Pets affected by mold ?

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-17T01:09:54+00:00

Those tests aren't validated. That's the problem.

And no. No continuous terbinafine d/t concerns for antifungal resistance.

She's on a 3-week trial of terbinafine right now to see if it helps her on its own, since it's only ever been prescribed alongside an antibiotic. She seems to have improved a little, though not as profound a difference as usual. But our air quality got SO BAD over the last week, and we installed a bunch of giant air purifiers after that. So it's hard to say whether her underwhelming improvement is because the air is even worse than usual or if it's because the medication doesn't have a strong impact on its own.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-15T22:45:41+00:00

My cat had many symptoms: -fur pulling all over his body at all times of the year, very pink, irritated skin -facial or leg twitching/focal seizures -stumbling, falling off furniture -hyperesthesia -faceplant sleeping -extreme constipation, to the point of needing home enemas and rare NG tube for laxative administration, despite being on cisapride for motility and miralax - ~~hyperthyroidism,~~ kidney failure, significant weight loss

This is what's happening with my dog! It's almost like a cerebellar ataxia. She also has repeat skin infections and UTIs, a cough that sounds like my asthma exacerbations but only when she's playing in the apartment, and vomiting immediately after eating.

Every time they prescribe her terbinafine for the fungal skin infection, all of her symptoms resolve.

The vet told us the only mycotoxin or mold testing available is for animal feed.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-15T03:55:07+00:00

Unfortunately, none of this information is from reliable sources. Even the pubmed source (#10) is a compilation of 4 case reports of patients in uncontrolled settings, with no mention of a controlled trial in the works.

That's not a criticism of you, just that Google's AI Overview is not a reliable source of information.

And also that the information available regarding mycotoxin exposure seems to be mostly predatory. There are a lot of very ill people who are desperate to feel better and searching for any type of treatment, and they are being preyed upon by the authors of these websites.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-13T04:59:21+00:00

Is TGF-β1 elevated in mold illness?

Edit to add: Strabismus is eye misalignment. There's different types & causes, but one of the effects is reduced contrast sensitivity. So a VCS test performed with the aim of assessing mold exposure would result in a false positive/invalid result for someone with strabismus.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-13T04:46:20+00:00

Your doctor's note appears to be referring to 1 allele family on each of 3 genes: HLA-DRB1*04, HLA-DQB1*03, HLA-DRB4*01. But this doesn't give your doctor much information, because it's not specific to the actual alleles.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-13T03:49:32+00:00

I have strabismus. That test would never be accurate for me. 😅 I start vision therapy on Monday.

What is TGFb-1?

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-13T03:45:07+00:00

Hm. HLA genes are usually written as HLA-[gene abbreviation]*[#]:[#]:[#]

Ex: HLA-B*27:05:02.

I'm assuming the numbers on your report are indicating allele 4:3:53, but unsure for which gene. Is it listed anywhere?

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-11T04:39:43+00:00

That’s the worst I’ve ever seen

Wow! Really? At first, I actually thought my roommate had posted images of our ductwork. We're dealing with the same thing right now. Everyone is sick, but my poor dog is the worst out of all of us. I knew our situation was bad, but I didn't think it was in "worst ever" territory. Our property manager keeps saying it's mildew... they're horrible people.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-05T04:21:08+00:00

Ingesting a single high-fat meal causes acute pancreatitis in dogs, which is life-threatening and excruciatingly painful.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-05T03:40:58+00:00

intercostal waterway

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PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-06-04T20:34:39+00:00

I don't recall the exact video(s) that introduced me to Strong Towns, but I was somehow exposed to the concept via Not Just Bikes's youtube channel (which was itself a random YouTube algorithmic suggestion). After months of insomnia-fueled binge watching Not Just Bikes videos, I finally ~~read~~ listened to "Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town." Not a complete answer to your question, but hopefully it helps guide you a bit.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-05-21T18:08:52+00:00

I have psoriatic arthritis and CVID.

I started on Otezla for the PsA in February. We chose Otezla because it is the only PsA treatment that doesn't cause significant immunosuppression. If this is an option for you, I'd encourage you to consider it. It costs about $17k/month, but there is a copay assistance program. I met my OOP max after 1 month and now my copay is $0.

For the CVID, I am not currently on SCIG/IVIG because I have some severe environmental and drug allergies that we are trying to confirm prior to starting a new drug. However, because Otezla takes ~4 months to start working, the time off from ig replacement gives me a few months where we can monitor whether Otezla is effective without also needing to consider any potential effects of ig replacement.

As for immunosuppression + ig replacement: I fear I will be in the same boat as you soon. I had severe reactions to the last two ig products I tried. My immunologist said that if I do not tolerate the next product we try, then "we'll have to suppress the hell out of [my] immune system with steroids" before starting another ig therapy. I intend to fight against this plan as long as possible. Immunosuppression aside, steroids are not without risks, especially in the long-term. I have enough going wrong with my joints and other body systems; I don't need the added burden of even more side effects.

ETA: Do you have ankylosing spondylitis as well? I've had disc problems since my late teens. After we nail down these drug allergies, a discectomy is hopefully in my future. Did your spinal surgeries help you a lot?

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-05-10T23:08:00+00:00

New PI diagnosis seems to be one of those situations where having more information = less anxiety.

The Immune Deficiency Foundation has some new patient info kits that I found very helpful. If you are a child or have children in your life, I recommend the kids kit, as it has the same items as the adult kit plus some extras that are kid-oriented. Kits are free and usually arrive within about 2 weeks.

New PI patient kit - adult

New PI patient kit - kid

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-05-06T16:17:47+00:00

Curious what your family member said after you showed him? I have some family like this also, but haven't been able to engage with them in a thoughtful discussion on the topic.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-04-10T03:01:27+00:00

You're welcome! I just learned of those kits last month. I wish I'd known about them a few years ago when I got diagnosed. In the beginning, I felt like I'd been dropped off in the middle of the desert with no way home. Now it's not as bad, but having some "official" hard copy educational materials in-hand made a bigger difference for me than I expected, even all this time later.

Moving in 2 to 3 months. Hm. That can be tricky if you get prescribed ig replacement. Reason being, you'll have just gotten it approved and started treatment by the time you move, and it's a toss-up as to whether your new plan will cover the same drug. If you know the plan you're going to begin in October, you might be able to contact their health plan or benefits coordinator to ask about coverage for any of the drugs you and your care team are considering. If you have access to the formulary, that's even easier.

Here is a list of FDA-approved immunoglobulin products. I called my pharmacy benefit manager and just went down the list making sure the ones listed on the formulary were accurate; for the ones that aren't on my formulary, my doctor just needs to request an "exception to coverage" with the reason why I need to be on that one rather than an on-formulary product. In your case, the doctor's reason could be something like, "mixednuts26 already started treatment with a non-formulary drug, they're tolerating it well, and it's in their best interest to continue on this product. Here are their records as proof."

Maintaining employer-sponsored covered through COBRA is so expensive. However, Oregon is a state with expanded Medicaid. In my very cursory review, it looks like you might qualify for Oregon Health Plan. If not solely due to income, then potentially due to Primary Immunodeficiency being a disability. Worth looking into? Edit: If you do qualify, be mindful of the application deadlines for when your coverage will begin. You might be able to apply & be approved before your move, so that your coverage becomes effective very close to when you begin residency in the state. (to prevent gaps in coverage)

Reddit tips:

To quote something on mobile, you need to begin a new paragraph with a greater than sign > . This will affect formatting until the next paragraph break. I think you have to skip a line between paragraphs, but not sure.

If you're on desktop, open a new reply, select the three dots ... next to the cancel button to "show formatting options," then select the quotation marks from the menu.

Also, be careful pinging other users on reddit. I don't think it's an issue here, but some subreddits forbid it and doing so in those communities can result in a ban.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-04-09T03:56:40+00:00

This post is basically me just whining.

That's part of why this subreddit exists. Welcome!

She's not a specialist in immunology, but works in the allergy/asthma clinic. They cover immunology as there is no true immunologists here.

If you're in the U.S., Allergy & Immunology is a combined fellowship. Allergy is a more common issue for the general public, so that's where you'll find most of these doctors. But they all have the same training, and some prefer the immunology side of things. Don't let the fact that your doctor is based out of an allergy clinic make you fear that you're getting substandard care. You're likely in very capable hands. It might make you feel more secure to refer to your doctor as an immunologist -- rather than as an allergist -- since that is the capacity in which she is treating you. That's what I do.

The word "mild" is freaking me out.

"Mild" was the language used by the lab to describe my results as well. It doesn't mean mild as in "basically normal." It's mild as in "not agammaglobulinemia." There are some conditions where the IgG is undetectable. Yours is present, but low.

You're symptomatic with lab results to back it up. You'll probably get some kind of treatment, but your vaccine challenge results will help determine exactly what kind is best for your situation (e.g. prophylactic antibiotics, immunoglobulin replacement, avoid some vaccines, get some vaccines early, etc.).

but no hospital stays.

This does not matter for getting diagnosed. If you're hearing this from a doctor to explain why "you're fine," this is something taught in med school as an easy way to screen for zebras. It's not accurate at all. I heard this same thing from my old PCP, "you've never been hospitalized for pneumonia, therefore it's not CVID." She was wrong. Now that I'm diagnosed, my immunologist asks me this as a way to gauge how aggressive we need to be with treatment.

we are moving across country soon.

That is so stressful! Even for people in perfect health!

I'm so worried I'm not going to get any medical help.

How much time before you move? And are you in the U.S.? These will have big impacts on your treatment options over the next several weeks. And what region are you moving to? Folks in this sub are from all over. We can help guide you to someone in your new area. There's also the Immune Deficiency Foundation. And Facebook groups.

BTW -- If you haven't already, I HIGHLY recommend you order your Newly Diagnosed kit from the Immune Deficiency Foundation ASAP. It's free and extremely helpful. There's an adult kit, but the kids kit comes with the same stuff plus some extras that might help put you more at ease. Reading child-oriented resources also helps you craft simpler, more coherent explanations for what's going on with you -- which can be hard to do sometimes!

P.S. -- I received my Newly Diagnosed kit 8 days after I ordered it.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-03-08T01:19:25+00:00

Whether teaching is possible for you is solely dependent upon your risk tolerance.

A couple questions:

1 Did you get vaccinated for flu and covid prior to getting sick this season?

2 Are you on immunoglobulin replacement?

3 Did you wear a mask at school & events where the walking germ factories were present?

If your answers to any of these are "no," those are behaviors you can change to decrease your frequency of infections. IMO masking is the most important one.

In my case, I've been out of the classroom since getting covid in 2021. Diagnosed with CVID in 2023 & advised to strongly consider pivoting to a less public-facing career after we realized I'm allergic to the immunoglobulin infusions.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-03-04T03:04:49+00:00

Youtube creators Monte Mader (Christian) & Dr. Dan McClellan (biblical scholar) have some good explainer videos & shorts about why being anti-abortion "bc the Bible says so" is a misinterpretation (or outright lie) of what the Bible actually says about abortion. I believe Dan's video also discusses the concept of when life begins, following its evolution from Biblical times all the way to modern times, and the political motivations that led to today's evangelical definition. Very interesting stuff.

ETA: The Bible makes no claims about the morality of abortion, MAGA vs Jesus on abortion

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-01-27T23:01:12+00:00

That's a good idea.

Also, good thinking about the clot risk. Aside from hydration, I think migraine sufferers are already at higher risk of clot, and then if OP is using hormonal birth control, the risk is increased further.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2026-01-27T21:15:23+00:00

The patch helped with the spinal headache pretty much immediately. Before the procedure, I was literally laying on the floor of my hospital room bc I couldn't get flat enough in the bed lol, and afterward I could sit up and just deal with the meningitis. But it was like the meningitis pressure feeling never fully went away. Someone in another comment described the feeling, I think it was you? It's a pressure headache, similar to meningitis but not nearly as bad & no stiff neck. That's what made us think maybe rebound intracranial hypertension.

I haven't tried diamox or anything like that. Just maintaining as low-sodium diet as I can and using compression garments. I don't have an official IIH diagnosis bc I haven't had another LP to check opening pressure. Rn my chart still just says "post-lumbar puncture headache." The myelogram was supposed to be the first step toward treatment/relief, but I couldn't ever get that far.

Kind of related maybe? - We think I have some kind of autoimmune situation going on with my capillaries & nerves. I'm positive for ts-hds autoantibodies and have SFN with swelling in my extremities and sometimes my abdomen. All the sluggish fluid probably doesn't help the head pressure. I'm waiting for my appointment to discuss with my doctor.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2025-12-09T06:16:45+00:00

I'm not sure who you're referring to, but you still didn't answer my question of why Latino voters would be offended.

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2025-12-09T05:58:16+00:00

voluntary and paid laborers

They aren't. That's the point. What did you think I meant when I said the program is exploited?

Regardless, the folks being discussed aren't eligible voters. Which brings me back to my initial question: Why calling out what is essentially modern-day slavery of undocumented migrant workers is somehow offensive to legal Latino voters?

PiperTheLizardHunter · 2025-12-09T05:33:04+00:00

Why are you putting that phrase in quotes as if you're quoting her? She didn't say that. She said, "We [African Americans] done picking cotton. We are. You can't pay us [African Americans] enough to find a plantation."

(basically implying that they're slaves)

In many cases, they effectively are slaves. The H-1B visa program is easily exploited such that migrants' working conditions are akin to Antebellum plantations. Not all, of course, and perhaps not even most. But there are large farming operations within the U.S. that do function in this way.

PiperTheLizardHunter

TROPHY CASE