Carbon monoxide poisoning stories

WHILE AT WORK IN A HARDWARE STORE I WAS OVERCOME FROM A UNIT HEATER THAT WAS NOT INSTALLED CORRECTLY. THE HEATING SYSTEM WAS NOT VENTED TO AN OUTSIDE WALL THUS THE EFFECTS WERE VERY HIGH, WENT TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER MY 8 HOUR SHIFT AND MY BLOOD GAS WAS OVER 20. STAYED OVERNIGHT, THE GAS COMPANY THE NEXT DAY SHUT DOWN SERVICE WITH LEVELS OVER 80 PPM IN THE ROOM AND OVER 2700 PPM AT THE HEATER.
THE COMPANY DID NOT USE A HEATING CONTRACTOR TO INSTALL THE HEATING SYSTEM AND DID NOT USE A HEATING CONTRACTOR TO FIX THE HEATING SYSTEM, THE CITY WAS OUT TO INPECT THE NEW WORK, ASKING THE OWNER ABOUT PERMITS AND HEATING CONTRACTOR AND ON IT GOES. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN ANYWHERE, BECAUSE OF COMP. LAWS YOU CAN NOT BRING A LAWSUIT OF THE OWNER IF HE INSTALLED THE HEATING SYSTEM WITHOUT USING A PRO-HEATING CONTRACTOR
I DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY NOW. THIS IS WHY THE LAWS SHOULD BE CHANGED. A COMPANY CAN CUT CORNERS TO SAVE MONEY BUY A HEATING FIXTURE USE A HANDY MAN TO INSTALL IT, AND I GET A SLAP ON THE WRIST AND A SMALL FINE.

Another light just turned on in my head..... I have 3 cats. One has not been feeling well the past week or so and vomiting. All 3 of them have been sleeping a LOT more than usual too.

Anyone else have pets that have gotten ill from CO?

I believe I have figured out what is causing my head/eye aches... carbon monoxide. I just started using the ventless propane heater in my office 2 weeks ago. I woke up one morning and my eyes and head hurt real bad. It\'s been constant now for about 3 or 4 days. Very weird eye ache. I just finished reading stories about using these ventless propane heaters with ill effects. Also the symptons of others with carbon monoxide poisoning from other sources. I do have a CO detector in here but not a digital one. I turned the propane heater OFF and the electric one back on instead. Let\'s see if the pain goes away.....

In 1987 I had CO poisoning but only very mild, just a little headache. But the rest of the family, my mom, my kids, were all feeling really ill.... headache, nausea, flu like symptoms. I had been smelling a weird smell in the house but no one could smell it and they told me I was nuts. My oldest daughter spent a couple days with a girlfriend and her symptoms disappeared! I got really suspicious by this point. It was then I noticed blackening of the wall above each heat vent in the house. We called the gas company, they came out and found our chimney was blocked up with the black soot stuff and not venting the furnace properly forcing the CO into our house.

I\'ve not connected any of it to long term issues, however..... Makes me wonder now. I\'ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, bipolar, and degenertive disks in my back. All about 14 years ago and continue to this day.

I have a one and four year old me and their mom are split up my youngest was sick one nite she(their mom) told me that they need to use a heater that sat on the ground it was average size looked like a smaller version of what u see in a garage in the winter i don\'t know the name or if it it might be a torpedo heater all i know is my daughter vomited 10 times in 12 hours i don\'t know how long the heater was on for someone please help me is that a sign of CO poisoning has this happened to anyone else i need to know before i make a rear of myself and if it is what level is it???? and im not sure if she has a co detecter? but im gunna find out

I have a one and four year old me and their mom are split up my youngest was sick one nite she(their mom) told me that they need to use a heater that sat on the ground it was average size looked like a smaller version of what u see in a garage in the winter i don\'t know the name or if it it might be a torpedo heater all i know is my daughter vomited 10 times in 12 hours i don\'t know how long the heater was on for someone please help me is that a sign of CO poisoning has this happened to anyone else i need to know before i make a rear of myself and if it is what level is it???? and im not sure if she has a co detecter? but im gunna find out

I have a one and four year old me and their mom are split up my youngest was sick one nite she(their mom) told me that they need to use a heater that sat on the ground it was average size looked like a smaller version of what u see in a garage in the winter i don\'t know the name or if it it might be a torpedo heater all i know is my daughter vomited 10 times in 12 hours i don\'t know how long the heater was on for someone please help me is that a sign of CO poisoning has this happened to anyone else i need to know before i make a rear of myself and if it is what level is it???? and i'm not sure if she has a co detector? but ium gunna find out!

I have a one and four year old me and their mom are split up my youngest was sick one nite she(their mom) told me that they need to use a heater that sat on the ground it was average size looked like a smaller version of what u see in a garage in the winter i don\'t know the name or if it it might be a torpedo heater all i know is my daughter vomited 10 times in 12 hours i don\'t know how long the heater was on for someone please help me is that a sign of CO poisoning has this happened to anyone else i need to know before i make a rear of myself and if it is what level is it???? and im not sure if she has a co detecter? but im gunna find out

I have a one and four year old me and their mom are split up my youngest was sick one nite she(their mom) told me that they need to use a heater that sat on the ground it was average size looked like a smaller version of what u see in a garage in the winter i don\'t know the name or if it it might be a torpedo heater all i know is my daughter vomited 10 times in 12 hours i don\'t know how long the heater was on for someone please help me is that a sign of CO poisoning has this happened to anyone else i need to know before i make a rear of myself and if it is what level is it???? and im not sure if she has a co detecter? but im gunna find out

I have a one and four year old me and their mom are split up my youngest was sick one nite she(their mom) told me that they need to use a heater that sat on the ground it was average size looked like a smaller version of what u see in a garage in the winter i don\'t know the name or if it it might be a torpedo heater all i know is my daughter vomited 10 times in 12 hours i don\'t know how long the heater was on for someone please help me is that a sign of CO poisoning has this happened to anyone else i need to know before i make a rear of myself and if it is what level is it???? and im not sure if she has a co detecter? but im gunna find out

I have a one and four year old me and their mom are split up my youngest was sick one nite she(their mom) told me that they need to use a heater that sat on the ground it was average size looked like a smaller version of what u see in a garage in the winter i don't know the name or if it it might be a torpedo heater all i know is my daughter vomited 10 times in 12 hours i don't know how long the heater was on for someone please help me is that a sign of CO poisoning has this happened to anyone else i need to know before i make a rear of myself and if it is what level is it????

My brother has suffered with horrible anxiety attacks for a very long time now. Numbness in hands and feet, racing heart, quick to anger, severe headaches, & multiple sinus infections. He recently had some abnormal blood work done. He has polycythemia which is thickening of the blood. And hypoxia which is very low levels of oxygen in his blood. Also an enlarged spleen and very abnormal liver function tests. His Co levels were so high that the doctor made him have his truck & apartments tested for a carbon monoxide leak. Both tested normal. No gas used in his apartments at all. All electric. The Dr said this means that he is getting those high levels from the. Igarettss that he smokes. Been a heavey smoker for many years. Only 36. Dr said he is so toxic that he is I'm a prelukia stage & will be on oxygen in 5 yrs. I am now wondering is all of his anxiety symptoms all these years have been due to this or at exaserbated by it. All of the same symptoms described here he has suffered with chronically. He smoked those Eclipse cigarettes which are marked as supposedly "safer" than regular cigarettes with less chemicals. However, they apparently also put out even more carbon monoxide than a regular cigarette does. This all just happened within the last two weeks & we are still trying to find out whAt all is going on with him. However, if any of you out there are smokers & have Hx being a smoker you may want to consider this possibly being linked to your continuing symptoms. Might be worth checking out. Good luck to you all! Glad I found this site!

My brother has suffered with horrible anxiety attacks for a very long time now. Numbness in hands and feet, racing heart, quick to anger, severe headaches, & multiple sinus infections. He recently had some abnormal blood work done. He has polycythemia which is thickening of the blood. And hypoxia which is very low levels of oxygen in his blood. Also an enlarged spleen and very abnormal liver function tests. His Co levels were so high that the doctor made him have his truck & apartments tested for a carbon monoxide leak. Both tested normal. No gas used in his apartments at all. All electric. The Dr said this means that he is getting those high levels from the. Igarettss that he smokes. Been a heavey smoker for many years. Only 36. Dr said he is so toxic that he is I'm a prelukia stage & will be on oxygen in 5 yrs. I am now wondering is all of his anxiety symptoms all these years have been due to this or at exaserbated by it. All of the same symptoms described here he has suffered with chronically. He smoked those Eclipse cigarettes which are marked as supposedly "safer" than regular cigarettes with less chemicals. However, they apparently also put out even more carbon monoxide than a regular cigarette does. This all just happened within the last two weeks & we are still trying to find out whAt all is going on with him. However, if any of you out there are smokers & have Hx being a smoker you may want to consider this possibly being linked to your continuing symptoms. Might be worth checking out. Good luck to you all! Glad I found this site!

My brother has suffered with horrible anxiety attacks for a very long time now. Numbness in hands and feet, racing heart, quick to anger, severe headaches, & multiple sinus infections. He recently had some abnormal blood work done. He has polycythemia which is thickening of the blood. And hypoxia which is very low levels of oxygen in his blood. Also an enlarged spleen and very abnormal liver function tests. His Co levels were so high that the doctor made him have his truck & apartments tested for a carbon monoxide leak. Both tested normal. No gas used in his apartments at all. All electric. The Dr said this means that he is getting those high levels from the. Igarettss that he smokes. Been a heavey smoker for many years. Only 36. Dr said he is so toxic that he is I'm a prelukia stage & will be on oxygen in 5 yrs. I am now wondering is all of his anxiety symptoms all these years have been due to this or at exaserbated by it. All of the same symptoms described here he has suffered with chronically. He smoked those Eclipse cigarettes which are marked as supposedly "safer" than regular cigarettes with less chemicals. However, they apparently also put out even more carbon monoxide than a regular cigarette does. This all just happened within the last two weeks & we are still trying to find out whAt all is going on with him. However, if any of you out there are smokers & have Hx being a smoker you may want to consider this possibly being linked to your continuing symptoms. Might be worth checking out. Good luck to you all! Glad I found this site!

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Last night a friend who just moved into a rental property described waking up with headache, dizzyness, disturbed vision and brightly colored lips. Until I read this site all I knew about CM poisoning was that headache, dizzyness, and brightly colored lips are dead giveaways for exposure - not to mention unconsciousness and a quick death. In less than a week her behavior has changed completely. She has complained of feeling sad, depressed and nauseous. She has become irrational and quarrelsome. Now I feel terrible because last night I told her many times she couldn't sleep there again because she could die, but she did not appear to be able to process that information and insisted in going home instead of staying at my house. After reading about all these problems, she will stay at my home until her landlord resolves the problem. Given her state of mind perhaps I will have to take her car keys, flatten her tires, really fight about it, or whatever but she is in serious danger.

After reading all your posts, it strikes me that a range of symptoms of mental illness are here: noises in the head, visual distortions: (especially things growing larger and smaller and crawling around), burning sensations, tingling sensations, agitation, exhaustion, irrational behavior, anxiety, faulty thinking, overreaction to emotional stimulae, claustrophobia, mood swings, long and short term memory loss, insomnia, and social isolation stemming from the fearfulness and exhaustion.

I learned a lot this morning. Thank you all for sharing. Your remarks will spare the four people who live in that house a world of grief.

Last night a friend who just moved into a rental property described waking up with headache, dizzyness, disturbed vision and brightly colored lips. Until I read this site all I knew about CM poisoning was that headache, dizzyness, and brightly colored lips are dead giveaways for exposure - not to mention unconsciousness and a quick death. In less than a week her behavior has changed completely. She has complained of feeling sad, depressed and nauseous. She has become irrational and quarrelsome. Now I feel terrible because last night I told her many times she couldn't sleep there again because she could die, but she did not appear to be able to process that information and insisted in going home instead of staying at my house. After reading about all these problems, she will stay at my home until her landlord resolves the problem. Given her state of mind perhaps I will have to take her car keys, flatten her tires, really fight about it, or whatever but she is in serious danger.

After reading all your posts, it strikes me that a range of symptoms of mental illness are here: noises in the head, visual distortions: (especially things growing larger and smaller and crawling around), burning sensations, tingling sensations, agitation, exhaustion, irrational behavior, anxiety, faulty thinking, overreaction to emotional stimulae, claustrophobia, mood swings, long and short term memory loss, insomnia, and social isolation stemming from the fearfulness and exhaustion.

I learned a lot this morning. Thank you all for sharing. Your remarks will spare the four people who live in that house a world of grief.

I can't figure out what to do. My problems at this age seem insignificant to every one else, but no one could ever understand how I feel. I feel the need to commit suicide. I can't bare to live anymore, everything that I ever knew is brutally fake. I'm helpless. No one around me seems to care about me and I'm all alone. I need an escape.

Some years ago i had 87% carbon monoxide poisoning levels when tested - could this be the reason my memory is getting so bad? I am only in my mid 40\'s now - but I feel like I am in my 80\'s when it comes to trying to remember things or keep track of anything

My self my husband and my one year old son had moved into a rented property in April 2010. Ever since moving in my little boy had been referred to the peaditricans for constant chest problems which they believed was asthma .Also my husband had been admitted several times into hospital with query melengitis due to sever frontal pains in his head. My self had been under constant review by the Gp due ringing in the ears , dizzneyness and anxiety attacks and was being treated for depression. At the time we never thought we were suffering from co posioning we thought we were just having a long spade of bad luck.Then on the 11th of Novemebr at about 0800pm me and my son started to feel ill he had slept most of the day and i had a sever headache so i dosed us both up on paracetamol and went straight to bed. In the early hours of friday the 12th of Novemeber my husband who had been on a night shift returned home two hours early, to a smell of gas. He immediatley turned off the gas supply and ran straight upstairs to where me and my son were in bed. After several minutes of trying to wake me up i awoke to him screaming there is gas the house we need to do some thing !! I jumped out of bed, and realsied that i felt very odd it felt as though my head had a pulse and i was in extreme pain. I also felt like i wasnt in charge of my own body I apparently then passed out. After this the next thing i can remeber is becoming concious in my back garden surroned by my huband and firemen . Me and my son were taken immediatley to hospital and given several hours of oxygen via a nonrebreath mask. Luckly my little boys co levels were alot lower than mine and he made a quicker recovery and did not lose conciousness through out this horrible situation.

The only reason i wish to share my story is because my husband was not due to finish work for another two hours that night. The HSE and local fireman told me if he had come two hours later that me and my son would have definitly have died. All I can say is we both must have guardian angels! I urge all people out, that have not aready got one,for the sake of a couple of pounds please buy a co detector it could save your life or save you from going through such a horrible event as this one.

My son and husband they appear to have made a full recovery and for my son all his constant cheast problem seem to have disappeared. But on occasions I still have ringing in my ears and a fast pulse and light headness. But i belive time is a healer and i am determined that i will make a 100% recovery as this nasty gas wont beat me.

Sorry here is my email niche-tech@hotmail.com

First I would like to say that I understand everyones situation and the extreme hardships that this "Silent Killer" has done to each and all alike. My wife and I moved into an apartment on the first floor of a "newly renovated" bachelor apartment. Being pregnant at the time my wife ate, drank and conducted herself like a shrine to our unborn child....everything was great until only a week later when we rushed her to emergency to find out she had suffered a miscarriage. We couldn't understand for the life of us why? Soon after we began to get "flu like" symptoms...chest pain...etc. but only tried to "shake it off" but with no change. My wife started acting very moody, depressed, and just not the same person she used to be. We got tests done to show that she had thyroid problems and treated that along with her depression with pills....nothing changed. After that I had to wear a heart monitor around me for a few days to try and figure out why I was having the heart issues....couldn't explain. Weeks later I had to be rushed to emerg. when my intestine collapsed and thats when some signs started happening. My blood work came back and my creatine levels were elevated higher than normal...as well as my spleen being enlarged. Yet they didn't have an answer why this was happening.Finally more months go by and I know something is wrong and I could just smell a hint of car fumes in the air one day...so I said I'm gonna get a CO2 tester. As soon as I plugged it in ...247 came up on the screen....thats when everything fell into place. We then realized that we were being poisoned for a whole year with out ever knowing....and since the apartment building did not have CO testers which is law... I did not know at this point that we were going to suffer for the rest of our lives. I quickly got my wife and video camera and shot a dozen or so readings in a 10 day span showing the readings from the machine....HOWEVER like most of us NEW to this gas ...I did not understand the seriousness of what this has caused. We moved weeks later but had suffered for a whole year of poisoning before we moved. We have no enjoyment in life....our ailments keep us from doing just about anything...I had been diagnosed with AS or Ankylosing Spondylitis since this (auto immune) and the entirety of my back is in so much pain that I walk around like I am 80 years old at times. Not to mention that we had the most amazing dog with us through this who has just recently died of heart and kidney failure....which is ALLLLLL caused by the poisoning. So now we have a claim against the owners of the building but yet the Lawyer that I have does not seem to want to work for this case. He says that we need to PROVE that this has caused us permanent damage......and I'm like how much MORE proof do you need. Its crazy the amount of evidence that I have to support my claim....including NUMEROUS VIDEO IMAGES showing that carbon monoxide is present on our home. I wish there were more studies done on chronic exposure to help solidify my case. Our lives have forever been changed and will continue to only get worse. Having read some of the other victims out there gives me strength to push this case forward.....I'm not going to let these people get away from taking my unborn child, dog, health and general well being from us. Any ideas, thought, referrals....or anything that someone can give to us is greatly appreciated. And finally to all those who are and will be on this site. This legal battle that I'm fighting I hope will start a new beggining to change the way doctors, lawyers, and the rest of the people who doubt the harmful....PERMANENT...damage that CO causes once and for all. The people responsible for this should be charged with murder for the death of my baby in that unfit environment

Can anyone tell me if they fully recovered eventually? I do understand that recovery apparently is slow, but it would be nice to know there is at least hope for full recovery. I suffered a chronic poisoning for at least 2years (that is how long I noticeably had health issues, however the doctors never thought of CO poisoning). It was caused by my water heater. Then Dec 23, 2010 I suffered a severe acute poisoning and was just able to call the alarm number before I got to the stage of passing out. At that point I was breathing very fast, dizzy & light headed, had an enormous buzz in my ear and no coordination. The ambulance medics thought I was hyperventilating until I asked if it could be related to my heater (my windows had been very dense when I got home that day). They immediately removed me from the house and I was given 20 litres of oxygen overnight through a face mask.
The first week back home I was fine, but then the health issues slowly started emerging. Since then I have been home and not able to go out or work. I am dizzy and light headed all the time and have buzz in my ear. Other than that I\'m tired and feel like I can\'t fully breath in. Does anyone have or had the same symptoms? Did you recover fully? what did you do?
Please email me, it will be highly appreciated!
klaraleighton@hotmail.com

Being in the automotive repair business for 25 years i knew how dangerous carbon monoxide can be. In 1989 i started second chance carbon monoxide alarms. I wanted a alarm that would actually do something other than sound a alarm. My alarm will open the garage door or turn on a exhaust fan. All of our units are U.L. tested and also has a feature that allows you to hook it up directly to your home alarm company. I know it wont eliminate all carbon monoxide deaths but it would stop a lot of them. We sell them on Ebay for $99.00 just type in second chance carbon monoxide alarms or feel free to email me direct at jfkv24@aol.com

I was poisoned 5 years ago. I never realized something was wrong with me. I'm losing my life. Between the headaches the anger I never realized until reading thus website I'm not the only one.

My girlfriend is leaving said I have completely changed and I have always known that something was wrong with me. I can't remember what happened last week and for that matter I can't remember anything between then and now it's all blurred out.

I need help with this and just can't figure anything out it just stresses me out to much

I was poisoned 4 years ago and since then, my life has been hell. I couldn't remember a simple thing. It was impossible to imagine a life like that.

My mum was there to support me. I have created a website where I explain how I recovered. www.corecovery.sitew.com

Don't hesitate to ask me your questions by email at gregorybavaud at gmail.com.

I wish you all a good recovery!

Get hyperbaric therapy, even years after poisoning, it\'s the solution!!

Greg

My fiancee of seven years has suffered from sever headaches daily, stabbing pain behind the eyes, fatigue, depression and many other symptoms. We have seen numerous nuerologist with no relief. When he was 12 years old he suffered from carbon monoxide poisioning, not sure of the amount he took in, I do know he passed out head first into a speaker, his mother was able to call 911 before she to passed out they were taken to the hospital and soon released stating they were both fine. At the age of 13 Mark started getting headaches and within time they evolved into daily headaches and his mother now suffers from parkinson's disease. I would love to find him a cure to this devasting problem and only hope one day I can so he may go on with his life and enjoy the children we have together!

in 1977 i had a very bad car accident, me and 4 of my friends passed out from CO. 5 of us in a 1974 Mustang, we passed out and flew over a 7ft fence through 1/2 acre of tree nursery to the other side of the property. With the front of the car under the fence at the other side of the yard. One by one we started to come too, me being the last to come too. While I was out I had the typical near death expiereance, with the bright light at the end of a dark tunnel, any that was many moon,s ago. And thank,s to this sight I now know that some of the thing,s i,m going through are from the co poisoning, My prayers to all of my fellow co serviver,s?

Hi i was poisoned 5 years ago; andunfortunately for me this has been like a death sentence. I dont really know the course that other co survivors take after there initial poisoning. But for me it is hell and getting worse. I guess it could be the crohns disease that I suffer with as this had already taken a toll on my health and still does. I guess my biggest problem is that eating seems to affect my brain in a very negative fashion almost immediately. That seems to be a result of the co poisoning.The way I am going I will be diseased in the not to distant future. Perhaps I have to go on some form of intravenous feeding. If any ony has any answers ae to why food screws me so badly I;d love to hear about it. Here in NewZealand hbot is too expensive for me so have been trying to get a chamber built; massive bloody task especially when so ill. I believe some of the meds im on for my crohns disease only make my condition worse; rock and a hard place really. best wishes and speedyrecovery/improvements to everyone

I've recently retired after 37 years serving in the Canadian Coast Guard. For 20 of those years I commanded various hovercraft at the busiest SAR base in Canada.

A horribly persistent pattern of CO poisoning became evident as did the cause.

Ever year the small cabin cruisers would start to tarp up as the gales of November begin. Still wanting to fish, only the aft transom canvass is opened to allow the fishing gear out. The dingy, carried upon the swim grid or small davit acts as perfect funnel to pump exhaust from the surface directly into the cabin. Often times the initial report was of a vessel going in circles. The odorless CO carried no other warning signs, the finely tuned modern engines produce a light exhaust and little smoke. They never knew they where even in trouble. In the few cases where there were survivors, a headache was often the only reported symptom before unconsciousness.

A vessel tracking downwind slowly trolling must never run with the canvas up but the transom canvas open.(back part of the boat). All avoidable fatalities.

I wish I could hug you. Reading what you said is like reading my journal from the past two years. I too had aches in my left knee, and no regulation of body temperature. I still have trouble with that. The electrical impulse thing my whole body gets those as soon as I lay back down after being up too long. I wonder if your adrineline rush is like my too much dopemine produced in my brain. I never drank achol. in my life and a friend said it is like you are drunk.

because I have ABI from CO poisioning and there are not that many others who have brain injuries was the closest I could find with someone that would understand. My hubby took me on the walk-a-thon and pulled me in a wagon as I layed there. I had to get out and lay flat on the ground to make it through it. I slept right after.

God in his hand, my recovery. I prayed for help and for the doctor to be inspired. I had a great ENT that I paid cash to go see that had just read an article on Swallowing issues from Co like I had. He gave me an article on Chorea to give the the Neurologist I wa going to. Paid cash for that too no insurance at the time. CA fires make me sick but, a simple candle use too. I stopped breathing in the hospital at one point and my eyes a couple mornings spun out of control like they were bees. That made me so sick and really greatful for the brain having the ability to keep them under control most all the time. My hand froze up one day could not open it at all. I too turn to alternative stuff. I grow my own garden. I noticed what I eat makes a huge differance in how I feel.

I started experiencing vertigo and dizziness in early August. I have family members who had vertigo that was the result of inner ear infections so I assumed that the same was causing my vertigo but I didn't have any kind of ear ache.

When I could no longer walk across the floor but had to crawl my sister came up to help me and when she got to the top of the stairs she remarked how strong the smell of gas (or the fragrance that is put with the gas) was.

I called the gas company (this was early September) and they found a leak in the gas line leading to the pilot light in my fireplace. I was taken to the hospital for a blood test and the report confirmed that I had CO poisoning.

The doctor prescribed Antivert for the vertigo but he had no clue as how to treat the underlying cause of the vertigo. I did some research and found your Website.

I am very determined to recover and I know that a positive mind set about the situation is very important in facilitating that recovery. I am a believer in God's healing power and know that He is going to heal me.

I commend you for your desire to help others through your Website and for providing a place for others to share the devastating after effects that carbon monoxide exposure can leave behind.

Hi I had a scare in Jan of 2009 my gas water heater was leaking the CO back into the garage luckily I found it in time... Since then I bought a Life Protector for my garage, it is a switch that comes wih a CO detector when it detects CO it will open the door and let the fresh air in and the co out. Now I sleep better!!

I SEE YOUR SITE WANTS PROMOTION AND I AGREE. I WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE IT ON MY SITE WHEREIN MEMBERS CAN INTERACT AND SHARE. IT IS HERE ... http://cosurvivors.ning.com . IT WAS UP AND RUNNING BUT AS YOU KNOW FINDING US IS DIFFICULT AS THE DIAGNOSIS IS. I REALLY WANT TO PROVIDE A SITE THAT DOES EXACTLY WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING AND WOULD BE PLEASED TO PROMOTE YOU AS WELL AS AN EXCELLENT SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR US ALL.

I HOPE YOU AGREE

BEST REGARDS,
LISA, USA

THIS IS A GOOD SITE WITH A HUGE EXCEPTION. SUPPORT COMES FROM MEMBER TO MEMBER INTERACTION. I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH A FEW PEOPLE I RELATE TO AND I SEE NO WAY I CAN!

HOW IS THIS SUPPORT?

POISONED FOR 3 MONTHS BY FAILED EMISSIONS PURGE CANISTER IN CAR, 2003. DISABLED FROM IT.

My daughter found me almost 3 yrs ago in a coma state, as I laid lifeless on my bed. I had been poisoned for months without knowing it. The killer was my apartment heater. The flue at the top was pinched and all the carbon monoxide came right back in. It was during the winter months that I used the heater and began to vomit horrifically at night time.
The horrible headaches.
I would drag myself into work and when I had to call in sick thinking I had a bad flu other employees would also take time off claiming we shared the same bug.

Well the day my daughter found me, she had me rushed to the hospital and then I had to under go several Hyberbarac treatments. To clean out the toxins. I should have been dead. The treatments were so scary. I was trying to fight for my life yet was put into another panicking situation in order to survive it.
My ears bleed from the treatment. The power went out and that is even scarier. They can not bring you out of the chamber when the power goes off. Your air supply is not regular.

I couldn't remember anything. My mind drew a total blank. I couldn't drive a car or remember how to cook or what I was doing, unless I had post its or a timer to remind me. Even then I was not able to do many of the simple things. I got lost walking in my own neighborhood.
I could not add two numbers in my head. One plus One was gone...... People thought I was embellishing on the actual trauma...But I had never been so mentally lost in my life. My imagination was all dark, my mind was blank and dark so blurry.

My head felt like it was being stabbed by knives and I felt like electrical impulses were trying to fire in my head but there was no place for the energy to go. As if the bridges in my brain had been destroyed, yet the flow still tried to get threw but could not. So it exploded when it hit a dead end in my brain.
I can finally drive around town now, which is huge as I am a very independent person and this accident totally put a crimp in my life.
I can add more than two numbers in my head and I am slowly getting my brain power back.
You do not appreciate the little things until you have lost it all. Recovery is slow but it can be done if you get help in time. Get a carbon monoxide detector please. Save yourself and your family.

My family and I were subjected to carbon monoxide poisoning for 2-3 months in 2009 due to 6 panels in our furnace heat exchange that cracked. Fortunately, in December the furnace stopped running. The furnace tech told me had the furnace not stopped running and the leak found, we would have been "the lead story on the news."

My husband and daughter also had symptoms, but they were less severe. My husband had headaches most evenings and my daughter had nightmares and difficulty waking up in the morning. I work from home, so I don’t leave the house as often. As my symptoms progressed, I left home less and less. Going out for even a simple errand felt like a huge undertaking so I avoided going out.

I attributed my symptoms to several things. I thought I had a recurring sinus infection and suspected I had depression. By November wondered if I had some chronic illness such as Lupus. By December my symptoms were consistent enough that I made an appointment with the doctor. The CO problem was found two 2 days prior to my appointment, so I never found out what he would have diagnosed me with. I am guessing I would have come home with anti-depressants and antibiotics.

Here are the symptoms that I experienced order of frequency and severity:

I had some level of a headache all the time. A bad headache would wake me up early in the morning. The headaches were behind my eyes and it felt as if my eyeballs themselves hurt. I took a lot of Ibuprofen.

I was tired all the time and slept 12-16 hours a day. I did the bare minimum to keep my life going. I showered only when my hair was so dirty other people would notice. I went through the motions of my normal life, but was not engaged in my life. Anything out of the ordinary would overwhelm me.

I had trouble reading the computer screen, especially in the morning. I had trouble changing focus from one thing to another. Sometimes things look skewed, like looking at things through a lens meant to slightly distort items, but still allow you to see them.

My thinking was sluggish and I felt like I was in a fog. Now that I am well, I can see my thinking/processing ability was extremely impaired, much more so than I realized at the time. I had to concentrate very hard to do even simple tasks.

I felt slightly sick to my stomach or else was not hungry at all. I lost 5 pounds during this time.

At night I would feel like I had the "chills" but each time I took my temperature it was normal. It felt like my body was unable to regulate its temperature and I would either be too hot or my teeth would chatter with cold. I also felt slightly achy, especially my knees, and sometimes a general achiness like when you have the flu.

When the tech found the CO, I had a rush of adrenaline. For the rest of the day I felt excited, almost euphoric. I think this was a combination of relief at not dying and also having an explanation for my symptoms. I felt hyper alert and awake which I assumed was the adrenaline. The next day, I still felt hyper and very alert. I realize now that I can think and process again, that this is actually "normal" thinking but I had been slowed for so long that for the first several weeks after it felt like everything is moving very fast.

My husband and I just discovered a CO leak in our home today. We unknowingly have had mild to moderate symptoms for two weeks.

I am not sure how things will play out. Since we have gotten the news so recently, I don't know what is not yet answered.

I do know this web site is very informative. Head and shoulders above anything else I have seen. Thank you all!

My employer supplied a work vehicle that had an exhaust leak. I was unaware of the leak as the vehicle was older and I assumed it was just smelly from years of use.

I drove the vehicle for approximately 18 months and then had a black out while driving. I then had another serious attack and black out along with other symptoms.

Thinking back, there were many other symptoms leading up to this that I did not recognize until after I became aware it was carbon monoxide.

The problem is, my employer has got rid of the vehicle and I am still not well yet I now have no way of proving for sure that it was the vehicle.

I bought my home 1.5 years ago. Since then I have experienced a gradual decline in my health. I remeber it starting with memory problems. Some days I would forget the routine things and other days I would forget words. I felt like I was losing my mind. I thought I was taking on too much and kept thinking once things slowed down I would feel better. The next thing that I remember happening is the gradual weight gain. I gained 50 lbs in the past year and a half. I tried everything; I worked out 3-4-5 times a week running, walking and eating right. I still gained weight and could not stop it. Then the pain started. I have some lower pack problems (multiple slightly bulging disks, a tilted disk not impacting a nerve and bursitis in my hips which I got while training for a marathon) but the pain got unbearable and was persistent, even when I stopped running. The pain also moved down from my hip across my thigh and down to my knee. The neurosurgeon ran a bunch of test and could not find anything to explain the cause of the pain. I was just about to start lumbar epidurals to relieve the pain but have just postponed the treatment because….

A couple days ago the gas company came and replaced my gas meter. When they re-lit the pilot light on my hot water heater and furnace they checked to confirm everything was exhausting properly, they determined that the furnace was forcing the exhaust fumes down the exhaust pipe of the hot water heater and back into my house. I am now under the impression that for the past 1.5 years I have had low levels of carbon monoxide in my home when my furnace was running.

I want to know if I will regain my health. Can I expect the pain in my thigh to subside? Will I finally be able to drop weight? Will I stop forgetting things? I want to believe I will get better and could really use some reassurance.

We had a power outage and bought candles. I am not sure if we used to many in to small a area?

My memory of last week is very poor but i remember being very groggy and having to get up to go pee a lot and then two days i dont really remember much.

I felt bad thoughts, was sick with something, fourth day my wife started having shaking noises in her head and looked bad.

We went to a doc and he said tension headache. About 24s hours later i started having same thing. Shaking head sensations and sounds that were not there, like tires hitting a bump in the road constantly.

I went to a doc and it occurred to me to ask as my head was finally clearing out and thinking better, and he said he couldn't know as if it was CO.

He couldn't measure it now, but my wife and I have had problems with memory and just functioning enough to eat but forgetting what day it is.

I wake up nightly with my head vibrating and tingling all over my body. My thinking is better but my body still feels horrible. I am trying to find out as much as i can. I am appalled that in the info pursuit, i find that we have a rate of 6000 accidental deaths approx per year.

It seems that the UK, a country with a population 1/5 our size has approx 60 people a year die , this was 2008. I don't trust my math at the time as my brain is seriously impaired, but i think if one does the math, that means the odds of getting CO poisoning in America is one in 50k, and in the UK its one in a million.

That's 20 times more likely to die from carbon monoxide in America. There must be a reason but I doubt i can figure it out. Maybe someone could and certainly someone should. Those are our lives and people are being needlessly lost.

That doesn't even include those that are damaged and injured for life. If your christian, please pray for me and my family for recovery from this event.

I was poisoned over 3 to 5 years from an oil central heating boiler at under 100 parts per million of CO (CO monitor had a lower limit of 100 ppm).

The more ill I felt the more I stayed at home, eventually I couldn't work anymore or walk more
than 100 yards & my body movements, thought processes speech all slowed down noticeably.

My GP continued to diagnosis ME/exhaustion despite me saying the boiler had been condemned for CO.

Finally I was referred to a neurologist (to get me out of surgery I think) and he confirmed CO poisoning and said I will get better slowly but there is nothing the medical profession can do to help.

It is 3 months since the last poisoning and my health is better than it was, but I am still a long way from being healthy.

I have thrombocytosis and have been having my blood check for a year now and finally asked for a CO test and it came back at 5.6%, higher than allowed for a smoker.

I had a HVAC repairman check my furnace and cooking stove and both checked out ok. My car is a Honda civic. My workplace does not have any gas/propane burning appliances.

Where could i have gotten this high level and how do I cleanse it from my blood?

Something in my office is making me sick. I have almost all of the symptoms of CO poisoning and although I have tried to talk to my employer about it they are unwilling to do any tests or look at the ventalation system, etc. to try and figure out what it happening.

At this point it has been over 5 hours since I have been there and the only place to get a blood test is the emergency room and they are telling me another 5 hour wait just to get blood drawn. Is there any other way to verify this?

CO poisoning is a possible (likely?) explanation for the symptoms I've experienced this New Zealand winter - and I was sleeping in an unventilated room with an old gas fire on.

I was four years old when it happened, and I'm now 76! I am a writer and artist, and I know my experience is atypical....

My mother, her parents, and my younger sister and I were on our way to Concordia, about 25 miles from our home, in our old car....

I had stretched out on the back seat recall smelling strong fumes coming up through the crack in the seat. For some odd reason I liked the smell and breathed in deeply....When our family arrived in Concordia they found me all but lifeless.

How long I was unconscious I don't know. How long would it have taken them to find the nearest doctor's office?....

Mother told me that Granddad ran up a long flight of stairs with me in his arms, and must have burst into some unknown doctor’s office, startling the doctor and nurse out of their wits for a few moments. But they set about to do everything they knew to try to revive this unknown child who appeared next to lifeless....

How long I was out I don’t know, but when I opened my eyes I was in a strange, all-white room, lying on a narrow table with my head lower than my feet. I was left in that position for a while, drifting in and out of a state of foggy bewilderment as to how I could have gotten there!

Eventually someone sat me up on another table, and a nurse brought me a cup of strong black coffee which she told me to drink. I sipped only a little of it....

At home strange things started happening to me. I couldn't take a deep breath,and kept spitting compulsively. I was constantly in motion, provoking my grandmother to say, "Can't you stand still? You're going to have St. Vitus Dance!"

Any strong emotion, good or bad, would evoke either an exotic, drug-like high or a nightmarish low. My senses
seemed to be heightened beyond normal, and I think I had some kind of silent seizure activity. At times I couldn't focus my eyes and once wallpaper figures seemed to be writhing....Eventually I seemed better.

At school I learned quickly yet at times couldn't think at all! Did brain swelling keep recurring? If so, I think it still happens at times....I could say so much more, but long story short, I have functioned fairly well throughout my life--unusually well at times--yet still have mysterious physical symptoms and distressing mental changes that come and go, especially when I am alone....

My husband has dementia and is in Long Term Care. I see him nearly every day and do much better when I'm around people. Is there any other survivor with a story anything like mine?

This is the story of what has happened to me over the last 3 months. It is long, but I urge you to PLEASE read it. It could save your life or keep you from becoming very, very ill!

Flashback to 3 months ago:

I start feeling ill with dizzy spells and the feeling of coming down with the flu. A couple of weeks go by and I am still feeling this way.

One day at work I became confused doing a routine task and decided I better see a doctor because something is just not right. The doctor tells me it sounds like I have hypoglycemia and makes an appointment for me to meet with the dietitian.

After meeting with the dietitian and following her advice a couple weeks go by and I still feel ill all the time. I go back and see my family doctor and I tell him I don't think I have hypoglycemia.

I'm doing everything I should and eating every two hours but I am still sick. He decides he is going to test me for an insulin secreting tumor. The test is done and nobody bothers to call me about it.

I call the clinic and they say the test came back normal. Now I have been left hanging.....still sick but nobody offering to do more tests. I decide to take matters into my own hands and go to a naturopath in my home city.

While driving there I have a dizzy spell and get pins and needles in my hands but manage to make it there okay. He told me that I had a parasite and food allergies and gave me some natural cures. I head for home hoping that I finally have the answer.

On the way home I begin to feel very ill and get pins and needles in my hands and become very dizzy. The next thing I notice my fingers are starting to curl up and then my hands clenched tight and I could not open them. I pull the car over and call 911.

The ambulance took me to emergency where I spent 8 hours having blood work and various tests done. The doctor then tells me that I was hyperventilating and that I should carry a brown paper bag around with me so next time this happens I can breathe into it.

I insisted that I was not hyperventilating and went home very tired and frustrated. As each day goes by I am becoming sicker and sicker and end up again in emergency.

They check me over and say they can't find anything
but insist on giving me a prescription for "mother's little helper" pills and say that I have anxiety. Again, I tell them, no, I don't have anxiety! Frustrated, I go home.

In the meantime, they have me booked in for a CT scan and to see the urgent neurologist. The scan comes back normal and the neurologist says she can't find anything wrong with me. She suggests that maybe I have stress in my life.

Another week goes by and by this time I am deathly ill. I am unable to do house work or cook meals and can barely make it through a few hours at work. Sunday night I was sitting on my couch feeling very, very ill and happened to look over at the carbon monoxide detector on the wall in my living room. I see a number on it and decide to pull it off the wall and take it into my kitchen where I have a new gas fireplace. The number on the detector soared.

I turned the fireplace off and went to the internet to look up the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Sure enough, EVERY symptom I had was listed.

During this entire ordeal I told every doctor that I felt like I have the flu all the time, with dizzy spells and pins
and needles in my hands and face. The number one symptom from all the research I have done is "flu-like" symptoms, yet not one doctor picked up on it.

The rest of my family were okay with the exception of my 6 year old who was complaining saying, "Mommy, I don't feel well".

I had two carbon monoxide detectors in my home and neither of them went off. One of them was in my kitchen where the fireplace is.

It turns out you can't rely on them to go off for small amounts which over time can make you very, very ill. After having the fireplace tested, we now know that it had a leaky valve right from the day it was hooked up.

Please take the time to check your carbon monoxide detectors. If you don't have one, get one! Make sure you have one with a digital number on it and not one that only makes noise.

Thank God I listened to my Mother-in-law who kept bugging me to get a new one! I did and it happened to be one with a digital reading on it. That is the only thing that saved me and my family. I hate to think what would have happened if I didn't notice and we were home for two weeks over the Christmas break.

Please send this to everyone you know! It may save a life.

I was poisoned about 4 years ago; about 8 hours of exposure and seem to have been on a downward slide ever since.

Has anyone had a carboxyheamaglobin level of 27? Are you still deteriorating? Would love to hear other stories from people in a similar situation. Thanx

I bought a new build flat and soon had severe breathing difficulty when in the property. I was in and out of hospital with severe respiratory distress.

I noticed a year later water damage on the ceiling when the plaster was cut it reveled a faulty leaking boiler flue. The gas company condemned the boiler.

I suffer fatigue and claustrophobia when in the property. The flue was badly installed and faulty so leaking gases back into my home.

I've been working at a place for over 3 years, we just install CO alarm about a month ago. Carbon monoxide levels show 50-100 ppm.

My question is: how this will effect my health in future and for how long? I had many symptoms over the past year. What should I do?

I have struggled to find the words to describe what I feel during episodes I have had the past 7 yrs - this is the best way I have found to describe it -anaphylactic reaction. After all this time I truly believe this is what has been wrong with me all along.

In 2003 I had an allergic reaction to something I ate. I collapsed in store. Heart rate blood pressure went way down. Head pounding. Felt like everything in my body was shutting down. For lack of words to describe the way felt it was like I was dying. I could not force myself to keep going.

The feeling I had from this allergic reaction never seemed to go away. For 7 yrs I have had spinning dizziness & those same feelings I had from the allergic reaction. Head was pounding very hard & very slow. I sometimes described them as vasa vegal - yet it was also like vertigo.

For a few yrs there would be Spinning when I would drive or turn a corner. And dizziness most of the time. Just horrible.

Continued for 2 yrs with head pain (severe stabbing pains in head)- neck- ear aches. Kept getting episodes where I would go down with that feeling of dying. Tremors. Pins and needles shooting up my head, leg, face or other parts of my body.

Dizzy spells continuously. Sometimes numbness in head & face. I would get ear aches. I would put peroxide in my ears to stop pain or I would lose hearing in right ear and only hear muffled sounds. Non stop head and neck ache for months.

Episodes of vertigo with movement,driving or just going into a store & looking at shelves. Always going to ER.

Vision-sometimes my visions wasn’t just right. Things would look like they were in constant movement. The wall would look like it jerked forward and back again very quickly. Just strange things.

Pressure and sometimes felt like pins were being poked into my eyes. Like when u have the flu your eyes might hurt by moving them. A lot of times eyes would swell like eggs.

At some point Fibromyalgia was suggested. I had very sore muscles & joints. Felt like I was always in a fog. I would tell DR I felt like nerves were being pinched or my electrical system was being short circuited. I didn’t know how to explain it.

I cant acclimate to weather changes. Cant take heat when spring & summer come. Episodes of collapsing feeling but dizziness still continued at times. Tremors as well at times.

I could not acclimate to temperature changes well and dizziness & tremors continued but not as often or as severe. Neck & headaches continued but I dealt with it.

MRI’s of Head were done several times over the years showing a few cysts & lesions that doctors say are normal for my age.

I started having pains down my arm & hand. Dizziness-extreme vertigo - extreme tremors - went back in to that feeling of body shutting down or dying. After that I have been to the ER 3 times in 1 week.

The episodes of going down continue on a daily basis several times a day. I am not able to function. This is every minute of my day.

Still having problems with ear ache & pain. Vertigo & dizziness almost all the time. Cant ride in car for more than a few miles.

Wake up every morning going for ice for my neck & head I fighting dizziness & the feeling of getting one of those episodes.

Off & on I would notice my face would be very swollen.
Now swollen face all the time & throat swells up like a frog. Always dizziness & not feeling well at all.

I noticed on my doctors chart someone wrote depression. Which makes me a little angry. The doctort talked to me maybe 10 minutes and decides I’m depressed.

Face & neck still very swollen & just don’t feel right. Fighting those episodes everyday.

Wondering if its an allergy -hormonal-thyroid thing. Or maybe I need an Endocrynologist.

I also wonder if there isn’t something in my home doing this to me. I finally found a way to describe the episodes : anaphylactic reaction.

Lost count of how many times I’ve been to ER in the past 3 months but having continuous dizziness. Especially when lying down. Just don’t feel well.

Strange things going on with my eyes again. Left eye sometimes looks like im seeing things in waves. Don’t know how to explain this either.

Today received results of Blood work. High amounts of carbon monoxide in my blood. The gas company came out & found problem with my oven & broiler.

I lost my car-almost my home-my job-not able to drive or 8 months now. Why couldnt a doctor have thought of this 6 yrs ago? Doctors used to care!

I replaced my broken oil burner with an Alsacian masonry stove for heating in Oct 2008 (Kachelhofe www.kachelofe.com).

The principle of this stove is that you make a big hot fire and when the flames are out and you only have coals left you close the air intake as well as the chimney flue.

The installer did not give me proper instructions on how to close the air intake, so without my knowing it CO was getting out after I closed the flue; furthermore I did not have enough ventilation which exacerbated it further.

I began suspecting something was wrong only in December 2009 when I felt funny and had heard about the problem of CO poisoning on the radio. So I went to the Hospital thinking they could test me but they couldn't find anything abnormal.

So I thought I was OK but decided to get a CO detector just in case; it went off the first time I used it. I could not believe it was working as the doctors had not told me that I may have a problem even if there was no sign of it in my blood (as it was after a day's work that I went to the hospital so there was no sign of it left).

It took me a while to figure out what was happening to my stove and finally an inspector came and measured 25 ppm. Then in mid January this year I was having persistent headaches but could get no doctor to pay attention to it as there was nothing in my blood (since every time I went to the doctor it was after not having been exposed for at least 10 hours.

I was also having nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath; later I got a number of anxiety attacks which took me to the emergency room but they all thought I was just stressed.

It has been 2 months since my last exposure (I had been exposed all last winter and this winter until January) and the nausea and anxiety is gone. But I have no energy and my head feels heavy and I cannot do strenous mental work; I run out of breath when doing strenuous exercise. I feel sad and a bit depressed. I cannot take stress.

I am happy to have found this site which gives me some hope. I am following all the suggestions about eating etc. I am still able to work only because it so happens that I have very little to do at work these days and it is very laid back.

I forget a lot of things and have difficulty making decisions. I cannot think quickly.

This is my story. I would like to hear whether others have felt the same and have gotten over it.

I ran a remote control helicopter in my underground garage and inhaled the exhaust from the nitro helicopter.

I used to work as an Motor Vehicle Department Agent and was doing vehicle inspection in a drive through carport. It was snowing, and people in line were running their cars to keep warm.

After 4 hours I was very sick and headache/migraine. I asked to be rotated with another agent and was denied. I worked another 2 hours and went to the supervisors and told her something was wrong. I had a hot liquid feeling on my head going from from back to front, my head felt swollen, my eyes were blurry, having trouble thinking, and my chest was pounding.

Medics found blood pressure of 320/206 and I was taken to the hospital. A Ct scan revealed bleeding on the brain. I was helicoptered to the trauma unit.

I tried to tell the neuro surgeon it was carbon monoxide. I knew it was. I was prepped for surgery. Went to another ct scan to locate the bleeding and the bleeding had slowed down.

I then went to ICU as stand by for surgery. As of that day I became diabetic, high blood pressure, hyperthyroid, hearing loss, vision loss, short term memory loss, concentration loss, multiple chemical sensitivities, migraine headaches, emotional stress and long term is a nightmare of unusual labs and tests and allergic reactions to meds, even becoming jaundice from medication.

Doctors give me a hard time or write me off as AMA. And oh BTW, this is all caused from a Stroke. No mention of any poisoning on the job! Welcome to my world! I'm anxious to find out more about the long term effects on others!

We were definitely exposed to carbon monoxide over the weekend by 2 gas wall heaters. One more than the other.

It may have been going on for a while but the heater read over 1000ppm when my mother unplugged the CO alarm.

I had been getting a lot more sleepy and strange head aches squeezed the top of my head were terrible. My 94 year old mother is always nauseous and the other day my six year old daughter was laying on my bed with me and just feel asleep. That alarmed me, but I didn't know anything yet.

How much harm could this have possibly done?

My neighbors generator leaked exhaust into my home and almost killed my family. Problem is, I can't prove it and my neighbor denies it.

We're definitely not well now.

I was eleven. My dad knew that the exhaust pipe on our station wagon needed to be fixed, but kept putting it off.

On the day I was poisoned, I sat in the back of the station wagon (above the pipe). My father and sister were in the front seat with their windows open. No other windows were open, so the fumes were 'forced' to stay in the back with me. Within roughly 30 minutes to an hour, I lost consciousness.

My 'last words' were 'I'm really tired.' Which is scary now that I think about it- they could have just 'let me sleep'! Fortunately, we were going to my friend's house to pick her up and take her out to dinner with us.

It was when we stopped at her house, roughly another 20-minutes or so later, that my family realized something was wrong when I wouldn't respond. They immediately rushed me to our family doctor, where I woke up. Upon awaking, my eyes were 'fused' shut.

At first I thought it was funny that I couldn't open my eyes, and I started laughing. Then the reality of not being able to control myself hit me.

Then the reality of not being able to open my eyes scared the crap out of me! I started to cry... which then, I guess, lubricated my eyes and permitted them to open.

I recognized where we were, asking "Why are we at the doctors?" Everyone laughed, nervously. After the doctor examined me, he told my father that I had been poisoned by carbon monoxide.

Then I overheard him tell my dad that if I had been in the car for another five minutes, I wouldn't have made it. And what sacred me further, I heard him say, "Wake her up every hour on the hour throughout the night because she may loose consciousness again." Needless to say, I did not want to go to bed that night.

On the way home from the doctors, my father decided to stop and get gas. My sister came up with the bright idea that I should get out of the car and get some fresh air while we waited. I sat on the hood of the car, but too close to the pump and ended up sliding off the car, caught by my sister before hitting the pavement.

I remember being scared that night. In retrospect, I'm wondering now if some of the personal behavior which coincided with that time-frame may have been triggered by or resulted from the poisoning incident, and/or the current health issues I'm dealing with now some 33 years later are in any way related also. Could they be? That's my story about the poisoning. The symptoms are another story!

It was Christmas time 2007. I was not feeling myself, unsure of what was coming over me.

In January 08, I began to be awaken to numbness in my arms and legs, difficulty breathing, very disoriented.

I had seen my Dr. and he referred me to a neurologist and he began testing for M.S. I had multi symptoms that were beginning to compile rapidly, a sore throat, hyper reflexes, fainting, weakness, numbness, insomnia, grey skin tone (like a cement wall), incontinent and struggling to stay alive.

Many nights I spent crawling outdoors, packing my neck with snow, lying on a cold tile floor to stop the burning in my spine, inhaling ammonia based cleaners to stay conscious, wondering what the hell was wrong with me and not knowing what to do, as I had seen doctors and sought medical attention and got no help.

I knew I was in this alone and had to figure it out on my own, and I was dying and knew that too. At one point I knew I better say my last words, I did not know how much longer I could endure these symptoms, I was soo weak. I considered writing a letter and could not even begin to move the pen.

I started to speak my last words to my husband and thought I have to get up one more time. In February 08 I had promised my daughter I would take her shopping before Valentines day to get her hair and nails done, I could barely walk, I was at the end of my rope. When she brought me back home that afternoon, the coldest day of the year thus far, the house was freezing cold.

We could not get the furnace to run. I could not take one more thing!! My husband called a repair man, as soon as he inspected the furnace he had turned to my husband and said Oh My, has anyone in the home been unusually ill?

My husband stated that i was being tested for M.S. The furnace man replied that this furnace has a broken exhaust fan that has been malfunctioning for sometime. That was our Ah! Ha! (this is it) moment.

I had been completely ignorant to carbon monoxide poisoning and did not seek medical attention at that point, as I had a follow-up appointment scheduled in 2 days to read the results of the M.S. testing. The results were negative for M.S.

Then my husband asked could this have been caused by carbon monoxide. The Doctors reply was maybe? and sent me for the blood gas test (2 days later it was still at an elevated level) The doctor stated we were not going to do anything as the furnace had been fixed and I was no longer in danger, and there was nothing that could be done anyway.

A few days later it started, I assume the levels were dropping as I began to get splitting headaches, vomiting, I again asked for medical attention and got none.

A week later it was respitory, then chest pain, then ringing in my ears, then dizziness, mood swings, memory loss.

The to Dr. after Dr. after Dr. only to hear the same thing , nothing can be done - I am not settling for nothing. I have fought all of this way and will keep on till I get answers.

I have been having non-specific symptoms for two years. I have been working with health care providers, doing a lot of testing and taking many supplements to find a cure for the symptoms without a clear diagnosis.

This week we found out the furnace has been producing CO for years. I found your website because I was looking for information of CO poisoning. I was amazed to find many of my symptoms listed.

My whole family was poisoned, however i have been the most affected. I already have autoimmune health problems.

My husband & 3 kids have a lot of stomach problems. My 2 young kids have other problems that they didn't have before. Learning difficulties, behavior problems.

My oldest son has CFS and can't keep weight on. I have memory problems, had to quit work 2 years ago due to related problems.

I now work part time in a job where its not too much of a problem. I have CFS, Fibromalagia, autoimmune, adrenal problems, thyroid, kidney-bladder problems, and get sick a lot mostly in winter time.

I need to take a lot of supplements to help me keep going. In the past I did have a shift in my behavior. I became very forgetful, angry, a lot of anxiety, and lost sight in one of my eyes.

I could not drive for over a month. Went to a lot of doctors and no one knew what was happening to me. I was so sick with so many problems that I was unable to see how much my family's health was going down hill at the time.

I started to feel unwell at the beginning of May. My boiler was condemned in August and had a new one replaced in the beginning of September.

It is now October and i still dont feel one hundred per cent e.g tingling in my hands, pulse pounding, chest hurts and sometimes feeling spaced out and as though I am going to faint.