Addressing Lyme, Mold, and Toxic Burden for Conception, Pregnancy and Beyond

by Beth Arnold, Independent Birth and Delivery Nurse, and Wellness Coach

I can remember saying to my husband about 7 months ago, “I really don’t think we will conceive again because of my toxic burdens [mold and Lyme].” Saying that felt so heavy. Increasing the heaviness was knowing that my children had some of my toxic load passed onto them. Mold exposure after mold exposure in rental homes, tick bite after tick bite, parasites passed out of our family, the toxic insults to our bodies felt never-ending.

The Body Keeps the Score

At a young age I was on multiple pharmaceuticals for multiple chronic illnesses. By the time I was 15 years old, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), endometriosis, ovarian cysts, chronic constipation, and chronic migraines. Now I know, after tons of research and cleansing, all of those diagnoses stem back to my toxic burdens, but back then, I just thought my body must be broken. I did not know that my many childhood exposures to tick pathogens, moldy homes and environments, heavy metals from pharmaceuticals and foods, parasites from pets or drinking water, were filling my body’s toxic bucket to overflowing. My parents also not knowing how to help me, did their best and took me to only allopathic doctors who gave me a pill or a surgery. None of my childhood doctors thought to look for the root causes. They even went as far as removing my tonsils and adenoids to try and give me relief without realizing that having those organs removed in my childhood would then play a large role in my symptoms and ability to heal as an adult. My chronic underlying infections and stealthy overgrowths causing my endless cascade of symptoms went completely unnoticed and possibly ignored.

The Healthcare Dilemma

As I grew older, my passion to help others spurred me to pursue a career in healthcare. As a Registered Nurse, I had plenty of additional toxic exposures working bedside nursing. Hospitals and old school buildings are notorious for mold, fungus, and asbestos, not to mention the radiation and EMFs in hospitals ramping up the mycotoxin activity in both the buildings and my body. I would leave my shifts feeling so inflamed and sometimes having to leave early due to debilitating migraines.

After the pandemic hit was when I really started digging into natural healing and toxic burdens. I wanted to make myself and my family more resilient and less susceptible to all of the pathogens we were encountering while just trying to live our lives. It was then that I slowly transitioned our family into a lower-tox lifestyle and learned about herbalism. I spent tons of time researching and learning about toxic burdens, chronic illness, and healing naturally. Then in 2022, I was terminated from my travel nurse contract during my third pregnancy for not being compliant with the Covid-19 vaccine requirements. It forced my hand, but now, I’m thankful to have left and taken a break from bedside nursing to deeper understand my own healing that needed to happen.

Linking Mold Exposure to Illness

Losing my travel nurse position put my family in a financial struggle, causing us to move into a less expensive rental. That is when I really learned about mold illness and really fast. At first, we had typical allergy symptoms that we assumed were being caused by the North Carolina pollen. My oldest child broke out into hives multiple times. My migraines got so much worse. Our youngest had eyes so red and puffy that they were nearly swollen shut. Then the worst, our middle child had her first seizure. There were high levels of mold in this rental home, and the exposure tipped us over the edge. That’s when I found Micro Balance Health Products. We used the test plates to screen the rental for mold, and we were shocked with the results. I knew we needed to leave.

Before we could move, I started my oldest two on Vaccine Detox from Earthly to start their gentle cleanse and it was super helpful. We did detox baths, I cleansed with Rogershood Apothecary’s herbal kits, and I did at home saline enemas and coffee enemas. We cleaned the rental as much as we could with Micro Balance’s EC3 line of cleaning products, but it only helped to remove the mold on the surface. After a deeper inspection of the rental, we found that the entire foundation and crawl space was rotting with black mold. We nebulized with CitriDrops, used the CitriDrops Nasal Spray, took the Cinnabin binder from Rogerhood Apothecary, and used the CellTropin to help with cellular healing. It felt like we did everything. It was exhausting. We quickly sold everything to be able to move back to our hometown in Pennsylvania.

Our New Normal

I knew moving was not going to end our toxic exposures or our cleansing journey. My toxic bucket had officially overflowed. I was passing so many parasites, and I was learning so much about the connection between mold, parasites, heavy metals, and Lyme. They all seem to team up and create their own perfect ecosystem of JUNK and stealthy infections inside of us. We continued to cleanse the whole family with Rogershood herbals and various Micro Balance products. My extensive research and personal experiences lead me to be able to be transparent with other friends, family, and followers on the internet. This became the beginning of my wellness coaching. I was helping others learn to live low-tox and to learn about their own toxic burdens. I was finally able to truly use my nursing background to help others feel better.

Once we got into a new home, I was hyper aware of keeping our environment healthy. I wiped down everything with the EC3 Mold Solution Concentrate, burned the air purification candles, used the laundry additive with every load of laundry, and used the mold spray weekly on basically the entire home. We also ran Levoit Air Purifiers in all the rooms where we spend the most time. All of these practices I continue to do routinely and will continue to do no matter where we live. Knowing I can do something to cleanse and improve our air quality, even if I can’t control the state of the rentals we are in, helps settle my mind and body. Dusting often with the mold spray, vacuuming regularly, and letting fresh air flow through the home is extremely beneficial for your home environment. It is my opinion that everyone should take care of the air they breathe indoors as it matters so much to your overall health and wellbeing.

My Aha Moment

Just when I thought we were on the right track with our healing, and I thought I learned all that I could, I had a horrible relapse in symptoms. This past August (2024), I had a bite on my right shoulder that brought all of my chronic illnesses back to the surface. My migraines, my “fibromyalgia” pains, new neurological concerns and twitching, rage, and mood swings started presenting. At certain times I was unable to lift my right arm at all. The pain would migrate into my neck and head. It was terrifying. This was right around the time we wanted to try for baby number 4. I was devastated, terrified, and confused that with all I was doing to safeguard my health, my body was slipping back into a state of illness. I never saw the bug that bit me and have no idea if it was a tick still to this day, but it was like a lightbulb went off in my head, “AHA! I have had Lyme this whole time!” Dormant Lyme and childhood mold exposures can be reactivated and make themselves known throughout your life if your immune system takes a hit. I knew that as a child, I was bitten by multiple ticks, in fact I easily knew of over 30 instances of having a tick attach to my body and was always wondering why I was the “tick magnet” or why I was always the sick kid. Now that I knew about chronic Lyme and how it could present throughout life with a multitude of whole-body symptoms, so much of my health journey and the ups and downs my body would experience made sense.

Taking Agency in my Health

I took matters into my own hands and ordered labs for myself through Fullscript. Just as I had suspected, my Lyme antibodies came back positive. It was heartbreaking but refreshing at the same time to be connecting the dots. I quickly got my hands on Dr. William Rawls’ book Unlocking Lyme: Myths, Truths, and Practical Solutions for Chronic Lyme Disease and got to treating myself with herbs. I even foraged and made my own Japanese knotweed tincture to take. I started another round of Parafy knowing those herbs could help kill off the Lyme pathogens. I was taking Cat’s Claw Bark & Astragalus Root from Mountain Rose Herb, homemade Japanese knotweed tincture and powder, the tinctures and binder from the Parafy kit, CitriDrops Dietary Supplement, wholefood vitamin C powder, and soft resin shilajit. The “Sweet Relief” salve from Lumna was a Godsend for my pain and inflammation and their “Calm & Uplifted” worked miracles on my nervous system. I was doing 2-3 coffee enemas a week, detox baths, lemon juice/olive oil/cayenne shots, and castor oil packs over my liver and abdomen, plus applying castor oil topically all over my sinuses and eyes. I was drinking clove tea and consuming raw honey and bee propolis. I was eating cleaner than ever before in addition to cutting out all possible mycotoxin-containing foods (peanut butters, nuts, dried fruits, kombucha, ferments, poor quality coffee, etc.). I knew I needed to focus on cleansing mycotoxins as well because that burden just keeps you sicker and stuck.

With everything I was doing, all the cleansing modalities and herbs, I thankfully learned that the most important thing to do was to slow down. Calming my nervous system, allowing my body to rest and feel safe, and being present was the most important thing I could do for myself. Sure, there were things I used to help accomplish that and everyday was different and challenging with three girls under 6 years old, but my body ultimately needed to know it was safe and able to heal. I needed nourishing foods and drinks, to get adequate sleep, and to not spiral into, “What about this toxin, this new symptom, or what is this going to do to my body?” I needed to let go of the fear and trust my body and God’s plan for our family…

To my surprise, two months later we found out we are expecting our fourth baby! We were so shocked. After thinking my toxic burden was too high, my health was out of control, and my body was failing me, we had conceived! There was power in slowing down and nourishing my mind, body and spirit. There was healing in learning my root causes and feeling confident in my body’s signals and signs. It will always be a continuous “cleansing” for my family living on this toxin-filled earth, but now, we can do it confidently and calmly with the right tools, resources, and education. I’m forever grateful for the resources and education that I have found along my healing path and for the health challenges that got me here. I am also thankful for the support the holistic healing community has provided for my family and others. I hope to continue to help others with their wellness goals and to live their best lives in spite of the things that their bodies have had to endure.

If you want to find out more about the brands mentioned in this article you can follow Beth on Instagram @nursegonenatural. There she shares tips, tricks, and products that work for her and her family. She also shares coupon codes for many of the brands mentioned in this article. You can also connect with Beth and shop some of her products through her website beautyandsplendoressentials.square.site. Finally, Micro Balance Health Products will be live with Beth on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube talking all-things fertility, pregnancy, and mold on May 8, 2025, at 5:00 PM CST.