The Big Hit on my Health

 In my last post, I mentioned 9 events from fall 2016 to February 2018 that struck at my health. 

Keep in mind my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is worse than probably at least 95% of people who have it. 

I do NOT mean my symptoms are worse or my suffering any worse, I mean my “safe bubble” must be more thorough and complete.

I cannot live east of the Mississippi nor in numerous western states or portions of Canada where others with MCS live. (I am not sure about other countries.)  I am not able to live in any attached housing nor even in any town, even if they do not fog for mosquitoes, like others with MCS do. I cannot live in any traditional house or RV, even off-gassed 20 years and modified.  I cannot cook with or be near propane, even outside.  I have reacted to everything mailed to me by others with MCS, though some of those things we made fine by washing.  🙂  I cannot go into hospitals without very serious physical effects. I cannot tolerate any masks or take any supplements at all.

Many people with MCS who live in towns or traditional houses or humid climates or farming areas (pesticides) suffer tremendously and have extremely scary symptoms. 🙁  However, with a few exceptions, they are able to remain stable enough to keep living there.  They are inherently tolerating a lot more than I can without it becoming an acute life-threatening crisis for me.

So this severity explains why the 9 setbacks made such an impact to my body.  Hopefully others would weather setbacks like these better than my body did, however it is possible that certain chemicals would do this to others as well.  Some chemicals cause symptoms which cause setbacks quicker and deeper than others, especially when they affect the heart (as actually many of these events did to my heart).  Each person is also going to have specific chemicals their body will have more trouble with.

Anyhow, the biggest setback event was the most recent.  Antimicrobial and other chemicals accidentally came into the house from December 2017 to February 2018, and we did not understand what was happening at all. I call this the Big Hit. By the time we figured it out, it had given me:

• violent coughing
• nausea
• irregular heartbeat causing fatigue, happening more and more often
• fatigue and weakness that eventually became extreme (I could not bathe myself again starting around late January I think, but we kept attributing it to other things. Those chemicals may have contributed to my problems as well, but we eliminated those, yet my problems continued to worsen because we did not realize about the antimicrobials….)
•  After stopping the chemicals, I experienced withdrawal akin to how they describe withdrawal from Heroin. For about 4 hours, I literally wanted to die. The rest of the world did not seem real.  The next 2 months were similar to how they describe the months after Heroin, too.
• vomiting with the violent coughing that sort of affected my breathing, fear of vomiting 
• extreme brain fog
• PMS-like emotions
• tongue infection (like thrush) including lots of pain
•  Herx reactions after treating the infection
• digestive rhythm upset so bad it gave me sleep troubles
• triple need for probiotics (antimicrobials kill off good gut/body bacteria)
• increased heartburn
• body/muscle pain sometimes up to level 8 and 9, one time nearing 10
• increased numbness in feet, and
• decreased ability to sweat.  This one is really bad because sweating is needed for detox, especially when other organs are struggling. 

So why did it affect me so badly? I believe mainly one reason (besides the severity of my MCS): my extreme susceptibility to this class of chemicals (antimicrobials).  My susceptibility includes:

 

• stomach problems since age 7
• living near crop herbicides since age 7 (Ah, a correlation? I believe so.)
• likely hereditary susceptibility
• growing up 20 miles from the largest civilian exposure to dioxin in the history of the United States.  Dioxin is a byproduct of antimicrobial chemical manufacturing.
• not sweating much my whole life.  This is a terrible disadvantage for the body keeping up with daily toxins. 
• massive use of hand sanitizer for child’s special needs from 2005 to 2009, including while vulnerable in the mold house. (I wish I had listened to those doctors who said plain soap was fine.) Herbicides, antibiotics, sanitizers, and disinfectants all have similarities in how they affect the body.  Some disinfectants  people use in their homes are classified as pesticides.

I was very sick February, March, and most of April. I could rarely even get myself a glass of water because I was so weak. I remember how thankful I was when I finally went a week without throwing up.  May and June I slowly clawed my way back up again, losing symptoms and slowly gaining energy.

My weak body was damaged in so many ways, some of which compounded other problems. 

Plus it took until mid-April to decontaminate the house, and the mudroom is STILL very bad. Lately, we have struggled to keep the chemicals in the hot mudroom from coming into the cool (window a/c) house. Just as I was very close to being able to bathe myself, symptoms are returning. Sigh.

 

But as I write this, my husband and son are cleaning out the mudroom from top to bottom, and I am optimistic.

Also, I continue to get slowly better and still retain my 2016-acquired ability to tolerate such things as car exhaust and intermittent scent residue.

Patience. I just need patience. 🙂 

 

I almost did not post this but then thought it might help someone who has had similar health experiences, withdrawal from chemicals, etc. I want people to know they are not alone and that there is hope.

 

Christa Upton   Black Hills Picture Books   Edgemont, SD  57735