[californiajenn]

I just received my food sensitivity test results and one of the top allergens was aspergillus niger, which happens to be everywhere. Casein was my other top allergen and I have a moderate sensitivity to eggs, cucumber, vanilla, and pineapple. The eggs and pineapple may be a false positive due to vaccines and enzymes. I feel fine eating my moderate allergens.

I would like to know if anyone else is battling this mold and if they've ever healed/lessened the sensitivity to it? Should I throw out my bed and furniture, clean them, or are they fine after airing out away from the mold? Do I need to avoid peanuts, cashews, onions and grapes?

Additional info:
I'm nearly positive I am reacting to this mold b/c the house I moved out of 4 months ago had tons of mold. When we were moving our bedroom things out, I found mold all along 2 walls and in the attached sunroom. It had a dirt basement with white powdery stuff along a wall and rotting window frames. None of this was evident without a close inspection.

I never had food allergies before I lived in that house (at least known) but have been gluten, casein, corn, wine, and sugar - free and low on grains, honey, and tomatoes, water kefir and fermented pickles. My ears get inflamed, sometimes filling with fluid (no infections) and the fluid may move into my nasal passages. My neck gets very tight and my jaws can ache. In an extreme reaction I get so itchy I want to scratch my head off and 1-2 days later I have bowel issues.

To complicate matters, I had major jaw surgery to correct an underbite about 11 years ago and am having TMJ issues now. I think the eustachian tube has been so inflammed it has really messed up my jaw. It swings to the right a lot when I close my jaw.

Additionally, I'm on the GAPS intro diet right now and have had almost no die off symptoms which is odd, only a tiny amount of gas (TMI, sorry) and slight itchy head. I also started my period which does not help in the TMI department. While I don't want to add gluten and sugar back to my normal diet (not that they were in it much to begin with), I want to be able to eat out and with friends. My hope was to heal my gut enough to get some foods back but if I don't have a leaky gut then is GAPS even going to help? If I make sure to eat a fermented veggie with beets, I pass the pee test. If I forget, I don't pass.

Recently I was diagnosed with a small fungal skin issue on my neck. Tea tree oil twice a day is kicking it.

I have seen or am seeing a:
Naturally minded MD - mostly a waste but did give me great referrals

Acupuncturist - Really helped calm my ear down. Am not seeing her anymore but would if I thought it would help

Chiro - 2. First one got me comfortable but didn't help me push to healing. Second one I am currently seeing is wonderful. He is the #2 person in town for TMJ issues. He says I am a special case b/c we've corrected my jaw once and it won't correct anymore. Grr. May be referred for an orthodic.

ND - currently seeing. Thinks we can definitely heal my food sensitivities as she does it all the time. She did not seem to know a ton about aspergillus niger but was researching it. Is supportive of my choice to try GAPS and wants me on as few supplements as possible.

Massage - got my first theraputic massage for this just today. It helped a TON.

Insurance does not cover the massage and possibly the ND.

My current care plan is to continue GAPS, am taking bottled probiotics 1-2 caps a day, eating homemade sauerkraut 1-4 x day, digestive enzymes with nearly every meal, 4-6 caps a day of FCLO, 3 x daily of OxyPerm and Permeability Factors by Integrative Therapeutics, and 2000 iu's of Vitamin D3.

Sheesh.

Anyone know anything that could help?

 

[meg-momto2]

i think i'm your allergy twin. i'm living in rental that has a mold problem. we paid out of pocket to have it inspected in Jan. and the aspergillus mold count is crazy high inside. i lost my sense of smell after a horrible sinus infection 6 weeks after moving in. since then my health has just gotten worse and worse. i finally got into my PCP last month and had some blood work followed by an allergist appt. i'm allergic to EVERYTHING outside and three molds. all my skin prick rows were giant hives. my jaw and gums swell from all the inflammation and pressure from my sinuses. i'm seeing an ENT in a few weeks to make sure i don't have polyps and to see why my ears are constantly full of fluid. it looks like some gave me two black eyes and the fatigue is unreal.

i'm doing grapefruit seed extract and probiotics to work on and fungal and yeast issues. i've been taking vitamins and extra vita-D and will be picking up more vita-C this weekend. i'm also going of gluten as i've noticed it make my sinuses flair up and give me heart palpations.

i really want to go the natural route be i can't pay out of pocket for much. we need to move when our lease is up in a few months and that will hopefully get things on the road to clearing up.

i would definitely work on replacing anything that could have absorbed the mold spores. if you can't afford that at least get some protective allergy covering for your bed and pillows. do you clean you sinus out daily?

 

[meg-momto2]

i just thought of something else. do you have air purifiers and dehumidifiers in your new place? those would at help keep the mold count down in your home.

 

[californiajenn]

Sorry you are going through this too meg but it's comforting to know someone is going through this too. I feel like I'm crazy half the time. Luckily doctors can see in the ear how swollen it is so I have proof.

Meg - with your medical issues and mold report you should be able to move now. Report this all to your landlord and if they don't get this fixes immediately, I'm pretty sure most states will let you break the lease. Since we've moved, I'm doing much better if I stay away from my problem foods.

I would put money on you having several food allegies now. The first I would remove is dairy as it is mucas forming and only makes your mucus issues worse. I would also remove gluten as it infammatory. You may want to consider the anti-inflammatory diet. It was one of the first things I did and it helped me figure out my allergens. Once I removed most of the allergens, I've been A LOT more comfortable.

To answer your questions - we do not have an air purifier but it's on my To Get list. There's only so much money in the bank account after paying for all of these appointments and supplements, plus life in general, like an emergency vet visit and fixing a broken car in one week. I was able to borrow a purifier for a few weeks due to another issue (I accidentally left the stove on high and it was very smokey for couple days) and it definitely helped. I'm going to borrow a mattress allergy cover from a friend until I can get a new bed.

I don't have a dehumidifier b/c the new place is pretty dry. I guess it couldn't hurt; though, ironically, my daughter needs a humidifier for her excema since it's flared again after moving into the dry house.

Let me know if you want a detailed account of my healing path. It may be helpful for you to narrow down a few things.

Thanks for responding. I've searched so much and there is very little out there on healing from this mold. :-(

 

[meg-momto2]

the landlord is supposedly fixing the issues the inspector suggested could be causing the mold. so far he's only had the vapor barrier put in under the house. we have not mentioned our health issues yet because i didn't feel like i have proof of anything. now that's getting things sorted out i'll have at least two doctors notes for me and i'm sure i could get ones for my DS and DH. both of them have been having respiratory issues for many months. i'm slowly getting DH on my side about breaking our lease. i think he thought i was just being a hypochondriac.

we are already mostly dairy free. the kids don't get dairy and i'll have the occasional bit of cheese which will be easy to drop. i just received my GF bread flour so we can't start our GF diet this week. i agree that i probably have a ton of foods i need to avoid. i'm working on a food journal for myself to see if i can narrow it down on my own.

my allergist wants to start me on allergy shots and gave me prescriptions. i'm pretty sure i can get it under control if i can get my diet and home in order. i'm the kind of person who hates taking tylenol for headache, although i've been popping them like candy in the last few months because of the headaches. i've always had seasonal allergies but never anything like this. it's just spiraled out of control. i hope it's not to late and that i can still recover with no permanent issues.

 

[Dorindak9]

OMG! I have been battling the Aspergillus Niger issue for years! I also believe my sensitivity started when I lived in a home

that had the black mold in the walls. Since that time I cannot eat High Fructose Corn syrup, citric acid, and a host of other food additives that are made using the black mold as an enzyme.

In my research I have found that this mold is used in dozens of enzymatic processes, including those to affect the color and ripening of cheese.

My specific reaction is an immediate asthma attack when I consume any of these products. Unfortunately, the FDA has deemed this mold as GRAS, which means "generally recognized as safe". It is used in so many processes, including cleaving gluten from wheat and corn.

My most recent asthma attack was caused by caramel coloring used in a brown gravy mix. Apparently the caramel color is made with citric acid, which is made using black mold.

Below is a partial list of enzymes made with Aspergillus Niger that are used in food processing:

Citric Acid

High Fructose corn syrup

caramel coloring

gluconic acid

glucoamylase

pectinase

alpha galactosidase

glucose oxidase

apha amylase- in flour

peroxidase- adjusts the color of cheese

asparaginase- reduces contaminents in heated food

rennet

chymosin

peptidase

carboxypeptidase- hastens the ripening of cheese

As for me, I have gone to all natural and organic foods so I literally don't die