blastocystis hominis

[AAdan]

Hi,
I has traveled a few years back to Mexico and had also experienced some trauma in my life which enabled a lot of stress. Since then I had experienced severe bloating and digestive discomfort. It was as if my food was sitting in my gut and it felt like it wasn't moving. Also I experienced a lot of gas trapped in my stomach. Since that time I went to have special tests done concluding I had this parasite and a bit of candida. I took the pills prescribed to clear this parasite infection and I also had a colonoscopy done. The Gastroenterologist concluded everything looked great and my  problem was probably related to IBS. I also had separate tests done that concluded everything was okay, so I do believe the lack of modern technology did and proper testing was an oversite in finding this parasite.

Since receiving a followup, my tests came back negative with no signs of this parasite. I am a bit skeptical and was wondering what type of procedures and modern testing should be used to conclude accuracy? Any feedback would be appreciated. I still continue to experience problems after 2.5 years.



This discussion is related to Treatment for elimination of Blastocystis hominis from colon.

[elbrute]

My daughter has eczema, and we took her to our nutritionist to look for possible causes.  He ran a stool lab and found blastocystis hominis. He used this lab:
www. diagnostechs. com/ main.htm

He recommended AP Mag capsules by Ayush Herbs, Inc. (one capsule, 3x daily) as a natural remedy.  The ingredients are Azadirachita indica, Embelia ribes, Pipper longum, Aegle marmelos, Momordica charantia, Ocimum sanctum, Berberi aristata, Holarrhena antidysenterica, in a vegetarian casule with chlorophyll.

The only problem was, my daughter couldn't swallow the capsule (too large).  It tastes HORRIBLE, so there's no way I could sprinkle it in yogurt.  But he said it it usually effective in the treatment of B. hominis.

The other treatment, which my daughter was happy to take, was Nitazoxanide.  It's a prescription, but we got it without a prescription from Mexico (under the brand name ParaMix).  We are currently undergoing the treatment, so I don't know the results yet.  Our nutritionist claims that Paramix is absolutely effective though.

My daughter never had symptoms of parasites. (other than the eczema, and the fact that she is very very thin - however she was a premie, and has always been skinny.)

[MacBo]

Over years of travel, I've had several GI parasite problems, and to a person the docs I've gone to have said that most labs do not do parasite testing very well - many false negatives - and that the place to get a good reading is Genova Diagnostics (the former Great Smokies Lab) in Asheville, N.C. Your doc can order a lab pack sent to you, and you DHL or FedEx it back for testing.

I have a very recalcitrant case of BH -- but the good news is that Genova certainly knows how to test for it.

[MacBo]

Now I see elbrute mentioned Diagnos-Techs in the post above; that's a good lab, too - my doc has had me send adrenal hormone saliva tests to them.

A question: in either of your cases, has your doc mentioned the possibility that BH could migrate into the gall bladder or liver? Some amebic (amoebic) diseases do that, and it would explain some other symptoms of mine - but the remedy my doc has had me use (iodonoquil - sp?) is only effective in the GI tract.

Also thanks, elbrute, for the mention of the Ayurvedic remedy. I'll look it up.

[dmckj]

Hello Blastocystic Hominis sufferers,

Despite what much of the current mainstream medical community claims, blastocystis hominis (or at least certain sub-strains) is clearly and unequivocally a pathogen.

I've worked extensively in latin american countries and have come down, repeatedly, with amoebiasis and blastocystis hominis.  The amoebas were relatively easy to beat.  Not so blastocystis hominis.

Although I am not a doctor, I ascribe the failure of most treatments of blastocystis to a near complete lack of understanding of both its natural cycle and as well difficulty in its eradication.  Doctor's have an unfortunate tendancy of underprescribing for things they don't understand, and third world have a tendancy to pass our antibiotics like candy.  The result of this ignorance on both sides has created superbugs, and blastocystis is one them.

From my own extensive personal infection history I can tell you that the way to figure, better than doctors can, whether you are infected is to write down, exactly, when you are having the 'worst' symptoms.  I did this after doctors, including near-worthless tropical medicine disease 'specialists', told me there was 'nothing wrong because you have already completed treatment with metronidazol'.  Latin American doctors laugh at metronidazol (= Flagyl) because of widespread resistance of bugs to this.  I have not yet met ONE American doctor who understands this.  Further, doctors will typically treat you ONLY with metronidazol while being completely unaware of the fact that you have to KILL all the bugs through your intestinal track, something metronidazol does NOT do, or else they will come right back in a matter of weeks.  You need a luminal antibiotic such as Kitnos (etofamide), Pharmeban (idioquino..something), and/or paromycin.  If you don't do these drugs in combination YOU WILL NOT GET CLEARED.

My personal bug cycle is strongly and clearly 5-6 days.  The sicker you get, the fewer 'good' days you have between the bad days.  Realizing my bugs had a 5 days cycle I concluded I HAD TO kill at least two cycles, meaning you need to take AT LEAST 10 days of treatment.  If you want to be even more agressive, 15 days is even better.  I figured this out on my own, but have since run into one specialist in California who treats for 15 days as well.

To clear yourself of blasto, you might consider trying:

Kitnos (etofamide) 500 mg every 12 hours for 15 days
combined with
Albendazol 200 mg every 12 hours for 15 days
combined with
Rifaximin 200 mg every 8 hours for 15 days

I take these with Metamucil, about one tablespoon.

This rid me of ALL gas and bloating problems, it revived my appetite, and my energy level as well.  It also cleared my stools of any signs of blastocystis hominis for many months of testing.  My wife never cleared herself of these, and I got re-infected and am now treating myself again.

Also, if you have diahrrea research suggests you SHOULD take immodium with these drugs.  The warnings against doing so are not borne out by research you can do yourself on the web.  Controlled studies show that taking immodium actually speeds up the cure rate when taking antibiotics.  It would seem that the idea of flushing your system of toxins is an old wives tale, and that probably taking immodium allows more residence times for the medicines in question, thus improving their efficacy.

Finally,  for those who REALLY wish to whip this, I would strongly suggest duplicating the treatment I have listed above after a 10-15 day break.

DO NOT LISTEN TO DOCTORS WHO TELL YOU TO TAKE FLAGYL FOR FIVE DAYS AND THEN TELL YOU YOU MAY HAVE 'IBS'.  They are bordering on, in my opinion, malpractice in doing so and will be helping to create in you more resistant bug strains.

The web site www.badbugs.com is a GREAT place to learn how to take more control over your own health and not get 'taken' by the medical community.

[eapa]

Can you please post the name of the specilist who is willing to deal with b-hominis ?

" figured this out on my own, but have since run into one specialist in California who treats for 15 days as well."