International worm stories

3 weeks before leaving Australia I began getting severe chest pains. Various heart related tests revealed nothing abnormal. I had been to a few events and ate things I Would consider off limits. Then ... After four days in Dehli eating spicy foods .. The chest pains became extremely intense and debilitating . . . Now in Assisi with access to a kitchen where I can cook my own food means that I can more easily control the pain. A gelato brought on intense and debilitating shoulder pain. After some research it seems that this pain is part of an auto immune disease called fibromyalgia. After discussion with Garin ... It seems that the worms, and in particular the latest inoculation could be stirring up a disease I didn't know I had! Digestive system is behaving better and now this pain has filled the hole . . It appears manageable with diet, although the stiffness and aching shoulders is still hanging around... This upon reflection is how it has been for some time.

Hopefully there will be wormy benefits to follow.

Another wormy update

I had my second innoculation with hookworm in June hoping to improve my symptoms further so I can broaden my diet.  I haven't got much to report except for an increase in stomach and bowel symptoms.  I have had diarreah for the past 2 weeks so have reduced my dietary exploration.  My 3 month period is up in early September so I am hoping to see some changes then.

I am off to Italy (7 weeks) via Dehli for 4 days coming up next week ... It will be a challenging time until I reach the kitchen in Italy .. (why would someone with a hypersensitive stomach go via Dehli?). 

Moving in .. 9 days boxes still packed.

All this fruit has brought back a very unpleasant symptom .. hypersensitive teeth.  The last couple of weeks I have noticed this .. dietary changes required.  I hadn't had this on a restricted diet.  Read today that it can be a symptoms of GERD .. reflux disease so called which can be exaserbated by acid fruits, tea and coffee and spices .. so going to drop the pineapple, strawberries etc for a while to see if this improves things.  Maybe it was the PPIs I was taking that got rid of this symptom, and not the worms? 

The new cohort - must be nearly unpacked.  Feeling a bit off .. today .. hormones or worms .. or both.  Have started taking iron tablets every few days to bolster the system in preparation for when the hookworms take hold and start sucking blood.

New recruits

Since the last time I wrote, I have been trying a food combining diet which has been just fantastic for dyspepsia .. profoundly amazing difference!!  I can now eat a wide range of fruits with no problem, spices, wheat and other processed foods not so good.  My body is telling me it wants raw food .. and lots of it!  Just need to eat it at the right times.  .. I seem to have become a vegetarian .. no animal proteins at this stage.

Today I also gain some new recruits from wormtherapy .. decided to go with 20 more hookworm to see if this improved the tolerance to more exotic foods, the rosacea and dermatitis.  Even with 20 worms and a modified diet I am feeling pretty damn good .. so it is with some trepidation I embark upon the new journey.  In they go!  Itching to get started.

And...

I forgot to mention I saw a friend recently who I hadn't seen for quite some time .. pre worms actually .. and she looked at me and said ... you are well. .. She was curious to find out about my progress as she had only known about me talking about getting hookworms to treat food intolerance symptoms etc. and now she could see the proof ..

7 months on

I haven't written for quite some time .. regret this as I am finding it difficult to remember what is progress and what is regression!  I am struggling with dyspepsi still/again .. not the nausea so much but the discomfort after eating.  I am using enzymes, taking probiotics and still I am suffering!  Definitely a link between hormones and dyspepsia for me .. things get worse second half of cycle.  Just seems more pronounced this last month. 

Things aren't sitting well in the gut.  Not sure what to do about it... although I don't seem to cope very well with anything that is processed.  I have days where I feel good and can eat a range of foods and very importantly feel very good after eating .. these seem to be quite rare now. 

Not sure if I need more worms or another solution to augment my cohort ..

Rosacea - I have had flushing and blushing with tingling more this month as well.  Lumps and bumps are there but controlled by Azclear .. I think .. you never know what works and what doesn't as the condition flares inconsistently!.. so inconvenient.


I would like to try 10 more worms...

Enzymes, dyspepsia, worms

I have been able to control residual symptoms of nausea with enzymes.  I was feeling sick after eating I wrote in my last post .. after visiting Dr Google I found out that I needed more enzymes to help digest my food which is consistent with not having a gall bladder... my age.. hashimotos etc.   This has made such a difference .. I had tried enzymes in the past but had not been able to tolerate them.

My face is more settled as well.  From the reading I have been doing there is suggestions that rosacea is related to digestive problems .. overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut etc.  It seems to me that the redness and flushing has settled since hookworm therapy hooked in (so to speak) and that this has been further reduced by the enzymes.  So the lumps and bumps seem to be reduced by the combination of hookworm, enzymes and probiotics .. as well as a diet which includes plenty of raw foods.

So even though the rosacea is not gone ..  it is pretty darn good. .. at the moment.

Having said that, I think that if you have rosacea, and don't have gastrointestinal problems this may not be the answer.

The pharmaceutical companies and doctors have a lot to answer for!!  For dyspepsia you are prescribed proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) which suppress acid production in the stomach .. when often the problem is not enough hydrochloric acid and/or enzymes.  For me the PPIs coincided with a worsening of rosacea symptoms.

Such a relief to be able to eat fantastic healthy food!  I am really enjoying new season apples, blueberries, snow peas and carrots, jasmine rice, tomatoes .. I could go on!

Up and down in worm world

I am very pleased not to be taking PPI's for chronic dyspepsia at the moment.  My stomach is still a bit queazy with a lot of burping .. after eating some meals (at least burping releases the sense of fullness) .. I am struggling a bit at the moment .. but generally feeling more positive about eating a broader range of foods.  Think i will stay away from fermented foods like yoghurt for the time being to see if this is a problem.  Today my head is funny, I feel flat with not much energy, mild dyspespia .. but had periods during the day that I was ok.  The symptoms come on after eating.  I have had better days.

I really would like to feel better all the time!

Rosacea is ok .. a bit of tinted sunscreen on the offending areas (cheeks and nose) helps to even out the skins tone.  Lumps and bumps minimal, but there!  I am trying Azclear by Ego which is a new cream containing azelaic acid .. it cannot be worn under moisturiser of concealer as the cream lifts off when anything else is applied.  For this reason I am only using it once a day, at night.

Flux

Today is around the 5 month mark of hosting hookworm.  Last week was an amazing week of energy, and a broad range of yummy fruit and vegetables.  I had so much energy I was amazing .. I think in retrospect I was hyper.  This week I am exhausted!  Nothing like the bone weary exhaustion of the past, but I don't have the energy to do much at all.. might even need to lie down for an hour or so.  I was going to work on a large painting I had started in my hyper period a couple of days ago.  I look at it and don't think I can climb the mountain required.

My stomach feels a little uneasy, but I haven't had any PPIs for over a week now .. I don't know why I am having this period of blah.

Rosacea is also creeping back ... the flushing and blushing brought on by sitting in the car in the heat, by overheating .. and I feel overheated!!  Might need to cut down on the salicylates in my diet .. hard to do now I have the taste for blackberries, blueberries, nectarines, apricots and peaches again. 

Hormones and rosacea .. I would love to know when menopause is going to start!  Is is the second part of my cycle I reached the peak 2 days ago, now it is down hill .. hormones!  Maybe this is effecting my energy as well .. what ever I am feeling really disappointed.

Maybe it is just a bad stretch.  Hope the worms haven't done a runner.

5 month update

I have been off the pariet since last weekend, so that is 3 - 4 days .. a record.  Food choices have increased and I am like a kid in a candy shop .. nausea is much reduced .. and non existent when I eat moderately.  I had some fresh blackberry jam made yesterday and overdid it a little so feel a bit nauseous this afternoon (one really shouldn't eat jam!).  I had my first red meat meal in 5 years on Monday and it was okay .. didn't suffer too much at all.  Feeling a bit fatigued but not to the point of needing to lie down.  I started probiotics earlier this week and can tolerate them which is just fantastic.  Rosacea ok .. not perfect but ok .. just need a bit of concealer.. and the lumps are not inflamed.  I have noticed that the extent of the blushing and flushing is not as intense as it has been in the past and I am eating fruits etc that have been a big problem in the past.

My friends jaws are hitting the ground so a positive result all round!

Wormy Update

I have felt good the last few days.  Energy quite good, rosacea rash not too bad .. dyspepsia almost non existant so I stopped the pariet.  This coincided with starting antibiotics so I started wondering about what bugs might contribute to my symptoms??  Anyway probably coincidental .. not feeling so good today.  Nausea and indigestion .. had to take a pariet (damn!) .. a bit fatigued.  I have been able to eat a bit of rockmelon, some red blood plums and a couple of apples during my 3 day reprieve from symptoms .. very very very good .. it was a particularly good rockmelon, sweet and juicy .. the plums off my own tree .. yum and also a bit of carrot.

I will be pleased to finish antibiotics on Saturday after a 10 day program .. wonder how worms are fairing ..  managed to avoid the 2nd stage of whooping cough (which is the so named cough).  Very relieved to have survived that one as my partner is still having trouble breathing when he gets in to a coughing fit. 

I started swimming laps again after a very long break .. I couldn't tolerate the chlorine .. new methods mean no nasty smells .. energy was ok.  Today no swim .. back to the usual... but at least I am not flattened.

Dermatologist

I have been waiting since October to see a skin specialist about my facial rash .. rosacea and/or lupus rash .. my immunologist wants to know .. my suspicion is rosacea .. all the classic signs but in the shape of a butterfly rash which is classic lupus .. I am going for the lesser of two evils.  I've had rosacea for many years but can't control it anymore with diet.  Now I've got whooping cough, I am infectious until 5 days of antibiotics and my appointment is in two days.  So will need to reschedule.  Mmmm this is not good I am feeling feverish as it is. 

Whooping Cough!

I thought I was going to avoid this .. my partner and I went to the same function .. he got it I didn't .. but now nearly 4 weeks later I am showing the first signs of this bacterial infection.  Unfortunately my partner was not diagnosed until the third doctor and the later stages of the cough.  I am trying not to panic as I know this doesn't help the spasms and not being able to breath.  Early stage for me at the moment with woozy feeling, tight chest and slight cough.  Unfortunately taking antibiotics E-Mycin which reduces the period of time you are infectious but not necessarily the symptoms... so I have read.  I can't take garlic, or honey or any herbs to help me through this so it is just me, antibiotics and pariet. 

Garin (wormtherapy.com) tells me the worms will be okay but it might be a case of two steps backward for a few weeks while the antibiotics and their aftermath pass.

On a positive note I have got gold stars from both my doctor and Garin on my latest blood results.  Iron levels are up hashimotos antibodies down.  I doubled my dose of thyroxin last August.  Started hookworms in September so which did what in these latests blood results is anyone's guess so I have a question .. does thyroxin reduce thyroid antibodies or is it the hookworm?

My ThyroidAAb (antibodies) test 18/1/11           24/8/10
Thyroglobulin Ab                                5                       11
Thyroid Peroxidase A                        164  H               227 H

Throid Function test  18/1/11       3/12/10         24/8/10

TSH level                      0.54              0.27             4.69 H
Free T4                           15                  17                13

Neuronal Antibodies (ANA) remains the same at 1:160 Speckled pattern.

Vitamin D3 and preservatives

Finding a suitable Vitamin D3  is tricky.  The closest I have come to getting something that doesn't contain nasty preservatives is the one below (Australian, of course).  The vegetable capsules .. it doesn't state what they are made of .. presumably salicylate based vegies. .. a better compromise that sulphur dioxide (in gelatin) or sodium benzoate as a preservative in other brands I have looked at.   Asthma, stomach upsets, depression/behaviour disorders .. some of the delightful side effects for responders according to the Failsafe website (Sue Dengate)... and from my own experience I really don't want to go there.  Even small quantities can have an effect.

"Hippocrates Natural Vitamin D3 capsules consist of 1000 IUs of natural Vitamin D3 and pure olive oil ONLY in each all-vegetable capsule. NOTHING ELSE.  Custom-manufactured in Australia to our strict specifications.
Does NOT contain: Gluten - Soy – Corn – Lactose – Glucose – Gelatin - Fructose – Maltose – Dextrose – Levulose – Maltodextrin – Xylitol – Molasses – Artificial Sweeteners - Nuts - Milk - Egg - Wheat – Rice – Sugars – Yeast – Casein – GMO – Preservatives – Excipients – Enteric Coating – Shellac – Wax – Plastic – Talc – Artificial Colours or Flavours."

Depression and disappointment!

I tried some yogurt .. amines .. too strong for me .. couldn't sleep so took bicarb soda capsules which, for some reason work. (Sue Dengate's remedy for food intolerance symptoms).  I also had a banana with the yoghurt and another delicious peach .. I have no self control .. these things followed by about 12 cashews and it was enough to bring on the fatigue, nausea and uncomfortable sensations in the upper middle adbdomen that afternoon and the next day.  Seriously back on my diet as another few cashews or yoghurt would have made me physically sick I am sure.

My mood and sense of wellbeing and contentment with my lot in life is also thrown off balance.. my strict diet does improve my mood .. there is literature to support the link between food and mood .. if I was eating McDonalds and fatty rich foods .. I could understand it better .. but I am not!

Today back to the puffed rice which goes soggy when you add soy milk and the psyllium.  Will follow this up with a pear ..  ho hum. .. having had the taste of variety this is depressing.

Iron tablets aren't helping the bowel and the salicylates and amines add to the constipation .. yes the diet is looking pretty good!  I will feel better all round in a few days, and it will be interesting to see if my feet stop throbbing.  When I am back in balance Vitamin D3 might get a look in.  It has been suggested that I take this .. it is summer here in Australia .. I spent the last two weeks on the coast exposing myself to the sun .. this should really be plenty... 20 minutes a day outside with limbs exposed provides enough Vit D.

Breath deeply and wait .. my doctor said I am her least likely patient to have gout .. possibly related to worm activity, plus my dietary experiementation (the oysters and soy nuts - purine rich food associated with gout), hormonal and hereditary factors... it is almost gone now.  Waiting on blood tests to see what is happening with iron levels, hashimotos, ANA test (autoimmune disorders), urine test for same.

Garin tells me that it is early yet for improvements and that six months is a better indicator .. it is coming up to 4 months.

Gout!

I haven't had a gout attack before. .. that I recognised as one ..  3 oysters, a few handfuls of soy nuts at camp. then on the way home I had a slice of carrot cake .. just wanted to be normal.  Have been suffering from gout .. very bad yesterday, getting better today but still sharp pains and hobbling around.  Apparently gout is not very common in women .. can be the result of hormonal changes, purine rich foods (legumes, shellfish etc) and dehydration.  So lots of water, no more oysters, soy nuts or bad carbs/sugar.  Rice, fruit, chicken, lettuce and celery seems to have helped.

I am wondering if there is a relationship between worms, hormonal changes and gout? I need to get my thyroid rechecked and then there is the menopause looming somewhere in the future.

I had 3 peaches yesterday (salicylates  .. and with minimal side effects so far).  A bit more facial flushing (rosacea) .. today, feeling hot, bowels a bit quick but ok. .. three peaches was really overdoing it but they were new seasons local straight from the orchard, juicy and tasty.

The soles of my feet are throbbing as well.  This went away for a while and has been back for the last few days.  Could be related to hashimotos, suspected autoimmune disease (lupus) or a smorgasboard of other undesirables.

Post camping blues

I haven't blogged for a while .. waiting for significant improvements .. but it is slow and obscure.

I am sure I have had improvements.  I can manage more foods than before, although need to be careful. I have tried some things like banana and wheat bread, tomato, soy nuts, oysters but all on the same day so the next day's stomach upset and bowel problems are related to??  Fatigue has reduced significantly but this could be attributed to an increase in thyroxin 4 months ago.  I feel quite good. 


I am able to walk further with better energy.  I seem to be able to tolerate more foods.  I still suffer from dyspepsia .. nausea, etc and take 40 mg of PPIs daily to keep a lid on this.  I don't get as severe reactions as before.  Hoping that further improvements will follow.  The last weeks I have been camping and trying a few things .. due to stomach and bowel discomfort I am eating the usual diet again .. and perhaps try a banana in a few days when things have settled again.  The trick is to not eat anything else to be able to get a clear idea of reactions, or not.

A few cashews on plain rice cereal seem ok, but not today.

Some other observations - I haven't had the usual mouth sore with the food experimentation, or other skin infections that seem to come and go with problem foods and hormones.

Bowels are better, just need to watch problem foods which create bowel pain and constipation, or the opposite.

Energy levels are much better.

Rosacea - don't seem to get as intense flushing .. although camping for a week meant no hot showers.  Shall wait and see with this one.  I have an appointment with a dermatologist in 3 weeks to see what they offer.  In the meantime I am trying some skin products. 

Still waiting before I sing hallelujah!