Part 2 – Symptoms of Mold Exposure: How Our Health Unraveled
Symptoms of Mold Exposure Changed Everything
In our last post, we shared the beginning of our mold story—those early years filled with joy, hard work, and the quiet comfort of a home we were building with love. But behind the scenes, something unseen was already shifting. In this next chapter, we begin to uncover what was really happening as our health began to change in ways we couldn’t explain.
When Health Collapsed Without Warning
Ashley’s health began to shift dramatically in the fall of 2020, when what seemed like a bad case of mononucleosis set in. At first, we thought it would pass with rest. But her energy never returned. Instead, she was hit with paralyzing fatigue, limbs that would go numb without warning, memory lapses that left her disoriented, and heart palpitations so intense she couldn’t stand in the shower without feeling like she might collapse. The deep aches in her bones made her nauseous and robbed her of sleep. Every day felt like a battle just to function. We expected healing—but instead, things only got worse. And yet every doctor said she was “fine.” But the symptoms of mold exposure were already taking root—inside our bodies and inside our home.
Mold Symptoms Go Beyond the Lungs
Many people associate mold illness with respiratory issues—things like chronic coughing, wheezing, sinus infections, or asthma. And while those symptoms can be severe, they’re often seen as the only signs of a problem. That’s the misconception we faced, too. In reality, mold exposure can reach far beyond the lungs. For us, it impacted nearly every system in the body—neurological, digestive, hormonal, and more.
We weren’t just congested; we were forgetting words, struggling to stay awake, and watching our kids develop symptoms that didn’t match any standard diagnosis. Mold isn’t always loud in its attack—it creeps in quietly and disrupts the body in far-reaching, systemic ways.
This reality is echoed in both clinical and scientific findings. Dr. Neil Nathan, drawing from years of experience with environmentally ill patients, outlines how mold can trigger a cascade of debilitating symptoms that often go misdiagnosed. Similarly, a 2021 study in Frontiers in Immunology confirms that mold exposure may affect nearly every organ system, contributing to symptoms like fatigue, pain, immune dysfunction, and mood disturbances.² Together, these insights help explain why symptoms of mold exposure are so often overlooked—and why families like ours are left without answers for far too long.
When Mold Exposure Reached the Whole Family
Soon, the kids began showing signs too. Brooklyn was constantly sick, running high fevers, and experiencing anxiety, digestive issues, and mood swings. Nolan, who has Down syndrome and autism, had persistent rashes, digestive distress, and communication regression.
Mike, a hard-working landscaper, also started to unravel. Once full of energy, he now battled pain, crushing fatigue, brain fog, and depression. Some days, he couldn’t leave his truck. He developed muscle weakness, tinnitus, night sweats, food sensitivities, and dark under-eye circles. Eventually, symptoms like joint pain, mood swings, anger, and reactions to certain foods made it obvious: this wasn’t just isolated illness. Something was affecting all of us.
A Family of Mold Symptoms
Mold illness rarely presents the same way twice. Ashley experienced symptoms that affected nearly every body system, Mike dealt primarily with fatigue and neurological issues, and the kids battled immune and digestive dysfunction. Here’s a closer look at the wide range of symptoms of mold exposure we faced:
Neurological & Cognitive:
- Brain fog 👨🏻👱🏼♀️
- Forgetfulness 👱🏼♀️
- Vertigo 👱🏼♀️
- Light sensitivity 👱🏼♀️
- Eye pain 👱🏼♀️
- Diminished focus 👧🏼
- Regression in communication 👦🏼
- Tinnitus 👨🏻
Musculoskeletal & Pain-Related:
- Abdominal pain 👱🏼♀️
- Shoulder pain 👱🏼♀️
- Back pain 👨🏻
- Joint pain 👨🏻
- Muscle weakness 👱🏼♀️👨🏻
Immune & Inflammatory:
- Recurrent viruses 👱🏼♀️👧🏼👦🏼
- Recurrent strep 👨🏻👱🏼♀️👧🏼👦🏼
- High fevers over 104°F with every illness👧🏼👦🏼
- Persistent low-grade fevers 👱🏼♀️
- Dark circles under eyes 👨🏻
Cardiovascular & Respiratory:
- Heart palpitations 👱🏼♀️
- Shortness of breath 👱🏼♀️
Digestive & Gastrointestinal:
- Constipation, diarrhea👨🏻👱🏼♀️👧🏼👦🏼
- Food intolerances 👨🏻👱🏼♀️👧🏼👦🏼
- Loose, pale stools with undigested food 👨🏻👧🏼
- Abdominal discomfort 👧🏼👦🏼
- Oxalate issues 👨🏻👧🏼
- Histamine issues 👨🏻
Hormonal & Reproductive:
- Irregular periods 👱🏼♀️
- Low libido 👱🏼♀️👨🏻
Skin & Sensory:
- Headaches 👱🏼♀️
- Bloody noses 👱🏼♀️
- Keratosis pilaris 👦🏼
- Unexplained rashes 👱🏼♀️👦🏼
Psychological & Behavioral:
- Anxiety 👱🏼♀️👧🏼
- Chemical sensitivities 👱🏼♀️👨🏻
- Depression 👱🏼♀️👨🏻
- Mood swings 👨🏻
- Depressed thoughts 👧🏼
- Severe separation anxiety 👧🏼
- Rage and anger 👧🏼👨🏻
- Increased eloping and stimming 👦🏼
These symptoms didn’t appear all at once—but they escalated rapidly. At the time, we couldn’t see the pattern. Looking back, it was all there. The symptoms of mold exposure had been quietly unraveling our health from the inside out.
Genetics, Detox, and Vulnerability
One of the most confusing parts of mold illness is how differently it affects people. In many homes with mold, only one or two people get sick. But in our case, it hit us all.
Why? The answer may lie in genetics. Some people carry a gene called HLA-DR, which makes it difficult for their bodies to detoxify biotoxins like mycotoxins. According to Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker’s research, about 25% of the population carries this variant, making them more vulnerable to chronic illness from mold.³
Understanding this helped us stop blaming ourselves—or each other—for not healing faster. It gave meaning to our shared suffering.
When Health Turned Upside Down
By early 2021, just a few months after symptoms first appeared, our lives had changed completely. We went from healthy and active to barely functioning—battling exhaustion, pain, and confusion.
Doctor after doctor told us we were fine, but we knew something was seriously wrong. The symptoms were real, and they were growing. We weren’t getting better—we were getting worse.
That’s when we knew we had to dig deeper. We needed real answers. Our search for the root cause was about to begin—and it would change everything.
Coming Next: Part 3 – Diagnosing Mold Illness: How We Finally Uncovered the Environmental Root Cause
¹ Nathan, Neil. Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness. Victory Belt Publishing, 2018.
² Harding, C. F., et al. (2021). Mold and Mycotoxins: Effects on the Human Immune System. Frontiers in Immunology, 12, 686502. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.686502
³ Shoemaker, R. C., et al. (2016). Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome: Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Treatment. NeuroQuant Journal