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This section is about my health. It includes useful links, and articles about my health problems that maybe some of you could relate to. I have had three main health problems that I have had for a large part of my life. I have had to spend hours of my time researching and finding out information about two of my particular health problems (not enough research has been done by scientists, and because of this, no-one could help me.) I have had to try and figure out what the causes of my health problems are, and try to find a way to either live with them, or overcome them. One good thing that has come from my health problems is that I have learnt a lot from my research. In this section, I have decided to write about my health problems, what I have personally experienced, and will share the information that I gained along the way and share useful links with you, as I continue on my own quest for answers. * Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) – Fish Odor/Malador Syndrome and other causes of Body Odor and Halitosis are currently not important enough for doctors/scientists to spend a great deal time researching, finding a better treatment, and possibly a cure for. This means that sufferers of Body Odor, such as myself, have had to spend a great deal of their time conducting their own research, as I have had to do. Even though Body Odor and Halitosis is seen as a “benign” condition, it can still be severe enough psychologically, and can affect every aspect of a person's life, like it did in mine. I had a fish odor from when I was 15 years old (1996,) until December 2008 (27 years old) which was not caused by lack of personal hygiene, and every other cause had been ruled out. Ever since then, I have spent so much of my time doing research and getting information online, from textbooks, and from reading other people's stories, trying to find the cause of my body odor, and get the relevent testing. Along the way, I am using that information to help myself, and others who suffer from Body Odour and Halitosis because there isn't a lot of information out there about how to get testing, so I want to go through the testing process, then share my information, making this process easier for other sufferers (especially in Australia.) I know I had some kind of disorder of choline metabolism, whether locally or systemically and this was evidenced by the surge in my fishy odour after eating choline-rich foods. My fish odour was also triggered off when taking hormonal contraceptives, and during menstruation. I had the Phenotype testing for TMAU done twice, and both tests came back negative. I am going to get the genotype testing done in the United States when I get the money. If this genotype test comes back negative, I will persue testing for Dimethylglycinuria, and there are also other conditions that also cause a fishy odour after choline intake that haven't been researched or named yet. Two of my female family members also have the same odor condition, so it is possibly genetic. * I have always had Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). I've always been sensitive to a wide range of drugs and chemicals, but my recent exposure (2008) to the small amount of pesticides/chemicals on apples that I was eating (it took about a month for me to work out what was making me sick,) made my MCS much worse. After to that exposure, I rapidly became sensitive to more and more foods/fluids/chemicals that I didn't have problems with before (spreading phenomenon)to the point where nearly everything that I ate/drank/wore gave me unpleasant side effects, affecting every system in my body. What can I say, there is no avoiding chemicals in our environment, they're everywhere. I have written a detailed blog about my history, symptoms, diet, and the psychological impact that living with these conditions has had on me. I am sharing such intimate details about my life in the hope that the information may help people with TMAU or other conditions that cause Body Odor and Halitosis, and who also suffer from MCS. I also want this information to help researchers, medical scientists and doctors to better understand these conditions. Through my work, I also want to raise awareness, provide education, and support for sufferers of Body Odor and Halitosis, and MCS. TMAU and other possible metabolic conditions that cause Body Odor and Halitosis are not as rare as they are thought to be. People do suffer from MCS, it is real, and it should be recognised as a medical condition. More and more people are revealing their stories, and have had similar experiences to what I have had. I have also included more positive articles about my life because I want to give sufferers of TMAU, Body Odor, Halitosis and MCS hope, and help them see that life can get better, even with these conditions. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I have gone through. Right now, I am trying to get some answers/proof as to what caused both my fish odour and my multiple chemical sensitivities (I believe that I have an enzyme deficiency that is caused by a defect in the FMO3 gene - Liver, which caused my fish odour, and my multiple chemical sensitivities. I believe that my body is also not able to metabolise chemicals/drugs properly because of this genetic fault, which has also been the case for other TMAU/Body Odour sufferers as well.) I am constantly trying to improve my health in any way that I can, although there is always room for improvement. I want to live my life without having to think about my health problems any more. I am only a young woman, and I have so much that I want to in my life. My health problems have held me back so much and I am determined to overcome them one way or another.
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