CHOLESTYRAMINE INFORMATION FOR YOUR DOCTOR

Dear Doctor,

Please read this information on the medication cholestyramine for the treatment of exposure  to toxic mold so you can consider using it in treating your patients who have become ill from toxic mold.

Cholestyramine is a prescription medication that has been found clinically to be effective in relieving the symptoms of toxic mold syndrome. It works by binding to the mold toxins in the gut and removing them from the body. It is a slow but effective process. 

As you know, Cholestyramine is an old cholesterol medication that has been around for a long time. It's use in cholesterol lowering has fallen due to new cholesterol lowering medications. It has few side effects because it is not absorbed into the blood stream. The most common side effect is constipation; the next most common is heart burn.

It works by binding mold toxins in the intestines that have been released from the gallbladder. Mold toxins go through the liver to the gallbladder where they stay until a fatty meal causes the gallbladder to release bile and also mold toxins into the gut. Without cholestyramine or other agents that bind toxins like brown seaweed, the mold toxins can recirculate back into the blood stream.

The dose of cholestyramine is one packet mixed in water  2 to 4 times daily between meals. To make it most effective,  it is advised to take  cholestyramine shortly after taking fish oil, olive oil, flax seed oil or any oil to stimulate release of mold toxins from the gallbladder so there can be optimum mold toxin binding and removal from the body. Cholestyramine should never be taken with meals because cholestyramine will bind to cholesterol leaving less medication to bind to mold toxins.

For constipation (if this side effect occurs), 500 mg of magnesium tablets or capsules can be taken daily to loosen the stool . If heart burn occurs  OTC prilosec or nexium can be taken for relief .

Generally,  cholestyramine should be taken for one to two months following acute exposure to toxic mold. Taking this medication longer than 2 months tends to be hard on the intestines and interferes with absorption of fat soluble vitamins like A, D and E. Following 1 to 2 months on cholestyramine, if symptoms are still present, continuation of mold toxin removal with brown seaweed (modifilan) or zeolite is advised.