Mold Avoidance Experiences

[Lisa Petrison]

Jonathan Wright is a follower of Erik Johnson who became sick in 2000. Here is an article about him from 2004. He also is profiled in the chapter about Erik in the book "Mold Warriors" by Ritchie Shoemaker, M.D.

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Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Fighting a growing problem
Sick Colo. man to lobby in Washington on dangers of mold
By Kieran Nicholson
Denver Post Staff Writer

Post / John Epperson
Photographer Jonathan Lee Wright, shown in his camp near Estes Park, blames mold in his apartment in Salida for these symptoms: arthritis, diarrhea, severe headaches, chest pain and blurred vision. He now lives outside to try to recover from the maladies.

Coloradan Jonathan Lee Wright now calls the great outdoors his home, not because of his love for the land or nature, but because he says toxic molds forced him from his apartment.

Wright, a professional photographer who has put his career on hold, is scheduled to speak Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to mold and the health problems it causes.

For Wright, recovering from "mold toxicity" means living outdoors to prevent further exposure and to allow him to recharge his weakened immune system.

"I will do anything to get over this," Wright said recently at a campsite in Roosevelt National Forest near Estes Park.

Since becoming ill in June 2000, Wright has suffered from arthritis, diarrhea, severe headaches, chest pain, liver pain, blurred vision, fatigue, numbness, tremors, hives and rashes, he said.

Wright first became ill when he lived in a Salida apartment. He moved out after seven months, but his health problems continued. After numerous doctor visits and his own research, he said, he believes he suffers from a severe reaction to mold.

In recent years, extreme mold cases have been reported in more humid states, but molds are also showing up in relatively dry Colorado.

Molds form and grow in water-rich environments, such as bathrooms that aren't properly ventilated and buildings that have extreme or long-term water damage.

The Tri-County Health Department, which serves Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, fields about 3,000 calls a year from residents concerned about mold.

"We see a lot more concern about mold," said Chuck McCammon, a certified industrial hygienist who works for Tri- County.

Typically the department advises people on remediation efforts, which focus on cleanup and getting rid of the moisture source.

Last month, mold forced 640 students out of Elizabeth Middle School in Elbert County and into another building.

District officials decided to close the school as a precaution after some teachers complained about headaches.

Dr. Karen Pacheco, an occupational allergist with National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, said medical studies link molds to specific illnesses, such as asthma and inflammations of the lung, nose and sinus.

But she said she isn't convinced that mold exposure can cause wider, long-term illnesses such as Wright's.

Wright and others, however, are going to Washington in hopes of influencing future legislation by persuading Congress that molds can be deadly.

Dr. Simone Sommer, a medical doctor from Greensboro, N.C., agrees there are a number of people, such as Wright, who have suffered debilitating illnesses.

"There are cohorts of people who have been exposed in schools, homes and the workplace," said Sommer, a member of the Mold Advocacy Prevention Education and Research coalition. "There needs to be more research."

A study released in May and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did recognize an "uncommon ailment known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis" associated with mold exposure in "genetically susceptible people."

Wright puts himself in this group.

He has washed and scrubbed most of his belongings and locked them in a storage facility and says he is about 90 percent healthy now.

Before getting sick, Wright was an adventure sports photographer who specialized in mountain climbing shots.

"I lived the most active lifestyle," he recalled. "But I went from rappelling ... mountains to being terrified by what was in my storage locker."

Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at knicholson@d... or 303-820-1822.

[Lisa Petrison]

Here is some more information from Jonathan Wright, presented to members of Congress in 2004:

See any symptoms or reactions from doctors that look familiar here? The following text is from FDRC founding member Jonathan Lee Wright’s testimony in a speech given before the US House of Representatives during a staff press briefing supporting Mycotic Disease Awareness Week, September 21, 2004. Rayburn Bldg, Washington, DC. Wright spent over 300 nights camping outdoors in 2004, in an attempt to recover from mold poisoning in a Salida, Colorado apartment years before.

I AM HERE TODAY TO ASK FOR YOUR HELP. WE NEED TO RAISE AWARENESS IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION AND IN OUR GOVERNMENT ABOUT “TOXIC MOLD”. I AM AN AFFECTED PERSON. THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE.

IN JUNE OF 2000, I MADE THE LARGEST SINGLE MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. I RENTED A BASEMENT APARTMENT IN A HOUSE THAT WAS APPARENTLY FULL OF PATHOGENIC MOLDS. THE EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO THIS HAS CHANGED EVERY ASPECT OF MY
LIFE.

SINCE MY EXPOSURE, I HAVE ENDURED 4 YEARS OF INTENSE SUFFERING AND DEBILITATING HEALTH PROBLEMS. I’VE HAD CRIPPLING ARTHRITIS IN MY EXTREMITIES, CONSTANT DIAHRREA, MIGRAINE HEADACHES, CHEST PAIN WITH
HEART ARRYTHMIAS, LIVER PAIN WITH DARK URINE, BLURRED VISION, MENTAL IMPAIRMENT THAT MAKES EVEN READING DIFFICULT, CRUSHING FATIGUE, NERVOUS SYSTEM EFFECTS, NUMBNESS AND TREMORS IN MY EXTREMITIES, HIVES, BRUISING AND RASHES.

THIS IS NOT AN ALLERGY.

I HAVE CONTACTED SEVERAL DOCTORS. DESPITE MY CONCERN THAT MY SYMPTOMS WERE CAUSED BY MY EXPOSURE TO TOXIC MOLD, I WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO BASIS FOR THIS ASSUMPTION WHATSOEVER.

I HAVE SINCE HAD BLOOD TESTING DONE BY SPECIALISTS THAT SHOW AM WILDLY REACTIVE TO THE TOXINS FROM CERTAIN MOLDS. HOWEVER, THESE TESTS ARE ACCEPTED BY ONLY A MINORITY OF TRADITIONAL DOCTORS.

I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO AVOID CONTINUED PROBLEMS WITH INDOOR MOLDS BY TAKING THE EXTREME STEP OF ABANDONING MY HOME, AND LIVING OUTDOORS ALMOST
FULLTIME FOR THE LAST TEN MONTHS, CAMPING THOUGH A WINTER IN NORTH AMERICA.

I AM LUCKY, BECAUSE I HAVE RECENTLY GOTTEN ALMOST COMPLETE REMISSION OF SYMPTOMS THROUGH THIS “EXTREME MOLD AVOIDANCE” LIFESTYLE. WHEN I’M HEALTHY AND IN A NON-REACTIVE STATE I CAN ENGAGE IN VIGOROUS ACITIVITIES
LIKE MOUNTAIN BIKING AND ROCK CLIMBING. BUT WHEN I’M AFFECTED BY EXPOSURE TO MOLDS, I HAVE DIFFICULTY WALKING WITHOUT PAIN.

I’M NOW SO SENSITIVE TO INHALING MINUTE QUANTITIES OF INDOOR MOLDS THAT I CANNOT TOLERATE BEING IN MANY, IF NOT MOST, BUILDINGS AND RESIDENCES
IN COLORADO. THIS HAS HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON MY LIFE, AND HAS CAUSED THE SLOW DECONSTRUCTION OF MY HEALTH, WORK, RELATIONSHIPS, AND FINANCES.

PRIOR TO MY DISORDER, I WAS A WELL-PUBLISHED PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, WITH A SPECIALTY OF ADVENTURE SPORTS. I FELT FULFILLED IN MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROMOTION OF HEALTHY LIFESTYLE THOUGH MY IMAGES.

HOWEVER, SINCE MY OVEREXPOSURE TO MOLDS, I AM NOW FACED WITH THE REALITY OF LOSING MY HOME, POSSESSIONS, AND EVEN MY STATE OF RESIDENCE, BECAUSE I AM CONSIDERING MOVING TO ANOTHER REGION TO TRY AND OUTRUN THIS.

I HAD TO LEARN EVERYTHING I COULD ABOUT MOLD IN ORDER TO SURVIVE. IN DOING SO, I HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS LIKE I HAVE AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO MOLDS.

MANY OF THESE ARE CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY. THEY CANNOT LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND GO LIVE OUTDOORS LIKE I DID TO GET BETTER. AND THEIR DOCTORS DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S WRONG WITH THEM. BY AND LARGE, THE MEDICAL
COMMUNITY SEEMS TO BE UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS DISORDER.

I CONVEYED THE CONTENT OF THIS MESSAGE TODAY TO EVERY RELEVANT OFFICE AND AGENCY IN MY STATE. DESPITE WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE A PRETTY ALARMING MESSAGE IN LETTERS AND CALLS TO CITY PLANNING OFFICES, COUNTY HEALTH AND
ZONING DEPARTMENTS, THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, BOTH OF MY STATE SENATORS, MY STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND MY GOVERNOR — ALL HAVE EITHER REFERRED ME ELSEWHERE, OR HAVE IGNORED MY CRIES FOR HELP ENTIRELY.

MY EXPERIENCE TELLS ME TOXIC MOLD IS A PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT THAT MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED AND ADDRESSED BY THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE MEASURES. HOWEVER,
THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THERE IS PARTISAN EFFORT BEING MADE TO DISCREDIT THOSE SICK WITH THIS DISEASE, AND TO DISMISS THE EXISTENCE OF THE ISSUE ALTOGETHER. IF ALLOWED TO CONTINUE, I FEAR DISEASE FOR THE PUBLIC AT
LARGE.

MY EXPOSURE TO TOXIC MOLD AND MY CONTINUED SENSITIVITY HAS CHANGED MY LIFE, AND NOT FOR THE BETTER. SO I HAVE TRAVELLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO ASK FOR YOUR HELP.

WE MUST CHANGE OUR GOVERNMENT’S AWARENESS AND RESPONSIVENESS TO THIS NATIONAL HEALTH EMERGENCY. WE MUST DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE AFFECTED AND PREVENT OTHERS FROM BEING EXPOSED, BECAUSE THE NEXT PERSON WHOSE LIFE IS RUINED COULD BE YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE.

[Lisa Petrison]

Khaly Castle blogs about her experiences pursuing extreme avoidance.

cfsuntied.com/blog2/2012/05/21/cfsthe-mold-tour/

cfsuntied.com/blog2/2011/12/20/miasmic-slam-dancing/

cfsuntied.com/blog2/2011/10/03/i-feel-the-anger-changing-me/

[Lisa Petrison]

Jeri Kurre began pursuing extreme avoidance in 2011. Here is a summary of her early experiences.

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I am the ME/CFS patient from WV who recently went tent camping in Death Valley for 10 days. I am not suggesting that anyone else do this, just sharing my experience. I experienced a near full remission while there and went back to baseline upon returning home (before I entered my house). I am mostly housebound, meaning that I am able to leave my home for short periods of time, knowing that the more I do, the more time I will spend laid up in bed recovering. I am XMRV positive by virus culture per VIPdx. I have multiple reactivated viruses, low NKC function, OI, POTS, PEM, multiple endocrine abnormalities, cognitive difficulties, etc.

While in DV, nearly all of my symptoms disappeared. No PEM. NONE. No POTS. No OI. My pain went from an 8 to a 2. Alcohol and sugar intolerance disappeared. My daily headaches disappeared. My ability to sweat and tan normally returned.

I take a beta blocker for POTS symptoms. I forgot to take it on my second day in DV. That evening, I it dawned on me that I hadn't taken it. Since I had been hiking and swimming that day and had no POTS symptoms, I decided that I would not resume taking it (Bystolic) unless my symptoms returned. They did not. By the end of the week, I was hiking several miles a day, with no PEM and no POTS . Upon returning home (within 24 hours), my resting heart rate went back up to 140-150 bpm, palpitations returned, and shortness of breath with minimal exertion.

This is a real phenomenon and desperately needs serious investigation by researchers. Patients deserve to know about this. If it were not for Incline Village survivor and CFS prototype Erik Johnson, this crucial information would have disappeared. Thankfully, he has chosen to keep talking about it for decades even though his words are mostly ignored or met with hostility.....because it's the right thing to do. Researchers and medical professionals have no right to ignore evidence. When you investigate something, you are supposed to consider ALL of the clues.

It was beyond wonderful. My drastic improvement was shocking to me. The best I was hoping for was a small amount of relief of any kind. I was not expecting to feel normal or to be able to be so physically active. I didn't think it was possible to ever feel that good again. I do not think that lack of EMFs or chemicals are the reason I improved so much. I had tried something like this before in another very clear and pristine place and felt slightly better, but nothing near normal. The difference this time, was that I slept in a tent, rather than a room, and I took no contaminated possessions with me.

Just to be clear, I am not trying to get everyone to do this. Also, I did not go alone. My husband came with me to help. There is no way that I could have made the trip by myself. Had I not improved so quickly and dramatically and I had been alone, it could have turned into a disaster. The desert (especially this time of year) is not the place to be if you are physically impaired and have no one to help you.

Now that I am back home and feeling like horrible s*@% again, I am slowly trying to get my things into storage. Then, I plan on trying to find a decent spot in my area to tent camp to see if I improve. If that doesn't work, then I am planning on moving. There is no way that I can go back to this living hell now that I know there is a way out. I had forgotten what it felt like to feel good and I will do whatever I have to to get that back.

www.mecfsforums.com/index.php/topic,7402.msg89216.html#msg89216

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She wrote elsewhere: "I've been hiking all day every day, swimming too, even squeezing in a little beer drinking. I can hardly believe it. I thought I'd never be able to do any of these things again."

[Lisa Petrison]

Here is Jeri Kurre's testimony to the CFS Advisory Committee (to the Secretary of Health) in Washington, D.C., in 2012.

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EbcR9f7hwow#at=11

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It has been 27 years since the CDC was sent to investigate this illness and yet, here we are with no cure, no treatments, no help whatsoever for a disease that would more aptly be be described as Chronic Torture Syndrome, rather than it’s given name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Naming a severely disabling, life-destroying disease Chronic Fatigue Syndrome…..what a sick little joke that was. However, that IS the name that the CDC decided to give to a typical outbreak of ME Plus… Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, plus the additional evidence of never before documented immune abnormalities collected by Drs. Cheney and Peterson. We must not let that be forgotten. CFS is the name given to a disease entity of ME Plus. It IS NOT and has never been a social construct, an illness devoid of evidence of severe pathology, or a description of tired people.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome does not and has never had anything to do with fatigue. The lack of meaningful research on CFS has created an epidemic. The CDC is still claiming that the research program involving their infamous Georgia study (you know, the one where they got their “patients” by random telephone surveys) has according to them “greatly increased knowledge about CFS and has helped the health care community develop viable treatments”. That is complete hogwash. It has done neither. I suppose that is to be expected from an agency that has spent nearly 30 years trying to frame a severe neuro-immune disease as a psychological defect. They have wasted what little paltry pittance of research dollars allocated towards this heinous disease on garbage studies like the ones that claim that childhood trauma is a risk factor for CFS and that CFS is associated with an increased prevalence of personality disorders, even though psychiatric conditions are an exclusion for CFS. I’d argue that there is evidence that personality disorders seem to be a risk factor for employment at the CDC.

CFS is the term coined in response to a severely debilitating illness with evidence of profound immunological abnormalities. Try working with the evidence instead of inventing psychological drivel, or at the very least, if you are not going to help us, at least stop lying about us.

I developed CFS in 2006. I would never have guessed that what I have would be called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Fatigue was the least of my problems. I was experiencing episodes of being unable to move my arms and legs. Days that I was so weak that I had to crawl to the bathroom. Pain so severe that the touch of my clothing was excruciating. Head and neck pain that made it feel as if I had been beaten with a baseball bat. New onset dyslexia. Loss of short-term memory. Frequent syncope. Racing heart rate. Frequent syncope. Seizures. NKC numbers so low that my doctor first thought it must be a lab error. I lost my career, my friends, and my independence. On the rare occasions when I was having a “good” day, I sometimes tried to venture out. I knew not to try to go too far, or I’d never make it back. I also knew that I would pay for my time out by an extreme increase in all symptoms by the next day and that I would be bedridden thereafter indefinitely. I would usually use my outings to go drive to the local grocery store just a few miles away. Often when I’d arrive, I would park my car and suddenly realize that I had no memory of how I got there, why I came, or how to find my way back home. Most days though, were spent in bed, too weak to do anything but lie there in pain. As the days slip away and turn into weeks, then years, you cease to exist to the rest of the world.

For the severely ill, chronically bedridden, you eventually come to the realization that you are already dead to the rest of the world. If you want to know why so many CFS patients commit suicide, here it is: There are things far, far worse than death. We are all aware of the stigma associated with the name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The public views us as lazy slugs who won’t stop complaining about being tired from normal life stresses. I suppose we can’t really expect any other outcome after an almost 3 decades long propaganda campaign by the very people who are supposed to be helping us. Who instead continue on with their ceaseless efforts to mislead, deceive, and bury the facts.

Let me make something perfectly clear. The illness entity known as CFS, based on an outbreak of ME Plus, has never been fully investigated by anyone. Not one researcher has examined all of the evidence that caused the creation of this syndrome. NOT A SINGLE ONE. After nearly 30 years. This is a disgrace of epic proportions. A disease that has brought brutal,relentless suffering to now millions of people and yet we have evidence that has been around since the inception of the syndrome that has never been examined. The reason that I am able to be here today is because I have been fortunate enough to be able to utilize therapeutic strategies based on evidence that has been ignored for over a quarter century.

Incline Village survivor Erik Johnson, who served as a prototype for the syndrome, noticed a peculiar phenomenon in regards to biotoxins. He devised a strategy in response to it which enabled him to achieve such an astounding recovery that he is able to climb mountains. Thanks to his work and persistence there are now quite a few CFS patients who have used his techniques to achieve recovery. We are not cured. However, many of us who were severely disabled are now able to live near normal lives. I think that it’s about time that researchers start looking into this. It seems to me that discarding evidence for decades on a horrific, life-destroying disease is downright negligent. I want to know why NO doctors and NO researchers are telling patients about this.

If it had not been for Erik Johnson, I would either be dead or at home still rotting in my bed. So, to him I would like to say this: with all of my heart and soul, thank you for helping me. …..And to all of you CFS researchers who claim to be unaware of this particular evidence, I want to say this: You are now.

What are you going to do about it?

[Lisa Petrison]

Kathleen Manganaro speaks to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) (to the U.S. Secretary of Health) about the connection between CFS and mold in Spring 2011.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUVlQNQGB0&feature=channel_video_title

[Lisa Petrison]

2006
Successful Treatment of my Chemical and Electrical Sensitivity
Lisa Nagy, MD

(Dr. Lisa Nagy received her medical degree at Cornell Medical College. She followed that with training in surgery and later in emergency medicine, in which she is board certified. She is currently studying environmental medicine. We asked Dr. Nagy to share her incredible story of chemical and electrical sensitivity and recovery, and of the dental metals that were behind her problems.)

The science and art of medicine is much more complex than we presumed in medical school. Although disbelieved, environmentally ill patients are becoming a very large percentage of the population.Many of us go unrecognized because we are 'masked' and cannot tell we are ill from the detergents, perfumes and chemicals we are wearing everyday.

I developed chemical and electrical sensitivity while living in a house in Los Angeles. Initially, I only knew I was sad, had weak muscles and couldn't stand up for very long -- it soon seemed I was crying all the time. I couldn't bear to use the telephone or to be under fluorescent lighting. Exposure to smells, chemicals, many foods (like wine, cheese, and nuts) and even antique wood -- which is faintly moldy -- gave me a headache and made me feel exhausted. Clothing tags became extremely irritating, and perfume and diesel odors were
intolerable. I had grown hypersensitive to my surroundings. Adrenal
insufficiency was eventually diagnosed in myself and later in my
husband.

In time I was fully disabled and my incredulous husband and I sold our house and moved to a rental nearby. We were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. A year later I found that I had been suffering mold poisoning, primarily due to mold in a huge fish tank that was built into the living room wall of that first home. The toxins in the air had overloaded my system and made me intolerant of all chemicals, especially pesticides. A muscle biopsy showed that I had severe damage to my mitochondria, the energy producer in all our cells.

What I had is called chemical sensitivity or environmental illness. It is common but somewhat invisible. And this medical condition is not rare. Prevalence studies in California and New Mexico found that 16% of the respondents reported being chemically sensitive. Additionally, in New Mexico 2% of the respondents reported having been diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) -- the more severe form of
chemical sensitivities. In California, 3.5% reported having been
diagnosed with MCS. Although women report being chemically sensitive twice as often as men, which contributes to its "hysteria" label, those reporting chemical sensitivities are otherwise evenly distributed with respect to age, education, income, and geographic areas. Chemical sensitivities are also evenly reported among ethnic and racial groups, except for Native Americans, who reported a higher
prevalence in both studies.

Further, about 15% of those who are chemically sensitive have
electrical sensitivity as well. Electrical sensitivity sounds wacky, I
know, but when you have it, it is very real and quite uncomfortable.
My hand would heat up while holding my cell phone. My ear would burn from the ear piece. Gadgets that spin, like fans or tape decks, have high electromagnetic fields and they made me weak. Just picking up the regular phone could make me need to urinate, or cause chest discomfort and sweating -- I wanted to hang up! Even more bizarre and scary: while swimming in a salt water pool I would get electric shocks in my fingers as I swam by the underwater pool lights!

Another condition is diagnosed: dysautonomia

At this time I was also diagnosed with an interesting neurologic
condition called dysautonomia, which occurs in 85% of people who are "environmentally ill." Crossing ones legs while standing is an early
sign, or wrapping the legs around each other (called "pretzel legs").
These moves are done to keep the blood in the head and chest, otherwise the blood would pool in the legs and cause weakness or fainting.

Exposure to chemicals in stores (like formaldehyde while shopping in
Home Depot) would make me dysautonomic and electrical appliances would make me even more dysautonomic; I would need to lie down. I was prescribed a vasoconstricting (causing the blood vessels to narrow) medication called Midodrine to remedy this condition, as well as a volume expander (Florinef; a mineralocorticoid).

Finding help

Near the end of my rope, I eventually figured out that I needed to be
treated by an environmental physician, and I went to The Environmental Health Center of Dallas to see William Rea, MD. I was encouraged that after this treatment I was partially better. (You can find a local physician at www.aaem.com/. I suggest you consider this if you suffer from chronic illness or obvious environmental illness such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, allergies, adrenal fatigue as well as chemical sensitivity. They look into the genetics of your detoxification capabilities, study your autonomic nervous system and hormone levels, do food and other allergy testing and treatment (neutralization), prescribe vitamins and nutrients orally and intravenously, and test your immune system scientifically. Most importantly, they get you away from that which is making you sick!

Sauna treatments are often an integral part in the treatment process for detoxification. It is important to start with a short time interval (such as five minutes) initially and build up as needed. Saunas should be used under the care of a doctor, as the detoxification process can result in increased symptoms if it is pursued too aggressively.

Oral galvanism uncovered

Oral galvanism is a state in which two dissimilar metals in the mouth result in abnormal electrical charges. I had already had all of my amalgam ("silver") fillings removed, or so I thought. But then I went
to a holistic dentist (see www.iaomt.org/) for an assessment.
An oral potential meter (made by Pertec) was used to measure the
voltages and currents in my teeth. I had a number of crowns with
porcelain over metal. Most crowns had currents of 1 micro ampere or
so. But one of my crowns showed a current of 11 microamperes -- and a very high electrical voltage of 420 millivolts!

I had that crown removed first, because one is supposed to remove the highest ones first. Voila! I hadn't anticipated any immediate
response but when I reached home and I was able to talk on the phone for three hours instead of three minutes! I no longer needed Midodrine to get up out of bed! I had required it to raise my blood pressure for two years straight -- and now none! Other improvements: the smell of cigarettes seemed almost pleasant instead of making me run for the hills. I could tolerate car exhaust and perfume immediately! I contacted many environmental physicians and patients to tell of the amazing positive change in my illness over night!

The dentist discovered that I'd had an amalgam filling under the metal crown that had been placed just before I became really ill back in 2000. The two dissimilar metal materials touching had created a strong battery effect, causing the oral galvanism that seemed to short out my autonomic nervous system. Somehow, fixing the autonomic nervous system also led to a more normal central nervous system interpretation of odors and electrical fields, allowing for a return to a more normal life! My adrenal function also returned, thanks to the decrease in stress or total body load. In retrospect, getting away from the "bad" house was essential, but removing the crown and the amalgam under it was the last step in getting well.

Advice from Dr. Nagy

I have ended up on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where the air is clean and the mold is everywhere! I write articles on the subject and help people who are referred for environmental illness get to an environmental physician before they end up so mentally impaired that they won't be able to cooperate with the treatment. Initially, people tend to deny that they have chemcial sensitivities. It takes a couple
of months to grasp it. Lay people are much better at :getting it -- doctors are incredulous and rude. As Sherry Rogers, MD, advises: "Don't waste your time trying to convince every physician you meet
about this. It is a waste of your limited energy!"

This is very important. Most doctors won't listen to you, so don't
even try. Many family members will abandon you. Many people reading this newsletter will have already experienced this, I'm sure.

Don't forget to look into dental issues. I have interviewed many
patients, especially those with psychiatric issues or symptoms of
electrical sensitivity, who have become well after removing their high
voltage dental work. Bizarre, eh? I guess too much electricity next
to the brain is not a good thing. It is easy to check one's dental
currents, and I suggest that all chronically ill patients consider
removing their amalgam fillings, any crown with an underlying amalgam, and any crown or filling with an electric current greater than 1 microampere.

My advice to you is: Do not give up on your health until you get well. Each practitioner (alternative therapist, environmental physician, or holistic dentist) has something different to offer. I was helped, and someone can help you as well.