If you’ve been following my health story here you know that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006. After that initial MS attack I was fairly symptom free until 2014. That’s when things began to get weird.
Non-Toxic Green Building Materials, Check!
We had renovated a 100 year old house in historic Mapleton Hill and moved in during the summer of 2014. I believed we had done a totally green renovation. That’s because I knew nothing about wireless technology. Every single thing in the house from lighting to thermostats to the sound system and more was wireless and ran on electromagnetic radiation. It was the equivalent of living with 300 cell phones in my home buzzing constantly.
For someone with the MTHFR genetic mutation, it was too much. By the spring of 2015, less than two years after we moved in, I was in the hospital with the worst MS symptoms of my life, completely numb from the neck down, along with an array of other concerning issues.
I began doing hyperbaric oxygen therapy and getting weekly IV nutrients. I was stabilizing and not getting worse, but I was not fully recovering which was odd. Things were stagnant in spite of my complete focus and dedication. I had never experienced that before.
Deteriorating Health
Fast forward to the fall of 2016. I knew something was seriously wrong. Before moving into the house, I had lived the full and healthy life of a New York Times best selling author, writing a book for Random House every two years, going on book tours, doing TV and radio, all while posting on my blog a few times each week. I had attended the boys’ sporting and school events regularly. Now I went to doctors and treatments and wrote on the blog every couple of weeks if I was lucky. I watched my life pass me by, missing family events and vacations.
Discovering EMFs and Building Biology
When the fall of 2016 rolled around I had a lucky break. Our HVAC vendor walked in one day and said, the house has too many electrical systems in it and everything is shorting out! And so I began my research. I learned about building biology and electromagnetic fields (EMFs). I discovered the effects EMFs can have on people like me. I found out what had made me so sick, and prevented me from getting well in spite of my best efforts.
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Since then we’ve removed all of the wireless systems from our home. On March 1, 2017 I began living in a mostly WiFi free environment. Although my living environment is almost perfect and we’ve removed all of the wireless smart technology, there are small compromises that we make.
Balancing Different Types of Stress
We still let our boys and their friends use their cell phones when they’re here. For me the stress of not having the gang in our home is far greater than the stress of being near half a dozen cell phones a couple of hours per day. That’s a trade I made. The boys have made compromises too. While they can still use their cell phones in the house, they’ve lost their wireless head phones, wireless speakers, and gaming console.
Don’t Make my Mistake
I don’t want you and your family to go through the pain and heartache that we’ve suffered. I’ve lost years of my life so that we could have silly smart systems like lights and thermostats that operated remotely.
Living in a home filled with wireless radiation severely exacerbated the multiple sclerosis I had been diagnosed with in 2006. If you have a neurological condition such as MS, autism, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s, or an illness such as cancer or Lyme disease, you are far more vulnerable to the effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and may need to take the extra precautions that I outline in my post called Simple Steps to Reduce EMFs.
The Good News
Little by little I’m getting well. It took over a year to get sick so I anticipate I’ll need at least that long to get healthy again. I’m sticking to my program of sleeping as much as I can, eating a low-carb diet, and exercising moderately. The body can heal itself, and now that mine is in a healing environment the sky is the limit!
Mel says
Hey Elena, for what it’s worth I love your house !!
So darn those grounding bed sheets are no good ?? There is as a whole book of research on why it works ..if you have something more elaborate on this please send the link !
Did you fin any cell phone cases that actually block out radiation ? Like the pong case ? I wanted to buy one but was always suspect of their effectiveness .
Elana says
Mel, a grounding sheet can work very well once all of the electromagnetic radiation, electric, and magnetic fields are eliminated from your house, along with dirty electricity. If you do install a grounding sheet prior there is a good chance that the EMF’s will ground through your body while you are lying on the sheet. Per the phone cases I haven’t found a single one that works as well as keeping your phone on airplane mode. The shielding from those is minimal, if anything at all.
Carlene says
Elena, I’m so glad that you’re taking the steps necessary to deal with EMF exposure. I wanted to give you a book recommendation that you may find of help. I have been studying with Jean Haner for the past 5 years. She has a new book “Clear Home, Clear Heart – Learn to Clear the Energy of People and Places”. This practice of clearing will allow you to actually clear the harmful effects of EMFs. It truly has been a life saver for me. You don’t need to publish this reply unless you choose to do so, but I’m sure there are others who are sensitive physical empaths such as yourself that could also benefit from this information. I have used many of your recipes over the years and am so grateful for what you share. May your health continue to improve. Blessings!
Elana says
Carlene, thanks so much for your super thoughtful comment! A word of caution though to other readers, it is critical to physically remove all sources of electromagnetic radiation from your environment if you suffer from MS, cancer, or other serious illnesses.
Lisbeth Whitney says
Dear Elana,
I saw this article yesterday and thought I would pass it on. I am hopeful this will come to pass! One of my sisters has had MS since 2000. http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/business/technology/meet-cambridge-scientist-verge-curing-13129687
Elana says
Thanks Lisbeth!
Caroline Redding says
So glad you are sharing your health journey with us. Back in 2006, when my son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, I wondered theorized that one day there would be a connection between the intensifying number of radio type waves and neurological disorders. I haven’t seen any research on this topic. This may become a serious epidemic in the near future. Your story has made me rethink upgrading my home to being “smarter” and even reducing the number of wireless features. Do I really need to adjust the AC using my cell phone?
Wishing you healing. Again, thank you for sharing your journey–it will help so many!
Elana says
Caroline, thanks so much for your lovely comment. Here is an article I wrote that links to numerous scientific studies on the detrimental impacts of electromagnetic radiation:
https://elanaspantry.com/are-cell-phones-dangerous/
Have a wonderful day!
Elana
Jenn says
Thank you for sharing your story, which I know will bless many lives! I see a doctor who uses Biomagnetism Therapy who has taught me about EMFs. So fascinating! Thank you for shedding light on this and spreading awareness. I know you have probably researched every therapy under the sun and have a good plan in place, but if you ever want more info about Biomagnetism, let me know. It is amazing. XO
Elana says
Thanks Jenn!
jennifer says
Did you have the home checked for toxic mold. Chaetomium and stachybotrys have scientific prrof and connection to MS and making MS worse. To add to the cocktail, EMF makes toxic mold more virulant which means when exposed to EMF, toxic mold begins to produce massive amounts of neurotoxins into the air.
Elana says
Jennifer, yes! I discuss that in this post:
https://elanaspantry.com/simple-steps-to-reduce-emfs/
Enjoy!
Elana
D'Ette Carter says
Hi Elena, Thank you for your post. I have been following you since going paleo 6 years ago.
I saw in your post that you have the MTHFR gene mutation. I have been very ill for the past 8 months and was just diagnosed with the MTHFR genetic mutation. Can you offer any guidance?
Thank you for all you do!
D’Ette
Elana says
D’ette, thanks so much for your comment! I will be writing on the MTHFR genetic mutation soon so stay tuned :-)
Jennifer says
Glad you’re on the road to better health!
I am also interested in the MTHFR gene mutation and how the different types (A1298C and C677T) affect the body. Thank you!
Elana says
Jennifer, thanks for your comment! I will be writing more about that in the future :-)
Laura says
I am so happy for you!!! Thank you so much for sharing these things with us.
Elana says
Thanks Laura!
kim says
hello! do you have a “guide” of what to remove and where to start? i am overwhelmed thinking of how to do this and since you have such great experience i m wondering if you have a list to follow and/or resources to share? thank you so much!
Elana says
Kim, here you go!
https://elanaspantry.com/simple-steps-to-reduce-emfs/
Enjoy!
Elana
FDK says
As for your boys’ cell phone use; you could perhaps ask them to turn off the wifi and mobile data…. They would then still be able to make/receive calls, and send/receive text messages via sms, but you wouldn’t have the continous, excessive radiation exposure when wifi and/or mobile data are activated on the phone… People now have the habit of communicating via Whatsapp, Snapchat, etc… but those services require an internet connection… It would be better if we could all switch back to regular text messages (sms).
Elana says
Thanks FDK!