My Story (long)

[Guest guest]

I am sure the problems I am currently having are the result of working in a

sick building. I welcome any opinions and advice anyone here is able to give

me.

I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist. The building in question was

commissioned in June 1980. At that time and for most of the subsequent years

I was only working in this building part of the time with my work roster

involving work divided between two buildings however since September 2003 I

have been working there permanently.

My work is 24 hours, 7 days a week and as such involves shift work and call

out. I had always been extremely healthy, only getting an occasional cold,

often going as much as 2 years without catching a cold and never ever had a

dose of the flu until 1984. Since then I have had numerous doses of the flu

which often developed into acute bronchitis. Every dose of the flu and

bronchitis developed as a result of the lack of sleep from the shift and

call out requirements of my job. Late shifts and call out always involved

work in the suspect building. The way it was affecting my health got so bad

that about 1995 - 96 I was able to arrange not to do work that could

potentially involve lack of sleep and my employer now has a medical

certificate stating that I am unfit to do so, hence I am no longer required

to do grave yard shifts or call back. Since this time I have had no further

cases of the flu and find that I am still reasonably resistant to catching

colds.

In the late 1980's I developed an intolerance of caffeine. Consuming

caffeine would cause a type of heart palpitation known as Premature

Ventricular Contractions (PVC's). I was told at the time that as long as

they were occurring at a frequency of less than 6 per minute they were not

dangerous. I have avoided any thing with caffeine since that time though I

did find I could eat chocolate without any problems. After coming across

this article on the internet I am now wondering if working in this building

may be related to the development of this intolerance.

http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/mcs/buffaloe.html

At this time I was also working some of the time in an off campus building

with a boss who smoked heavily in his office. Although for safety reasons,

smoking was not allowed in the lab areas, the smoke still drifted into the

labs and the whole building smelt of cigarette smoke. Nowadays, fortunately,

smoking is completely banned in the workplace. If you haven't guessed it

from this, I am and have always been a non smoker.

I have also developed other food intolerances and I am now wondering if they

may be related to working in the suspect building. In the late 1990's I

realised I was intolerant of MSG and aspartame (they also caused PVC's). The

MSG intolerance was a bit difficult to work out because of the numerous ways

MSG in foods is disguised however I traced it to the marmite (yeast extract)

I was having on my toast at breakfast time. The subsequent research I have

done on these substances has convinced that they are poisons which are

better avoided anyway. About this time we started becoming avid label

readers and have moved to a point where close to 100% of our food is

organic, a reasonable amount of it home grown.

The next intolerance I developed was to sulphites used as preservatives in

food (once again PVC's). Sulphur dioxide in the air from pollution was also

causing this to happen at this stage and guess what!!! ...from time to time

I can smell diesel fumes in the room where I work. Presumably it is being

brought into the building via the air conditioning system. I discovered that

vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient for the enzyme that clears sulphites

from your system so by raising my B12 level from Low normal to high normal I

was able to cure this sensitivity. I could drink wine again. I am vegetarian

and was already supplementing my diet with one 50mcg vitamin B12 tablet a

day so I began to question why my B12 had been low normal and this along

with other symptoms and the fact that in retrospect my mother (now deceased)

had a number of conditions such as early onset osteoporosis, that suggested

she may have been Coeliac had me wondering if I was gluten intolerant.

Eliminating gluten from my diet made a noticeable improvement. I was also

sensitive to strong smells at the time I was intolerant to sulphites and

that mostly but not completely improved when I raised my B12 level.

Towards the end of last year and this year I have been developing more food

intolerances including vinegar, chocolate, wine and dairy products. The

sensitivity to smells has also come back full force.

My first suspicion about the building came about when I noticed that during

the spring and summer I would often notice flu like symptoms when I was in

this building that quickly resolved when I went home. Often they were so bad

that had I woken up feeling like that I would not have gone to work. I am

not sure when I started noticing this but it would be at least 10 years ago

probably more. These past six months approx I have been feeling a lot worse

and particularly so this last week. It is now autumn here and I am still

getting these symptoms. I am not an allergic person. There has been at least

one person working in the same lab as me that has had these symptoms in the

past. This person no longer works with us. There are two people working in

an adjacent lab that I know of who are also having problems.

Recently I have noticed other symptoms which are hard to explain and have

also resolved on leaving the building. Several times I have had a cramping

type of stomach ache that rapidly came right when I left work. I have never

had headaches but have a few at work in the last few weeks. There have been

a few time I have developed palpitations, not PVC's, just an unhealthy

sensation and awareness of my heart beating that appear to have been

triggered at work but has taken longer to resolve and prevents me getting a

decent sleep, usually resolving the following day. Yesterday I didn't spend

much time in the lab during the morning but felt very ill in the afternoon.

I had the flu like symptoms, a funny feeling in my stomach that felt like it

was working up to the stomach ache (but perhaps because it was only a half

day in the lab it wasn't long enough for it to develop fully) a funny

feeling in my throat, the palpitations developed towards the end of the day

(though I did sleep well last night, probably because I hadn't slept well

the previous few nights) but the scariest was something that hasn't happened

before, a brief sudden stabbing pain in my upper back that occurred twice

about five minutes apart. I asked our medical officer about it and she felt

I didn't need to worry about it unless it was continually occurring. I left

work at that point and it hasn't happened again. When I started driving home

I did notice something give in that part of my back as reached up to the

steering wheel and a very slight ache there when I was lying in bed last

night.

I went to my doctor about the problems I was having towards the end of last

year. He asked that my work refer me to an occupational health doctor which

has been done. I have pointed out to the occupation health specialist that I

have noticed the smell of diesel fumes in the room from time to time and

that during the winter months I can smell the smoke from peoples wood

burning heaters in the room when I have been working evening shifts and have

noticed a far higher frequency of fire alarms in the building during the

winter evenings than at any other time. This has suggested to me that the

air conditioning system is bringing in outdoor air pollution which is slowly

eroding my bodies ability to cope with it. This doctor told me that if it

wasn't for the care I was taking of myself in making sure I get plenty of

sleep, eating well and exercising regularly, I would be very sick by now. I

went back to my doctor this week because I am feeling so much worse and he

ordered a number of blood tests. Of those results that have been done so

far, everything is normal except the liver functions tests. Liver enzymes

are raised, though not excessively, which suggests to me that my liver is

not coping with clearing toxins from my body.

I have noticed a number of posts regarding HLA testing and in particular the

DR type but being new to this list I do not know what the significance is. I

know that I am HLA-DR1 and HLA-DR4. Can anyone tell me if this means

anything?

I have been keeping a day by day diary of how I have been feeling rating

each day from 1 to 10 with 10 meaning I am feeling really good. I record the

lowest point for each day. It is quite noticeable that the days I am not at

work are really good and when I am at work the range is 5 to 8. An 8 is a

really good day at work and they don't happen often. This past week has

taken a sudden turn for the worse which is what has prompted me to seek out

this list. On Sunday I was working a 4pm to midnight shift then on Monday I

was rostered to start at 9am. This gave me time for about five hours sleep

and I suspect this lack of sleep has triggered this downturn. Note that

prior to this the lowest grade I had recorded was a 5. Monday I was 4,

Tuesday I took as a sick day as palpitations arising at work on Monday kept

me awake a good deal of the night, Wednesday I was 3 (this was the day I

went to the doctor - the appt was prior to starting work that day), Thursday

I was 4 and today I am rostered off. I am now almost back to normal from the

palpitations I developed at work yesterday and the shock of that sudden pain

in my back.

I am very scared. It feels like this building is killing me. My doctor has

told me he thinks I need to get out. It is not as simple as just walking

away. We have a mortgage that could not be met on just my husband's salary.

I no longer can cope with getting up at the time required for a normal day

job. Not being able to work grave yard shifts or do call back means I will

not be able to get another job in the work I am trained for and other

employment options are very limited but I do not want to go back to that

building after the way it was affecting this past week.

I hope all this is not too long to be accepted by the list. If so I will

have to break it up into several emails.

If you have made it to this point, thank you for bearing with me.

I look forward to any feedback you are able to give me.

[Guest guest]

Well, you are right, it is a long post (grin). It sounds like you know the

problem is from the

working environment. That is a big step. The next thing is to figure out how to

remove

yourself from that toxic environment.

You are also correct in assuming there could be several different contributing

factors in

that particular sick building syndrome. However, in getting well, it is nice to

be able to sort

them out, in order to get well sooner.

I had many of the same symptoms you had. Progressive reactivity, that nothing

seemed to

slow down for too long, increasing chemical sensitivities, etc. In my case, it

was almost

entirely due to mold exposure, both from mold in my home, and also from fungal

infections (sinus, lung and GI tract) that were causing my food reactivities to

become life-

threatening! On top of this, I had doctor after doctor tell me they couldn't

find anything

wrong, and finally saying it was all in my head (this was when I was nearly at

death's door).

Finally, I took the advice to bite the bullet and travel to see a doc many

people swore by,

and was thought could help me. At first glance, he knew what was wrong- I could

have

cried. You know how scary this is, so I don't have to tell you.

I and my whole family are vegetarians, too ;-)

but bacause of the fungal overgrowth in the guts, I was not digesting or

absorbing things,

I took several supplements to help correct this, along with the antifungals from

the doc.

It sounds like you are of a fairly analytical frame of mind, and that can be

helpful in

determining which exposures are affecting you. This is a big job you are

tackling, and

keeping track (of many things along the way) can help keep it more objective.

I would suggest checking out your house thoroughly, and working out how you feel

there

too. Any water damage is bad news. Because the entire building code process is

in drastic

need of revision (this from a reputable builder in SF), to prevent these

problems, which

have become endemic in modern construction, due to both materials and processes.

Chemical exposures may seem like the most likely source, but when you consider

that all

molds put out VOC's, and many of them are nasty toxins, it becomes more

reasonable to

consider it as a primary source of chemical exposure.

There are doctors working on different aspects of this type of problem, and some

of them

are very interested in helping us sort it out, since they can't treat the whole

world.

I don't know about lab tests or anything like that, so I can't help you there.

Best wishes,

>

>

> I am sure the problems I am currently having are the result of working in a

> sick building. I welcome any opinions and advice anyone here is able to give

> me.

>

> I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist. The building in question was

> commissioned in June 1980. At that time and for most of the subsequent years

> I was only working in this building part of the time with my work roster

> involving work divided between two buildings however since September 2003 I

> have been working there permanently.

>

> My work is 24 hours, 7 days a week and as such involves shift work and call

> out. I had always been extremely healthy, only getting an occasional cold,

> often going as much as 2 years without catching a cold and never ever had a

> dose of the flu until 1984. Since then I have had numerous doses of the flu

> which often developed into acute bronchitis. Every dose of the flu and

> bronchitis developed as a result of the lack of sleep from the shift and

> call out requirements of my job. Late shifts and call out always involved

> work in the suspect building. The way it was affecting my health got so bad

> that about 1995 - 96 I was able to arrange not to do work that could

> potentially involve lack of sleep and my employer now has a medical

> certificate stating that I am unfit to do so, hence I am no longer required

> to do grave yard shifts or call back. Since this time I have had no further

> cases of the flu and find that I am still reasonably resistant to catching

> colds.

>

> In the late 1980's I developed an intolerance of caffeine. Consuming

> caffeine would cause a type of heart palpitation known as Premature

> Ventricular Contractions (PVC's). I was told at the time that as long as

> they were occurring at a frequency of less than 6 per minute they were not

> dangerous. I have avoided any thing with caffeine since that time though I

> did find I could eat chocolate without any problems. After coming across

> this article on the internet I am now wondering if working in this building

> may be related to the development of this intolerance.

>

> http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/mcs/buffaloe.html

>

> At this time I was also working some of the time in an off campus building

> with a boss who smoked heavily in his office. Although for safety reasons,

> smoking was not allowed in the lab areas, the smoke still drifted into the

> labs and the whole building smelt of cigarette smoke. Nowadays, fortunately,

> smoking is completely banned in the workplace. If you haven't guessed it

> from this, I am and have always been a non smoker.

>

> I have also developed other food intolerances and I am now wondering if they

> may be related to working in the suspect building. In the late 1990's I

> realised I was intolerant of MSG and aspartame (they also caused PVC's). The

> MSG intolerance was a bit difficult to work out because of the numerous ways

> MSG in foods is disguised however I traced it to the marmite (yeast extract)

> I was having on my toast at breakfast time. The subsequent research I have

> done on these substances has convinced that they are poisons which are

> better avoided anyway. About this time we started becoming avid label

> readers and have moved to a point where close to 100% of our food is

> organic, a reasonable amount of it home grown.

>

> The next intolerance I developed was to sulphites used as preservatives in

> food (once again PVC's). Sulphur dioxide in the air from pollution was also

> causing this to happen at this stage and guess what!!! ...from time to time

> I can smell diesel fumes in the room where I work. Presumably it is being

> brought into the building via the air conditioning system. I discovered that

> vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient for the enzyme that clears sulphites

> from your system so by raising my B12 level from Low normal to high normal I

> was able to cure this sensitivity. I could drink wine again. I am vegetarian

> and was already supplementing my diet with one 50mcg vitamin B12 tablet a

> day so I began to question why my B12 had been low normal and this along

> with other symptoms and the fact that in retrospect my mother (now deceased)

> had a number of conditions such as early onset osteoporosis, that suggested

> she may have been Coeliac had me wondering if I was gluten intolerant.

> Eliminating gluten from my diet made a noticeable improvement. I was also

> sensitive to strong smells at the time I was intolerant to sulphites and

> that mostly but not completely improved when I raised my B12 level.

>

> Towards the end of last year and this year I have been developing more food

> intolerances including vinegar, chocolate, wine and dairy products. The

> sensitivity to smells has also come back full force.

>

> My first suspicion about the building came about when I noticed that during

> the spring and summer I would often notice flu like symptoms when I was in

> this building that quickly resolved when I went home. Often they were so bad

> that had I woken up feeling like that I would not have gone to work. I am

> not sure when I started noticing this but it would be at least 10 years ago

> probably more. These past six months approx I have been feeling a lot worse

> and particularly so this last week. It is now autumn here and I am still

> getting these symptoms. I am not an allergic person. There has been at least

> one person working in the same lab as me that has had these symptoms in the

> past. This person no longer works with us. There are two people working in

> an adjacent lab that I know of who are also having problems.

>

> Recently I have noticed other symptoms which are hard to explain and have

> also resolved on leaving the building. Several times I have had a cramping

> type of stomach ache that rapidly came right when I left work. I have never

> had headaches but have a few at work in the last few weeks. There have been

> a few time I have developed palpitations, not PVC's, just an unhealthy

> sensation and awareness of my heart beating that appear to have been

> triggered at work but has taken longer to resolve and prevents me getting a

> decent sleep, usually resolving the following day. Yesterday I didn't spend

> much time in the lab during the morning but felt very ill in the afternoon.

> I had the flu like symptoms, a funny feeling in my stomach that felt like it

> was working up to the stomach ache (but perhaps because it was only a half

> day in the lab it wasn't long enough for it to develop fully) a funny

> feeling in my throat, the palpitations developed towards the end of the day

> (though I did sleep well last night, probably because I hadn't slept well

> the previous few nights) but the scariest was something that hasn't happened

> before, a brief sudden stabbing pain in my upper back that occurred twice

> about five minutes apart. I asked our medical officer about it and she felt

> I didn't need to worry about it unless it was continually occurring. I left

> work at that point and it hasn't happened again. When I started driving home

> I did notice something give in that part of my back as reached up to the

> steering wheel and a very slight ache there when I was lying in bed last

> night.

>

>

> I went to my doctor about the problems I was having towards the end of last

> year. He asked that my work refer me to an occupational health doctor which

> has been done. I have pointed out to the occupation health specialist that I

> have noticed the smell of diesel fumes in the room from time to time and

> that during the winter months I can smell the smoke from peoples wood

> burning heaters in the room when I have been working evening shifts and have

> noticed a far higher frequency of fire alarms in the building during the

> winter evenings than at any other time. This has suggested to me that the

> air conditioning system is bringing in outdoor air pollution which is slowly

> eroding my bodies ability to cope with it. This doctor told me that if it

> wasn't for the care I was taking of myself in making sure I get plenty of

> sleep, eating well and exercising regularly, I would be very sick by now. I

> went back to my doctor this week because I am feeling so much worse and he

> ordered a number of blood tests. Of those results that have been done so

> far, everything is normal except the liver functions tests. Liver enzymes

> are raised, though not excessively, which suggests to me that my liver is

> not coping with clearing toxins from my body.

>

> I have noticed a number of posts regarding HLA testing and in particular the

> DR type but being new to this list I do not know what the significance is. I

> know that I am HLA-DR1 and HLA-DR4. Can anyone tell me if this means

> anything?

>

> I have been keeping a day by day diary of how I have been feeling rating

> each day from 1 to 10 with 10 meaning I am feeling really good. I record the

> lowest point for each day. It is quite noticeable that the days I am not at

> work are really good and when I am at work the range is 5 to 8. An 8 is a

> really good day at work and they don't happen often. This past week has

> taken a sudden turn for the worse which is what has prompted me to seek out

> this list. On Sunday I was working a 4pm to midnight shift then on Monday I

> was rostered to start at 9am. This gave me time for about five hours sleep

> and I suspect this lack of sleep has triggered this downturn. Note that

> prior to this the lowest grade I had recorded was a 5. Monday I was 4,

> Tuesday I took as a sick day as palpitations arising at work on Monday kept

> me awake a good deal of the night, Wednesday I was 3 (this was the day I

> went to the doctor - the appt was prior to starting work that day), Thursday

> I was 4 and today I am rostered off. I am now almost back to normal from the

> palpitations I developed at work yesterday and the shock of that sudden pain

> in my back.

>

> I am very scared. It feels like this building is killing me. My doctor has

> told me he thinks I need to get out. It is not as simple as just walking

> away. We have a mortgage that could not be met on just my husband's salary.

> I no longer can cope with getting up at the time required for a normal day

> job. Not being able to work grave yard shifts or do call back means I will

> not be able to get another job in the work I am trained for and other

> employment options are very limited but I do not want to go back to that

> building after the way it was affecting this past week.

>

> I hope all this is not too long to be accepted by the list. If so I will

> have to break it up into several emails.

>

> If you have made it to this point, thank you for bearing with me.

> I look forward to any feedback you are able to give me.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you

We have decided that I have to leave work before my health deteriorates

further however I don't want to do so without a fight. I have been working

in an apparent toxic environment for 26 years and in the same job for 29

years. After that length of time I would like to get some compensation for

the work I have put in over the years, the effect it has had on my health

and the lost earnings and superannuation as a result of leaving early. I am

trying to gather as much ammunition as possible.

I am certain there is no problem with my home environment. We live in a

quiet suburban area with very little traffic. Our house is very dry - we

have a ventilation system installed which is constantly circulating fresh

air throughout the house. The house is located on a hillside, therefore

there is no accumulation of water in the area when it rains and a drainage

system underneath the house efficiently takes water away form the house. On

top of that I feel fine when I am at home as long as I avoid the foods I

have become intolerant of. The symptoms develop when I am at work and

subside when I came home.

I found this article last night which supports my line of thought on my

problem.

http://www.drgrisanti.com/Pollution.htm

>Well, you are right, it is a long post (grin). It sounds like you know the

problem is from the

working environment. That is a big step. The next thing is to figure out how

to remove

yourself from that toxic environment

>

[Guest guest]

I understand.

My home is also well built, in a good location, etc. The mold was behind the

shower tile.

Hidden. Undetecable until it got extremely bad. Perhaps you do not have tile in

your

bathrooms, but if you do, it might be worth the experiment of popping one off

near the

tub (or floor if a shower), because you can't see it unless you do that. It is

an easy fix to

put it back on, just get a little grout to match and glue the tile back on,

regrout , and

presto.

Maybe you don't have it at home, but if your bath was built or redone sometime

in the last

35 years, chances are you do have this. The way things were done was: they put

drywall up

and tiled over it, which guarantees mold. Dry wall + water = mold, often

toxigenic.

I sincerely hope you do not have the problem at home, it would make your

recovery

simpler, but it is impossible to rule out unless you look deeply into likely

problem areas,

like the shower.

I had no water problems, leaks, etc. just condensation and the shower tile.

I read the link you provided, and it looks sound to me, but ignores the very big

effect of

mold. It is quite likely that he is simply ignorant of the topic, or maybe he

has read the

spurious statements by seemingly knowledgeable doctors that have much to gain by

denying a mold problem. There is quite a fight going on in the medical

community, based

on bias in research and reporting due to conflicts of interest on this topic.

Please don't dismiss the mold idea out of hand, at least if you examine your

home

carefully and thoroughly you can rule it out.

As far as the work environment, mold is one of the most likely causes of indoor

air

pollution around. You may see the recent discussions about air conditioners.

Also some

duct work is fiberous, which gives mold spores something to hold on to and grow.

I have seen mold growing on plastic sheeting, and through to the back side of

it, with

nothing else to eat, it appeared.

Anyway good luck with all of it. I am not reading the posts daily, I just can't

right now, so

you can email me backchannel if you want to talk.

>

>

>

> Thank you

>

>

>

> We have decided that I have to leave work before my health deteriorates

> further however I don't want to do so without a fight. I have been working

> in an apparent toxic environment for 26 years and in the same job for 29

> years. After that length of time I would like to get some compensation for

> the work I have put in over the years, the effect it has had on my health

> and the lost earnings and superannuation as a result of leaving early. I am

> trying to gather as much ammunition as possible.

>

>

>

> I am certain there is no problem with my home environment. We live in a

> quiet suburban area with very little traffic. Our house is very dry - we

> have a ventilation system installed which is constantly circulating fresh

> air throughout the house. The house is located on a hillside, therefore

> there is no accumulation of water in the area when it rains and a drainage

> system underneath the house efficiently takes water away form the house. On

> top of that I feel fine when I am at home as long as I avoid the foods I

> have become intolerant of. The symptoms develop when I am at work and

> subside when I came home.

>

>

>

> I found this article last night which supports my line of thought on my

> problem.

>

>

>

> http://www.drgrisanti.com/Pollution.htm

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> >Well, you are right, it is a long post (grin). It sounds like you know the

> problem is from the

> working environment. That is a big step. The next thing is to figure out how

> to remove

> yourself from that toxic environment

>

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>