I am not the only one suffering a strange constellation of quality of life shattering health symptoms that seems to be sourcing from a misfiring of our own immune systems.
If I was the only one, this story would not be worth telling. Because even now, miles and years down the road and looking back over the unprecedented plot twists, the entire story still doesn’t make sense.
Thats why it’s worth telling.
The only way we figure this out, is together. So for anyone else suffering and suffocating in silence …. this is for you.
Covid 19
In 2020 along with a huge chunk of the rest of planet, I tested positive for Covid-19 and got VERY very sick, and then… I never got better.
I stopped being able to eat, or sometimes even drink, whatever I swallowed would immeditatly be vomited back up.
After 3 months of the Covid Long-Haulers experience (something we did NOT have a name for at the time) my body was so weak.
But my brain was on fire. And since the incomprehensible amount of pain was not letting me sleep, I got so so so curious.
What was happening to me? Why can’t my body be bothered to function
Chemical sensitivities
I started realizing smells and fumes In regularly navigated about during my day to day {cat exhaust, restaurant fryer vents, your over zealously perfumed individual on the elevator, the scented candle in the lobby, the cleaning supplies constantly applied to gym bathrooms could} once - - - -I noticed eating produc
Housing Crisis
Metabolic Crisis
C.I.R.S - Mold Toxicity
In 2020 I was diagnosed with C.I.R.S, which is the medical label for a chronically inflamed & dysfunctional nervous system due to a constant exposure to an offensive immunological insult, usually coming from a moldy building or envoirment. My doctors suggested the intestinal & digestive failure I’ve been experiencing may be a result of this process, and advised me to test my apartment for mold, which I did. The results came back very positive. So I found a new place to stay and began a long and grueling process of detoxification called “The Shoemaker Protocol”, ditching all of my handmade furniture, books, and most of my belongs which turned out to be too difficult to mold-remediate.
I have always been outdoor obsessed - Growing up homeschooled allowed me to essentially spend more time outdoors than in, and as a young adult when I started working wage jobs indoors I developed an non-negotionable habit of taking hikes multiple times a week. Movement is a must for me too. There has always appeared to be a direct link between my movement and the functioning of my brain - There were unfortunately certain stages of intestinal failure that came with such fatigue I wasn't able to get my self outdoors and moving, but even then I’d pull blankets and pillows out onto the deck and curl up in fetal position inside of a ray of sunshine.
Before long, I began to recognize my extreme intolerance for air pollution and the quality of my breathing air was resulting in symptoms JUST from being indoors. This became more and more apparent as I measured histamine-related symptoms such as rashes