Well, Happy March = Mental Health Break Month! I have a few different topics I would
like to address in this post.
UPDATE ON PARASITES
On February 11th I was very sick. I had severe case of diarrhea and nausea and I was very weak and had no appetite. I stayed in bed all day. I got sick again on February 14th. I immediately thought for sure we had not gotten rid of the parasites, otherwise something was very wrong if we did. It made me very depressed to think we hadn't gotten rid of the parasites. Well, I got my lab work back February 16th. The good news was that we had eradicated the parasites. YAY! My joy was short lived. The bad news was that I traded them for something with very similar symptoms. I now have H. Pylori. The ugly is that this is a bacteria in the digestive tract that is linked with ulcers and certain types of cancer such as gastric cancer and pancreatic cancer. It is a good thing we have caught this early on. I'm not currently at risk for ulcers and cancer from H. Pylori, but I certainly don't want it to hang out too long. The theory is that H. Pylori was probably hanging out in my system while I had the parasites and once the parasite moved out, the environment was perfect for the H. Pylori and they moved in.
My lab work also indicates that my digestive health continues to be compromised and my good flora are not as balanced as they should be, but we cannot work on healing my gut until we get rid of all the unwanted bugs and bacteria. Not a huge surprise. That said, I'm in for another long 2 month protocol that I started today. I'll retest for H. Pylori after the 8 week protocol. It will take 3 weeks to get my lab work back after retesting. It is my doctors theory that I probably had a stomach virus that was going around when I got sick the week prior to my lab results. The good news is that the nausea and diarrhea are gone, but I have now had a severe sinus infection for 2 weeks. This is the first sinus infection that I've had in over a year, which is pretty good for me. I think perhaps the sinus infection and the stomach virus may be a result of the fact that I'm not currently on any antibiotic herbs and have not been since I retested back at the end of January. I believe because my gut is damaged and there is nothing protecting my immune system, I am much more vulnerable to catching whatever is being passed around. Needless to say, I'm very glad to get my new protocol started. I'm anxious to be that much closer to healing my gut. As much as I am a proponent for Naturopathic medicine, there
is nothing quick about it, but it definitely works and it gets at the root of
the cause. So, once the H. Pylori is gone on the retest (fingers crossed), then
we can start repairing my gut.
My entire system has been in a state of inflammation since I started the last protocol and has not remitted since. My Psoriasis is very flared and my Rheumatoid Arthritis is flared for the first time in many years. I've been having all kinds of skin reactions, but I feel confident that when the H. Pylori dies off, my system will have a much needed break and hopefully the inflammation will decrease. Here is a really great article on H. Pylori: H. pylori The good news is that I am told that H. Pylori is much easier to eradicate than parasites and much gentler protocol on the system..
Needless to say, getting my
most recent lab result was bitter sweet. I definitely had a melt down… Can’t a
girl get a break? It seems as soon as I get up I get knocked right back down. It is kind of the story of
my life with all this stuff. I do get quite exhausted from continually battling all the issues and
having been at this for more than 2 years I am really ready for a
break. I cannot say that I'm feeling really great yet, but I hope that
will be a different story in a month or so. As we continue to peel back
the layers of the onion for underlying causes of all my symptoms related
to my autoimmune issues I believe that I will experience some type of
relief, I'm looking forward to that day.
I’m over my melt down now and ready to move on. The next
topics of investigation will probably be Metal Toxicty and Lyme Disease
depending on how I feel after the H. Pylori is eradicated and once we have a chance to heal my
gut. These are topics I don’t feel
ready for yet. I’ve done some preliminary research and neither issue is easy to
deal with. Most of what I’ve dealt with already will probably pale in
comparison, so my hope is that they don’t exist in my body and that I won’t
have to deal with either issue.
PROTOCOL
Once my Naturopath had a suspicion that I had parasites we ran specific
labs to find out if in fact I did have parasites. The labs are not cheap
no matter where you have them done, but it is best to go with a lab
whose testing is very sensitive to the detection of parasites or you
could get a false negative. I used Metametrix and they test for the DNA
of parasites. I believe it is the most sensitive and accurate lab
testing currently on the market, but I suppose there could be others. It
takes approximately 3 weeks to get results back. I suppose this is due
to an incubation period of sorts. Once you have positive results for
parasites, you have a couple of choices. Choices are the herbal
approach, the antibiotic approach OR both herbal/antibiotic approach
together. If you choose the antibiotic approach the lab work from
Metametrix will indicate which antibiotics will be effective and which
ones will not for the type of parasites that you have. I chose the
herbal approach.
My protocol for one month was to take a high
concentrated clinical dose of a complex formula of herbs that are effective at
killing parasites. Some of those herbs included Wormwood, Black Walnut and Clove among
others. In addition, I ate 2 Tbls of pumpkin seeds/day with the shell
on. Pumpkin seeds and Pineapple are also effective at killing parasites.
I also took a dose of Saccharomyces Boulardii every day. This helps to
balance the good gut flora, which in turn helps to crowd out parasites
and other unwanted guests. I also took a complex of digestive enzymes
called Interface and a homeopathic remedy at bed time called Cina. I took
buffered vitamin C as needed for nausea...
After 30 days of the
above I had 2 weeks of a Mega ProBiotic formula that I took in addition
to getting 3 colonics. The MegaProbiotics help to replace the good flora
that are lost during a colonic.
After all that it was time to retest.
The protocol was tough on my body (lots of nausea, fatigue...) and it was also a strain on the
wallet.
My protocol above was based on the advice of my
Naturopathic Doctor. I greatly respect her. The Naturopathic approach seems to be
one that works better for me in most cases.
If you think you have parasites, you should consider getting lab work done.
I hope my comments are helpful.
AARDA
I also wanted to tell you that March is National Autoimmune Awareness month. Please visit The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) at: AARDA
I was bummed because I missed the lecture presentation in Denver by one day, but there are ways that we can all support the organization. Support is important because AARDA is the only
national nonprofit health agency dedicated to bringing a national focus
to autoimmunity, the major cause of serious chronic diseases. Please look at some of the very real stories from "We Are 50 Million" that will touch your heart: We Are 50 Million
Donations as minimal as $5.00 can be made to support AARDA at: Contribute
Or stay current with advocacy issues and write to your Senator at: Advocacy
This spring AARDA is organizing an AutoImmune walk in many cities across the nation. Consider organizing a walk in your city that will support AARDA. Link together for a cure and raise awareness: AutoImmune Walk
Support of organization like AARDA is so important if you or someone you know is suffering from an AutoImmune Disease. Research is so necessary as some of these diseases are so devastating and can be life threatening. Having one AutoImmune disease increases the risk of yet another one. If you are female the statistics show that risk is even higher.
Thanks for your interest and staying tuned in. I welcome any feedback or comments. I will certainly keep you posted on my progress. Enjoy the month of March as we embark on Spring and all things new/renewed. To Life!!
Just as a reminder the
information on this blog does not constitute medical advice. Please consult
with your own health care professional regarding any changes you would like to
make to your own health care plan. None of the information on
this blog is the expressed interest of or a recommended course of action by
AutoImmune Girl. AutoImmune Girl shall have neither liability not
responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage
alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information presented in
this blog.
