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We’re on our own in the US with worms

Monday, February 8, 2010

Looks like Jasper of AIT can’t ship hookworms or whipworms to the US because of legal reasons.  I’d like to collect an aggregate of information on hookworm incubation methods here, so we can learn from one another’s mistakes and triumphs.  What I’m finding is most people need to dose way more often than once every 3-5 years.  I’m only dosing moderately (10 hookworms at a time) and I’ve had good effects for about 4 months, then things decline.  I’ve also heard personally from others that about the one year mark, things start to go downhill.  I’m sure it depends on dose and disease, environmental factors.  Of course, I’m not in touch with the vast majority of people trying worms, but the more we can learn and understand about this and share this information, the better.

I will be trying to incubate again this week.  I will share my methods of success or not.  Meanwhile, here is another place where someone is experimenting with incubating hookworms.  Let’s help one another, shall we?

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The Psychology of Chronic Illness

Monday, February 1, 2010

I’ve reached a point where 20 hookworms are probably going to do all that they can. I have no pain. I’m at my highest weight. My hair is shiny and not broken off. My skin is the clearest it’s been.

The Crohn’s? No pain, no night sweats. No diarrhea throughout the night. I can eat a huge variety of foods I couldn’t before. For this I should be grateful.

And I am, I am. But I’m at the tail end of a few weeks of badly chosen foods. Chinese food followed by cabbage followed by raw vegetables followed by homemade pickled beans. The culmination which means more frequent bowel movements, a diarrhea thrown in, more mucus, more gas. I ran out of VSL#3 a few weeks ago and was substituting some old probiotics, and have started iron pills. I was praying for constipation from them, but no such luck. And I’ve got a bad cough, so I’m just feeling a little sorry for myself. I’m still going to the bathroom at least 3 times a day. SOOOO much better than before, but I just want to have a solid bowel movement every single day, eat some raw vegetables and not have to worry. Is that too much to ask? (Continued)

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Nottingham Hookworm Results for Allergies and Asthma

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Disappointing. 10 hookworms didn’t really work statistically for asthma or allergies, but there were immune changes.  I wonder what “mimic most closely natural infection” means (last line of abstract for asthma study)? Less at once, more often? Or more than 10? I am feeing extraordinarily lucky that 10 hookworms caused such a pronounced change in me; first for the worst, then for the better. I started with 10 hookworms De. 2007, got edema, arthritis, a fever, diarrhea.  By month 4 I was in remission, but added 2-3 worms a week for a total of 37.  Then I lost them somehow by September 2008 and lost efficacy.

I got 10 new hookworms in February 2009, then 10 more in late September 2009. My last egg count was 1400 epg. My CRP (measure of inflammation) has been normal since March 2009.  So 20 worms are working for me.  Weight’s been normal since March, I can eat most foods but still get diarrhea from too much fiber.  Now my hormones are causing anxiety/depression, but I’m assuming that’s un-worm related.   I’m almost 38 years old.

I wish we knew the ideal dosing number and dosing schedule.  It seems that those with the best response are getting at least 20-30 hookworms, though I also know of Crohns patients who had to terminate because 20-25 worms were way too much at once.  I wish these studies were faster since we’re just dosing in the dark.

The asthma study:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20030661

Experimental hookworm infection: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in asthma.

Feary JR, Venn AJ, Mortimer K, Brown AP, Hooi D, Falcone FH, Pritchard DI, Britton JR.

Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.

Filed in helminth immunology, helminth therapy, studies, trials | | Comments (0)

Other Accounts of Hookworms and Crohn’s

Friday, January 15, 2010

This is a very lonely therapy.  But there are more people trying this, and I just wanted to post two accounts of other people trying hookworms for Crohn’s.

One is a blog:  http://lukecology.blogspot.com/

Luke’s having a mixed response to 30 hookworm larvae; perhaps coming off the Prednisone is contributing to the ups and downs?

And a wonderful account on the yahoo forum of a female who tried 35 hookworms and is doing better than she has in years:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/helminthictherapy/message/3795

If you’re someone with Crohn’s trying hookworms or whipworms, could you let us all know how you are doing?

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Egg Count: 1400 epg

Monday, January 11, 2010

Did another McMaster egg count.  1400 epg  Roughly the same as the last time I checked, which was 1550 epg.  Wormies still having sex and kicking out eggs.  Crohns symptoms are still good, especially when I don’t eat out and stick to more healthful foods.

Anxiety has crept back the last 2 days, but I think it’s hormonal, since I should be getting my period any day now.  I’m also incredibly weepy.  Muscle fascilations and heart palpations have increased, so will try to up my magnesium supplements, and it’s time for a good calcium supplement, and just generally better nutrition.  I hope it’s just deficincies and when corrected, I’m in a good place.

I don’t know how long it will take for my psyche to realize that I have found something that works and should continue to work.  But years of fear have taken their toll, and it’s a challenge to reprogram a 21 year fear.  And I’m really not taking my supplements regularly, so it probably will take some time to correct years of defincies, alas.

But at least the worms are alive, and working!

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