In 2013 Dr. Sachsman encountered her first health complications secondary to a mold exposure from a water damaged building. While living near the beach in Connecticut she knew to be concerned about potential mold in the basement of a new rental home. The mold remediation company that was consulted suggested that removing all wood and cardboard from the basement would minimize any mold growth and most likely there would be no health threat. In the Fall, when the house was closed up for the winter and the forced hot air heat was turned on, Dr. Sachsman began experiencing a number of symptoms: headaches, congestion, fatigue, insomnia and a general malaise (feeling of not being well).
Her roommate began experiencing an unprecedented amount of anxiety with accompanying depression. In each of their rooms there were vents for the hot air furnace above their heads.
It wasn’t until 5 months later that they realized it was the house making them ill. Sure enough upon more thorough investigation, the air ducts to the furnace were full of mold. It took moving out of the house, several months and the support of numerous health care practitioners for Dr. Sachsman to begin to recover her health.
Three years later, Dr. Sachsman moved back to Maine. She rented a beautiful home on the water in Trenton. Gradually she started to feel sick again. She had an increase in headaches, GI issues and an increasing of severe insomnia, as well as some brain fog. After living in the house for several months, mold was discovered in the basement. Although a remediation was attempted, the landlord failed to eliminate the source of the moisture in the basement and eventually it was necessary for her to leave the home. Due to mycotoxin contamination many of her possessions needed to be destroyed.
Finding a home in Hancock County that was free of mold became a near impossibility. Additionally, finding a medical provider who understood and could treat the symptoms of mycotoxic illness required leaving the state of Maine. It was through the passionate pursuit of recovering her own health that Dr. Sachsman entered into the world of striving to become increasingly aware of the numerous serious health complications secondary to exposure to mold in a water damaged home or workplace environment. She continues to be surprised daily by the large number of patients she sees with a variety of symptoms that are the result of a mold exposure from a water damaged building compromising their precious health. She remains passionate about helping her patients identify and treat mold related illness and recover their health.
Attempting to recover our health while living in a “sick building” is an impossibility for many of us. As humans we are constantly exposed to a variety of biotoxins. However, 24% of the population has a genetic variation that compromises the immune system’s ability to recognize and eliminate the invaders effectively. As a result these individuals require specialized treatment approaches to help the immune system respond efficiently. At Maine Natural Medicine a large number of our patients have this genetic variation. We loving refer to ourselves as the Canary Club. Understanding the patient’s individualized genetics, that can challenge the immune system and detoxification pathways, allows us to respond using epigenetics (lifestyle & nutritive supports) to restore balance and improved health.
Dr. Sachsman is currently pursuing training and certification with Dr. Richie Shoemaker.
