Tapeworms

[hayley3]

Hi,
I bought a microscope because my daughter had been diagnosed with pinworms but she was still having lots of white things in her stool and I wanted to figure out what they were, since the lab said they saw nothing after she had taken the one dose of vermox.

Well....I checked my stool because I had the same white things too and found out I have tapeworms.  I didn't need to do a fecal float test, I just picked out a strange looking thing and put it under the microscope and inside of it was a tapeworm. I'm not sure of what stage of the tapeworm it was, I just know it looked identical to the tapeworm pictures on the internet. Although I did see the tapeworm egg in a previous sample.
My questions are:
Will a doctor give me medicine based on the slide?  Will they even look at it?  What kind of doctor should I go to?  I don't have insurance and I already owe for the labwork on my daughter.
I am scheduled for an upper endoscopy in February at the VA because I felt a mass when I swallowed some metamucil for extreme constipation.  Would they see the tapeworm during the endoscopy?

I hate to medicate myself by buying the biltricide online, but I don't want to be laughed at by going to the doctor for doing my own fecal check.  Will they take me seriously?

Thank you,
Cheryl

[Kevin Pho, MD]

First off, no doctor should be laughing at you.  I would agree with the comments below that it would be unlikely that anyone would give medication based on tests that you did yourself.  

The first step would be to obtain a stool culture for ova and parasites.  A laboratory would accurately diagnose what kind of tapeworm is present.  

Biltricide and niclosamide should be discussed as treatment, but this should be done with your personal physician.  A primary care physician should be able to take care of this.  If not, then a referral to a gastroenterologist or infectious disease specialist can be considered.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[kevinmd]

I'll be away until January 4th - I will answer your question when I return.

Happy holidays,
Kevin, M.D.

[iamamy]

I also have been having white specks in my stool.  I have been have floating stools, with white specks in them since I have been on Nexium for GERD (about a year now).  When I told my GI, he didn't seem concerned.  But I am.  I have never had regular bowel movements.  I am also having cloudy urine.  Does anyone know if this could be related to the Nexium.  Thanks for any input.

[nurse12hr]

As a nurse, I have to say that probably no one will laugh at you, but neither will they treat you based on what you saw for yourself.  Medicolegally, they need to be the ones doing the diagnosis before prescribing treatment.  

And it is not a good idea to go around getting these meds from the internet, in any case.  I appreciate and painfully understand how hard it is to be in dire financial straits.  You should be able to go to any plain old family practioner with the statement that your daughter had worms, and you are seeing white spots in your stool and want to be sure you don't have them.  Tell the doctor honestly that you need to keep costs down, most will work with you if you seem sincere.  It shouldn't be very expensive.  

Good luck, and I hope things work out.

[hayley3]

Hi Christie,
Well they couldn't find it when I could see it in the stool, but thanks that's what I wanted to know. I thought if I handed them the slides they could at least look at it, bypassing the lab who didn't find it in the first place.  It is so obvious what it is.

I know I shouldn't be buying drugs off the internet, but I don't like having tapeworms especially since I found tapeworms in my 7 year old daughter as well.  If I have to use the same lab, I have no choice but to get rid of them on my own, which is a shame.

Thanks for your help!
Cheryl

[Fountain of Youth]

As cost is a concern, I have no idea whether this will be helpful or not. But, you might have your doctor contact the Great Smokies Diagnostic lab. They have comprehensive tests that will look into GI problems (including parasites and other toxins). I truly have no idea at what the costs are, only health practitioners can order the testing kit (and I'm not one:) But, from what I have seen online, and from a D.O. friend that uses integrative medicine in his practice, they are well respected and VERY thorough.

Best of Luck.