Approximately 80% of our immune health is dependent upon the health of our gut. The human gut contains tens of trillions of bacteria and at least one thousand different species. Stress, diet, and disease can all disrupt this balance in your gut and so probiotics are often turned to for help. If you [Read more…]
Lyme Disease, Antibiotics, and My Miserable Gut
When I was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2009 I was terrified. I didn’t know anything about Lyme disease or how it should be treated. Information was limited and I wasn’t aware of any treatment options other than antibiotics. So, based on what I had read and the enormous fear I had, I accepted [Read more…]
Scheduling Your Homeschool When There’s Chronic Illness in the Family
Are you a homeschool mom who lives with a chronic illness? Maybe you have a child or multiple children who have special needs, chronic illness or both.
If homeschooling with chronic illness is new to you, you may be wondering how you’re going to plan your year and create a homeschool schedule [Read more…]
How I’m Using the Organized Homeschool Life Planner
I’ve always prided myself on being an organized person and I’ve always relied on my planner to help me do that. Besides being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom and blogger, I started a business and began working as a Virtual Assistant which has required a whole new level of planning and leaves me little time to organize my home and homeschool. [Read more…]
My Toxic Home Update
Not too long ago, I shared a post titled, What If Your House Was Making You Sick! I told you how we moved a few years ago and my health took a turn for the worse. My pain and fatigue increased and I felt so much anxiety especially during the Spring and Fall.
Exercise Options for Those With Chronic Illness
When you’re suffering from physical pain and exhaustion the last thing on your mind is to get up and exercise, at least it was for me. Previously, I shared a post about the benefits of exercising when you have Chronic Illness, Why You Should Exercise When You Have Lyme. You can read that later but for now, let’s talk about options for exercising when you’re fatigued, in pain and you don’t have the motivation to stay consistent. [Read more…]
Why I’m Doing Yoga Even Though I’m a Christian
Recently, I posted a picture on social media exclaiming that I’ve been doing Yoga 5 days a week and have gotten stronger than I’ve been in years. A sweet friend asked me if I had any problems or felt uncomfortable with the Yoga that I was doing. We are Christians and typically Christians stay away far away from Yoga for reasons I’ll explain in this post.
The Lyme Disease Summit #3
The Chronic Lyme Disease Summit #3 is taking place online and FREE from April 30th – May 9th, 2018! If you joined either of the past two Chronic Lyme Disease Summits, you know exactly how important this summit is for the Lyme community. [Read more…]
What if Your House Was Making You Sick
Have you ever wondered if your house was making you sick? What would you do? It’s certainly not possible to pick up and move every time you discover something unhealthy about your home. Fixing the cause of mold, bacteria or other toxins could cost you thousands of dollars and sometimes, the problems aren’t fixable.
When researching Lyme disease, you’ll read much about making sure your home is a clean and safe place to live. It’s critical to avoid mold and other toxins if you want to heal. It is certainly possible to live a green and chemical free life but what about those things you can’t control, like neighbors spraying toxic chemicals on their yards or farms. Worse yet, what if you have toxins in your home and it isn’t safe?
I’ve shared before that as soon as we moved to our new to us home my health began to decline. Oddly enough, everyone else in my family began to heal more quickly from their tick-borne infections. I discovered that we have a bacteria that comes in from the foundation. We spent thousands of dollars to put in french drains, sump pumps and to seal the basement floor.
photo courtesy of Unsplash & @AnnieDowns
Air Conditioning and Mold
Yesterday we had our AC unit inspected and serviced to get ready for the hot temperatures to come! We’ve only lived here in our “older-new” home for two and a half years and we’re slowly but surely getting things repaired and replaced.
We had no idea that when the AC guy came out he would give us such bad news. Not only is our Geothermal AC unit almost older than Methuselah, the bottom is completely rusted out and the whole entire inside is filled with disgusting, gross stuff that could potentially be mold. The inside is made of fiberglass and because the unit is Geothermal, which runs on water, there’s a ton of moisture inside.
My heart sank because I know that wherever moisture resides so does mold. I’m more than a little frustrated, after all, we had three mold inspectors come to specifically check the basement and we paid a home inspector to check the entire house before we purchased it. Each one of them told us there’s no mold! Wouldn’t you think the first place they would check would be the AC unit? Now, it’s entirely possible that what we’re seeing inside the AC unit is not mold but I doubt it and I plan to have it tested.
One percent of the population is highly sensitive to mold. Those are also the individuals who are likely to get sick with Lyme disease. Click To TweetI have to take a moment and brag, I have the best husband in the world, just saying! His first response was to call the AC company and get estimates for replacing the unit. He also told me to go ahead and get it checked for mold before they rip that thing out.
Testing for Mold
If you’re looking for where to get good mold tests check out Mycometrics. I’m not an affiliate but have read this is the place to go for mold testing.
Whether we truly have mold or mildew, doesn’t matter. They are both toxic, especially to someone with a sensitivity to it and someone who has been recovering from Lyme disease. Since moving here, my health declined in a big way. I found out last year that I have the MTHFR gene mutation so I don’t detox!
Living in a Toxic Environment
After we moved in I kept smelling something gross. Of course, no one else smelled it but to me it was overwhelming! I’m not even sure how I would describe the smell to you. I often smelled it when it rained or was humid. I began to notice it more when I would leave the house for awhile and come back in. I always call it the “The Granny Maude” smell! I’m sorry if your name is Maude, I don’t mean any offense, I just happen to name inanimate things, like my house and my car. What I’m trying to express is that this is an old smelly house.
I diffuse Thieves essential oil, especially on raining days. Whenever we would turn the air conditioning on the smell would get worse but we always thought the AC unit was blowing up the stinky smell from the basement, now we know it was coming from inside the AC unit.
Do you have any idea what it’s like to live in a house you think is killing you or at the least causing your pain and fatigue? It’s pretty much horrible! Sometimes it brings about anxiety and I’m not usually an anxious person. My worst personal experience with anxiety was when I initially got sick with Lyme disease.
Potential for Healing
On one hand, finding out there’s possibly mold in our AC unit is causing me to panic, not to mention panicking over the expense of fixing it. On the other hand, I think I’m relieved to know that I’m not crazy and hopefully, we found the possible cause of my misery! I pray this is the only surprise we’ll have and that once we get the air conditioning system fixed my health will improve.
So here we go, another huge, expensive project hoping it’s the one that will help me to start feeling better! But isn’t that the life of someone who has or has ever had Lyme disease? We’re constantly searching for a way to heal completely and have the best life possible.
Have you experienced any shocking discoveries in your house? Was it something that negatively affected your health? How did you deal with it? If you’ve been treated for chronic Lyme and co-infections, and you’re not getting better, explore the possibilities of mold in either your home, school, or work environment.
My Review of The Lyme Solution
I just finished reading The Lyme Solution, by Darin Ingels, ND, FAAEM. This is a 5-part plan to fight the inflammatory auto-immune response and beat Lyme Disease.