A real diagnosis

After my younger sister mentioned CIRS- a disease caused by toxins from a moldy environment- one day, I ventured to learn all about it. I took an eight-week course, I read Dr. Shoemaker's literature on the subject on his website, watched his videos, and read other blogs dedicated to the topic. As I read on, I found that my symptoms matched those of the patients with CIRS and Lyme. Neurological issues such as dizziness, tingling, numbness, and palpitations were on the list. Moreso was the other symptoms that did not fit into any other category such as being unable to exercise - dysautonomia, blurred vision, weird skin sensations, fatigue, muscle spasms, unusual pain, ice pick pain, joint pain, morning stiffness, and much more symptoms I was having which are found at survivingmold.com/mold-symptoms. Having already been tested for Lyme, I knew what I had to do and decided to contact doctors who specialize in treating patients with CIRS.

I began my search and found that there were no doctors in Alabama that were trained to treat CIRS so I looked at a long list of doctors in the surrounding areas using a list provided at biotoxinjourney.com. The list included several in the west region and was left with doctors in Florida, a center in Texas to treat patients with mold, and two holistic doctors in Atlanta. Needless to say, I chose to go with a doctor in Atlanta and made an appointment so that I could be treated as soon as possible hoping for my treatment to begin during my summer break. During my first visit labs were drawn and my husband and I spent an hour speaking with the doctor. He was thorough and explained everything well.

First, he asked me what big events occurred before I began to experience the symptoms I was having.  I explained that I had a car accident earlier that year and that a couple of months later, after hiking, I had a tick on my hip. I then told him how I had been tested for Lyme a year later, but that it had come back negative. Second, he asked me what my symptoms were and he said they all matched the symptoms of a CIRS patient. Third, he explained all the labs that he would draw and what he would be looking for in each and every one of the labs. He gave me numbers and all kinds of specifics and that made me hopeful.

A month later after visiting him, I went back to discuss the labs. My husband walked in and waited for him to enter. He walked in ten minutes after us. He discussed what every lab that he ordered showed and explained what each looked like for a CIRS patient so it turned out that I did not have CIRS. But instead tested positive for Lyme disease. Meaning that all my symptoms were not anxiety, nor in my head but that something inside me was causing all the dizziness, tingling, ice picking pain, headaches, joint pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, air hunger, muscle spasms, and the feeling of being on fire.

Although he said that it would have been better to have come to him when I first experienced my symptoms, as if I had known that it was Lyme, I began to be hopeful. I was ready to feel better. I was ready for relief.