OK, time for me to consult Dr. TWW on this. I seek wise counsel from anybody who has experience with symptoms of working in moldy buildings for a while (let's say 2.5 years). This is a TMI post with lots of fun personal info on it, but I am wondering if somebody has experience with it and can give me advice on what they would do next, or what I definitely should do next to avoid something serious that I haven't thought about (like going blind or something if I don't seek treatment now or whatever). Allow me to post a short history of my working in moldy buildings:

Work History with Moldabeetus:

- Worked in the NCSU Bookstores where the ceiling regularly leaks when it rains. Ceiling tiles often get water spots that turn into mildew spots and mold spots, at which point they are usually swapped out with "fresh ones" so the cycle can begin again. Employees working there have said they've had sinus problems since they've started working there.
-- I've worked here from Sept 2005 - May 2006; August 2006 - May 2007; and August 2007 until Present.

- Worked in a DOT building leased from RDU. This building clearly had massive water leaks whenever it rained and serious mold problems. I worked here from May 2006 to August 2006 and had my first sinus infection while working there (one so serious I had to treat it with antibiotics twice, and it came back when I started working at the bookstore again later that fall). Employees working there stated that they had serious recurring sinus problems while working in that building.

So now, moving up to today, I have had my health just bottom the fuck out this semester. Mentally and physically, I feel like crap. I've done some reading on mold symptoms, and on and off (or consistently) have developed the following symptoms:

Symptoms related to moldabeetus?

º Respiratory distress (involuntary coughing interrupts normal breathing, new thing i developed this fall), coughing, sneezing, sinusitis (have had a sinus infection this fall)
º Irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, diarrhea (unrelated to food)
º Post-nasal drip (pretty much constant, never really goes away these days), icky taste in mouth when i wake up
º Slurred Speech (sometimes I end up talking such that people can't understand me because my words slur together, though I have been blaming it on stress and sleep issues with school in part related to depression)
º Swollen lymph nodes (usually leading up to sinusitis or sinus problems/congestion)
º Headaches (more frequent this semester, had some that lasted for hours, some still for a few days)
º Anxiety/depression (first time in a while I've had these symptoms, and the depression has SERIOUSLY affected my school and work life, to the point that I am seeking treatment for it, starting with counseling this week)
º Ringing in ears, balance problems (whenever I get sinusitis), dizziness (with sinusitis)
º Intermittent face flushing; almost always systemic (Been getting this lately. When I drink water/cool fluids it goes away, but with the fluids comes this involuntary cough. This is my situation tonight.)
º Sweating at night (for a while I couldn't get cool at night at all, just sweated like crazy and woke up exhausted)
º Joint/muscle stiffness and pain (since i hurt my back, I noticed it hasn't gotten much better and my back has been consistently stiff. This may be due to my own personal activity levels and such and what I do at work, but I thought I'd mention it anyway)
º Inadvertent body jerking, twitching (I have been sitting here before and just kind of randomly flinched in my upper body, not really able to control it but almost able to anticipate that it was going to happen, I assume it's anxiety and sleep related but now I'm not entirely sure)

I'm relating to these symptoms from a list at this site: http://www.mold-survivor.com/symptoms.html

So what the fuck are you asking?

Yes, indeed, what I want to know is seeing these symptoms and based on your experience with mold toxicity and such, what should I do? I've decided I need to quit my job in the near future and am seeking an internship at a local firm that's more in line with what I want to do after college (still working on resumes/cover letters for that). The new job should be in a cleaner building. As of right now I'm hoping to start this new job in December (late) or maybe January, and to quit my job in line with a 2 weeks notice such that I quit one job and start the other in relatively quick succession. I'm not planning on seeking further medical treatment right now unless I have another sinus infection. I'm not planning on reporting the mold problems to a health authority. So what would you do at this point?

A background on my health leading up to the mold exposure:

I have Type I diabetes and had it since before I started working at these places (diagnosed June 2003). I've had allergy problems every year but NEVER such severe sinus problems or a sinus infection prior to working in the DOT building. I used to feel more energetic and more interested/mentally active about things, but since starting my sophomore year in college (and working at the Bookstore) I've since become more fatigued and less interested in all the nerdy design stuff I used to like to do.

Thanks for reading this, and thanks for any help from you people experienced with the moldabeetus. <3

I'm asking lots of other people I know about this too, I just know some people on here are nurses/sickly bastards like me and have experience with the next proper course of action. I appreciate your advice and information, and I expect some useless comments.

11/20/2007 1:58:07 AM

http://www.tv.com/king-of-the-hill/after-the-mold-rush/episode/286678/summary.html

But seriously good luck. I don't know much about the specific health issues associated with mold, other than I felt somewhat crappy when I rented a basement that turned out to have a mold issue (this person was an incompetent homeowner that was slack about fixing a leaking water pipe and would not purchase a dehumidifier to dry things out).

[Edited on November 20, 2007 at 2:18 AM. Reason : .]

11/20/2007 2:14:42 AM