Aspergillosis levels

[Pooeysuey]

My husband has been told that the Itraconazole levels in his blood are too high so he has to adjust his medication. Unfortunately his Aspergillis levels have hardly dropped from 2000 to 1800. If he removed himself from what I believe to be the source of the problem (the house) are his levels likely to drop?

[Lutonian]

'Pooeysuey'

Sorry to hear about your husbands illness.Do you know the specific aspergillus species involved in your husbands illness?

What makes you believe that house is the source of your husbands fungal issues? How long have you lived in this house and are there periods eg holidays when your husband is not in house for significant time? Does he start to feel an improvement?

If you and your husband are living in a mould affected house then "yes" this could be affecting his ability to recover.It depends on a no of factors that can influence how much an individual can be affected in a mould affected environment whilst another person may not,to date, exhibit symptoms(no guarantee they won't at some point in future though)

Read Hindawi Review Article "A Review of Illnesses and Treatment Approaches Resulting from Exposure to Water Damaged Buildings ,Mold and Mycotoxins "

Hope he improves soon

[Pooeysuey in reply to Lutonian]

Thank you for your reply. We have lived in the house for 12 years and I bought one of those Home tests which said Aspergillis spores found. I was hoping to have the walls in the lounge tested properly by someone from Wythenshaw. I don’t know his type of Aspergillus. Whenever we are away from the house, even in the very big airy cattle shed with all the hay, he feels better and when we are completely away ( we don’t have holidays ) at friends he says the difference is quite noticeable. I will read the article. He had asthma so obviously his lungs were more susceptible. I hope my lungs stay ok.

[Lutonian in reply to Pooeysuey]

'Pooeysuey'

From what you've said you have 3 options

i)get property remediated to remove all mould ;dependant on extent of mould growth,building design etc this may not be easy or too costly

Ii)if you have space/outbuildings build a new structure/mould free safe space (plenty of shed type structure/log cabins even metal sheds eg insulated 'Steeltech Sheds' )with clean environment that your husband can sleep in; good night's sleep in a clean environment will do him a world of good.

Iii) Move out of the mould affected house into a different property that you have checked out is ok.

I appreciatw that dependant on circumstances, this is not as easy as it sounds.

[Pooeysuey in reply to Lutonian]

No sadly it is a rented farm and a landlord who doesn’t give a toss!! The house we own (and rent out) 35 miles away is so much better. We have to give a years notice to leave the Farm (the tenancy ends in 2020) but can’t until 2019 because of the tenancy and we also have 200 head of cattle!! I think the old caravan is better than the house. Life is just too complicated at the moment.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

You don't mention what your husband's diagnosis is so it is difficult to advise accurately. Does he have an aspergillosis or other fungal infection?

[Pooeysuey in reply to GAtherton]

He just has the diagnosis of ABPA and now Adrenal Insufficiency has tagged along as well!!

[Mruane1974]

In hindsight I stupidly took up my carpet and removed fitted wardrobes and scrubbed the mould off my walls then painted the whole lot (with my dads help).This was self diagnosed as well,i have no test results as yet. I felt so poorly I had to try and stop it.I was breathless,wheezing,exhausted and deoressed.However,believe it or not only one week on I feel better and my GP said there was a marked improvement in my breathing.Whether it is psychological,monteleukast tablets or new fostair 200 inhaler I dont care,just glad to not be gasping for breath.

So I guess what I am saying if anyone has any mould on their walls please have it investigated and removed professionally.It was literally poisoning me

[Pooeysuey in reply to Mruane1974]

That's what worries me in our lounge. I am still waiting to hear from Wythenshaw to send someone down to us to test the walls for the Aspergillosis. I really need to get rid of the wallpaper but where some of it has come down, there is this horrible looking stuff behind it - I don't want to take it down and make my husband any worse, so I need to know really. Glad you are feeling better.

[Carole4Jesus in reply to Pooeysuey]

I don't think you should do the clean up yourself, you'll have spores all over you and your husband will really suffer. Aspergillus is one of worst molds around. I didn't know it was on the back of my headboard, nightstand and dresser, and all along the side of my bed. Its taking a long time to recover. God bless you both.

[Carole4Jesus in reply to Mruane1974]

I too cleaned the mold from the walls, every time it rained, or the sprinklers hit the side of the house we were leasing. 4 yrs. of breathing it in, getting sicker all the time. Nearly all of the M.S. symptoms. Chronice sinus infections, upper respiratory infections. Had to quit jobs as I was so fatigued. I was a cleaning lady for 20 years and nobody ever taught about mold/mycotoxins. Moved to newer house in desert, but didn't know I shouldn't have brought my things from the old house. Most of it is tossed now, and I'm on a natural foods/supplements course and I'm much better than 2 mos. ago. God bless you.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

Reducing any external environmental exposure might help ABPA patients but we can't yet be sure. However if your home is obviously damp & mouldy then reducing exposure by remediating or moving out is associated with improved general respiratory health - You have already noticed an improvement when you move out so this is an easy decision to make with regard to your respiratory health. It is a less easy decision to make with regard to your working life but staying in a home that worsens your health is something that may irreversibly damage your health and therefore not something I would encourage you to do.

NB your landlord has a duty of care and it should be possible to argue your case to leave legally - there is help with this at nacpatients.org.uk/damp_gen...

[Carole4Jesus]

Yes, the house and belongings make a huge difference... I had to let go of most of my things, and did the natural route for healing; can't do the antifungals. I've seen a big difference in 2 mos. If you want to know what I'm using, eating... please let me know. God bless you and your husband.