She Faced Brain Fog, Fatigue and Weight Gain—Until She Uncovered This Hidden Household Danger

Jenna Leveille’s health spiraled until she uncovered the cause—here’s how she healed

Exposure to household mold and the dangerous mycotoxins it produces can put women at risk for countless disruptive health symptoms, including fatigue, foggy thinking, muscle weakness and even weight gain. Keep reading to learn how Jenna Leveille, 53, overcame her mold exposure symptoms and how you can regain your health, too, and stay safe in the future.

Traditional doctors didn’t know what was wrong

Talk about a health rollercoaster. Back in 2014, Jenna was enjoying the best health of her life. She shares, “I’d just lost 140 pounds through consistent walking, strength training and making a commitment to transforming my life.” Things were going great.

But by 2021, she started suffering from mysterious health symptoms. Although she’d never had food allergies before, she began reacting to things like nuts and alcohol. On an airplane one day, after eating some walnuts, she recalls, “My face broke out in burning hives. It felt like someone was pressing a hot frying pan against my skin. My eyes swelled and darkened with circles, almost like a raccoon. It was terrifying.”

Jenna looked for the root cause of her misery

Then Jenna turned to a functional medicine doctor to look deeper. But after running numerous tests over six months, they still didn’t have answers. Jenna says, “I remember one day just feeling so frustrated and saying, ‘Let’s test for mold.’” She had no reason to suspect household mold. She’d never seen any in her home, but she was at her wit’s end and desperate for answers.

Sure enough, the results from a urine mycotoxin test came back “completely off the charts.” Jenna says, “It was a mix of emotions—shock, but also relief—because after months of uncertainty, I finally had an answer.”

Important mold exposure symptoms women should know

Mold exposure is linked to dozens of frustrating symptoms. Look out for these common signs:

Foggy thinking, mood swings
Headaches, vision changes, dizziness
Chronic fatigue
Joint/muscle pain or weakness
Nasal stuffiness, asthma symptoms, shortness of breath
Digestive changes (diarrhea, constipation)
Itchy, rashy skin (or allergic reactions)
Unexplained weight gain
Sleep complaints

Where mold was found in Jenna’s home

With a diagnosis, Jenna then had to find the source of her exposure. On the surface, her home looked safe and mold-free. But she later learned that mold growth had started when her refrigerator’s ice maker had a leak six years earlier. Since then, mold had spread and was hidden behind the kitchen cabinets, inside the wall and also in the crawl space of her Colorado home. That mold growth triggered a severe mold toxicity reaction that derailed Jenna’s health. (She shared this video with Woman’s World, showing the extent of mold damage in her house.)

Two essential steps to heal after mold exposure

When it comes to mold exposure, you have to clean up things on two fronts: in your environment and in your body.

Jenna cleared the mold from her house

Experts recommend not using bleach to treat household mold. Instead, try vinegar, proven to kill 82 percent of mold spores. Or Jenna used a hydrogen peroxide-based cleaning product called IAQ. If you spray it on a spot, it will bubble to indicate that mold is present. Spray, wipe and repeat until bubbles stop forming. Then for bigger remediation jobs, check the NORMI Pro database to find certified mold professionals in your area.

To deal with her house, Jenna knew, “The house needed extensive remediation.” Ultimately, she had professionals encapsulate the crawl space and rebuild the kitchen. Her best advice: “Do the remediation right away so you can get healthy. Remodeling can always be done in stages as finances allow.”

Some mold remediation companies are more thorough than others. (And Jenna found that some are even scammers.) She says, “Stay strong through the process, ask lots of questions, and always get references before moving forward. The right support can make all the difference in your healing journey.” She adds, “I’m happy to say our house is now a safe haven.”

Jenna healed her body

Jenna used multiple strategies to support her body and relieve symptoms after mold exposure.

She took medication binders. She says, “I was prescribed a cholesterol medication that worked as a binder for mold toxins.” The meds would latch on to toxins in her body like a magnet and remove them from her system through waste. “That made a huge difference.”
She tweaked her diet to avoid triggers. Jenna started following a low-histamine diet, which helped quiet the immune response and calm her reactions. This involved avoiding alcohol and other triggers. She adds, “anti-inflammatory whole foods and digestive enzymes helped me heal.” Bone broth became a powerful ingredient in her routine.
She practiced intermittent fasting. This allowed her struggling gut time to repair and heal in between meals. “It gave me energy and focus.” It also helped her shed weight. She adds, “My typical fasting window was from about 7 p.m. until 11 or 12 the next day.”
She took supplements. To support her healing and detoxification, Jenna also used probiotics and prebiotics, as well as supplements like collagen, L-glutamine, fish oil, Vitamin C and Vitamin D.

Now Jenna is feeling healthy and strong again

Today, Jenna is feeling worlds better. All of her symptoms vanished or dramatically diminished. She shares, “I just received my latest mold report and it shows an 80 percent improvement. I’ve even started a new binder, recommended by my doctor, to help clear out what’s still remaining.”

She says, “This story has been deeply personal: a journey of resilience, wellness and the unwavering determination to rise after life knocks you down over and over again.” Now she tells other women, “Wellness isn’t a linear path. It’s a lifelong commitment. I’m proof that you can come back stronger, no matter how many times life knocks you down.”

To help others with their wellness goals, Jenna runs an online community called Getting Closer Everyday. Or visit her on Instagram @jennaleveille_11 to get a free eBook about detoxing your body and home from mold exposure.

Expert tips for identifying and treating mold toxicity

Know that mold exposure is common. “The mold problem is a hidden driver of women’s chronic illness,” says Bryn Kanuk, a Doctor of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization and the Founder of Austin Transformational Health. “As an integrative physician, I often meet women who are told their symptoms are unrelated, or worse, ‘just stress.’ But when you zoom out and connect the dots—fatigue, brain fog, gut issues, skin flares, lightheadedness—a different picture emerges. Mold exposure is often at the center of it.”

A little mold can cause a lot of problems. Tufts University research reveals that even low levels of exposure to mycotoxins in the home can trigger toxicity that seriously impairs health.
Symptoms vary, so get tested. “The signs and symptoms of mold toxicity are widespread and vary from person to person,” says Neil Nathan, MD, author of TOXIC. He recommends having a urine test to confirm mycotoxins.
Find a doctor who listens. It’s key to work with a medical provider who validates, rather than gaslights medical concerns.
Be patient. Healing takes time. “Different molds can produce different amounts of toxins and affect people in different ways, making it tricky to treat,” says Tania Dempsey, MD, who works with mold patients and also overcame her own case of mold exposure years ago. “There isn’t a one-size-fits-all remedy. I take a comprehensive, layered approach.”
Yes, you can recover! Jenna encourages, “I want people who are in the middle of it to know there is real hope for true healing. It worked for me!”