I have recovered from MCS completely, and in a very short period of time. I promised myself that I would write a post on here and explain to everybody how I did it. But I have put it off for eight months, the reasons being that, having no medical knowledge, I didnt know how to explain it... until now. I have just read an article called 'rewiring the chemicaly sensitive brain' on the website www.planetthrive.co.uk. This article explains exactly how my treatment worked and I recommend everybody to go and read the article straight away, as the rest of my post refers to it.
I had the MCS for five years and it was very severe. I was forced to live in the garden of my parents house and was unable to tolerate public places. Although I did not recover using the excercises mentioned in the article, I believe the explanation of the causes of MCS given here are 100% correct. Although people can have syptoms in any part of the body, MCS is controlled by the brain. The body becomes conditioned or 'programmed' to react a certain way when a person comes into contact with a chemical, and this reaction can become worse and spread to other substances over time. Analyse your state of mind when you are well, and when youve just had a reaction. When ill, your whole mind set is completely different, and youll probably have a very characteristic feeling of depression, anxiety or fear. Over time youll come to see the difference very clearly, and it will become clear that it is triggers in the brain that are causing your symptoms.
The way I recovered from MCS was by taking anti-psychotic medication. This does not mean MCS is not 'real' and its in peoples heads, its not. It is a real phenomenon. This type of medication affects the part of the brain that controls the bodies reaction to a chemical. I realise it is a huge leap of faith to accept this kind of treatment, it is a world away from the total load theory of environmental medicine. But it works, 100%. Its free, easy and quick. You will have your full life back in less than 3 months.
When I had MCS i tried everything! absolutely everything, and after years of taking supplements, lowering my total load and living in isolation I was no better at all. This medication began to work instantly. And now, after reading this article I can finally begin to explain to people why it works. After I recovered I searched the internet for any instances of other people with MCS recovering in the same way, and I found loads. But you'll rarely come across them in enviromental medicine focused websites.
I implore everybody with MCS to at least try either the exercises mentioned in this article or anti-psychotic medication. You'll know if the medication is working or not the very first day you take it, and within two weeks most of your sensitivities will have vanished. I cannot stand the thought that there are so many people going through the same horrific ordeal i did. If anybody is curious about this type of treatment or would like to hear more about my story I am happy to talk to anyone at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Hi,

Many thanks for your post.

Although many will be unhappy to hear that you overcame MCS using *gasp* - chemicals/drugs - the current research evidence on MCS does fit with your experience and explanation.

It is pretty certain now that MCS is predominantly neurological. At least the resulting symptoms are. It is the result of hypersensitivity of parts of the brain (mainly located in the limbic system) to chemical exposures. Minute amounts trigger neurons to fire when they should not. Researchers have actually noted similarities between MCS and conditions such as epilepsy which are caused by hyperactivity of brain circuits.

Any medication or other substance that works on brain chemistry and decreases the hypersensitivity and hyperactivity of brain cells when exposed to chemical triggers should, in theory, result in the resolution of symptoms.

I also suffered severely from MCS and had to constantly wear a carbon filter mask etc. I attribute my recovery to taking DHEA, an adrenal hormone which among other things reduces the stress response and triggers GABA neurons in the brain. GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. BY increasing GABA function we have an explanation for how DHEA could also treat MCS - by inhibiting the firing of neurons in response to chemical exposure.

My question is do you have to take the antipsychotic medication on an ongoing basis? I found that taking DHEA my MCS cleared up rapidly after years of strict chemical avoidance and the MCS didn't come back after discontinuing DHEA therapy.

Of course we can't discount the possibility that our strict avoidance of chemicals also had a positive effect and our pharmacological treatments were just the final piece in the puzzle. Yes, I believe MCS is neurological so it makes sense that psychoactive drugs and hormones would be helpful but I also believe there is an underlying reason the brain became hypersensitive in the first place so we need to look at gut health, liver function, nutritional deficiencies, adrenal function, sources of chemical exposure etc. MCS is a complex illness that needs to be tackled from multiple angles for lasting recovery.

Great to hear you have also recovered and thanks again for posting here.

If you want to write more extensively about yor MCS experience please feel free to write a blog entry - just click the 'My Blog' link in the User Menu on the left when you are logged in <br /><br />Post edited by: Maff, at: 2009/11/03 16:36

Hello everyone

I am really glad to hear that some of us one day will recover somehow however when it comes to anti-psychotic I must say as soon as I saw this message I went straight to get it but I have only took 2 days (1 tablet a day of Solian 50mg) believe it or not I got very sick. My mouth hurts and dry, tongue sting badly, gum, teeth, throat, not to mention my brain hurts so painfully couldn’t even sleep. Please be careful with this anti-psychotic it may work for this gentleman but am not sure is a cure for MCS?

Good luck to everyone

Mariam

Maff,

Thanks for the insight into what worked for you! I'd seen DHEA mentioned in the book 'Why Isn't My Brain Working?'. Here's an exerpt:

Given that recommendation to take DHEA for "a short period of time", I was just wondering, how long did you supplement with DHEA?

Thanks!

Ed

I was interested to read that you advise taking DHEA for only a short period. I have been taking this for quite a number of years now. I tried to stop but it made me very tired. In my case it did not help with the MCS but did help with my Chronic Fatigue. Should I be worried about continuing with DHEA?

Which anti-psychotic med did you take? I would not link to the article.