If you asked my family to describe me in one word they would immediately respond by saying, “dramatic†or “odd.†I’ve been accused of this most of my life and I won’t say I necessarily disagree. You see, when I was growing up in a family of nine children, if you needed attention you had to be dramatic about it. There was too much noise to meekly say, “Hey, I need some help here.†The help would never come unless you got peoples’ attention. So, yes, I grew up in a dramatic family, however, being dramatic isn’t a good tool to resolve trauma, or as I refer to it as, “Trauma Drama.â€
I remembered this term last week when I was told by my client, Sue Gunderson, executive director of CLEARCorps (CCUSA), that there was a high probability that I was lead poisoned as a child.
“WHAT???????†my inner child screams. “I was lead poisoned!†Okay, before I get dramatic I must do diligent research and review the long-term effects of lead poisoning. And, I must face the facts:
| EFFECTS* | FACTS |
| · Delayed neurodevelopment [e.g. in sitting up, walking, talking] | · I didn’t start walking until I was 15 months old – my relatives thought this was odd |
| · Decreased reading, math, non-verbal reasoning ability & short term memory, (even at blood lead levels less than 10µg/dL) | · I suck at math and computer technology |
| · Impaired pituitary-thyroid endocrine system | · I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid in my 30’s and had radiation to destroy my thyroid. I also have had two pituitary tumors |
| · Osteoporosis in later years | · I have osteoporosis and have had it for 20 years |
| · Attention problems; distractibility, restlessness | · I have difficulty concentrating — all of my life |
| · Irritability | · Me and all of my siblings are extremely irritable |
| · Lead-based paint was legally use until 1978 | · My childhood home was built in the 1940’s in a community with a large industrial factory |
| ·  Tremors | · My siblings and I all have tremors in our hands and extremities |
| · Learning difficulties | · In kindergarten I registered as retarded on the Iowa Basics test |
| · Chronic lead nephropathy [kidney disease] | · I was diagnosed with a severe kidney infection at the age of 5 |
| · Hypertension, elevated blood pressure | · Many of my siblings and I take high blood pressure medication |
| · Depression | · I’m on an anti-depression medication since I was 22 |
| · Anxiety | · I’m on a prescribed anti-anxiety medication and have been for 10 years |
| · Headaches | · I suffer from headaches / migraines — most of my life |
*Vance Vella et al., Health Impacts of Lead Poisoning. The Lead Education and Abatement Design Group. (Updated March 2011) For more information go to http://www.lead.org.au/.
I could go on but my point is — out of the possible 121 effects of lead poisoning for a woman my age, I count more than 30 effects that’s approx. 25 percent! If you had anything at 25 percent, you’d be diagnosed with diabetes and cancer (which I have). The authors of the cited article state, “… remember that most people who are lead poisoned present no symptoms at all.â€
I didn’t write this blog for sympathy – no way! In my search to understand my ill health I wanted to find out the possible sources for so much illness. I wasn’t born a sick child but at the age of five I started what would be a life-long quest for answers. And, thanks to Sue Gunderson’s comment to me, I found another piece to my health puzzle. Does this understanding make me angry? Sure, but I don’t want to spend my energy on something I can’t change, because I can’t go back and “fix†where I lived as a child. Literally, it’s lead under the bridge! (I’m sure a bad sense of humor is an additional effect.)
Rather than asking “Why me,†or “Why us,†I like to put myself back in the driver’s seat and ask instead, “Now that I have this information, what am I going to do about it?†My answer is simple: I’m going to educate my friends and family!
Lead poisoning makes you “dramatic and odd!â€
[IMPORTANT NOTE: Do you have unexplained medical conditions? Do you currently live in a house built before 1978 or near industrial sites? Do you remember tasting paint chips from peeling windows as a child? (I do.) If so, I recommend that you look deeper into lead poisoning.]
4 comments
Holy Toledo! This is an incredibly well written and well researched blog post! WOW WOW WOW that you were likely lead poisoned as a child Alex!!! That is such important information. I’ve already shared this information with two people, one of whom thinks she was also lead poisoned as a child.
I feel certain that this blog and your insights are going to open another door for many, many people.
Thank you for daring to examine this possibility. Yet again, your courage and bravery inspires me!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything
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