A little rant...

OK,
I have a mold toxicity. It has a direct effect on my hypothalamus. To be general, here is a list of the things that the hypothalamus controls:

• Controls Autonomic Functions
• Emotions
• Endocrine Functions (hormones)
  
• Homeostasis
• Motor Functions
• Regulates Food and Water Intake
• Regulates Sleep/Wake Cycle

To be VERY general, you could say that the hypothalamus connects the Nervous System (the big boss in the body) to the Endocrine System (the little boss in the body). It's important. This is why the symptoms of mold toxicity are so wide ranging and life-altering. Here are some of the symptoms I have been experiencing over the last 20 months or so:

• Headaches
• Body Aches
  
• Hypersensitive Emotions (things hit you harder than they should... and you sometimes freak out when it's just NOT that serious!)
  
• Inability to find your words (VERY frustrating for someone who talks as much as I do)
  
• Decreased effectiveness of study time (so I study MORE and learn LESS... Grrrrr)
  
• Brain Fog (what a sister (in Christ) of mine calls: "losing time" This is when you "zone out" but you are cognizant of it: "I know that all I have to do is reach over and pull the handle and I could get out of my Jeep. Why am I not doing that?")
  
• Inability to lose weight despite steadily improving diet and exercise
  
• Inability to have restful sleep or to sleep for more than 5 hours consistently

Luckily, a sister of mine put the symptoms together last August and said that I should get tested for Mold Toxicity. I hadn't even noticed a lot of the symptoms until she spouted them all off. I had just noticed that, despite my nutrition improving and my exercise regimen becoming a more effective one (Or, one that SHOULD have been more effective... based upon science), I had stopped losing weight. My first three quarters in the doctorate program, I lost 25lbs a quarter. Since then (and about 3 months after moving into this apartment) I had lost nothing... nothing... NOTHING!!! So, I went through a few phases of testing (including blood tests) and it's confirmed. I have mold toxicity and it is a current exposure, based upon a blood analysis of my immune system.

I said all of that to say this:

I spent most of the afternoon today fighting... did I mention FIGHTING with my apartment complex, Barrington Mill. Oh yeah, that's right... I'm putting their name out there! I reported the mold to them in September. What was their response? Replace a couple of tiles and try to cover it up. No testing, to confirm the presence of mold. No attempt at mold remediation. NOTHING. I was baffled, and actually said to myself, they can't seriously be thinking that they are done, right? I got busy with school and, as I mentioned, had a rough November and December.

I start calling again earlier this month (the 8th) and talked to Donna Chance, the property manager. She basically told me that it was my fault for not being a squeaky wheel. WHAT THE CRAP?! So, I report a problem. You don't take care of it. That's MY fault?! OK, you want squeaky? Watch this! SQUEAK, FREAKING SQUEAK!!!! Fast forward to Wednesday, I have the maintenance supervisor and three maintenance workers in my bathroom arguing with me as to whether there is mold in this hole that has been cut in my ceiling.

Maintenance supervisor: "No mold, look!"

I try to calmly explain that:
1. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there.
2. Where there is water damage, there is mold [as I point out the leaking pipe directly above where there was water damage on my ceiling]
3. It's not really the mold that causes the problem, it's the toxin that the mold releases when it grows.

Extremely dense Maintenance supervisor: "I don't see nothing."

Me, getting a little annoyed at his ignorance: "Are you serious? That's what you're going with? If you can't see it, it doesn't exist?"

"Dangerously close to angering me" Maintenance supervisor: "There no mold, look!"

Me, thankful that I have the Holy Spirit inside of me, giving me self-control: "Have you TESTED the place for mold, or are you going to stick with your eyesight as the measure of mold presence?"

Ignorant moron (he earned that name, I was trying to be respectful): "We don't have that equipment."

Me: "Are you going to GET IT?"

Ignorant moron: "You have to request at office."

Me: "What the heck do you think you're doing here, cleaning the freaking carpet?! I requested that almost two weeks ago!!!"

Ignorant Moron (Wisely changing the course of this conversation): "I tell you what we do. We put new drywall in, then we paint. Make you happy, right?"

Me: "Do what you think you should. You're not who I need to talk to."

I'm so freaking frustrated. I am moving out. I need to be able to detox and I need to get well. It's very tough to go through doctoral studies when your apartment is making it increasingly difficult to THINK!