Good Standard for Mold Testing?

[Swim15]

While I’m ruling out peripheral infections, CCI, and everything else under the sun, thought I might as well knock out the mold too.

I’ve read a lot of different things on testing, types, and scam companies and generally unreliable tests.

The FDA doesn’t condone mycotoxin urine tests as I understand but is there any use in getting one done still?

If not urine, are there any other viable physiological tests that are accurate and reliable for mold exposure?

As far as home testing goes, are there any labs people recommend over others? Seems like Real Time labs keeping coming up

 

[DoubleBubble]

While I’m ruling out peripheral infections, CCI, and everything else under the sun, thought I might as well knock out the mold too.

I’ve read a lot of different things on testing, types, and scam companies and generally unreliable tests.

The FDA doesn’t condone mycotoxin urine tests as I understand but is there any use in getting one done still?

If not urine, are there any other viable physiological tests that are accurate and reliable for mold exposure?

As far as home testing goes, are there any labs people recommend over others? Seems like Real Time labs keeping coming up

Real Time and Great Plains are the two that offer urinalysis of mycotoxins. I did Real Time and it's illuminated a lot around the primary factor in my CFS symptoms. I don't fully understand the FDA's issues with these tests myself but I think some of it is related to lobbying efforts by commercial real estate developers, at least in states like NY where I live. I heard both tests are slightly different so you could do both but they aren't cheap. I did Real Time because Great Plains won't offer the test to New Yorkers.

 

[Wishful]

I'm not sure whether any of the lab tests will reliably measure how you will react to molds. You might have above average levels of some mycotoxin, but not react to it, while you might react to some other mycotoxin at far below 'normal' levels.

To me, the gold standard would be to sniff some mold that exists in your typical environment and see whether you react to it. Repeat several times to improve reliability. Arrange a proper double-blind test if you really want to rule out psychosomatic responses.

 

[vision blue]

Id be interested in hearing from anyone who has done the mycotoxin test at Great Plains lab. I pasted the link below. Tempted by it but have my concerns on the test, one of which is im
Wondering if near eceryome will have elevations of one of the first two and almost no one will have elevations of any of the others. Note that no percentiles are given reflecting how common a result is. Another concern is their ultrahigh sensitivity for detection in part based on correction for creatinine. If you have low creatinine in urine for reasons other than drinking alot of water, the test may greatly inflate the presence of mold that shows up. Seems like they may be stacking the deck in favor of giving elevated results. My last OAT with them found 5 times upper limit of normal on one of the fungal markers, a result ive never had before. Might be related to a spree i had in eating raisons that smelled moldy. Curious to follow it up but then again the way these test companies work is that one test is designed to get you to take more tests so not sure its worth my infestventment of tine and money.

Therefore curious to see the numberd from anyone who has taken the great plains version Thanks

https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/gplmycotox

 

[Lalia]

I’ve had the Great Plains and RT Labs test. They’re sensitive for different strains of mould.
Great Plains only detects Ochratoxin, while RT Labs picks up the others - Aflatoxin, Tricothecene and Gliotoxin. Both tests measure all four mycotoxins, which makes it confusing. I did Great Plains first and assumed Ochratoxin was my only issue, only to do the RT test a year later and find high levels of the other three.

It’s expensive and I query the accuracy of the result. As with many things (mould, metals, viruses). For me, it’s recently become more about why my body is accumulating all these toxins. And what I can do to help it function better. Instead of finding and eliminating every toxin I’m exposed to.

If you’d prefer not to do the test, instead of sniffing mould and making yourself sick, you could trial small amounts of mould binders and see if this makes a difference fir you. These include the pharmaceuticals Welchol and Cholestyramine (strong). And the natural binders like Actuvated Charcoal, Bentonite Clay, Chlorella etc.

I’m a super sensitive type and had great results from taking small pinches of Charcoal. I lost a huge amount of weight when I became sick and the Charvial helped me regain 12 kilos over a period of six months. So I could absolutely tell it helped alleviate some of the toxicity in my body. Whether that mould toxicity or something else, I don’t know.