Why Do My Symptoms
Come and Go?
"Last week my perfume made my friend sick, and this week it didn't. I think it must be in her head."
The fact that certain substances have a debilitating effect one time and a milder effect another time is confusing to the those who suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. This temporary boost in resistance often causes the MCS sufferer to mistakenly think that their body is now able to tolerate former antagonists, only to find that the tolerance is very short-lived. Is there an explanation for these temporary reprieves and for the setbacks that inevitably follow? Yes, and recognizing the reasons for these ups and downs can be a great boon for anyone with MCS, for learning to work with their body rather than against it will mean greater productivity for the sufferer.
It is common for the MCS sufferer to experience symptoms that come and go, especially in the earlier stages, and perhaps again when improvement is made. Unfortunately, when MCS becomes extremely debilitating, the fluctuations are rare and being able to count on a few "good days" is not as likely, so enjoy the "ups" while you can.
Often good and bad days can be easily explained by the sufferer who has learned to recognize how the body is affected by our own habits and life-style changes. Sufferers soon see that their symptoms can be triggered by a hair if they fail to get enough sleep, eat the right foods, or fail to limit their exposure to chemicals. Eating the wrong foods or being exposed to chemicals increases our total body burden, which will make us react more quickly to new triggers. And since we get rid of toxins most effectively when we sleep, a sleepless night or two is one of the quickest ways to increase our own body burden, making it more difficult to deal with new toxic burdens upon being exposed to them. If we should happen to backslide in several areas--losing sleep and then reaching for junk food to wake us up--we multiply the total body burden and our chances of being quickly set off by any trigger we may encounter.
We are also affected for the good and the bad by our own immune cycles. We tend to go through life without any knowledge of these cycles, but learning more about them can actually help us to optimize our strengths and increase our good days. It also helps us to see ahead of time when our vulnerable times will come and be prepared to take extra care at those times.
It's a good idea to explain to family and friends why symptoms fluctuate so, as it often looks to them like we just choose when to be affected and when not to be. When someone apologizes to me for setting off my symptoms, I often come back with "It's not your fault--I haven't been eating right (or getting enough sleep, etc) lately, and it's made me more susceptible." This takes our friends off the hook and make them less inclined to assume that our symptoms are imagined.
Whether due to our own body cycles or occasional backsliding with our health regimen, we will likely always experience fluctuations with our MCS symptoms. At any rate, it helps to know why, and can serve as an impetus for us to respond to the body's needs. So try to look at it as a good thing, and hopefully it will mean more good days for you.
© Dorothy Herrmann 2004
