We are thrilled to share our new Sanctuary Mold Guide: A Primer with those who are suffering from mold toxicity. While the full guide is available on its own website or to our patients (extended version), you can read a portion here. We hope this work contributes to your living a healthier more abundant life.
Diagnosis is simpler when a single body system dysfunctions or when a single microbe invades. The symptoms and syndromes of mold toxicity, however, demand more than what a single test or a single set of question checkboxes can provide. First, they require an ability to look for explanations to the unexplained symptoms. Second, they require the ability to recognize the various “faces” or patterns with which mold can present in an individual. Third, they require the consideration of whether of mold’s “friends” accompany and contribute to the unexplained symptoms.
This section discusses each of the necessary ingredients for proper diagnosis in mold toxicity.
Unexplained Symptoms
Most of our patients come to Sanctuary Functional Medicine because some other medical provider or providers were unable to fully explain their symptoms. When an exhausted patient and family walk into our clinic, we want to be able to provide the missing explanations by keeping an open mind and thinking broadly in our search for root causes. If we believe someone has mold toxicity, we want to confirm that no other simpler diagnostic explanation makes more sense.
Because we know that mold is not everyone’s root cause, we work to rule out other root cause diagnoses (like hypothyroid, chronic infection, cancer, autoimmune disease or a metabolic condition). We do not assume that mold is always the root cause answer. We do know that some of these other conditions frequently overlap with mold toxicity. In those situations, we want to treat patients fully for those conditions so that we know mold toxicity is the only disease process still active. Restoration is hindered if we blame mold toxicity for the symptoms caused by a co-existing condition that others left untreated.
We work hard to find the correct root cause or causes for a person’s suffering. Method and diligence pay off when we can identify a biochemical root cause for something that was supposedly “all in your head”.
This diligence includes an environmental history asking the following questions. Near the onset of your symptoms were there any major life changes? Had you recently moved? Had you started a new job? Had you bought a new car? Had you or your child changed schools? Prior to the onset of symptoms, were there any major storms, water leaks, or unusual smells? The answers might point at possible mold exposures in your daily life.
Go see the full guide here or stay tuned next week for another excerpt from the Mold Guide!
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
