Poisoned by Pollution (book review)

Poisoned by Pollution is about Anne Lipscomb's harrowing downward spiral into the world of chemical sensitivity when her company moved into a newly constructed and poorly ventilated building. Her decline into unimaginable illness sounded so much like mine at times I wanted to cry. Her descriptions of symptoms and experiences are so well-written and accurate I felt sick to my stomach.

Ms. Lipscomb explains how her corporate employer did everything possible to avoid addressing the obvious indoor air quality problem and denied her health problems were job or environmentally related. Her experiences with independent medical examiners were the same as mine - their mission was to discredit her. She was dealing with L&I and Worker's Compensation and they constantly sent her to appointments with doctors who would spray air fresheners in the exam rooms! It was so much like my story except she wasn't alone. There were dozens of fellow employees getting sick along with her. The longer they stayed in the building the sicker they became.  Most of them were afraid to report it or even talk about it for fear of losing their jobs. I thought about how wonderful it might have been if just one other person understood how I was feeling, but I was utterly alone in my nightmare.

She also had a wonderfully emotionally and financially supportive  husband so at least people weren't telling her the reason she was sick was because she wasn't married! That was my experience. At one point she was worried and wondering what would happen if her husband left her. How would she pay bills? How could she survive the day to day struggle without him? All I could think was how lucky she was not to have to go through the stress of actually not being able to pay bills and wondering how to exist homeless. Unlike myself, she actually could afford to see a counselor. By the end of the book, she confesses without much detail her marriage eventually ended which I find sad although not surprising. I've written about the toll MCS takes on relationships and the guilt one feels for being so high maintenance.

It was fascinating reading the lifestyle changes she was forced to make, the same reinvention I had to endure in order to live. We take so much for granted until it all disappears. Reading about all the changes makes me wonder how on earth I did it! Going from doctor to doctor praying for answers, constant disappointment, relentless reevaluation of strategies, and struggling onward with the next new idea in spite of the road blocks. Job loss, relocation, and changes to lifestyle such as shopping, diet, entertainment, and social recreation. It overwhelms me to think about it what I've done and what I still have to do to survive.

We must have had the same group of friends, those who were skeptical about everyday chemicals causing health problems or those who felt offended when their perfumes or scented products caused an asthma attack or illness. Unsupportive and impatient people who in the end decided a friendship wasn't worth the effort. People we thought we could rely on and only served to add to our toxic burden. The constant skepticism is depressing on top of every other challenge. One of her pearls of wisdom is, "We don't know friends and acquaintances as well as we think." That's for sure. It was a rude awakening for me. She explained even those who accept and tolerate her chronic illness can't possibly understand it and having to constantly ask them to be fragrance free adds to the struggle. Unless someone has first hand experience what it's like to live with MCS, there is no way they can comprehend the full ramifications of this condition. She's very forgiving, ignoring the self-centered arrogance of people and pretending they don't have the capability, compassion and empathy to at least try to understand.

She claims loneliness is the most difficult aspect of MCS and this is coming from a woman who vomits continually for days at a time! I disagree only because I believe loneliness is a state of mind. For me the worst aspect of MCS is isolation: lack of support, lack of recreational time; lack of communication, and just plain isolation due to the requirement to confine oneself to stay healthy. I suppose this could be interpreted as loneliness, but I don't feel lonely. I feel isolated, cut off from everything.

I found her website and blog and watched the twenty-three minute documentary on her experience. She now lives in Paris for much of the year... WHAT?? HOW??? I can't tolerate going to small cities for a day without horrible consequences, but live in a big city? She claims the French are far more aware of toxic chemicals in people's lives. Foods are commonly grown without pesticides and herbicides. Construction, although more costly, uses quality materials that are not toxic or not as toxic. The French value people over money and material possessions. One of her French friends works for a perfume company and claims even the perfume they produce is less toxic. For American markets they use ingredients that are illegal in some countries because the Americans want cheap and don't care about quality! Her symptoms were much less in Paris and she was able to eat about 80% of the foods she used to! But how can she tolerate the auto exhaust and air pollution? Or the overpopulation of perfume-saturated people, many who are wearing the cheap American perfumes? The laundry detergent stink? How does she even get on a plane? I can't imagine. I have so many questions! She does explain finding a place to live in Paris was a challenge with their housing shortage and rental policies. They don't show spaces prior to renting them so assessing a living environment for safety prior to the commitment is a risk. Still, this inspires me...I've always wanted to live in France!

Well, perhaps this is her trade off? I have made sacrifices to my soul in order to be healthy and maybe she has made sacrifices to her health in order to feed her soul? I don't know if having to wear a mask and use a wheelchair, being locked in one's house for too long, or too many emergency trips to the hospital are worth it. Why not move to the French countryside and avoid the excess toxins of an overpopulated city?

Besides city pollution exposures, she seems to invite too much exposure on a daily basis. She talks about having a kid club where she invites all the neighborhood children into her home for fun activities. Prior to their arrival, she is sent their clothes to wash! Wow. That's dedication. I know it would take at least ten washings before I could go near laundry-saturated clothing, but she doesn't wash their bodies and hair before arrival and if they still use scented detergents, they must still use scented soaps and shampoos. Is this worth the risk?

With all the treatments she did that are listed in the book: acupuncture, supplements, special diets, detoxification, Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, environmental medicine, and NAET...she's still sick. She can't use a computer without a special ventilation system and often has to spend days in bed locked in her Parisian apartment although less often than living in Seattle where she can hardly ever leave her house. The fact she has done all these treatments for years yet still suffers doesn't give me confidence. I had hoped she'd have the secret to overcoming MCS. Clearly, as I've known for years, there isn't one.

The major differences in our lives is her positive attitude. She believes MCS was a gift. Now, I've said this myself and even wrote a post on it. There are all kinds of gains with MCS that I would have never had if I had stayed perfectly healthy. Still, I find her excessive positive attitude unrealistic. Of course, I try really hard to maintain some level of unrealistic positivity on this blog so maybe this is just wishful thinking on her part and she didn't want to end the book on a depressing note? THERE IS NO HOPE. GET USED TO IT. Not a good message.

Ms. Lipscomb writes beautifully and her book includes excellent MCS information, research and statistics. Outstanding book on what it's like to be poisoned and end up with MCS. I wish I could buy copies of this book and give them out to people who just don't get me, but I doubt if it would help.