Not even five neurologists could get to the bottom of her case. A young woman shares the test that finally brought answers.
It all started with dizziness that then grew persistent. Next, she began to notice pressure in her head, ringing in her ears, migraines, and extreme fatigue.
The severe neurological symptoms continued, and within months, Connecticut-based Ashley Czerniecki was forced to leave her job and move back in with her parents because she could no longer function normally. “I had just turned 30,” she says.
Over the course of a year, beginning in 2023, Czerniecki saw 20 doctors, including five neurologists. They ordered imaging diagnostics, which were inconclusive. Blood tests came back showing nothing.
Ashley finally found a naturopathic specialist who recommended a test that would check for mold toxicity— At last, she got an answer.
But the traceback investigation finally turned up a source so common that nobody would have suspected it.
Czerniecki’s case highlights what many people—including the highest-trained doctors—don’t know about what mold exposure can do, or how to address it. Ahead, she generously shares her story—and what she hopes others can learn from her difficult experience.
How I Knew I Had Mold Toxicity
By Ashley Czerniecki, as told to Kristine Gasbarre Qaderi
It’s been almost three years since I first got sick, but it has felt like a lifetime. This first started in August of 2023, and I spent a full year trying any avenue I could to find a clear cause.
I had experienced vertigo in the past, though the dizziness I was feeling this time was different. I’m hard of hearing on one side due to a past ear infection—and have altitude sickness—so at first I wondered if something was going on with my sense of balance.
At the onset of these symptoms, I was living in an apartment complex, but over the course of trying to get to the bottom of everything, I actually had to move back in with my parents. I stayed around three months, as my symptoms only worsened.
Her mold toxicity symptoms
My symptoms were absolutely debilitating. It started with severe head pressure, dizziness, and chronic migraines, which then progressed to ringing in my ears, severe memory fog, seeing flashes of light, and a burning pain in my neck and back.
This progression, and the lack of answers, became very emotionally taxing, leading to constant panic attacks and needing to stop working. At one point, I was spending around 18 hours a day in bed.
I felt like I was almost losing my mind, experiencing all these unexplained symptoms with doctors not being able to point me to a clear cause. It was as if I had to be my own doctor and track down the next specialist who might help or find new remedies.
Diagnosing mold toxicity
It wasn’t until nine months later, in May 2024, that I finally had a diagnosis and a treatment plan in place.
Initially, I strongly favored traditional Western medicine, as that seemed like the obvious route with the most resources and methods to diagnose me. I spent a year seeing 20 different specialists across neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and more. They recommended a variety of tests like colonoscopy and endoscopy to investigate a possible GI issue, blood tests looking for organ dysfunction or potential diseases, MRIs and CT scans of my brain due to my many neurological symptoms, and Botox injections for my migraines—which I now realize was just introducing even more literal toxins into my body. Despite all of this, not a single practitioner suggested mold.
I was incredibly frustrated by the misdiagnoses and lack of progress from traditional specialists, and I had put a lot of time, money, and effort into my health journey. I’m very lucky to have the support of my friends and family, as they set up a GoFundMe to support the growing financial costs, which ultimately allowed me to see a naturopath. They immediately recommended mold testing, along with Lyme testing and some expanded blood panels. I was hesitant at first, thinking that surely mold of all things couldn’t have been the cause of so many problems, but I was willing to try anything.
I used the Mycotoxin Panel from RealTime Labs, a company that offers testing for mold, heavy metals, and other rarely talked-about conditions. As it turned out, that test would result in a definitive diagnosis in just two and a half weeks.
RealTime’s test is an at-home urine test. They send a small boxed kit with a collection cup and a few 10-milliliter vials that take just a couple minutes to fill using a small pipette that also comes with the kit. The shipment also comes with step-by-step instructions for how to administer the collection for yourself, and how to safely pack it up in the biohazard bag. One important point is that it has to be shipped same-day through one of the major shipping logistics companies in special lab packaging that RealTime provides.
The test I took is designed to determine the presence of 16 of the most common and significant mycotoxins (toxins produced by fungi and molds) in the body. It was the easiest test I did out of all my extensive diagnostics, and it actually gave me an answer—yet I couldn’t believe it wasn’t suggested before this point.
It’s been over two and a half years since my symptoms started, and I am now starting to feel some relief.
Tracing the source of mold exposure
At first we couldn’t find the source of the mold. I used my RealTime Labs test results to communicate my need for mold testing to my building’s management. They covered the cost of having my unit and common areas checked. We also had my previous workplace checked, but found nothing in either place.
It wasn’t until about a month ago when I was having a separate issue with my car where I could smell gas in my cabin. My dad checked it out for me, and he discovered mold in the cabin air filter, which had been circulating mold throughout my car every time I turned it on. My car does not sit outside, but rather it’s always in a parking garage, and I never smelled any mold or mildew over the course of me being sick.
Mold toxicity treatment
My initial course of treatment was a variety of 15 supplements to help detoxify my body, but my genetic condition didn’t respond well to this regimen. I also discovered through this process that I have the MTHFR gene mutation, meaning my body is constantly low in folate and B12, affecting my body’s natural detoxification process.
I continue to take folate and B12 supplements to address my deficiencies from my MTHFR gene, and I’ve focused on dietary changes that have helped greatly. Cutting out gluten, dairy, and minimizing sugar has reduced the inflammation in my body, which I feel has helped as I detoxify from the mold exposure. Being cautious of my body, the weather, stress overload, and the things I consume is a huge part in how I feel each day.
What Ashley hopes others can learn
Don’t think that just because you can’t see or smell mold that there isn’t any. Don’t rule anything out until you have actual clinical proof. It was very surprising how many neurological symptoms I had, and I assumed the problem must be brain-related. Finally getting my diagnosis in 2024 was hugely validating for me, but mold illness is very complex and recovery is not linear. My underlying conditions made it tricky to develop a regimen of supplements and lifestyle changes that worked for me, and it was a lot of trial and error. Plus, the actual source of the mold wasn’t found until just a few months ago, so I was trying to detoxify while still continually being exposed to mold.
Now that I have a baseline level of my mold toxicity and have identified the source of the mold, I can track my toxicity levels over time with repeat panels. My current symptoms still revolve around constant dizziness, light sensitivity, fatigue, and more.
I very much am an advocate for modern medicine and the power of science, so I believed my doctors were doing everything in their power and exploring all possible avenues. I was skeptical of the idea of mold toxicity and the naturopathic route until I was so sick I’d try anything.
It’s so important to listen to your body. Symptoms may come up and stick around so long that they just become part of your new normal, and you get desensitized to feeling unwell. Eventually the issue can compound to a point where you can no longer live your life. It interferes with your job, your relationships, and your autonomy.
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