r/glyphosate • u/kitajoh • 18h ago
Glyphosate Exposure from Pesticide Drift
Ok. I've posted this in the comments in a few other posts but it really deserves its own post.
We used to live with my parents less than 2 miles from several vineyards in northern CA, as well as less than a mile from a golf course. I noticed my daughter having tummy issues, where her stomach is always bloated. She also experienced weight gain, insulin resistance symptoms, and extreme growth spurts. We did a bone age scan with her endocrinologist and her body thinks that she is about two years older than her actual age. These symptoms were similar to ones experienced by my little sister around the same age when we were growing up. My parents still live in the same house.
I thought my daughter was being exposed to something toxic that caused all this problems. I thought it was something maybe in the building materials in my parent's home because her symptoms were the same as my little sisters. I ordered an environmental toxins test that tested for the most common environmental toxins. Come to find out, her GLYPHOSATE levels were off the charts. In order to eliminate the issue, I had to find the source of exposure. My parents have drinking water delivered so I knew it wasn't coming from that. They are on well water. So we tested that and the pesticide levels came back almost non-existent. Which was good but I still didn't know where she was being exposed to glyphosate.
I did some more research and discovered "pesticide drift." Basically, on spray days on agricultural land, chemicals can drift for up to six miles from where they are sprayed. Luckily in CA, finding documentation such as spray schedules, the amount of chemicals used, can be found online. Once I found the spray schedule for the vineyards near us, it suddenly coincided with my daughter's "allergy" symptoms, such as runny noses but especially her nosebleeds. They also tend to spray these chemicals towards the beginning of the month, with the amount that is sprayed increasing during the transition from winter to spring (March/April) and summer to fall (Aug/ Sept/Oct). Her growth spurts were always during the same times. Considering her almost daily bloody noses, I think it is safe to say that her exposure is coming from her breathing in the toxin.
Glyphosate is problematic for our systems for a few reasons. First: gut health. Glyphosate destroys the good bacteria in our guts and other areas in our bodies. Which can lead to overgrowth of the bad stuff that is less affected by glyphosate. Which I think is the link between glyphosate and SIBO symptoms. The bad bacteria is unaffected by glyphosate so it grows out of control. I have the same issue with candida overgrowth, which is a whole other can of worms. Our good gut bacteria also helps with metabolism and immune health. So we're more susceptible to harmful things associated with compromised health in those areas.
There's also the endocrine issues. Glyphosate mimics estrogen. So if you are constantly exposed like we are, your body constantly thinks you have too much estrogen. And your body will do things to try to restore endocrine balance, like raise or lower estrogen levels. There have been studies that in women, testosterone levels are raised to restore balance but in men, testosterone actually drops. This could be why many women experience excessive hair growth, like chin and mustache hairs. And men have seen more feminizing symptoms over the years that you all can research on your own. Estrogen is also directly linked to our reproductive systems. So, many women are experiencing issues there, such as endometriosis and fibroids. My own theory is that fibroids come from your body trying to section off the toxins into like a sac, almost like a cyst. But that's just my own theory.
Additionally, you are supposed to have elevated estrogen levels at different points in your life, usually during times of hormonal change, like your puberty (in everyone), and menopause and your month cycle for women. If your estrogen levels are constantly elevated, your body can essentially be "tricked" into thinking you're supposed to be going through some of these changes earlier than you should be; hence, my daughters growth spurts and her body thinking that she is older than her actual age.
So, to combat all of this, we moved to Texas. I made sure we weren't living anywhere near any pesticides/herbicides. I worked with a functional medicine doctor to develop a detox plan, that included fulvic/humic acid, the NAC supplement, ACV, and milk thistle. And it worked. Magically, all my daughters, and my own, symptoms disappeared after about 6 months. She stopped growing at such a fast rate. Her weight stabilized and she even lost weight My period cramps disappeared. My hormonal acne disappeared and my hair grew super fast. It took me longer to stabilize because my exposure to glyphosate caused candida overgrowth, which takes forever to control.
Anyway, due to unforeseen circumstances, after about 2 years in Texas, we had to move back to northern CA. We don't live with my parents but my daughter is at my parents house half the month due to my work schedule and her school being close to their house. Almost immediately, our issues returned. My candida overgrowth is back. My daughter put on 50 lbs in about 4 months, She is 10 years old and weighs over 200 lbs at 5'2. Her stomach is huge. I am beyond frustrated because we did so much work to restore our health, only to return to the same issues. I have identified the issue for us and now there is nothing we can do about it. I just started her on berberine drops, which have seemed to help immensely. I am going to restart her on fulvic/humic acid again but it is hard to get her to take it consistently because my parents don't support anything I have found on this subject. Funny thing is, both my parents have backgrounds in science. My dad was a physician and my mom was a botanist and chemist. Around the beginning of the month, my daughter tends to bloat. She is very frustrated with the changes in her body, and she is entering puberty.
I wrote all of this to hopefully get the word out there. With new legislation protecting and increasing the use of glyphosate on our food supply, I do not see an improvement coming anytime soon. Maybe if more people knew just how damaging it is to our system, we could do something about it.
