anyone knowledgeable regarding lead poisoning?

[david1985]

hi, recently I heard about the effects of lead exposure and poisoning which got me really worried. about 2 years ago I was working at a store as inventory assistant. basically moving things around. the shop was going to move and had purchased another location. I was asked to move boxes to the new location to store them. Problem was, the new location was under renovation, or perhaps was renovated halfway and the renovation was paused. the entire place was covered in a huge pile of debris and dust. and I had to work inside for hours each day carrying things around.

Each time I walk over the debris or set something down the dust got kicked up. I had no protection equipment what so ever and eventually one day I got sick from the dust and had to take a day off. I went to my nearby doctor for check up, complaining of chest pain and dizzyness. but the doctor merely dismissed my complaint of chest pain as muscle pain due to carrying heavy boxes and my dizzyness due to not sleeping well. He then gave me a doctor's surgical mask as my "protection" from the dust. so I went back to work wearing that mask and continued for about a month until I quit due to school.

now its already been two years since I quit, I've only recently been informed about the dangers of lead, for example dust from renovation in old buildings can contain high amounts of lead, I'm not sure how old that building was but it was in Toronto so it must be fairly old. I'm really worried that back then I might have been lead poisoned. Because to this day I've been feeling persistent mental fatigue, which I at first attributed to my depression, but as time passed it just didnt make sense to me that depression can cause non stop tiredness. Is there a way to find out if I had been lead poisoned a long time after exposure?

[david1985]

Thank you Doctor, I went overseas so I was not able to reply until now.

I have already been blood tested for anemia, and various other common fatigue causes. the blood tests came out fine.

since its been two years after exposure, it is a long time, is it no longer possible to tell if I had been lead poisoned?

my symptoms include:

strange soreness/numbness on top of head.
inability to concentrate
forgetful, to the point of not being able to keep track of  phone numbers, names, dates and times etc
constant tiredness, even after a nap
weakness in limbs after sleeping

my previous psychiatrist told me even with depression, these symptoms are strange, I asked him if it could be side effects of my medication, but he told me side effects should not last more than a few weeks, but in my case it has been many months. so he does not believe it, but he also could not do anything about it since my blood tests were fine and he does not know what is wrong. Right now I'm not taking any psychiatric medication by the way.

I'm really paranoid and I'm trying to trace back to when I started having these symptoms and I think working in the renovation could be the cause, although I have no proof that the dust contained lead and there is really no way to find out now.

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Hello,

There are blood tests for lead exposure.

But there is more to the story....

1. Blood lead levels can tell about current exposure to lead.
2. Lead can also be stored in your bones and overtime, with significant levels of lead exposure, lead will reach an "equilibrium" in the blood and the bones. Thus, after lead exposure is no longer occurring, lead may "leach" out of the bones into the blood stream.
3. There is no "normal" or "safe" blood lead level (BLL); however health effects in adults are not usually seen above 40 micrograms (μg) per deciliter (dL). The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that a BLL above 10 μg/dL is the level about which public health actions should be initiated. http://www.cdc.gov/lead/
4. The health effects of lead are many. The brain, nerves, blood stream, and kidneys are the major target organs for lead toxicity.
5. Depression can cause fatigue; however, other causes should also be ruled out. For example: hypothyroidism, anemia to name a few causes.

I hope that this is helpful. Please respond with additional questions that you may have.

~•~ Dr. Parks

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.