Carbon monoxide symptoms: long term

I am posting this message on several different parts of CO Surviver since this site has so many parts and so much information. I hope this is OK - I'm not trying to spam here - just reaching out to other survivers!

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This is a wonderful site. The information here has certainly helped me better understand the impact CO poisoning has had on my life.

It would be great if a message board was available so we could communicate with each other.

Lacking that, I am going to post my e-mail for anyone who would like to share experience, strength and hope with another survivor.

I suffer from chronic exposure over a 5 year period (result of a faulty home furnace). By the end, the level in my home were so high that when the man from public utilities came out and measured it, he told me that I could have died in my sleep at any time.

My concentration, memory, and executive function (and more) have all been severely impacted.

I would love to know other people's experience: Are you getting better? Do you have permanent damage? Have you found an MD who will work with you? What treatments have you tried and which seemed to help you the most?

Here's my e-mail:

flicker-puddytat@live.com

Hope to hear from you soon!

I was exposed to CO through driving a car with a bashed in trunk. My job at the time was to run errands throughout the greater Los Angeles area EVERY weekday. Oh, and forget the pollution in LA, I was using leaded gas in the early 1980\'s! I did this for about 7 months before my depression became bad enough to seek help. My psychotherapist figured it out in one session. My earlier symptoms included a plethora of food allergies, emotional instability, suicidal feelings, panic attacks, tachycardia (i was in my 20\'s at the time). Later I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus though I have no recollection of having had mono. I continue to be very sensitive to cold, several food allergies, difficulty with sleep and consequent fatigue. I\'m very relieved to find this site. I fell like I got off easy! But now that I read these other accounts, I realize that I have had some dyslexia which I did not have as a child, learning new things is very painful, and I suffer from occasional vertigo.

Those who have info or who have already posted, were you enduring long term exposure or very quick exposure leading to f.x unconsciousness ?

I had CO poisoning 16 years ago. The most problematic symptom by far has been the change in my short term memory. I cannot remember appointments and rely heavily on others for helping me get where I need to go. I set alarms. My recall memory is very poor, although recognition is better. I very often cannot recall words, or use the wrong ones.

Dyslexia is a problem, not just in letter placement within a word, but I can put whole words in the wrong order within a sentence. I cannot do the simplest math problem in my head, I must rely on a calculator.

I have balance issues and run into door frames when I walk through them. I often have bruises on my outer thighs from running into things (I am not a large person).

I am much like a person with the early symptom of dementia. I am cognizant of the changes within me and it affects my self-esteem. I still have a decent enough IQ but I am more like the badly organized "absent-minded" professor. This is hard for someone who used to have a picture-perfect memory, was a master -level organizer, and was graceful.

I am now a mess and cannot manage my own life. I am very withdrawn from people and am tired most of the time - even after 8-10 hours sleep. It is just not restful.

Insomnia panic attacks depression but this is reactive to lifechanges created by co poisoning and still fear it was a target attack on me and my family.

At times i feel paranoia but at other times makes sense as I'm a serious crime victim yrs ago and perpetraitor was never caught.

Anxiety especially if stranger activity near home or in supermarkets or related to car. Feel it may have been more ongoing than just first incident as 3 years ago at car. Being gassed in my car was something i had never known could happen.

I had been having to open car door window and rest before driving home. Now feel still being targeted as last Friday. Man lives in flat above daughter ran his car engine for ages under her window and i immediately got the same symptoms. Acute symptoms, then metal taste in mouth, then left eye pain, then left lung struggling for air, next sharp pain back of neck and feeling lightheaded.

Away from it later and next day renewed feeling of mixture of panic confusion fear plus worsening pain and twitching left eye. Neck pain still 2 days later. Fatigue always worse and i have severe joint pain, spine deformity, arthritis, both hips difficulty walking.

I have alot of symptoms that i have seen listed. But the worst one is im dizzy all the time.I cant drive or walk without a walker.

Your site lists every symptom I had but more importantly it helped me recognize symptoms I was unable to put into words. Great site.

I would like to know the source of this web site--such as location and writer(s)? What and where are you deriving your information from?

What are the long term effects and what is the best way of reducing/eliminating them?

im a twenty -nine year old female that was exposed to carbon monoxide and natural gas for nine months at my job, in the beg. i was sick all of last year ,i was throwing up, i was very tired,i had a headach four days out the week i started to forget things,i was losing memory on how to do my job,i was seeming slow at getting my words out, my eyes were always sensitive to light my sense of smell was highly sensitive to chemicals it would burn my eyes and nose,ect.. now i been away from the gas since december 5 and i got worse i have a permanent migrain every day that i wake up,my eyes are sensitive to light,my head feels like a water bottle i have a burning sensation on the back of my head,i have numbness in my shoulders and sometimes in my arms, my memory or speech has not improved i ask my ten year old son how to spell or do math ,my doctor thinks im crazy although i seen him five times before i had to close my job down and he cant connect the dots,workmans comp kicked in but then after they herd the testing that my specialist wanted they took me off im so tired i cant fight my condition tires me so much can some one help me

Peripheral vision problems

Night vision problems

Speech problems and loss of vocabulary - I try to read books to help with this.

Dyslexia

Memory loss

Asthma

I have a lot of problems remembering new things or memories, I don't feel comfortable outside of my house or meeting new people.

I have frequent panic attacks. I am depressed, I feel like no one understands me, I feel like everyone will reject me all the time.

Have problems doing normal everyday tasks/routines like remembering to brush my teeth.

Most days blend into the next day and a week feels like a blur. I have troubles maintaining healthy relationships with people (in particular with my girlfriend).

Loss of bladder control, and problems with co-ordination.

Episodes of random body pains (chest pains) and headaches.

mental problems mostly

A big change in my personality - I am significantly quieter and more withdrawn from life than I used to be. I used to be very outgoing and full of life.

Now I feel like I never have much to say about anything, I'm lonely, and don't really feel like doing anything most of the time.

I also experience what feels like PTSD when doing things around the house that makes me recall the aftermath of the poisoning

Adrenal fatigue, kidney problems, memory problems, fatigue.

Continuation of the short term memory loss. I can't remember to even go to the bathroom and have to wear diapers.

Someone must tell me when it is time to eat, take a shower etc. I cannot work or enjoy life doing the simplest of things (my sister is writing this for me as she is my care giver)

Cognitive problems. Sleep disturbance and need to sleep more hours than normal.

Still easily fatigued - both mentally and physically. I only have a few good hours in a day for mental and physical activity - these hours are not predictable and frequently do not overlap with similar energy levels for mental/physical activity.

I always have a headache; each day it is different. Sometimes the headaches are weak but constant or strong and I am unable to do anything.

Decreased appetite.

There are fewer days in a month when I do not feel safe enough to drive.

Depression. Problems with memory. Sensitivity to bright light and sounds.

Significantly reduced emotional capacity and ability to recognize emotions I am feeling and how to properly handle the emotions.

Attention deficit disorder. I now recognize that I have significant loss of interest in sex. I did not recognize that in the first 3 months - but it was there and noticed by my fiancée. Coordination and balance issues are reduced since being treated for midline shift.

Many more... but I am having problems collecting my thoughts and writing them.

The brain fog is still with me, although I have bad days and good days. I can now drink alcohol which I never could immediately following my exposure - it made me violently ill after just one glass.

I suffer from fatigue in my eye muscles. I find concentration much more difficult and if I have more than one stimulus to cope with I feel very dizzy and my brain feels overwhelmed.

I am always tired like I am running on three cylinders and recently, which has made me feel very depressed, I am aching all over- I feel like I have been trampled on !

After 3 years of low level CO exposure, experienced chest pains and heart related symptoms, light-headed, shortness of breath, chills.

Later experienced severe headaches, neck pain, chronic fatigue and tiredness, shooting muscle pains, joint pain, numbness in my left side, and a strange acrid urinary odor.

memory loss depression irritability pounding heart

Still have migraines especially when triggered by chemicals, vision, hearing, tired, short term memory loss, become anxious with stress ... there were some slight improvements and farther apart.

I still have impairments but now I have doctors that refuse treatments when I can show them I am allergic to medication.

Vision trouble and now diabetes, high blood pressure and thyroid all of my blood and labs are still the same as the day of the poisoning.... some meds work in reverse... like Insulin injections raise my blood sugar... they would increase the dosage and it would go higher...

Doctors would not listen to me... they refuse to treat me unless I would increase and take their medication. It is insane.

Depression
Mild Headache
Numbness
Harder and heavier heartbeat

The co poisoning is coupled with exposure to black mold in the house I was living in. Exposure it turns out was multiple low level, with heightened levels at times.

Some symptoms have resolved, some were better, then worse, now some alleviated since moving out, others remain, especially cognitive challenges and problems with focus and learning and retaining new information.

Severe fatigue, asthma. Additionally: cold extremities (especially feet), joint and muscle pain, extreme fatigue, dizzy and balance issues, brain fog, periods of racing heart, hearing loss, vision continues to deteriorate, headaches, depression, anxiety.

Confusion
Depression
Speech problems in the form of stuttering
Brain seems to freeze mid conversation
Anger issues
Short term and long term memory problems (random) Problems sleeping
Itchiness
Paranoia

Memory, depression, fatigue has improved but still a problem, balance, headaches, sleep, short tempered, frustrated most of the time.

I can't handle perfumes or chemicals, never feel refreshed or well rested. Breathing problems, tiredness, palpitations, headaches.

Mental slowness, fatigue, lack of concentration and lack of focus, anxiety, wanting to sleep a lot more, cannot think straight, difficulty in doing daily chores and simple tasks and keeping things straight and doing them in the right order. I feel lost much of the time.

exhaustion, fatigue, depression, confusion, memory problems, speech delay, problems dealing with or processing information.

Same as my short term symptoms incl fatigue, brain fog, muscle weakness, some sleeping difficulties, hormonal difficulties, etc.

Sometimes I still feel tingling in my arms and legs. I think my mind has difficulty with memory still.

Since endocrine issues are related with CO poisoning, I think it may be responsible for the two miscarriages I had (related to low progesterone).

Depression, bad PMS, memory problems, dementia type symptoms, need for lots of sleep, feels like brain is shrinking, unable to face up to much