My MCS Story
Part 1
Some persons with MCS can point without hesitation to a specific environmental challenge that changed their lives overnight. With others, a series of small challenges crept up on them mercilessly, taking them by surprise. With me, it was a little of both. Lots of small challenges and a few biggies, each just part of a long line of dominoes all waiting to fall over. So, sit with me, if you like, while I pick up some of the dominoes and examine them one by one.
My Early Years
Looking back, I had problems with chemicals even as a child. I was always affected more than most by car exhaust and other airborne contaminants. I could not tolerate medicines well and would put up with almost any pain rather than take an aspirin. I was on daily doses of sulfa-drugs for much of my childhood due to a case of rheumatic fever and a heart valve problem that is now called mitral valve prolapse. My temperature always ran a few degrees below normal. Something else of interest is that as a young child I often ate the heads of matches. When my mother told the doctor about it, he said that I was probably craving sulphur.These things did not mean much to me then, but now they all mean something in light of what I have learned about chemical sensitivities.
Something's Wrong
Once married, I recognized only that I had to be careful about laundry products and got headaches from strong perfumes. Oven cleaners and bug spray would incapacitate me for days, so I tried to keep their use minimal. I was given to hobbies, which usually meant some type of chemical exposure, but I found that I could "get used to" the effects of most of the products if I kept up working with them long enough. My greatest attachment to a hobby was several years spent making porcelain dolls.
Not long into the dollmaking I started having strange episodes of diarrhea, vertigo, dry-mouth, numbness in the arms and legs, and severe muscle weakness, sometimes accompanied by strong tremors and jerking. One time in particular I was so ill that I had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, experiencing seizure-like, rhythmic jerking all the way in. I was told that it was probably a virus of the nervous system, and nothing to worry about.
I stopped making dolls because my health would not allow it. I was pleasantly surprised when my health seemed to improve after that, but I never made a connection between my health problems and my hobby. I would find out later that heavy metals in the china paints were making me ill. In the mean time, I found a new hobby, faux-painting. Though the paint fumes definitely bothered me, I found that the symptoms seemed to "go away" if I just gave it some time.
Eventually, though, my health declined severely. I often had such balance problems that I would stagger and fall into walls at home. I would sometimes crawl up stairs at home because I did not have the balance or the strength to walk them. Our family doctor diagnosed MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and for several months we thought that was the problem. I felt relieved to finally have some answers, but numb over the outlook.
I read everything I could about MS. I read a book that dealt with the problem of MS and dental fillings, which led to a decision to have my amalgam fillings removed. I enjoyed immediate improvement in my health, in fact, I could not remember feeling better in my life for the following six months. MS had been ruled out.
The Tip of the Iceberg
Unfortunately, because I then felt that my amalgam fillings had been the cause of all my problems, and not just a part of them, I went about using my improved health as a license to start painting again. Also, it seemed that I could now tolerate perfumes better, so I started using them, even selling a popular line of perfumed products. Almost overnight, my problems came back.
Vertigo attacks accompanied by severe weakness were my main complaint, and they occured almost daily. Meniere's Syndrome was diagnosed. I had read that allergies could trigger attacks of Meniere's, so I saw an allergy specialist to see what might be setting me off. Interestingly, when I described my attacks to the specialist, he commented that it sounded like metal poisoning. The testing revealed several chemical allergens along with some household allergies. Finally, something to go on!
That should have been where my decline stopped and improvement started, as I now knew what to avoid. Though we stopped using any fragranced products in the home, I was around them constantly when away from home. Also, I felt that I could expose myself to offending chemicals now a then and just rest up a few days to undo the effects. What wrong thinking that turned out to be!
© Dorothy Herrmann 2003
