Toxic Victims

In December 1981 My Husband & I had a gas fire fitted by a reputable gas fire company in the UK.

The offer was on national tv. Fitted & Working for £99!!!!

The gas fitter was friendly & chatty. I remember him testing the chimney with some sort of smoke device. The draw of the chimney was evident (according to him). He did not check outside or check the chimney to see if it was safe. I had no idea that was not good enough. The room had not been used for years--the previous owner had lived in the back of the house (dining room) although a Gas Miser (type of gas fire) was in the fireplace, so it is possible the chimney had not been checked when it was installed.

My lounge was then completed & in time for Christmas. It looked fabulous & I was so thrilled with it.

In the new year I started to have dizzy spells. They were quite scary at times. I often had to find a chair when I was out shopping. I felt stupid & it put me off shopping alone. It started to happen everywhere I went, as well as at home. I did not connect it to the gas appliance due to this. I worked in an office next to a basement. The basement was a garage, with many cars parked in an enclosed space. I had to walk through this garage to go upstairs to the rest of offices where I worked. There was only 1 self closing door separating my work station & the garages. The smell of fumes from vehicles was noticeable, every time the door was opened & I used to take a deep breath before going through the garage to the rest of the building, as I found the fumes unpleasant.

I left my job to spend more time with my family. I remember being better after I'd left my job & enjoyed the summer at home with the girls. The dizzy spells didn't happen often at that time & I'd begun to think it was all down to stress. Winter came & I started having dizzy spells again. I visited the Doctors more than once. The first time the Doctor said I had Neuritis. I saw another Doctor & he said it was my age? I found that a bit strange as I was in my late 20's, but I didn't question it--he was a Doctor! At some stage I went to a private clinic & had blood tests for allergies. They said I had to avoid certain foods, but it made no difference to my symtoms at all.

I collapsed at home one afternoon & my Husband carried me to the car & insisted I go back to the surgery. I saw another Doctor (the Doctor I preferred to see) & he wanted me to see a Neurologist urgently. I saw a Neurologist the next day. My GP saved my life & although I didn't know it at the time or for many years--he saved the life of every member of my family.

I was thoroughly examined & pin pricked all over my body. I had large patches on my legs & torso that I could not feel at all. I knew he was pushing the pin in--I could see he was pushing the pin in, but I could not feel the pricking sensation. I was absolutely petrified.

I was admitted the same day. I was subjected to so many tests. I had teens of CT scans. I had a lumbar puncture, ECT & a milogram. In those days you weren't given much information about the tests. I was in hospital for 3 weeks, but allowed home every weekend. I spent much of the weekend at my Mother in Laws. She was looking after my home & the children.

I came home after my stay to find the lounge fire was on (4 bars) to warm it up for my return. The house was in a mess as we were having a new gas fire back boiler in the dining room. The room was stripped & bare. I walked into the lounge & immediately knew something was wrong. The air seemed thick & had a sickly sweet smell. There was a mark on the front of the gas fire, it had been there for some time, but had got much bigger. I turned the gas fire off & phoned the gas company. The Engineer came out & investigated. He said the fire had no air flow & immobilised it immediately. He said if he investigated further & it was found to be our fault it would cost us. The man who was fitting our other fire/back boiler/central heating investigated it for us.

He found our lounge chimney was ACTUALLY capped off! It had an asbestos plate blocking the flue. It had probably been done when the house had been a shop (years before) & may have been put there to stop draughts or something. It had been in place (the house hadn't been a shop for teens of years) when the 'fitted & working' fire had been installed. The gas fitter didn't check the chimney--he didn't even use a smoke bomb. He used either a match or a lighter!

The house originally had a fire in the bedroom, but it was boarded up. The gas fitter checked that chimney & said the mid-feathers had gone & it had completely blocked.

We had (as a family) been sitting in a small lounge (11.5 feet by 9 feet) breathing in the Carbon Monoxide & other Toxic Poisons emitted by this gas fire for a very long time. I still can't remember whether it was 1 or 2 years, but long enough!

Not only that, but I had been in hospital for 3 weeks, leaving my family with a toxic timebomb.

I was more than shocked. We contacted the company & they sent an inspector to talk to us. He told us he had no idea how any of us had survived. We had a single glazed, large bay window & a door to outside in the room. The inspector thought the drafts from them had actually provided us with a certain amount of oxygen/fresh air & the fact there was a bedroom chimney, some of the fumes initially must have escaped up there. He thought the chimney had deteriorated over time & eventually blocked. This was the reason I was getting worse. I suspect the outcome would have been very different if we'd had double glazing.

He said they were not liable. At that time the law was only liable in the event of death. The fact we had all been at risk & I had been in hospital did not count. We did take advice & Consumer Protection said we did have a case, but it would be a private prosecution--very costly & how many win with such a huge company? I now know just how fruitless that would have been.

Well--it hadn't killed us & I was discharged from the hospital. The only long term effect I had were the broken veins on my face!!! (or so I thought) They disappeared after a couple of years. Not one of the professionals at the hospital asked after my family, or mentioned anything about any long term effect. I did wonder at the time what effect it might have--long term. It was a poison, a poison that caused me to collapse, more than once. I thought I was going to die on the day I was admitted into hospital. I remember wondering what it would do to my brain long term. I then put it to the back of my mind & got on with my life.

I think the reason I had been having attacks at work & in the town centre was possibly due to working next to a inside basement car park & just being exposed to the pollution of the town. When I finished working it was summer & the gas fire was never on--hence my improvement. If I had not worked in such an environment I might have associated the symptoms with being at home.

I had my Son in 1985 & my life was complete. In 1986 I started a small business. I bought a greetings card shop & when I started suffering with stiffness--I thought it was the heavy lifting & rushing about I was doing.

I started to visit a physiotherapist. He said I had fibrositis & I saw him regularly to manipulate my back/neck muscles & it often sounded like he was crunching cinder toffee. I had pain in my neck every morning. The pain was often excruciating & a friend gave me a neck pillow & that helped. From then on night & sleeping in beds was a nightmare. The pain shifted & eventually settled in my upper back & I had terrible muscular spasms every night. I rarely got more than 5 hours sleep & spend half of the night walking off the pain or getting comfy on loads of cushions on the sofa. Life was often very difficult & very tiring.

I also had stiffness elsewhere & started to get bouts of chronic fatigue. This was even worse whenever I picked up a virus. It took me ages to recover.

In my early 40's I started with a rash. I actually thought I had Chicken Pox. I went to a Doctor (not my usual) & she told me the rash all over my body were bites. The 'bites' did not respond to treatment no matter what I did, so I went back & saw another Doctor. He said the same thing. So I tried more potions & lotions. I even went to the vet with my dogs & had their skins scraped. This was to see if they had Sarcoptic Mange (similar to Scabies) as they can bite humans (or fleas). My dogs were clear & the vet had no idea what was causing my rash. He suggested it could be some sort of allergy. I had these so called bites for 5 years--winter & summer. I tried every treatment there was & nothing stopped them at all. The only relief I had was the antihistamine, it stopped the itch. I had hundreds of them all over my body--they were impossible to count & they stopped me bearing my flesh--even on holiday. One day I noticed they were not itching & they simply disappeared as quickly as they started. I haven't had a single bite since & was never bitten by anything before. It is my belief that something was happening to my immune system at that point (only my opinion).

In late 1999 I had flu. I had the virus for weeks & it left me with a horrible cough. I had 2 courses of anti-biotics & I was refused a 3rd. My Doctor said most people who had this virus had been left with a cough--it would go eventually. I coughed & coughed & coughed--for a year! My Husband & work colleagues finally pushed me to see my Doctor again. He sent me for an xray & gave me a peak flow & chart. I had to record it for 2 weeks. I went back for my results & the nurse gave me some shocking news. She told me I had the lungs of a lifelong smoker. I was gobsmacked! I had only ever had a few fags in my teens & never took it up. My Doctor was brought in & he told me to stop smoking. I told him I had never been a smoker. He asked if I lived with a smoker & I told him I had not lived with a smoker for well over 20 years.

I was so upset by the results I made an appointment to discuss them properly with my Doctor. He asked me questions about my family. My Doctor thought maybe I had inherited from my Mother, a sort of pre-dispositioning for emphysema. That is what she died of, but she was a lifelong smoker & I wasn't. All of my 7 siblings have smoked & I am the only one with such a condition? I have been treated as an Asthmatic ever since. It is only now (years later) that some of my siblings (life long smokers) are developing chest disease. My siblings range from 2 to 20 years senior.

I'm not sure of the date, but some time between the diagnosis of 'Asthma' & eventually Fibromyalgia I developed a swelling on my throat. It was noticed by a colleague & I visited the Doctor. My own GP was on holiday & my 2nd choice of GP said I had a Goitre. He said it would go away on it's own, but it felt like a large swelling, I was having some discomfort swallowing & it unnerved me. I paid to see an Endicronologist, who said my Thyroid was more than twice the size it should be. He said it was the reason I felt a tight band around my neck, but he wasn't worried about it. He said if it was harder or had nodules, then action would need to be taken.

In 2004 I was diagnosed as having Fibromyalgia. I had been seeing an Osteopath for the stiffness in my back & body. On one occasion he refused to treat me as my spine was flat. I was advised to see my Doctor asap & I had blood tests to rule out Rheumatoid Arthritis. The tests were clear & he diagnosed the Fibromyalgia.

Early in 2007 the dizzy attacks started again. They were similar to when I had Carbon Monoxide poisoning. They worsened & I eventually collapsed without warning in the street. That collapse led me to a fibromyalgia website & also a group who had been (toxic) poisoned like me. I saw a Neurologist & Cardiologist, had a CT scan, an MRI scan & a 24 hr ECG. The results were all within the normal range. The Cardiologist said I had just had a Vasovagal attack, gave me leaflets to help me prevent any future attacks. To be honest--as soon as she saw the words Fibromyalgia on my medical notes she was not interested. She barely examined me & although I was supposed to have a stand up bp test--she had the wires on me less than a minute (my Hubby was timing), but recorded a more thorough examination, which I read at a later date in a letter to the Neurologist. The Cardiologist was well aware of the long term effect of the incomplete combustion of gas & other fossil fuels, so was the Senior Neurologist.

I paid private for a blood test that showed I had several toxic poisons in my blood. As I have never worked (or lived) near or in a chemical factory or with heavy metals. I rather suspect they are as a result of the incomplete combustion of gas in my home. In other words, the result of an accident caused by the lack of care by a gas engineer. I will update this blog with the full details of the private blood test at a later date. The Senior Neurologist I saw was interested enough to see a copy of my blood tests & he asked for a copy of the group (fellow sufferers) results I had on a spreadsheet (nobody was identified, of course).

Other members of my family? My Husband was a workaholic in those days & was rarely in the house. I thought my family were fairly safe as they didn't frequent the room as much as I did, but I didn't realise Carbon Monoxide goes through walls & there would have been increased levels all over my house. I'm not sure about the other chemicals & how far they reach. I strongly suspect my family dog died as a result of the poisoning too. He had a problem the vet couldn't find. He wasn't allowed in the lounge, so I did not connect his death at the time. He was only 9 years old & although he had a digestive illness--it was not responsible for his death & he was expected to live a normal life span to about 12 years old. The vet said something else was obviously wrong that we were missing. I know what it was now!

My 2 Stepdaughters suffer from chronic illnesses. They are very similar to my own. I won't write about them as it is not my place to say. If they wish they can add to the blog. I will say nobody can say it is a genetic thing--they are in no way related to me. I always thought it was odd that they had similar illnesses. I'm sure you will agree.