Aspergillosis newbie

[KelNev]

I am 53 yo and was diagnosed with aspergillosis this year. 😔 Has anyone cured their aspergillosis with natural remedies? Also I get cold sensations in my arms and I was wondering if this symptom may be part of the illness. Thanks in advance.

[Carole4Jesus]

I am taking many natural herbs and supplements (I will list them) twice daily, and have been feeling better. Can't take the usual anti-fungals as I'm very dehydrated already, and do not want the side effects. And, from what I've read on medical sites, they do not work. I also track my urine and sputum for hyphae/mycelium and spores... bought a usb microscope which has been a blessing, and an education. As for the cold sensations, aspergillus causes nerve damage, numbness, temperature changes, night sweats, spike headaches, the list goes on and on. My email is [e-mail], I can share a lot of photos, some of aspergillus on my bedroom walls and back of furniture. I was sick a lot before I knew what it was from. All together it may have been over the past 5 years I have been exposed to and battling it. The list; raw garlic 4 or more cloves daily, oil of oregano 2xday, 1,000-2,000mg. vitamin C, grapefruit seed extract; 2xday, good multi-vitamin, extra D3, *the reason for extra nutrients is because the mycotoxins are absorbing yours. Alpha lipoic acid w/B complex 2xday helps with nerve damage, grass fed whey protein, *high protein is important. Hydration is important; it dehydrates you and ages you prematurely. Tumeric, cinnamon, cloves, fresh mint, try to avoid sugar, stevia is a good choice, and if possible no grains. Nuts and seeds are great, and you can bake with them. Greens, probiotics; lots! Echiacea and goldenseal, electrolytes *I use Emergen-C electro-mix, its unsweetened; I mix it with the vitamin C packs and split between 2 water bottles. Pau'd arc tea, breath easy tea, smooth move tea... eat as much fresh unprocessed foods as possible, no dairy if possible. Bentonite clay detox; draws out toxins internally and externally. I have had all symptoms of M.S. except tremors, muscle spasms are a problem. I know from experience you should move and discard anything that is porous, it will only go with you. I'm starting over; clothes and all. If I'm around mold my symptoms start up and I'm sick all over again. God bless you KelNev.

[KelNev in reply to Carole4Jesus]

Hi Carole. Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I feel like i'm in a health crisis and have extreme brain fog. I am writing this slowly. I have noted the things that gel with me because otherwise it's too much for me to take in. I am going for the natural anti fungals (oregano oil, olive leaf extract, garlic, cayenne pepper, a course of nebulizing colloidal silver, and high vitamin c, also more water and D3 spray and sunlight. Also looking into medical cannabis. I will try the bentonite clay also. I'm so sorry this happened to you and all the others out there suffering. What a hideous disease. I have no idea how I caught it. I've been asthmatic all my life and much to my horror, i smoked for many years. Have given up now for nearly a year. This is the ultimate blessing that this illness has given me. Going forward, many seem to have given up hope and are happy to take doctors meds, but I am not one of them. It's natural all the way from God's FARMacy for me, or nothing at all. Thanks again for passing on your knowledge, it helps to know i'm not the only weirdo trying to cure myself from natures medicine cabinet. God bless. Kelly xo

[Carole4Jesus in reply to KelNev]

I really understand, I'm doing better in some areas, memory is better, now its an upper respiratory infection and muscle spasms I'm dealing with. I am afraid we will see an increase in mold mycotoxin illnesses; many are dealing with floods and hurricanes and such. Whole families are suffering. Because you are asthmatic, your immune system is weaker, and that's how mold takes hold. Yes to the marijuana, eating it is better than smoking, our lungs really can't take it anyway. There are a lot of people using the naturals to heal, God knows best. God bless you too (((HUGS)))

[Hippie_Ree in reply to Carole4Jesus]

Hi My mom has been diagnosed with this infection on her brain and spine Dr are not helping her. She just found out 2months from what they thought was a stroke. They sent her to rehab for stroke rehabilitation. There she fell and bust her head badly no blood lose. She blk both eye nose swollen huge swollen knot and bruising on front of head over left eye. Dr perform two brain biopsy. On the sight of knot. But tell us her fall had nothing to do with this???Dr did scans thought it was tumors then spinal tap confirmed infection. They are not trying to treat her. Say no cure no meds and we must prepare for her death in a month. But my mom taught us to believe in natural healing. In me and my sis been giving her cbd oil in it keeps her alert. We not understanding how she be dead in a month if infection didn't spread in body or on organs. She has her memory still in control of muscle. And aware of all. They keep on strong.m pain meds so talking to her is hard. We want to take her sone were else but Dr keep us on minimum insight. We just can't let her die so any info is a blessing she was so healthy before she fell in nursing home walking talking and eating on her own. We know its no cure but we need more time. So if you can share info you have 🙏😪💔 she was in the best parts of life. She barely use her asthma pump for thats how healthy she felt a week before all this we were at a mall she walk the whole mall no asthma pump no oxygen she switched to natural herbs in was doing amazing. Please my mom last text to me was help me💔🙏 so some knowledge be a blessing

[Violethealt in reply to Hippie_Ree]

I hope your mom is in good condition and healthy now..

[Nicey in reply to Carole4Jesus]

Wow! These natural remedies is exactly what my fiancé is taking and when I tell you he has been 80% better. The antibiotics were dehydrating him, making him sick and we were constantly in and out the ER. I definitely would suggest these natural remedies/herbs that Carol is recommending!!

[Mclennonvicky in reply to Carole4Jesus]

That was really informative thank you.

[KelNev]

Funny you should say that, because my memory has become poor and I have a lot of brain fog which is embarassing to say the least. I'm having recovering from a flare and i'm feeling like I even though I know some of the natural things to use, the question is how much and how often and for how long? I wish there was some protocol, though I guess it would be different for different people. But a basic protocol would be good. At the moment I am hitting it with garlic, vit c 3 times a day, oregano oil 3 times a day, olive leaf extract 3 times a day, steaming once a day with eucalyptus or oregano oil, cayenne pepper caps (I make them up with organic cayenne) twice a day, coconut oil and, colloidal silver nasal spray, and nebulizing the colloidal silver in the morning and at night. So far so good, not finding any adverse reactions but perhaps not helping either. I wil keep going a little longer though because sometimes these things take time. Also licorice root tea for my adrenals that seem to be flaring, probably from the anxiety of feelinng so unwell. Will be adding mullein tea and on the shopping list, an antiviral/antifungal tincture by my local naturopath, grapeseed extract, and Thyme essential oil for steaming. I agree that many more people suffer from this than is apparent, and more will get it too, very sad I have heard that vaping with just cannabis and glycerin is ok, have heard COPD sufferers finding relief with it so am interested. Im needing to sleep during the day and mostly wake up with a thick sleep fog. The headaches and the body aches are what get me the most. I feel a little discouraged to be honest as this has thrown my whole life into chaos. But i'm a never give up sort of person, and have faith in the creator and natures bounty so I will plod on. Look up Barbara O'Neill on Youtube, her Natural Remedies video is awesome. She gives the recipe for a 'flu bomb' very early on in the video, and I find it knocks the bugs out before they can take hold. Worth a try. Thanks for your time again Carol. Blessings your way.

[sarab09 in reply to KelNev]

I was scoffed at by a world reknowned expert on aspergillosis when I said my 2nd biggest complaint (after not being able to breathe), was brain fog and loss of organizational abilities. Way too easy to say altzheimers! And ignore these cerebral/nervous symptoms most medical doctors ignore!! Even today when I met friends for lunch they each asked how much I had to drink already (2 PM) because I was losing sentences and walking with a stagger. I had nothing to drink alcoholic just my usual citron presses. And I am always tired and needing naps and now my eyesight is definitely being affected.

What I really want and pray for is a doctor or a healer who will look at my WHOLE BODY HEAD TO TOE and LISTEN to me WITHOUT LOOKING AT HIS WATCH for more then 10 minutes or even a half hour and STOP TRYING TO TREAT ME ONE BODY PART AT A TIME!! Is that really too much to ask? To be treated as an entire human being with a body and all its body parts having been invaded by aspergillus and other toxic molds and fungi??

Jesus, you don't have to have an MD or a PhD to realize that all our systems are interconnected and there are nerve synapses and mucous membranes and capillaries carrying around all these mycotoxins and molds and filments. Do NOT let them tell you that the brain fog is NOT related to your mold exposure! Or that your optic nerve and eyesight is NOT related to your mold and fungi exposure and your damp/moldy/sick house syndrome! They each want their next research grant in their teeny specialization which sadly is NOT our entire body!

May I suggest without being called a blind Shoemaker advocate (which I am not and I am in Europe so he is unaffordable to me and there are no Shoemaker protocol trained doctors over here that I can find), two papers which give me a better understanding of my own symptoms and the audacity and braveness to stick up to doctors who only want to talk about my lungs and sputum (yes, hard to do anything else if I can't breathe, but hard to care about breathing if I cannot THINK NOR SEE):

UnderstandingChronicInflammatoryResponseSyndrome(CIRS)Definition,Diagnosis,andTreatmentByNatashaThomas,M.D.

AND

CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY

RESPONSE SYNDROME

Overview, Diagnosis, and Treatment BY Keith Berndtson, MD

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD READING!! WE ARE TRULY RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN HEALTH AND GETTING BETTER!

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to sarab09]

You might like to also consider a non-US proposal to help understand the health impacts damp homes have on our health. The author proposed a hierarchy of sensitivities that relate to length of exposure which makes a lot of sense to us and what we see in clinic. Significantly there is no complex intensive treatment protocol as you might see proposed by a few US doctors though one important element is common to both - avoiding further exposure is a cure for most people.

aspergillus.org.uk/articles...

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

Sadly there is no naturalistic cure for aspergillosis, in fact, there is currently no cure for aspergillosis of any sort. Aspergillosis is a serious fungal infection and has to be treated with conventional medication, systemic antifungal drugs and others in order to manage to slow or stop deterioration caused by the growth of the fungus Aspergillus. Without this treatment, there is usually a low slow irreversible deterioration of lung function.

These are powerful drugs which can have several side effects so careful management is needed and you should work closely with your doctors to achieve the best results.

It is not unexpected that some people will feel unwell while taking conventional antifungal drugs and they will consequently hope to find an alternative which makes them feel less ill. It has to be said that most 'natural cures' will be 'gentler' on our bodies and make the patient feel a lot better especially if they take them instead of their prescription meds. Some may even start to think that they have been cured!

However, no matter which herbal medication (or other unconventional medication) you take the aspergillosis will quickly resume growing and lung function will start to deteriorate once more and once lost lung function usually does not return. Tempting as it may be there is truly no good alternative to taking prescription antifungal medication to treat aspergillosis.

Exercise and pulmonary rehabilitation can help with some side effects, a good varied diet can help boost your immune system and there are several things you can do to help prevent 'flare-ups' - see nacpatients.org.uk/ for ideas. Take care to keep stress and social isolation to a minimum.

[sgw12 in reply to GAtherton]

Well Dr.GAtherton,

It's been 3 years and counting for me on Alternative therapies and have stayed off Prednisone and no need for anti fungal. I do see my Pulmonary Specialist regularly so far so good👍

P.S. I was in bad shape 3 years ago when I started posting in here. When you see results it's hard to deny it.

Thank you,

Steve

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to sgw12]

That is great Steve - keep those Pulmonary Specialist visits regular and enjoy feeling good. Of course, if you start to experience worsening of symptoms don't delay in seeking medical advice.

[sarab09 in reply to GAtherton]

With all due respects Dr Atherton, your funding does come from major pharmceutical companies. I am not saying stay away from all traditional doctors. It is my total disappointment with the poor quality and horrible non-listening of GPs and specialists within the NHS that makes me distrust and angry with national medicine as mediocrity rewarding itself. When GPs do not even read and apply the directives and information available on the NHS website on toxic molds and symptoms, it really is difficult not to put more hope in alternatives, albeit with danger there too of quackery. So quackery vs licensed to inflict maximum pain during your allocated 8 minute office visit?? So please stop denigrating some natural aids and building up our immune systems with vitamins, better diets, etc.

Most of us are happy with some relief!! No need to add to the downer we wake up with every morning and usually once or twice in the middle of the night.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to sarab09]

Hi Sarab09

In point of fact my funding partly comes from a small medical charity (The Fungal Infection Trust fungalinfectiontrust.org FIT) and partly from the UK NHS. I have complete editorial freedom to write about what I believe is the truth without any pressure from drug companies.

To be completely open and transparent FIT receives funding from several large pharmaceutical companies but this is not tied to any required outcomes or indeed any contact at all that may influence what we write both here and on our medical websites eg nacpatients.org.uk

As the funding comes from several sources in roughly equal amounts we are also free of any suggestion that FIT may be biased towards any one company in particular.

In all cases, I rely on the highest quality information I can find, usually published and peer-reviewed scientific papers together with the experience of 18 years working with people who have aspergillosis, latterly at the UK NHS National Aspergillosis Centre, Manchester (nationalaspergillosiscentre....

[sgw12 in reply to GAtherton]

Dr Gatherton,

How can you say that "Alternative" Therapies cannot help or work better than Conventional Medicine? I guess you haven't really read my testimonies? Or others? Not saying everyone should just stop what they are doing Conventionally, but educate themselves first and decide which is better for them. If I had only listened to my Doctors, I'd be in bad or worse shape then I was before I started with an Alternative regimen. Doctors like yourself need to educate themselves as we as patients do in Alternative Methods. I'm sorry, but I really am living proof and so are others. Unfortunately because of big pharma and the like, Alternative Medicine will never fully be recognized.

Thank you,

Steve

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to sgw12]

I presume you are referring to my comment 'Sadly there is no naturalistic cure for aspergillosis' or perhaps 'However, no matter which herbal medication (or other unconventional medication) you take the aspergillosis will quickly resume growing'?

You will appreciate that this is a long way from stating that some of the alternatives to prescription drugs cannot help people. I would contend that I have yet to see any evidence that a herb or supplement will effectively combat the part of aspergillosis that relates to the infection but what they can do is combat other aspects of illness such as e.g. enhance awareness, nutrition and self management which is a very important part of encouraging a patient to get the best quality of life that they can.

Aspergillosis in its chronic form is incurable as we cannot successfully kill the infecting fungus, however, we can manage the infection & symptoms to maximise quality of life for as long as possible. This is done by finding a balance between conventional drugs and the many side effects they can cause (antifungal drugs are particularly good at causing side effects) and your breathing comfort and continued lung function.

Some of these people stop taking antifungal drugs and feel better - that is a conversation each individual should have with their doctor if needs be. However don't confuse feeling better in the short term with feeling well in the longer term and a longer life. For some it could be a choice, sadly for most it is forced upon them as they run out of treatment options.

Some of the alternative therapies might help make side effects more tolerable and/or give you a better quality of life alongside (not instead of ) conventional drugs - I think that is partly what functional doctors (ifm.org/functional-medicine/ ) are trying to do but I doubt there are many of those around who have expertise in treating aspergillosis. One day all medicine will get back to a person-centred practice, conventional medicine is going that way too england.nhs.uk/healthcare-s...

[sgw12 in reply to GAtherton]

So how would you explain my results with Alternative meds and therapy? And yes I was Chronic.

[sgw12 in reply to sgw12]

Also I haven't really stressed the word "cure" even tho I believe it's possible, but what I'm mainly saying is there are alternatives that can help manage without steroids, ant-i fungal and other harsh medications. You say there isn't, but I say there hasn't been many if any studies that any type of alternative therapy singular or in combination prove useless. So again how can you explain my results and others?

[Lisaros88 in reply to sgw12]

Hey Steve, still would like to touch base with you to hear what you’re doing. Just starting the steroids, using a nebulizer (supposed to be less aggressive on the body than the oral) and seeing an allergist next week to determine the anti-fungal treatment. I found a doctor that says she can treat me with herbal anti-fungals but really wanted to talk with someone first hand whose been through this. Any chance we can connect? Lisa

[sarab09]

i GET COLD sensations in my arms and all over my body. But also horrible hot flashes---much worse than menopause ones were. So yes, I attribute many of these body changes and sensations to our mold illnesses or CIRS or whatever you want to label this stew that is making us so very very ill all over not just our lungs. Please see more detailed information and two articles refs below. My eyes and mind are going too so can't repeat.

[Is_what_it_is]

amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00YI2S0...

Wonder balm, wormwood (oral supplement & bath soak), FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth, grapefruit seed extract (not grape seed - still beneficial); and garlic extract (if you’re unable to tolerate eating fresh raw garlic - definitely aim for fresh, with the green sprouts at the center; highly effective, it can be applied topically and is EXTREMELY effective in keeping nagging exes away.😂).

Wormwood was my saving grace & the wonder balm, regardless how laughable a $31 jar of 2 oz goop seems... In less than a week, all lesions are now fading pink spots; yes, literally covered head to toe after being misdiagnosed for over three years, lost a career of 12+ years & a cheating fiancé (no complaints there - hence the raw garlic bonus😉).

I have an incredibly long & dark back story I’m willing to share if anyone wishes; I would highly, HIGHLY recommend oral wormwood for at least a week & if it’s Aspergillus, you will see results (strongly encourage the soak as well - I personally started with the foot soak & was literally covered from head to toe so I put one in my bath.. saved my life). Completely alone in believing I had been misdiagnosed, even put on anxiety medication by family & physicians who thought I’d been hallucinating the findings I had; hindsight, treatments that worked were normally used in treating this particular fungi. Water damage in my home lead to a horrid growth in my room which I was finally able to confirm with a diy mold test kit confirming it; 1/4 bleach to hot water in a spray bottle and any phenol products (Lysol, lysol, lysol!).

A few trees around our home were also infected (since have been dropped & hauled off); same bleach mixture to vinyl, set for 15-20 minutes & then hose off. Aspergillus is literally everywhere so it’s best to educate yourself, it’s commonly found on the sides of homes & more frequently on or in those with any history of water damage.

Completely willing to emphasize on any of the above, God is good & never loose hope. It may take some time to overcome but slow motion forward is better than no movement at all, each day will become a little brighter.

Good luck! ☺️

[Is_what_it_is in reply to Is_what_it_is]

Tea tree essential oil with extra virgin olive oil as the carrier, cold pressed olives being the best by retaining their primary antifungal properties. This particular combination resulted in hairs coming out of my skin in which I believe to be ingrown hairs as a result of a full body growth after a three year misdiagnosis. Identical to those depicted by morgellins patients (literally had me freaked for quite some time prior to the Aspergillus diagnosis); my natural hair color is brunette, the hairs coming out of my skin were sometimes white, sometimes black, sometimes both.. some short & some long. All a product of the pigmentation having been effected by the fungi resulting in irregular growth.

Hope this helps.

[Alibythesea]

The most important thing to do is get away from where you got sick and find the least moldy place you can to live and heal. You will never heal otherwise. Lots and lots of good quality fresh air will help too as well as all the other useful suggestions on here .

[Violethealt]

How are you KelNev? I want to know your current condition. May i know what else the symptom of aspergilossis beside cold arm?

I am in the process of aspergillosis observation right now

[SaraJD123]

I and my son breathed in a lot of aspergillus and staccybotrys spores in a private rented unfurnished property from a damp wall with wall paper over it. I never received ANY help from the NHS in fact they refused to see me both in mycology and immunology in spite of regular GP referrals. I had 0 help from Environmental Health Department who ruled the place safe with the HHSRS which says DO NOT use on mould rendering us wrongfully evicted. We struggled sick and homeless. I had 38 symptoms and had lost my memory, ability to walk, breathe well, vision, tremors, night sweats, migraines, gastric problems, vomiting, odoema, chronic fatigue, lung problems. my son had chest infections, loss of balance and we both suffered brain disturbance and joint pains. That was 3 years ago. On discovering what had left me so weak I couldn't walk, climb stairs and wheelchair bound, hair lost etc.... we left the place... and went knocking on doors. All authorities ignored our scientific reports. I had a Shoemaker MRI at Neuroquant and confirmed brain injury. I had a Forensic building report and three other reports. I had visited many Drs prior with mystery illnesses. NO ONE helped before and NO ONE helped after. Apart from one private GP in St Albans who I found after three months of sickness and off school son - who was completely altered with these neurotoxins. We took CSM for a week and my son was able to return to school but still suffers dark moods, joint pain and can no longer live his 12 hour a week football dream - he does two and spends the next day in bed. His school dropped to 50% attendance, I've lost work and a life - we lost all friends and family who couldn't understand what had happened and thought we were making it up. Absurdly that is how little knowledge there is its a NATIONAL Disgrace. The NHS even called First Response on me as they'd never heard of this class 1 hazard, mycotoxins. So with ALL authorities ignoring it one has to ask WHY - where is the NHS support for inhalation of these toxic pathogens desperately needed by the 25% who cannot excrete naturally. The CIRS response is horrible and lasts a very long time. Gluten intolerance, vision lost, inflammatory issues, and on and on...... my son with depression, and extreme anxiety not just from the mould but the trauma we had by no authority listening or helping us. We could not afford medication or natural remedies support very much. ONE product though did save my life and that is a redox cell signalling water that helps with oxidative stress and cell death.... and managed to get us both out of a death grip.... we take it whenever we can and get a definite boost. It has stopped massive lung conditions when I found the mould I breathed millions of spores in....my brain felt on fire, and felt very disturbed... my liver is now congested, I had red sore flare ups on my face, hugely intolerant to wheat now... and alcohol has completely changed my response....so that's my help, Activated Charcoal helps, vitamin D helps, C0Q10 helps, asea redox really helped (in fact would go so far as to say saved my life), renu 28 helps the joints..... and honest to God why this isn't a MASSIVE issue for NHS and on its radar to support people I do not know. Does big pharma make more money through ignorance? Does Housing protect itself with wrong administration of the HHSRS in Councils? I'd say yes to both. A Noted CLASS 1 hazard and 0public awareness... typical UK, treat people like expendable cattle. It is a miracle my son and I survived. But we lost all our furniture, 6 months rent, 2 years income, endless trauma and stress, huge personal losses, mental health, physical health and 0 support. Apart from confirming blood test paid for privately at NHS for the HLA DR DQ test showing gene susceptibility. Obviously if you have no antibodies to clearing out mould nothing will be detected on a blood test..... Shoemaker's biotoxin illness chart explains it... and he made 0 money from me by observing the neuroquant and with out the cholestyremine my son may not have taken something of a recovery..... I share this because I know how hard it is to get support and my journey I hope can illumate others stuck in this horrific isolation with no support. There ARE supportive remedies... Drs saying there are not, or offering anti-fungals clearly don't know what they are doing. The sad part is that integrative medicine drs who specialise in this are not in UK and are so busy cannot take on anyone new. It really IS a national disgrace to the UK and something that needs urgent action. I wrote to Amber Rudd on it, no reply. I wrote to WHO on it, no reply. I now note that EMR encourages mould proliferation. Add to water damaged buildings the smart meters, 4G and even 5G madness and you are raising this toxic soup to epic proportions rendering auto-immunity, fibromyalgia, lung and brain conditions, parkinson's, CFS, RA, depression, anxiety, cancer, lukemia - the list goes on. My GP has tried to help but hands are tied. She cannot even comment about it in a letter! Also she consulted Public Health England who again Mislead her saying mould toxins cannot do harm through inhalation!!! Absurd.... this is a huge cover up and needs exposing. and fast.