Part 3- Diagnosing Mold Illness: How We Finally Uncovered the Environmental Root Cause
Our mold story took a sharp turn when the health of our entire family continued to decline despite our best efforts. At the time, we had no idea we were dealing with mold—let alone that diagnosing mold illness would become the turning point in our journey toward healing. In Part 2, we shared how our children’s escalating symptoms—persistent illness, fatigue, and immune dysfunction—kept intensifying. We eventually made the difficult decision to pull our son from pre-K. We simply couldn’t keep putting him in a situation where he was constantly sick and could never seem to recover. The school staff expressed how hard it was to watch one of their students so frequently unwell.
Still without answers, we turned to our primary care doctors for help. But despite all the symptoms we had described in detail, the standard lab work offered no insight—everything came back ‘normal.’ Yet deep down, we knew something was very wrong. It required a completely different approach—one that looked beyond conventional methods and into the environment itself.
Diagnosing Mold Illness with Functional Medicine
Our decision to see a functional medicine doctor shifted everything. After listening to our full family history, she asked the one question no one else had: “Has your home ever been tested for environmental toxins?”
She explained that when multiple family members are sick—especially with such wide-ranging and unexplained symptoms—environmental exposure must be considered. We immediately tested for everything we could: water quality, radon gas, and finally, mold.
Mold was the last thing on the list—but it proved to be the key to diagnosing mold illness.
The Tests That Revealed the Truth
Our functional medicine doctor ordered several comprehensive labs that most conventional doctors don’t consider:
Great Plains MycoTOX Profile¹: This urine-based lab detects 11 different mycotoxins, including Ochratoxin A, Gliotoxin, and Aflatoxin. It’s non-invasive and widely used in integrative practices. It was the first lab that clearly showed all of us had elevated Ochratoxin A levels—one of the most common and toxic mold byproducts.
Vibrant Wellness Total Toxin Panel² (for the kids): This panel goes beyond mold and includes mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides, and other environmental toxins. It gave a broader picture of total toxic burden and confirmed our children had high levels of mold toxins as well.
Autoimmune Screening & Advanced Bloodwork: These labs revealed elevated inflammatory markers, some mild autoimmune reactivity, and mitochondrial dysfunction—all signs that the body was struggling under environmental stress.
Understanding the Tools for Diagnosing Mold Illness
If you’re trying to determine whether mold is affecting your health, here are some of the most common ways to test the body for mold illness. These methods do not test your home—they reveal whether your body is carrying evidence of exposure. We’ll cover home testing in a later blog.
These tests are considered among the most accurate for diagnosing mold illness in the body—especially when used together. Each one offers a different lens: mycotoxin tests reveal current toxic burden, immune panels show how the body is reacting, and the OAT provides insight into metabolic stress and fungal overgrowth. When layered together, they can paint a fuller picture of how mold is affecting your system.
That said, interpreting them correctly is not always straightforward. A mold-literate doctor can help determine which tests are appropriate based on your symptoms, history, and environment, and guide you in making sense of the results to create a personalized treatment plan.
| Test Type | Sample Type | What It Measures | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mycotoxin Urine Test | Urine | Mold toxins excreted in urine | Non-invasive, detects specific mycotoxins | Only shows current excretion, not full body burden |
| Vibrant Total Tox Panel | Urine | Mold toxins, metals, pesticides, and other environmental toxins | Broad view of total body burden | Expensive; often not covered by insurance |
| Organic Acids Test (OAT) | Urine | Byproducts of yeast, mold, and mitochondrial stress | Can indicate fungal overgrowth and detox stress | Indirect; doesn’t specify exact mold toxin or source |
| IgG Mold Panel | Blood | Immune response to mold species (past exposure) | Shows past exposure or sensitivity | Doesn’t confirm active toxicity or colonization |
| IgA Mold Panel | Blood | Mucosal immune response to mold (sinus/gut exposure) | Helpful for detecting colonization in gut or sinuses | May not reflect total exposure; less frequently ordered |
Mold Was the Missing Puzzle Piece
After all the testing, the results were clear: mold was the common thread. Each member of our family tested positive for mold toxins—specifically Ochratoxin A—known to suppress the immune system and damage the kidneys, brain, and gut.
And finally, we had validation. The unexplained symptoms, the chronic illnesses, the neurological and immune challenges—it wasn’t random. It was mold.
Looking Ahead
Getting a diagnosis was a breakthrough, but it raised even more questions—especially about what mold exposure really means. What exactly are mycotoxins? How are they different from mold spores? And why does it matter so much for healing? In the next part of our story, we’ll break down the difference and explain why understanding both is crucial on the road to recovery.
Coming Next: Part 4 – Mycotoxins vs Mold Spores: Why It Matters for Healing
¹ Great Plains Laboratory. “MycoTOX Profile.” https://www.gpl4u.com
² Vibrant America. “Total Tox-Burden.” https://www.vibrant-wellness.com