So, I’ve had a rollicking good time trying to decide what next to do. It looks like I may be one of the unlucky ones and have some immunity to hookworms, judging by my lack of eosoniphelia and the fact that all my worms are gone.
I could dose with 10 and see what happens.
I could dose with more and use Prednisone to suppress the immune response, hoping that more would make it to maturity and adjust my immune system so I could wean off the Prednisone. Yet how many weeks and at what dosage would I have to be on it?
I could try just a few worms and wait…
Too many choices, and the Helminth Symposia is coming. Perhaps I’ll learn something about how to redose. So I’m putting things off until after then.
Surprisingly, the last week my bowels have taken a turn for the better. There is no reason for it, other than we are out of fruit and don’t have many vegetables, so I’ve been eating a lot of waffles, chicken soup, and then the illegal quesadillas; perhaps a lot of melted cheese every day is binding me up?
I weighed myself at the doctor’s office last week, and I am up to 146 with slightly wet jeans on. Up from 142 in late November. So despite it all, I’m holding.
Current symptoms are lots of mucus, urgency, but I’ve slept through 2 nights this week (a miracle!). Not much gas or pain. BM’s are soft or solid, with the mucus drip in the afternoon, and at least 1 or 2 that are mucus/diarrhea mixed in.
I’m tired most of the time and have another yeast infection (or the last one never really cleared up.) I am dining on cocoa powder mixed with peanut butter and honey every evening, which I’m sure is encouraging the yeast. I just don’t have a lot of willpower anymore.
My acne has returned, though not to pre-hookworm levels. I look old and haggard.
So I’ll probably infect again with 10 larvae, and wait and see what happens. This time, I hope to do quantitative egg counts along the way, and test my blood monthly. Because I’m not going to waste another year waiting. This time I’m keeping track as best I can. I’m dreaming of a parasitologist/immunologist at the Symposia that will help me. Oh please, someone help me. I want to do this right.
Post a Comment