Can Erythromelalgia Be Cured?
Conventional medicine says that the majority of people with erythromelalgia will not be cured but can be managed. I don’t know about you- but given I had been given a diagnosis of EM- this wasn’t good enough for me. I had no desire to be “managed”. I was told by the erythromelalgia experts at the Mayo Clinic that about 10% of people would experience “spontaneous remission”. Of the remaining 90%, about a third would worsen, a third would stay the same, and a third would see symptoms improve. I wanted desperately to be one of the lucky 10% that saw EM erased from their lives, and I decided to do everything- and I mean every darn thing- to tip the scales in my favor.
Today I take long walks in the desert with my dog while the majority of Santa Fe hides from the heat. I dare my feet to flare in 180-degree saunas. I browse as long as my heart desires at the grocery store. I wear fleece lined boots. My EM is in complete remission…although I wouldn’t call my feat of nature “spontaneous”. Although I never would’ve believed it at the time, I now know my body wasn’t rebelling against me. It was bad. It hadn’t gone rogue. It was working for me… in my best interest.
Are you rolling your eyes yet? I would’ve been if I’d read these words. I’d have been simultaneously jealous and skeptical.
Here’s the deal. I have a certain genetic makeup- about 25% of us share- that makes it impossible for my body to see and remove certain toxins. My husband and I lived in the same beautiful old home that happened to be water damaged. He inhaled the mycotoxins from mold just like me, but his immune system could see them, tag them, and remove them. I was not so lucky. I became very ill. My first severe symptom was that I developed EM.
As a medical provider myself, I know when you mention the word “mold” to a doctor, you might get a sideways look. I saw a functional medicine doc who would no doubt be more open-minded and mentioned the mold, but he stayed focused on healing my gut. My gut was a landmine of dysbiosis no doubt, but this was due to the mold. I needed a medical provider to get to the root cause- to help my body find a way to remove the toxins that were circulating in my blood 24/7 causing my body to go haywire.
Through research I found Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker’s intense and amazing work on inhalational mold illness. I followed the path he blazed. I am now completely healed hence the desert walks and sauna dalliances. Is biotoxin illness- mold, tick borne illness, spider bites, even certain types of exposure to fish- your root cause? Maybe, and it’s a straightforward process to figure that out. A diagnosis must be considered in order to be ruled in or out. Your doc will sadly not find what they aren’t aware to look for. It’s maddening that it takes a full 17 years- yep, you read that right, 17 long years- for research to trickle down into medical practice. I don’t know about you, but I was suffering, and I certainly didn’t have 17 years to wait.
I invite you into the idea that EM can most certainly be cured when we get to the root cause of what is driving your disease in the first place. I am living proof- and given I have a second chance at life- I am going to use it for all it’s worth. Take my hand. I believe in your ability to heal. Let’s find ways forward together.
You can read more about my journey as a medical provider hellbent on healing her own erythromelalgia here.
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