Hi All,

On the ALSTDF forum there's a topic about mold. http://www.als.net/for...(cropped) When you have time check it out. I was exposed to Stachybotrys Mold during the onset of my ALS symptoms. I have often wondered if Stachybotrys Mold could be to blame for my ALS.

In 2002 my now ex-wife lived in a townhouse for nearly 2 years. After the first 7 to 9 months we noticed mold formations coming through the newly painted walls of the upstairs master bathroom and in all 3 upstairs bedrooms. The mold spores were abundant in the closets and bathrooms. We reported the mold to the Management Company of the community and nothing was done. We then notified the city of our concerns and waited 6 weeks for the mold inspector to show up. During this time of waiting for both Management Company and the city inspector is when I first noticed difficulty with my speech when upset or angered.

After waiting another 4 to 5 weeks for the cities mold results to come in we learnt that there were elevated levels of stachybotrys. On September 25, 2002 our son Ethan was born and the following morning while eating breakfast I nearly choked to death. This was my first experience of difficulty swallowing. October 2002 our new house was completed being built. We moved out of the townhouse and I gave little thought to the mold we had all been exposed to.

I / we were so busy with our new baby, house and work I contributed my continued speech deterioration to stress, lack of sleep and poor eating habits. In January of 2003 I started hearing rumors of employees at Raytheon Aircraft that were experiencing diminished speech and problems swallowing. I learnt the employees worked in the autoclave (vacuum chamber) area. This was one of the areas I once managed.

I outlined the environments I had been exposed to since the onset of my symptoms to my neurologist. My neurologist couldn't draw any concrete evidence to the symptoms I was experiencing. My brain MRI & EMG were both normal. My neurologist recommended a psychological evaluation. He thought my symptoms were all stress related. My psychological evaluation came back normal but there was something that stood out and couldn't be explained. Numerous questions and problems that the left side of the brain interpolates were repeatedly incorrect.

A few months later my brain MRI came back with traces of gray matter on the left side of my brain. My first ALS physical strength loss was in my right hand and fingers. Left hemisphere of the brain operates the right hand side of the bodies' motor skills. Long story short, ALS diagnoses at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in August 2003.

Has anyone else here gone through the similar testing results? Does this set off any bells or whistles for PALS, FALS or CALS?

Jeff