I came across this site in search for an answer for my sister who is suffering from environmental illness. I would like to share her story and in hope that someone can shed some light in her problems or find a cure. She is 42 years old. At first she started having food allergies, like sensitivity to MSG etc. Then she started to be allergic to most foods except the foods she cooked herself. And next was the asthma in which she said her lungs hurt, after seeing few doctors, including a holistic doctor, she was diagnosed with inflammation in the lungs. She got some topical cream with some compound which i forgot the name of. She got better. Next was her menopause, she got hot flashes, and then with some hormone treatment, she started to have insomnia. Now, she is depressed, and is suffering from anxiety and insomnia. She got sleeping meds which she had to try many different ones because they lost affect in a few days. Emotional, she is very unstable because of also some family problems. This has been very difficult for her and she has expressed that she doesn't want to live. She also said that pharmaceutical drugs has altered her brain and she is not the same person.
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>I am searching for some help to see if there is anything that could at least help with some of her problems.
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>we live in California, the San Francisco Bay area. Do you know if any Doctor or clinic that could help with EI?
Thanks

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your sister. She is lucky to have a sister searching for answers for her. EI can be devastating even with support of family and friends.

Let's take one thing at a time. Food allergies and sensitivities when they develop in adults and seem to increase in number all the time are likely to be caused by increased intestinal permeability, or \"leaky gut syndrome\". For a number of reasons including existing undiagnosed food allergy, alcohol use, use of drugs such as painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, or a disturbance in the balance of micro-organisms that live in the gut the wall can become \"leaky\" and allow partially digested food to enter the blood stream. The immune system then reacts and the person develops allergies/sensitivities and various symptoms. Many other conditions can then stem from this as the immune system releases chemicals that cause systemic inflammation. Asthma could be one result of this. Leaky gut syndrome also causes nutritional deficiencies and these could also cause asthma. Deficiencies of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants are particularly connected to asthma.

In fact all of your sister's problems could stem from gut issues and since everything began with the food allergies/sensitivities I would say this is likely.

I would recommend you find an environmental medicine doctor. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine website has a search box you can use to find one in your area - http://www.aaemonline.org/

Ask them about the intestinal permeability test and also perhaps the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA). They may then want to test your sister's hormone levels etc.

I hope this makes some sense. Please read the links within the text about leaky gut syndrome and the tests (text in green - no underlines) for more information.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your sister. Please let us know how you get on and also if you need any more help.

Hi Maff,
Thank you so much for the detailed information. I have passed it to my brother-in-law. Do you think EI can cause insomnia? Is there any natural/herbal supplement she can take for insomnia? She has already tried melatonin and it didn't work anymore.
The depression and anxiety kicked in big time when my sister could not sleep for few days. She went to her GP to get some sleeping meds. From then on, she thinks that the meds have altered her brain, and she felt like a zombie. Unfortunately, she is now dependant on these meds.
We have now gone to different sleep disorder specialists. She will start cognitive sleep study. Since she has EI and menopause, it is hard to pin point what causes the insomnia. Like you said, we probably need to take one thing at a time.
BTW, what do you think of the Environmental Health Center in Houston Texas?

Thanks so much for your help. I think it is wonderful that you have created this site to help so many people who have the same/similar illness.

Hi mochi,

No problem, I hope the information is useful and helps your sister start to heal.

EI can certainly cause insomnia (and depression/anxiety which themselves are linked to insomnia) through a variety of routes including neurotransmitter and hormonal imbalances (e.g. adrenal fatigue), hypoglycemia, and production of inflammatory immune chemicals due to food allergies etc.

Of course the psychological distress of being ill can cause or contribute to insomnia as well.

If you mean the Environmental Health Center - Dallas then I would highly recommend it if your sister can afford to go. It is run by Dr. William Rea who has been treating EI since the 1970s and has taught many other EI docs. He is seen as one of the grandfathers of environmental medicine.

Take care and all the best to your sister. Please let her know she is not alone and there is hope.