THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MASK Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)?

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)?  Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), also known as idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI), is a disputed chronic condition characterized by symptoms affected person attributes exposure to environmental pollutants such as mold, chemicals, asbestos, etc.   This disease is fairly new and not always recognize by the World Health Organization, American Medical Association, or any of several other professional medical organizations.   Clinical trials show that people with MCS react as often and as strongly to placebos as they do to chemical stimuli.   Some attribute the symptoms to depression or fear.  I am here to tell you MCS is real.  I have spent many visits in the emergency room (ER) due to multiple exposures.  I’m writing this blog in hopes that someone will recognize they are experiencing something real and they are not alone.  It took me twelve years to find help and gain understanding of what was happening to me.  I found an environment doctor who completed a series of test on me to determine my illness.  MCS is tied to a lot of symptoms.  I have difficulty breathing, swallowing, abdominal pain, headaches, sensitivity to light, multiple allergies, anxiety, muscle pain, nerve pain, chronic sinusitis, dizziness, memory fog, reactive airway disease (RADs),  TMJ, plantar fasciitis to name a few.  The list goes on and on.  One of the test the environment doctor did was called, “TGF-b1 which showed I had inflammation in my body 10,000 times a normal person.  All of this was because I was being exposed to mold.   My allergist wrote a letter in 2003 stating he believed I was being exposed to mold and how to clean the air handling system.   Unbeknownst to me, I was slowly dying.   A genetic test results showed my immune system was compromised due to my genetic makeup.  I had a gene from my mother and father that was triggered.  My Environmental doctor stated “a double whammy.”  The effects of mold on the human body has been looked at more in the last century.  It appears to me, if disease is not understood then it must be in the person’s head.  Who would want to pretend being sick?  Who would want to go to the ER to get an epi-pen stabbed in their leg, IVs, and can’t breathe?  As a woman who wouldn’t want to wear their favorite perfume, nail polish, or makeup?  As a woman with MCS I can’t wear any fragrances nor can people around me.   I found a company that makes fragrance, chemical, animal, and toxin free products that I can tolerate.  However, I’m testing the waters, LOL, and I don’t use them often.  As a MCS patient my body builds a tolerance to things quickly.  I learned this from my environmental doctor.   I have multiple food allergies as well which I will discuss later.   The mask helps but it doesn’t always protect me severe exposures.  If I have a severe reaction I have to go to the ER for treatment.   My reactions are always life threatening or anaphylactic.  I thank God I have a supportive husband and support system.  I can’t imagine going through this alone.  It can be depressing just being sick and not knowing what is going on. My ER visits are infrequent, my exposures are less and I am on my way to a better me.  I owe it to God and my doctors.  My doctor said I got “A double whammy”.  I believe God is going to give me double for my trouble.  I was so angry and depressed because no one seemed to understand my situation.  How could they?  Five years ago I was so sick and sick of being sick.  But I serve a God who not only heals mind, body, and soul but comforts and keeps us.  I pray a lot.  I seek God for my total healing.  Yes, I have come a long way since finding my Environmental Doctors five years ago but I still have complications with MCS.   I have hope and trust that God will do exactly what His word says it will accomplish.  Our words have power and I will continue to speak healing over my body until it is manifested in the earth realm.  “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed, save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. ~ Jeremiah 17:14