Strokes: Caused by mold exposure?

March 7, 2006

I've heard people say that mold can cause blood clots in the brain

elsewhere. Does anyone have any knowledge of people getting strokes

from toxic mold, or studies that support or refute this?

Thank you!

March 7, 2006

LiveSimply wrote:

> I've heard people say that mold can cause blood clots in the brain

> elsewhere. Does anyone have any knowledge of people getting strokes

> from toxic mold, or studies that support or refute this?

My lifestyle choice was to combine every possibility to " get clear "

with having as much fun as possible.

To everyone else, it appeared that I just " chose to be outdoors all

the time " to the detriment of pursuing career, and ignoring other

vital aspects of a normal life.

The focus I placed on camping, hiking, kayaking and doing all kinds

of fun stuff was the result of discovering that if I didn't, I soon

would be unable to stand up and would be wracked with pain and losing

ground to my susceptibility to mold.

I'm often told that " Your way is difficult and not an option. I'm

surprised that people would look at it this way - given the

alternative, but I guess we all have our choices to make. Some choices

don't make much sense to me - but that is their decision to make.

While out mountain biking " The Downieville Downhill " , an awesome

singletrack from near the Sierra Buttes that is WELL worth doing, I

met a girl who described an unusual experience with her health.

She said that she felt really ill during the normal course of her job

and home activities, and was much improved by getting out and about.

(Who ever heard of such a thing?)

She said that she took a long vacation and felt energized and healthy

during her entire furlough, but as soon as she got home, started to

fall apart again. This was prior to Melinda Ballard's USA today front

page headlines, which was really the turning point when total

rejection of the mold concept started to become " I think I heard of

that somewhere " . She listened to my story and I could see it really

made her think. I warned her of the dangers of " do it yourself "

remediation, but this is something that just never seems to make an

impression on people until it is too late.

I met her again months later at Spooner Lake, the starting point for

the famous " Flume Trail " , a singletrack carved right into the

mountains on the East side of Lake Tahoe that supplied water for

the " Incline " flume - which brought logs down the mountain into Lake

Tahoe and - gave Incline Village its name.

While we rode, she told me the follow-up to her peculiar illness

story. She made the correlation of feeling the most crappy while in

her house and started to snoop around. She found that her basement

smelled the moldiest and pulled up the corner of the carpet that

covered the cement floor. To her horror, it was covered with black

mold. Certain now that my story wasn't so farfetched as people

think, she immediately pulled up all the carpet and threw it outside.

The exertion seemed to have been more than expected, for she passed

out with fatigue afterward. The next morning, she could hardly get

up, but dragged herself to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

And that was the last thing she remembers before waking up in the late

afternoon on the floor. She was dizzy and nauseous, couldn't see

clearly, and then realized that she couldn't move and was almost

completely paralyzed. She just lay there for hours unable to raise

herself or do anything but wonder what had happened. I can't

remember if she said that someone found her, or if she was finally

able to crawl to a phone, but she wound up in the hospital and was

told she had suffered a stroke.

I asked if she had informed her doctors about her illness, the mold,

and the " coincidence " of pulling up the carpet. She said that she

had, but that the doctors didn't think anything of it.

This is how it goes. Nosebleeds, Fainting, Asthma and Anxiety

attacks, Strokes and Heart attacks - all after a mold exposure, and

every one of them is just a fluke in the minds of doctors.

Amazing.

-

March 7, 2006

LiveSimply,

From personal experience my wife has suffered many stroke-like

episodes and had been rushed to the hospital many times. The

physicians even thought she was having a stroke, the symptoms mimiced

a stroke exactly. Slurred speech, unable to walk without assistance,

onesided weakness, complete brain fog, delusional, but all tests came

back negative. I rushed her to Atlanta many times, 1 hr 45 minutes

away to Emory doing over 100 mph, where were the cops when you need

them? lol One of the neurologists actually observed her having one and

asked her what the hell her problem was. Well gee doc, that's why I

brought her here. At that time she was also leaking fluid in one ear.

This was when she was still working at the comtaminated building.

Upon my persistance to admit her to the hospital for observation, oh

yeah, forgot to mention, her temples were swollen and bruised, (which

was finally noted in 1 report, which they told me was a normal

condition) quack, quack comes to mind, (no offense)this is when they

diagnosed her with a pseudotumor in the beginning.We were unaware of

any building related illnesses being caused by mycotoxins. At that

time I thought that was great, we finally had a diagnosis and Sharon &

I were both ecstatic and releaved because at this time the headpains

were so severe. I also knew of an aquaintance that was basically going

through the exact same thing concerning a pseudotumor, had a shunt put

in and went home.

At this time we had a senior neurologist (now I know that doesn't mean

anything) and she had said " dr. so and so was right it was a

psuedotumor. " My next question was " did you read the two spinal taps. "

Her answer, wide eyed, " no " . grrrr. Then how in the hell do you

diagnose a psuedotumor without looking at tests.The so-called doctor

couldn't get out of the room fast enough. I couldn't get my wife out

of the hospital fast enough and we were back to square one.

One strange occurance happened with her, the only time she was out of

headpain was within minutes of having the spinal taps done and that

lasted for days each time. Doctors could not believe this, this was

not the norm. Even right after the spinal tap, when they make you lie

down for 1 hour so you don't get headpain, she was up and off the

table within 10 minutes and good to go, pain all gone. Another

response of, " it can't be. "

Shortly after this is when I decided to fly her to NY to see

Dr. Singer, (neurotoxicologist,neuropsychologist) his final

diagnosis, chemical toxicity, brain damage. Talk about being

deviastated. I wanted to blame myself, but I wasn't sure what for. Now

what caused this? Now we know....

LiveSimply, I'm not sure if I have any research that actually

questions or discusses mold/mycotoxins causing stroke without really

taking alot of time and checking my files. But you all could help me

out here, with what little time I have and search for this and I would

appreciate any feedback. I know there is some information available, I

just can't put my finger on it. I also know she is not the only one

that has experienced these symptoms, I've only come across a handful

of others. This is supposedly not one of the " standard " mold symptoms

and she can experience these again if re-exposed. A question comes to

mind if many more are experiencing these symptoms or similiar and

referred to them as seizures, spasms, early dementia? The only time

she has experienced these is when she was in that building or re-

exposed and the after effects lasted for months. So many questions

unansered.

KC

--- In , LiveSimply <quackadillian@...>

wrote:

>

> I've heard people say that mold can cause blood clots in the brain

> elsewhere. Does anyone have any knowledge of people getting strokes

> from toxic mold, or studies that support or refute this?

>

> Thank you!

>

March 7, 2006

My symptoms in beginning made me think I was have a stroke also. I

was driving felt strange in the head and then like an electrical

feeling going thru my body and both legs did tremors. Didn't last

long but I felt right before all this like I was blacking out. Right

leg was numb after that. Had other get up unbalance episodes felt

like passing out and laid down and that electrical feeling shot thru

my body then right side was numb and other leg tremors and since that

11 years ago, never had another episode like that but over years

other symptoms came with my whole body numb, fatigue, cognitive

dysfunction, unbalance, some vision things, pain that didn't stop,

pins/needles, shocking, memory loss, intestinal problems and knew

something was wrong and last 3 years esculating worse every year.

Got the MRI one 7mm X 9mm brain lesion found in vision area.

Technically neuro said I should just be having optic neuritis and I

said I'm having a lot more than that and not sure I ever had that at

all but do have pressure and burning and swollen eyes. He didn't

offer me anything but a antidepressant supposedly for pain. I knew

then I had to find my own answers and went on my mission and found

LDN first and it basically took all my symptoms away except numbness

that would vary and major sinus until I turned the heat back on and

heat at work and stayed inside with air scrubbers and I went back to

hell but the LDN is still trying. Seems memory and cog. dys, and

unbalance has't gone back to real hell but I have bad intestinal

problems, stomach burning, pins/shocking/fatigue(but fatigue isn't

daily drop dead like before) Don't feel tons of joint pain or pain

but feeling something and not great seems to vary with barometer and

maybe workplace. Barometer kicks my butt bad. Oh, got them sores on

head and more than ever this fall/winter. BUT, do feel better since

old hvac is gone and clean air is blowing in my house. I get

migranes too seems in fall and spring. Have not appetite and my nose

feels strange and with old hvac felt like something eating my nose.

Oh, the lovely eating flesh feeling which must be the inflammation

and bug crawling feeling. I knew as good as the LDN had done me

something UP and Heat related and then saw the mold growing on

insulation and floor joist and ac had been smelling sour for last 3

or so years. It all came together like a lightening bolt and always

knew something wrong with work place b/c after year one,

allergies/sinus and headaches I didn't have before working here and I

use to say this workplace was going to give me a brain tumor b/c I

didn't feel right in here. I'm not the only one that has made

complaints either. Might have missed something here but eating

lunch. Anyhow told two docs back then what happened and one blew it

off on stress other said well, you are past the 5 year mark with MS

and still walking but wouldn't do a MRI. I decided to stay away from

docs until I was bad off.

Rhonda

> >

> > I've heard people say that mold can cause blood clots in the brain

> > elsewhere. Does anyone have any knowledge of people getting

strokes

> > from toxic mold, or studies that support or refute this?

> >

> > Thank you!

> >

>

March 7, 2006

I had something I thought might be a TIA three years ago over the holidays. I

had been out to dinner with friends, and while walking back to my car entirely

lost track of where I was or what I had been doing - somehow, I knew that I was

headed to my car and remembered where it was about 3 blocks from where I was. I

was lightheaded and a bit dizzy and utterly frustrated. I was in Santa ,

a city where I have lived for extended periods and know pretty darn well, and I

was only about a half mile from where I had lived fairly recently at that time,

as well as being on a familiar pedestrian thoroughfare.

I have had my mitral valve replaced 4 times, and I take bloodthinners for the

mechanical valve to prevent strokes, and I have had stroke-like events during

surgeries.

Once in my car, I sat for about 20 minutes trying to figure out if I should go

to the ER to see if I was having a stroke. I decided it was probably best to go

home where I could rest (having spent enough time in ERs where I neither got

help nor rest). I knew where home was, and I called my boyfriend and talked to

him on my cell as I drove home to help me stay focused. I eventually remembered

that the city I'd been in was Santa and remembered having dinner with

friends, but panicked when I didn't recall PAYING for dinner (which I had).

I called my cardiologist when I got home, and he did not think I should go to

the ER. I saw him a couple days later and he shrugged about it, but recommended

I see a neurologist who called what happened a 'seizure' and wrote something

about 'epilepsy.'

Three of us in a four-unit building had 'seizures' in a three month period.

That's when we began to realize something was very wrong. My unit didn't have

visible mold, but there was plenty visible in the unit below mine - my neighbor

in that unit ultimately died either during or immediately after a seizure,

having produced a great deal of foam as he did with his seizures, and the final

time, blood - many of you know we recenlty found he had an enormous amount of

trichothecene in his lung tissue.

I don't want no strokes, people. That was scary enough. I told Dillian

earlier I'd like to be left in denial on this subject...the dizzy spells, loss

of balance, memory fuzziness, depression - it's all quite enough as it is, thank

you.

-Haley

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote: