Why Mold Makes Some People Miserable
When water-damaged buildings (WDB) grow mold, fragments of fungi, bacteria, and other microbes drift into the air. In genetically susceptible people, these biotoxins can ignite Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). A whole-body storm of fatigue, brain fog, breathing trouble, hormone chaos, and more. Standard “Shoemaker-style” treatment (leaving the moldy space, binding toxins, eradicating nasal MARCoNS, correcting hormones, etc.) helps most, but a stubborn subset stays sick.
Meet Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP)
VIP is a 28-amino-acid neuropeptide your body normally releases to:
- Calm excessive inflammation
- Dilate blood vessels and lower pulmonary artery pressure
- Regulate circadian rhythm, pituitary-adrenal and sex-hormone axes
- Support T-regulatory cells and healthy clotting
Over 98 % of CIRS patients test abnormally low in VIP, a deficit linked to ongoing symptoms. Replacing VIP with an intranasal spray, therefore, became the logical “finishing step” in Dr. Shoemaker’s protocol.
What the Research Says
An open-label trial published in 2013 followed 20 adults whose CIRS symptoms persisted despite completing every other step in the Shoemaker protocol. After using 50 µg of intranasal VIP up to four times daily for eighteen months, participants reported symptom scores that matched healthy controls, while inflammatory markers such as C4a, TGF-β1, VEGF, and MMP-9 dropped into normal ranges.
Hormone levels (estradiol, testosterone, 25-OH vitamin D) rebounded, pulmonary-artery pressure during exercise normalized, and every patient described a better quality of life without serious side effects.
Four years later, a multi-center series published in Internal Medicine Review added brain-imaging evidence:
MRI NeuroQuant scans showed that VIP safely restored volume to several gray-matter nuclei, including the hippocampus and amygdala. More than three hundred reporting clinicians observed the same biomarker corrections as the 2013 trial plus improvements in clotting profiles and in endocrine axes involving ACTH/cortisol and ADH/osmolality.
Take-home: Even after every other CIRS step, VIP can “finish the job,” quelling residual inflammation and restoring brain structure.
How VIP May Relieve Mold-Related Symptoms
- Immune Modulation – VIP down-regulates NF-κB, suppresses excessive cytokines and boosts IL-10 and T-regs.
- Vascular Support – It relaxes smooth muscle, improving oxygen delivery and lowering pulmonary artery pressure.
- Neuroprotection – Animal and human data show VIP crossing the blood-brain barrier, stabilizing mitochondria and ribosomal activity, and helping rebuild grey-matter volume. (Surviving Mold)
- Endocrine Re-balancing – VIP normalizes pituitary signaling, often correcting low cortisol in the morning, abnormal ADH/Osmo ratios, and sex-hormone imbalances observed in CIRS.
Practical FAQs
| Question | Answer |
| Who qualifies? | Those who: 1. Have Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRs) Often caused by mold exposure or biotoxin illness. 2. Experience Neuroinflammation or Cognitive Issues3. Suffer from Persistent Respiratory Inflammation |
| Typical dose? | 50 µg per spray; start 1 spray in each nostril 4×/day, titrating by symptom response under physician guidance. (Strive Pharmacy) |
| Side-effects? | Mild nasal irritation or transient flushing in a minority; serious events have been exceedingly rare in >10 000 documented courses. (Surviving Mold) |
| Access & regulation | VIP must be compounded; the FDA periodically reviews its status, so availability can vary—work with a knowledgeable integrative or functional-medicine prescriber. (Surviving Mold) |
| Cost & duration? | $159/mo on subscription or $199 for one-time. many patients taper after 3–12 months once biomarkers and symptoms stabilize. |
Putting It All Together
- Address the building first. No therapy overcomes ongoing exposure to a moldy environment.
- Walk through the full protocol. Binders, antimicrobials, anti-inflammatories and lifestyle steps create the foundation for VIP to work.
- Track labs and brain MRI (optional). Objective data help fine-tune dosing and document progress.
- Partner with an experienced clinician. VIP is potent; professional oversight prevents missteps.
Future Directions
Randomized, placebo-controlled trials are still lacking. Questions remain about optimal duration, long-term neurocognitive outcomes, and whether earlier VIP introduction could shorten recovery. Nonetheless, the existing open-label data, multi-clinic experience, and safety record make VIP a compelling option for the toughest mold-related cases.
Bottom Line
For people who’ve done “everything right” yet still feel hijacked by mold toxins, VIP nasal spray may be the missing link—quieting inflammation, repairing brain tissue, and ushering in the recovery they’ve been chasing.
Ready to Try VIP for Yourself?
If you have completed the core CIRS steps and still need that final push toward full recovery, consider our physician-compounded VIP Nasal Spray. Each spray delivers pharmaceutical-grade VIP in a sterile, preservative-free formula designed for optimal absorption.
Why choose Joi + Blokes VIP?
- Third-party tested for purity and potency
- Cold-shipped to protect peptide integrity
- Backed by clinicians
Give your body the signal it needs to calm inflammation and restore balance. Shop VIP Nasal Spray here and take the next step toward feeling like yourself again.
Meet Kimberly Brown
Kimberly is passionate about empowering women to optimize their hormonal and gut health, support adrenal function, and overcome weight-loss resistance. After a partial hysterectomy during her third childbirth—and the early perimenopause symptoms that followed—she experienced severe mood swings, fatigue, low libido, and anxiety. That journey inspired her to help others: Kimberly now provides guidance and treatment for hormone imbalances and keeps her expertise current through continuing education and certifications in women’s health, lifestyle medicine, personalized medicine, and BHRT from the Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Treatment Academy.
