Where on earth did I pick up ALS? Some say sporadic ALS may be caused by toxin build-up from our environment. I'd like to chronicle my exposures as I understand them.
I did not serve in the military but I was a Navy brat, moving from place to place. Some of the suspicious places we lived would be any military housing and we lived in some lulus! Inadequate navy housing located near Signal Hill in Long Beach, California was a filthy installation, riddled with cockroaches. Bug bombs were a common ritual and the clean-up was performed by yours truly as a grade schooler. I remember the scent and taste of the insecticide as we were required to scrub using elbow grease, a rag, and a bucket of water. The place was surrounded by oil wells and we drank tap water exclusively. Additionally, we lived in Cabrillo Naval Housing, Tierra Santa Naval Housing and a string of cheap apartments where we always battled cockroaches with aerosol poisons.
Throughout my life I have been a cleaner. Starting at ten, against my will and under the heading of chores, I began using chemical cleaners to clean floors, walls, tubs, sinks, and toilets. For the most part it was Comet, Lysol, Windex, Pledge, and Clorox bleach. As an adult I kept up the habit and graduated to "Scrubbing Bubbles", Clorox Cleaner, and others.
My mother, biological father, a stepfather, grandmother, and grandfather all smoked cigarettes. They smoked heavily in the house, in the car, and most certainly in our presence. I reeked so badly of cigarettes as a kid my aunt laundered everything in my suitcase when I came out for a visit. Anectdotically, I do not smoke nor have I ever smoked. All of my siblings smoke and lots of friends smoked around me.
Amalgam fillings are suspicious and I've had four of them for many years as I had poor dental hygiene and no dental care as a military dependent. I have also had a few root canals. Today I understand these to be slow poison in my system. Furthermore, I have lived in places that fluoridated their water and I have used fluoride toothpaste almost exclusively. My dental hygiene is greatly improved.
I've used cosmetics since I was 13-years-old, pilfering Avon testers from my mother. I've also used a combination of off-the-shelf make-up (Max Factor, Revlon, Physician's Formula) through my twenties, changing to Merle Norman, followed by Mary Kay cosmetics for the past twenty years. I've also painted my nails and used acetone polish remover regularly. I have been a girly-girl most of my life. I must also mention aerosol hairspray rich in those nasty propellants.
Most recently, I have battled my weight and consumed many diet products containing asparatame over the past 15-20 years to include Sweet & Low and Splenda.
While I'm clean and sober over sixteen years, my addiction led me to ingest many chemicals in the form of alcoholic beverages over a twenty year period. I also used marijuana sporadically. Drug use included cough syrup with codeine (at 15) barbiturates (short-term sporadic at 18 years old), cocaine use (twice at 18), one acid trip (also at age 18), one sample of "crank" (at 32). As an idiotic kid, I "huffed" gasoline and Pam (R) cooking spray a few times on a dare.
Additionally, I've used air fresheners, Febreeze and others; carpet cleaners and fresheners, dish soaps, Jet Dry, dishwasher detergents, laundry detergents, bleach, pre-spotters. I've applied many products directly to my skin assuming them to be benign. Lotions, oils, self tanners, exfoliants, shave creams, waxes, shampoos, conditioners, detanglers, mousse, volumnizers, shines, bleach, and dyes, all touched my skin and hair.
I did not serve in the military but I was a Navy brat, moving from place to place. Some of the suspicious places we lived would be any military housing and we lived in some lulus! Inadequate navy housing located near Signal Hill in Long Beach, California was a filthy installation, riddled with cockroaches. Bug bombs were a common ritual and the clean-up was performed by yours truly as a grade schooler. I remember the scent and taste of the insecticide as we were required to scrub using elbow grease, a rag, and a bucket of water. The place was surrounded by oil wells and we drank tap water exclusively. Additionally, we lived in Cabrillo Naval Housing, Tierra Santa Naval Housing and a string of cheap apartments where we always battled cockroaches with aerosol poisons.
Throughout my life I have been a cleaner. Starting at ten, against my will and under the heading of chores, I began using chemical cleaners to clean floors, walls, tubs, sinks, and toilets. For the most part it was Comet, Lysol, Windex, Pledge, and Clorox bleach. As an adult I kept up the habit and graduated to "Scrubbing Bubbles", Clorox Cleaner, and others.
My mother, biological father, a stepfather, grandmother, and grandfather all smoked cigarettes. They smoked heavily in the house, in the car, and most certainly in our presence. I reeked so badly of cigarettes as a kid my aunt laundered everything in my suitcase when I came out for a visit. Anectdotically, I do not smoke nor have I ever smoked. All of my siblings smoke and lots of friends smoked around me.
Amalgam fillings are suspicious and I've had four of them for many years as I had poor dental hygiene and no dental care as a military dependent. I have also had a few root canals. Today I understand these to be slow poison in my system. Furthermore, I have lived in places that fluoridated their water and I have used fluoride toothpaste almost exclusively. My dental hygiene is greatly improved.
I've used cosmetics since I was 13-years-old, pilfering Avon testers from my mother. I've also used a combination of off-the-shelf make-up (Max Factor, Revlon, Physician's Formula) through my twenties, changing to Merle Norman, followed by Mary Kay cosmetics for the past twenty years. I've also painted my nails and used acetone polish remover regularly. I have been a girly-girl most of my life. I must also mention aerosol hairspray rich in those nasty propellants.
Most recently, I have battled my weight and consumed many diet products containing asparatame over the past 15-20 years to include Sweet & Low and Splenda.
While I'm clean and sober over sixteen years, my addiction led me to ingest many chemicals in the form of alcoholic beverages over a twenty year period. I also used marijuana sporadically. Drug use included cough syrup with codeine (at 15) barbiturates (short-term sporadic at 18 years old), cocaine use (twice at 18), one acid trip (also at age 18), one sample of "crank" (at 32). As an idiotic kid, I "huffed" gasoline and Pam (R) cooking spray a few times on a dare.
Additionally, I've used air fresheners, Febreeze and others; carpet cleaners and fresheners, dish soaps, Jet Dry, dishwasher detergents, laundry detergents, bleach, pre-spotters. I've applied many products directly to my skin assuming them to be benign. Lotions, oils, self tanners, exfoliants, shave creams, waxes, shampoos, conditioners, detanglers, mousse, volumnizers, shines, bleach, and dyes, all touched my skin and hair.
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