When people are suffering from mold toxicity, they often go undiagnosed because their symptoms can appear to be related to other issues. Due to this, they often start to view these symptoms as “normal,” letting them become a part of their everyday life, despite how they negatively impact their health. If any of the symptoms listed below are things you’re experiencing on a day-to-day basis, mold toxicity could be the culprit.
Mold Health Impact 1: Depression
In a healthy brain, the production of neurotransmitters that affect mood is self-regulated, naturally avoiding an imbalance that could lead to depression. When mold toxins are introduced to the body, it can negatively affect these levels in several ways, resulting in mood disorders. Mold toxicity, for example, is extremely destructive to the gut lining, which leads to a leaky gut. This, in turn, prevents the conversion of tryptophan to 5-htp, a necessary step in the body’s production of serotonin. Suppose mold toxins are present in the brain. In that case, it can cause the pituitary gland to shut down, decreasing or eliminating the production of brain hormones and further contributing to mood imbalance.
The black mold toxin trichothecene also often accumulates in the Prefrontal Cortex, shutting down dopamine production. Since the Reward Center (responsible for the feeling of happiness or pleasure) runs off dopamine, patients who are mold toxic often struggle to be unmotivated to participate in activities they previously enjoyed. It can make patients feel these activities are no longer “worth it.”
Mold Health Impact 2: Paranoia and Anxiety
High levels of toxic molds, such as the trichothecene black mold toxin or the Ocratoxin-producing Aspergillus Mold, can often cause paranoia. Paranoia and anxiety can occur when a mold-toxic brain produces excessive levels of glutamate and PEA, two powerful electrifying brain chemicals that cause an over-electrified nervous system. Since many doctors are unaware of mold toxicity’s effects on a patient’s body, doctors will address the symptoms produced by mold toxicity by prescribing drugs like Klonopin or Xanax to calm their over-electrified, anxious brains. Unfortunately, this masks a more significant issue that can only be solved by detoxifying the body of these mold toxins.
Mold Health Impact 3: Irritability and Rage
Mold-toxic patients often feel out of control in their own brains, describing the feeling by saying that it feels as if their brain is “hot-wired.” This sensation can be hard to understand without personally experiencing it, often causing a mold-toxic person to feel misunderstood by their family and peers; however, science has taught us that this “hot-wired” feeling is caused by the excessive electrical activity in the brain due to mold toxicity.
With the understanding that those experiencing excito neurotoxicity say that it feels like they have been “plugged into an electrical socket,” it’s easy to see why they feel aggravated or aggressive. Over time, as mold toxicity worsens in a patient, the “over-electrified” brain feeling causes a confusing emotional combination of anxiety and also depression. With this volatility of emotions, it’s no wonder mold-toxic patients grow irritable and exhibit rage.
Mold Health Impact 4: Parkinson’s Disease
A Parkinson’s disease diagnosis often results in a feeling of hopelessness. However, one of Dr. Sponaugle’s patients, Amy, did not give in to depression. Amy credits the onset of her illness to her exposure to high levels of black mold during her time spent assisting with humanitarian efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In just one month, Amy started to experience profound neurological interferences in her walking ability.
Eventually, Parkinsonian rigidity and episodic paralysis left her bedridden. After being unable to improve with the help of traditional Parkinson’s medication and integrative approaches, Amy came to Sponaugle Wellness Institute. Receiving treatment at Sponaugle Wellness allowed Amy’s health to improve in ways she could not accomplish elsewhere. Learn more about her progression and treatment at Sponaugle Wellness in her VIDEO: Learn More About Amy’s Parkinson’s Symptoms as a Result of Exposure to Black Mold.
Mold Health Impact 5: Short-term Memory Loss
Do you ever walk into a room and think, “What did I come in here for?” Mold toxicity may be the reason. When mold mycotoxins are present in the body, they destroy the myelin sheath through lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress. The most sensitive organ to this toxin-induced reduction of electrical activity is, of course, the brain.
Additionally, the most sensitive brain region to toxin-induced down-regulation is our executive center, known as the prefrontal cortex, or PFC. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex houses our shortest of short-term memories. This is where our four second-learning and processing memory is most sensitive. So, when individuals initially become mold toxic, they experience brain fog, difficulty focusing, and forgetfulness.
Mold Health Impact 6: Bipolar and Schizophrenic Tendencies
Glutamate is an amino acid found throughout every part of the body. In the nervous system, however, glutamate is used as a neurotransmitter. When patients are exposed to extreme levels of mold toxins, glutamate levels rise dramatically, causing patients to exhibit bipolar and schizophrenic tendencies. Sadly, most psychiatrists will not link their behavior to a mold toxicity issue, leaving thousands of patients misdiagnosed.
If a patient whose bipolar tendencies result from mold toxicity is prescribed bipolar medication, the result won’t be a normalization of mood. Instead, it will result in a feeling of emotional numbness or detachment. Fortunately, when Dr. Sponaugle identifies mold toxicity in a patient who exhibits bipolar tendencies, he can utilize intravenous toxin removal to help resolve these symptoms.
If you’re experiencing any combination of these symptoms and have not been able to resolve them through traditional treatments, consider that mold toxicity could be the root of the issue. Learn more about how mold toxins can impact your health and how to identify risks in your own home so that you have the power to be your advocate.
The most important thing to remember is that there is always hope. Not every patient is the same, but at Sponaugle Wellness Institute, patients are given the best opportunity to regain their health.
Dr. Rick Sponaugle, MD, is a licensed medical doctor in Florida, integrative physician, and board-certified anesthesiologist. With an emphasis on Environmental Medicine, Dr. Sponaugle specializes in treating brain and neurological disorders derived from Mold Toxicity, Industrial Toxicity, Gut Toxicity, Neurological Lyme disease, and five additional stealth infections that attack the Brain and Neurological system of most patients. Our Medical Director, Rick Sponaugle, MD, is an integrative physician who attempts to prioritize treatment through quality forensic medicine. Performing an analysis of 400 numerical bio-markers in his initial consultation, Dr. Sponaugle's goal is to diagnose and treat the underlying cause of your multiple symptoms.
