Mold Toxin Illness & Tick-borne Diseases

Mold Toxin Illness & Lyme Disease

One reason some with Lyme disease have a hard time recovering is due to Mold Toxin Illness. In this video and written article I describe the latest approaches to successfully diagnose and manage Mold Toxin Illness.

There is a theory promoted by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker in his various publications including Mold Warriors and Surviving Mold and his online site that 25% of all people are unable to remove mold and/or Lyme toxins once they are exposed. Dr. Shoemaker developed an elaborate science around his theory.

• The basic idea is that 75% of people remove mold toxins when they breath them into the lungs where they are absorbed into the blood stream. In these people, the immune system tags the mold toxins with antibodies—which leads to white blood cells destroying and eliminating the toxins.
• 25% of people make ineffective mold toxin antibodies. The mold toxins get moved from the liver to the intestines through the bile system while still fat-soluble. In a fat-soluble form, they are then reabsorbed into the blood stream through the intestines. Thus, if a person is one of the 25%, they literally swim in toxins that keep triggering cytokines.

Cytokines cause most Lyme symptoms. So Mold Toxin Illness can look identical to Lyme & Tick-borne diseases. This can become worse as the result of killing Lyme, which releases toxins from the inside of the germ – adding more to the recirculating pool of toxins, triggering even more cytokines. Read more about cytokines and options to lower them in Control Cytokines: A Guide to Fix Lyme Symptoms & The Immune System.

Adding to the complexity of Mold Toxin Illness is the work of Joseph Brewer, M.D., an infectious disease specialist. His study of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome found 93% were positive for one or more of the following mycotoxins in their urine: ochratoxin A, aflatoxin, and trichothecene (black mold toxins).

• In later work, Dr. Brewer theorizes an ongoing source for mold toxins is colonization of the sinus passages in individuals who have lived in water- damaged buildings. His detailed review of the literature supports this theory. In his presentation to the 2013 International Lyme and Associated Diseases annual scientific conference in San Diego, Dr. Brewer presented his unpublished findings supporting the benefits of treating mold colonization with nasal irrigation using antifungals, oral antifungals, and fat binders (to bind fat toxins) like cholestyramine. He noted that benefit was only observed with ongoing months of treatment to eradicate mold.

Marty Ross MD Discusses Mold Toxin Illness

This video was recorded during Conversations with Marty Ross MD in November 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

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Testing for Mold Toxin and Lyme Toxin Illness

Start with a VCS General Screening Test

To see if a person has Mold Toxin Illness, do a screening Visual Contrast Screen (VCS). This is a test a person takes perform on their computer or in a physicians office. The test involves looking at a number of images that have various degrees of black, white, and grey. A person who cannot remove mold toxins will have a hard time distinguishing black, white, and grey on this test. If you fail the test, then you could have mold or Lyme toxin illness.

• Be aware the test is not perfect. People can pass the test occasionally who still have this illness. Dr. Shoemaker has the test available at his website.

Best Tests for Mold Toxicity

There are four different ways to test for Mold Toxicity that are not screening tests. Only the urine mycotoxin test—a direct test—shows if mold toxins are actually in you. Antibody testing, Shoemaker biomarker testing like TGF-beta 1 and C4a, and HLA-DR genetic testing do not prove you have mold toxins in you—they are all indirect tests that could be positive, even when you do not have mold toxicity.

Why This Matters. Finding mold toxicity is tricky. And unfortunately each testing technique has accuracy problems.

• A positive urine mycotoxin test proves you have toxins in you. One problem is when you are really sick, the kidneys may not be able to move mold toxins into your urine. This causes false negative results.
• Provoke a positive test by taking a hot sauna or very hot bath the night before testing. Heat mobilizes toxins so more are urinated out. I do not find glutathione as effective.
• RealTime test appears best. Mold specialists Dr. Neil Nathan and Dr. Jill Crista favor RealTime urine testing due to better clinical reliability. I share their opinion.

IGG antibodies trigger the immune system to destroy and remove mold toxins in 75% of all people. Based on Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker’s work, 25% of people do not make effective antibodies that remove mold toxins.

• So a positive IGG mold antibody test could mean your immune system is actively breaking down mold toxins while being exposed to those molds. Yet, you may not be developing a toxic pool, because the immune system destroys them while keeping you healthy.
• I do not agree that IGG antibodies prove you have a mold toxicity problem. They only prove your immune system is trying to get rid of the toxins. And if you are one of the 75%, the antibodies could be doing it effectively.

Ritchie Shoemaker biomarkers may be abnormal due to chronic infections. So abnormal TGF-beta 1, C4a, MSH etc. could be due to chronic tick-borne infections.

HLA-DR genetic test only show you have a predisposition to developing mold toxicity. But many do not manifest the problem. And even people with normal HLA-DR testing can develop mold toxicity.

Be aware gliotoxin can also come from candida yeast overgrowth in the intestines. So a person should consider if they have this problem too to decide if the gliotoxins are from a wet building or from their  intestines. See A Silent Problem. Do You Have Yeast?

Toxin Binders

General Binders

There are a number of binders that pull the toxins out of the intestines so they are not reabsorbed. The best general binders are

• prescription cholestyramine
• soluble pectin fiber, and
• broad-spectrum binder products that include a number of specific binders (see table below).

Clinically these general binders remove various types of mold toxins. It is possible to give a trial of one of these for one to two months before trying a more specific binder based on urine testing from RealTime Labs.

Specific Binders 

Different binders work better on certain toxins than others. 

• Ochratoxins are bound best by cholestyramine and activated charcoal. 
• Aflatoxins are bound best by activated charcoal and bentonite clay. 
• Tricocethenes are bound best by activated charcoal, but cholestyramine, pectin, charcoal and bentonite clay can help.
• Gliotoxins are bound best by betonite clay.

See the table below for more information about mold toxin specific binders. 

Antifungals

Brewers' work shows that some with mold toxin illness remain ill because their mucous membranes in the sinuses and intestines become colonized with mold. If binders do not work at removing mold toxins, then it is time to use antifungal prescriptions to kill mold in the sinus passages and the intestines. For the intestines I like prescription itraconazole works best. For the sinuses nose sprays of nystatin, itraconazole, or amphoteracin b can work well. Note it can take months to to even a year or more to get rid of mold from colonized nasal passages and the intestines.

Management Options for Mold Toxin Illness

Trial of General Binders Without Testing

If there is a high probability mold toxin illness based on a history of obvious mold exposures do a 1 to 2 month trial of binders.

• Another option is to use a 1-2 month trial of binders to remove mold or Lyme toxins alone at 6-9 months into tick-borne diseases managment if someone is not improving.

The strongest treatment is to use the cholestyramine. It is best to use this to see if treatment will work.

• However, soluble fiber or a broad spectrum binder product are good management options that can help too. A broad spectum binder product can contain clay, charcoal, silica, humic or fulvic acids, and chlorella.
• In addition, once a person is doing better, they can use the soluble fiber or a broad spectrum binder product to maintain the improvements. When doing this find the minimal daily dose (ie. 1-4 scoops a day) that works best.

Note: Removing toxins can cause a greater production of inflammatory cytokines that could make a person feel worse at first. Before and during the mold toxin managment use curcumin to lower the cytokines. For additional steps you can take to lower cytokines see Control Cytokines: A Guide to Fix Lyme Symptoms & The Immune System.

• Fractionated Pectin Powder 1 scoop 2 times a day.
• Broad-Spectrum Binder Supplement 1 to 2 pills 1 time a day. Do not take with medicines or supplements beginning 30 min before taking the cholestyramine through 2 hours after. You can eat anytime, but the ideal time is 30 minutes after taking the binder. 
• Curcumin 500 mg 1 pill 3 times a day. Begin 1 week prior to starting either the fractionated pectin powder or cholestyramine and continue taking it during the first 1-2 months of therapy for the biotoxins.
• Cholestyramine. This is a prescription medicine. Take 1 scoop daily. Every 7 days increase by 1 scoop till you are taking 1 scoop 3 times a day. Do not take with medicines or supplements beginning 30 min before taking the cholestyramine through 2 hours after. You can eat anytime, but the ideal time is 30 minutes after taking the cholestyramine.

Binders Based on Testing

If the general binders do not work, get a Real Times Lab test and choose binders based on the test results. See Specific Binders in the article above.

• Bentonite Clay 500mg 1 pill 1 time a day. Every 7 days increase by 1 pill a day till taking 1 pill 3 times a day. If you flare do not increase until the flare passes. Do not take with medicines or supplements beginning 30 min before taking the clay through 2 hours after.
• Activated Charcoal 500mg 1 pill 1 time a day. Every 7 days increase by 1 pill a day till taking 1 pill 3 times a day. If you flare do not increase until the flare passes. Do not take with medicines or supplements beginning 30 min before taking the charcoal through 2 hours after.
• Sacromyces Boulardii probiotic 2 pills 1 time a day.
• Curcumin 500mg 1 pill 3 times a day. Begin 1 week prior to starting binders and continue taking it during the first 1-2 months of therapyt for the biotoxins.

Add Antifungals 

After 4 to 6 months of a specific binder, repeat the RealTime lab mycotoxin test If the toxins remain, consider adding an antifungal therapy targeting the nasal passages and the intestines. Nasal sprays could include nystatin, itraconazole, colloidal silver, or amphoterecin B. Oral medications to reach the intestines could include itraconazole or amphoterecin B. 

Disclaimer

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