If you’ve ever felt like your body is falling apart while your lab work looks “perfect,” you’ve probably heard it before: “It’s just stress” or “Maybe you’re overreacting.” Cue the eye roll. Many patients have wondered if the symptoms their providers so easily brush off might actually be a case of chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS). The fact is that conventional medicine does not often understand CIRS.
Wondering if CIRS is a real disease? Yes. Absolutely. 100%. And the fact that so many people are still dismissed when they have it says more about the limitations of conventional care than it does about your symptoms. Chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) is a very real, very complex disease that deserves more attention than it gets.
At Lindgren Functional Medicine, we see this all the time—patients who’ve been bounced around the medical system and told they’re fine, when in reality their immune system is on red alert from an environmental trigger they’ve never even heard of. If you’re ready for the full story, let’s dive in.
What Exactly Is CIRS?
CIRS stands for chronic inflammatory response syndrome. It’s a complex illness that manifests with all different types of systems, kind of like your body is going haywire, in response to certain triggers—often biotoxins such as mold, bacteria, or other environmental exposures.
Here’s the twist: In people with certain genetic markers, their body can’t properly “turn off” the inflammatory response. So, instead of recovering once the trigger is no longer active, their immune system stays in overdrive.
Common symptoms include the following:
- Brain fog
- Crushing fatigue
- Muscle aches and joint pain
- Unexplained weight gain or loss
- Mood changes, anxiety, and depression
- Digestive issues
- Temperature regulation problems
Sound like a laundry list or a constant, massive hangover? That’s the point. CIRS can mimic a dozen other health problems, which is one reason it’s often missed.
Why You’ve Probably Never Heard of It from Your Regular Doctor
Here’s where we get a little sassy: Traditional medicine tends to focus on diseases that have a neat, tidy diagnosis code and a standard treatment protocol. CIRS is a real disease that doesn’t fit into a box.
There’s no single lab test that says, “Yes, you have it”—and the symptoms can look like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, Lyme disease, or just “life in your 40s.” Unless your doctor is trained in recognizing biotoxin illness, they may not even know CIRS exists. If you want to hear more on how this happens, check out Dr. Lindgren’s podcast episode on why you can feel sick with perfect labs.
Even worse? Some providers will see your “normal” labs and decide your symptoms are psychosomatic. If you’ve ever been told to “just get more sleep” or “try yoga” when your whole body is screaming at you, and it’s just not working… it might be that our standard medical system just isn’t cutting it for you.
How Functional Medicine Looks at CIRS
The functional medicine approach is basically the opposite of “shrug and hope it goes away,” especially when dealing with the reality of CIRS as a disease.
We ask the following questions:
- What triggered your symptoms? (Mold exposure? Lyme? Another infection?)
- How is your immune system reacting?
- Where is the inflammation showing up in your body?
- What can we do to help your body calm down and heal?
Testing for CIRS often includes a deep dive into inflammatory markers, hormone levels, visual contrast sensitivity (yes, even your vision can be affected), and a careful history of your environment and health timeline.
Once we know what’s going on, we create a step-by-step plan to do the following:
- Remove you from ongoing exposure
- Bind and remove biotoxins from your body
- Support your detox pathways
- Repair and rebalance your immune system
A Common CIRS Trigger: Invisible Mold (Yuck!)
One of the most common triggers for the very real condition of CIRS is mold exposure—and here’s the kicker: You don’t have to see it or smell it for it to wreck your health. Mold can hide behind walls, under floors, and inside air ducts. If your symptoms started after moving to a new home, starting a new job, or spending time in a water-damaged building, CIRS might be to blame.
This is where functional medicine practitioners can help you connect the dots. A conventional doctor might not ask about your living environment. It’s not a standard question on a health history intake form. We, on the other hand, always ask about it because we know how it can destroy your health!
Why Early Diagnosis Matters
When you ask, “Is CIRS a real disease?” you’re really asking if it’s worth taking seriously. The answer is a resounding yes, because the longer your body stays in chronic inflammation mode, the more damage it can cause—from hormone disruption to neurological changes.
People who finally get a correct diagnosis often describe it as life-changing because it validates their experience and opens the door to real healing.
Getting Help for CIRS
If the cycle of experiencing CIRS symptoms and not getting adequate help sounds a little too familiar, here’s what you should do next:
- Document your symptoms — frequency, severity, and what makes them better or worse
- Consider your environment — such as whether you have recently been exposed to tick-borne illness or mold
- Find a practitioner who understands CIRS — ideally someone trained in functional medicine and biotoxin illness
At Lindgren Functional Medicine, we specialize in digging into these complex, misunderstood conditions. We believe you deserve more than a “you’re fine” and a pat on the back. We offer comprehensive testing, targeted treatment plans, and the support you need to recover. Learn more about our approach to CIRS treatment here.
The Bottom Line
So, is CIRS a real disease? You bet. The fact that it’s not well understood by conventional medicine doesn’t make it any less real—it just means you need to look outside the usual box to get answers. Your symptoms are not “all in your head,” and you’re not crazy for wanting to feel like yourself again.
If you’re tired of being dismissed and want to know what’s really going on with your health, we’re here for you. Schedule a consultation with Lindgren Functional Medicine today, and let’s start finding the answers (and the relief) you’ve been looking for.
