacterial overgrowth right? Well that abated it for a while and I was on probiotics still and even trying Gotschall’s SCD… Refractory again, although in some ways I felt and still feel “better”…

Now here’s the thing that has my cracker baking lately so to speak, what I am thinking lately, alright?

This gluten intolerance thing has been in my history previously and I have been better off of gluten, but I wasn’t always so sensitive to it as I am to this day… I attribute this to the prophylaxis I received for MRSA ‘cause of a brown recluse spider bite I got on my leg 5 years ago… My digestion has been an issue though throughout my history... I am diagnosed with IBS… I’ve had candidiasis back in the late 90’s, probably due to too many antibiotics for prostatitis I had back then as a complication of non-gonococcal urethritis…

IBS is also a result of a lack of flora.  And with all the antibiotics you have had I am not surprised you are having the intestinal issues.

Anyway, yeah too many antibiotics, back the present day again…

Alright so, my symptoms got more strange though, I started to have occipital lobe headaches and leg pain in my calfs bilaterally, I was sleeping a lot,

Have you been checked for diabetes?  Some of your symptoms are fitting.

lower back pain, strange cloudy urines, the diarrhea still (of course), loss of libido, itchy rashes and pimples pop up on me here and there,

Are you sure they are pimples and not staph?  Staph can be mistaken for pimples, but the bumps are filled with a clear fluid, not pus.

I feel “hot”, wake up that way with night sweats and body temp is of course below normal…

Obviously some sort of inflammatory process is happening here and it is a “syndrome” now… My father has some symptoms that are similar to mine…

Low body temperature can indicate hypothyroidism, which also increases inflammation.  Low adrenal function is one cause of hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue itself can lead to increased inflammation.

Anyway, I discovered mold and biofilm in my environment where I reside… I felt “better” when visiting with a girl I was dating for a few days and when I returned “home” I felt like shit again after a few days and noticed the musty smell coming off the vents…

I made a claim with the homeowner’s insurance my dad’s got on our place and an environmental scientist detected “above average” levels of Aspergillus and Penicillium and Cladosporium was found all over the inside of the HVAC carrier with those other molds and some bacteria, making the biofilm I mentioned…

So essentially, I think I am reacting to this stuff and it’s mycotoxins until it is cleaned up and so is my dad…

I’ve read about Shoemaker’s diagnostic protocol for biotoxins, what value for relevance do you find in it?

http://www.survivingmold.com/diagnosis/lab-tests

First thing I have to say about this is that many of the markers they are testing for tend to fluctuate greatly so they only show that current period of time.  For example, they mention VEGF that increases during injury to help promote healing and during cancer to help the cancer cells survive and thrive.

Second point is that even if the results are accurate how are you going to address the markers?  For example, how would you lower MMP-9 or control levels of TGF Beta-1?

I was gonna have this ACAM guy run all of Shoemaker’s panels and a CDSA 2.0 from Genova, maybe allergy tests too and figure out what the hell is going on and then go from there since urinalysis and CBC’s and all that haven’t been too revealing lately of anything… What are your thoughts?

Clearing up the mold problem would be a good start.  And getting your flora back in line with cultured foods and fibers will help.  I also recommend supporting your adrenals that are the body's source of anti-inflammatory control and plays a major role in immune regulation.  Licorice root is an excellent choice since it not only supports the adrenals, but is also a steroidal anti-inflammatory and supports the liver and kidneys. Yucca root is also a steroidal anti-inflammatory, kills yeasts/molds, and supports the adrenals.  Nettle leaf is also a good choice.  It is a milder anti-inflammatory but is supports the adrenals, thyroid, liver and kidneys as well as supports the flora.

I also recommend getting checked for diabetes.