cirs/MOLD SERVICES
Our mission
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome is the largest hidden epidemic facing the United States with an estimated 50 million Americans suffering silently. We seek to provide support, validation and scientifically based diagnosis and medical care to this overlooked, misunderstood and largely stigmatized group of patients.
Background
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) occurs when a genetically susceptible person develops an immune reaction to exposure to biotoxins. Biotoxins known to trigger Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome include Lyme disease from ticks, ciguatera from tainted reef fish and toxic red-tide algal blooms.
However, the most prevalent cause of CIRS is biotoxins from water-damaged buildings.
Colloquially referred to as “mold disease,” CIRS is a leading cause and contributor to a host of mysterious illnesses including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. A leading Alzheimer’s researcher Dr. Dale Bredesen identified water-damaged buildings as such an important cause of Alzheimers that he termed this mechanism “inhalational Alzheimers,” a reference to the mechanism of breathing in immune stimulating particles from the environment.
sYMPTOMS
The symptoms are far-ranging and nearly always includes fatigue. Since fatigue is such a prominent symptom, patients with CIRS frequently get misdiagnosed as cases of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression.
Other common symptoms include weakness, unusual pains throughout the body, blurry vision, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cognitive decline and psychiatric problems. Due to this diversity of symptoms affecting different systems in the body and overall complexity, it often takes years before a patient is properly diagnosed.
dIAGNOSIS
The proper diagnosis involves understanding the environmental exposure and assessing symptoms. More importantly, there are objective lab and brain imaging biomarkers that are present in nearly all patients. Response to treatment is also highly valuable for confirming the diagnosis.
TREATMENT
We use the Shoemaker Protocol, the treatment approach that has the most scientific validation for its effectiveness in treating CIRS. It is a sequential protocol that occurs in multiple steps and involves the use of environmental changes, supplements, prescription medications and hormone support and supplementation.
Dr. Lysander's Informative mold Posts
Testimonials
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After seeing seven different doctors in my pursuit of a solution to chronic fatigue and malaise, Dr Jim has been the most thorough and knowledgeable. He is clearly continuing his... read more research into other areas because every time I say, "What about..." he has an answer that conveys an informed opinion. I wish everyone had access to a great doctor like Dr Jim. He doesn't take insurance (Who can blame him? The insurance companies don't allow doctors to really treat their patients!), so it's not "budget-friendly." But I'm happy to pay whatever it takes to get healthy again.
Marya S.
3/15/2019Excellent young optimistic smart and passionate doctor trained in Shoemaker protocol. Highly recommend.
Like some of the other reviewers, I took my son to countless doctors before Dr. Jim. He has... read more a very optimistic attitude with chronically ill patients, such as my child. This is very unusual as many doctors treating mold don't understand how much a chronically ill patient needs to hear that he believes he can get them well (90 percent).
He is also very kind, and caring. He is a great listener and is truly passionate about helping patients with mold illness. You can tell that he is very smart, and is willing to go the distance with patients to get them well.
I really can't say enough nice things about him. I can't imagine any one not being thrilled with his services. My child is now 2500 miles from him, but we will never leave his care. Very blessed to have found him!
Also, his weekend office hours are really nice for traveling.Jackie L.
1/11/2018My visit with Dr Lysander Jim was one of the most thorough visits I have seen with a doctor. He has a very pleasant and friendly demeanor and listened to... read more my story of health issues caused from mold. He did a thorough examination including visual contrast test and neurological testing. He explained to me all of my questions and I was very pleased with his explanations and insight into my condition. He even contacted me on a Saturday for questions I had regarding treatment. I did all the blood work he requested and have started a medication for me healing path. I highly recommend him.
Patrick D.
5/23/2018 -
I accompanied my wife on her initial visit to Dr. Jim. We were greeted promptly and ushered promptly to a room with all appropriate COVID-19 precautions being observed.
Dr. Jim entered... read more shortly and spent the next four hours with us. He was thorough and engaging. Very friendly but not overly familiar. He first elicited a detailed history and then conducted a thorough examination of the functional status of the back. After exiting briefly to examine the MRI, he returned and gave a detailed presentation of his analysis and conclusion. It was a conclusion that no other doctor had been able to achieve in the past four years. Needless to say we were thrilled. My wife has spent years visiting chiropractors and physical therapists who had treated the symptoms but had missed the underlying cause of her problem.
The doctor then spent an hour, instructing my wife in the way she should perform activities of daily living and giving a detailed exercise program, which she is to follow.
Dr. Jim is a protégé of the renown back guru, Stuart McGill, and is obviously well schooled in Dr. McGill's approach. Instead of drugs or surgery, the approach is an ergonomic one, emphasizing the need to achieve a pain-free existence while still being able to perform desired activities. We would recommend Dr. Jim to anyone with a challenging back problem, as well as others who wish to avoid the medication and surgery route. Five stars and world class!George S.
6/26/2020Elisabeth P.
10/27/2020Dr. Jim has been there for me since my journey started with mold illness. I've been sick for a long time and I've been to many doctors and holistic practitioners... read more and haven't been able to get better until I found Dr. Jim. He has helped me understand CIRS and its effects to the human body and how to heal from it. I have a long way to go with recovery but I'm so glad that I have someone who guides me and helps me every step of the way towards healing and getting better.
Katrina R.
6/01/2019 -
I have been seeing Dr. Jim for CIRS. I can not speak highly enough of him as a competent and caring physician who is very well versed in the diagnosis... read more and treatment of CIRS. Being a physician myself, I am not only aware of the inadequacy of mainstream medicine in dealing with this illness, but I am also quite particular about the physicians I see for care myself. If you think you may be suffering from CIRS or an illness from a water damaged building or mold, I highly highly recommend that you see Dr. Jim for an evaluation. It helped to change my life.
Carla W.
3/29/2019Staff was very polite and well mannered! 5/5. Treated with respect on phone call and answered in timely fas
Logan B.
7/08/2022Me and both my sons are patients of Dr. Lysander Jim. The Dr. has given us answers after over 100 Dr.'s and 8 years of searching for answers left us... read more empty handed. He did the proper medical tests that gave us concrete answers. He treated each of us individually and not a one size fits all approach, which I really appreciated. We have made huge strides in healing from mold/cirs and have gotten to the point where we can now address other co infections. Peeling back a layer at a time. I will be forever grateful we found Dr. Jim and would absolutely refer anyone I know or love to him as he is extremely knowledgeable.
Jessica G.
10/05/2021 -
I was seen by Dr. Lysander (Dr. Jim as he likes to be called) in February 2020 for assessment and diagnosis of long-standing lumbar back pain with acute, debilitating episodes... read more every 6-8 weeks or so. I was directed to Dr. Jim by a registry of Master Clinicians at the website backfitpro.com, the online home of Dr. Stuart McGill, Professor Emeritus of Spinal Biomechanics and Kinesiology at Waterloo University in Ontario. I had discovered Dr. McGill 3 years earlier, and my back problem improved enormously by following the guidance in his book "The Back Mechanic". Dr. McGill is well known for his more than 35 years of lab research, clinical studies and collaborations pertaining to Low Back Disorders.
In fact during 2019, by following the material in McGill's books I had only one significant episode of acute back pain, taking me by surprise at the very end of the year, and taking about 3-4 weeks to fully resolve. This event alerted me to a remaining vulnerability that I thought I had quite overcome already. My local PM&R physician was unable to give me a diagnosis beyond "Chronic Low Back Pain consistent with aging." I guess to many physicians, there is no hope for us as we get older. Professor Stuart McGill emphasizes in his books that every low back problem is unique and can be diagnosed with thorough assessment, and can usually be treated successfully without surgery. Thank goodness for serious students of Dr. McGill, like Dr. Jim Lysander.
Given this painful episode, I felt I would benefit from help and fine-tuning on my practice of Dr. McGill's methods. I sought a clinician trained in the McGill methods. There are numerous ones throughout the world, mostly from the ranks of Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, and in some cases Fitness Trainers. Dr. Jim Lysander is, currently, the only Master Clinician in California trained by Dr. Stuart McGill to assess and prescribe treatment of Low Back Pain based on the McGill methods. As of now, he is also the only Physician (M.D.), so-trained, in the entire world.
Although it took a trip from Northern California, where I reside, to Pasadena to keep my appointment with Dr. Lysander, I am very glad I made that trip several weeks after my back recovered from the Dec 30 episode enough to travel. During an appointment lasting several hours, Dr. Jim thoroughly assessed my condition and was able to give me a clear and specific diagnosis that clarified the nature and location of the spinal lesion that has been the source of my lumbar spine problem. He identified specific movement patterns that I need to cultivate to avoid this problem in future, and taught me exercises designed to further strengthen those specific movements. Finally, he corrected some mistakes I was making in my 3-year practice of the McGill methods, mistakes that I believe (in spite of all my progress) left my spine still vulnerable to the unexpected acute episode in December.
I highly recommend Dr. Jim Lysander to anyone seeking help with managing their Low Back Pain. I believe you can rely on Dr. Jim for a thorough and honest evaluation and an effective treatment plan tailored to your condition.Michael K.
3/20/2020
Offline Testimonials
Excellent young optimistic smart and passionate doctor trained in Shoemaker protocol. Highly recommend. Like some of the other reviewers, I took my son to countless doctors before Dr. Jim. He has a very optimistic attitude with chronically ill patients, such as my child. This is very unusual as many doctors treating mold don’t understand how much a chronically ill patient needs to hear that he believes he can get them well (90 percent). He is also very kind, and caring. He is a great listener and is truly passionate about helping patients with mold illness. You can tell that he is very smart, and is willing to go the distance with patients to get them well. I really can’t say enough nice things about him. I can’t imagine any one not being thrilled with his services. My child is now 2500 miles from him, but we will never leave his care. Very blessed to have found him!
JACKIE L.I came to Dr. Jim from Canada looking for a doctor to address my symptoms of both mold illness and chronic low back pain. He was able to do both and went out of his way to make sure I had as long of sessions as I needed to be properly diagnosed and educated as to my back injury and the proper care and exercises I would need in order to heal! Since then, I have been having much less pain and can tell that my body is slowly beginning to heal itself compared to misdiagnosises in the past that left me in a perpetual cycle of pain flares. He also appropriated the bloodwork I would need to get a proper diagnosis for my mold illness symptoms to provide accurate care and medicine. Allowing me to give him my full, detailed medical history, he was able to start me on a few medicines right away which have slowly helped me feel like there is hope to come out of this. I highly recommend him and his team!
KRISTA B.Dr Jim is the first and only doctor to truly take the time to properly diagnose me for mold disease. I have been seeing Dr Jim for over one year and every supplement and medication was prescribed after careful testing and attention to every detail. I could not recommend him enough to anyone suffering from mold / CIRS. My healing has been remarkable over the past year and a half of his treatment. Yet as all mold illness goes, I recently had a flare up of symptoms so severe I felt the ER (during a pandemic) was the next necessary step, to make sure nothing life altering was going on. Dr Jim not only called several times to check in on me, but kept his phone on him all evening to be texted updates. I have never had a medical care professional give my mysterious illness such proper care and expert attention. Thank you Dr Jim for being such an outlier in the medical field.
BRIT B.My visit with Dr Lysander Jim was one of the most thorough visits I have seen with a doctor. He has a very pleasant and friendly demeanor and listened to my story of health issues caused from mold. He did a thorough examination including visual contrast test and neurological testing. He explained to me all of my questions and I was very pleased with his explanations and insight into my condition. He even contacted me on a Saturday for questions I had regarding treatment. I did all the blood work he requested and have started a medication for me healing path. I highly recommend him. I traveled to LA from Vancouver to see Dr. Jim for CIRS. He was very knowledgeable and professional and spent a lot of time talking with me. We have a plan to follow and Dr. Jim has been good in answering my many questions via email. It is early days for me, but I am very hopeful that Dr. Jim has me on the road to recovery. Oscar at the front desk is great and very organized!
LEAH O.I travel half way across the country to see Dr. Jim and he is wonderful. I’ve been working with Dr. Jim for over a year after seeing dozens of doctors. He is thorough, does a great job of explaining very complex medical problems and is compassionate. I believe he truly understands how much his patients are suffering and he really cares about helping each patient heal or at least regain some quality of life. I wish more doctors were like Dr. Jim and I wish I had found someone like Dr. Jim years ago.
NANCY M.CIRS/Mold Testimonial
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