| "Your
site has been one of those rare islands of hope in a sea
of misinformation and dead ends." |
In
1993 N., from the USA, began to experience intense cramping/
burning pain in his lower left abdomen.
A single stool sample detected Blastocystis hominis.
His
doctor advised that Blasto was not a pathogen but "humoured
me and gave me Flagyl". A test a year later showed he
was still infected.
Ten years later N. consulted another physician, who was more
knowledgeable than N's previous drs about the need for specialised
stool collection and testing methods for accurate detection
of Dientamoeba fragilis. Tests
revealed N. was infected with both Dientamoeba fragilis and
Blastocystis hominis..
N. wrote "I get the 'IBS' line a lot because I have
suffered anxiety and panic attacks for some 22 years now.
I never bought the diagnosis. Intuitively, it didn't seem
right. My symptoms progressed to bloating, gas, constipation,
dizziness, fuzzy headedness, and lethargy. My tolerance to
alcohol went from good to non existent, sweets of any kind..
a big NO NO. I have pondered everything from Thyroid and or
Adrenal fatigue to Candida and allergies most tests have shown
nothing out of the ordinary...except parasites of course"
By the time Dientamoeba fragilis and Blastocystis hominis
were diagnosed N. had discovered this site. He advised his
dr that "standard treatments are rarely effective.
He ignored the advice and gave me iodoquinol. I haven't been
tested since but I feel like hell...worse than ever...I know
they're still in there. I can't tell you the impact this
has had on my life...whatever it is. I know the parasites
are a problem...they're as good a place to start as anywhere.
Maybe parasites will be the answer. Your site has been
one of those rare islands of hope in a sea of misinformation
and dead ends."
N. has now to convince his dr the need for special treatments
to rid him of the Blasto. and D.fragilis.
received March 2005.
J suffered, the mother of a young child, was diagnosed with
D.fragilis 3 years after the onset of symptoms:
J's began experiencing the symptoms of "severe burning
pain in her left lower abdomen and sometimes immediately below
her belly button" in 2001.
She also noticed her symptoms worsened after eating.
She sought advice from her family practitioner, who diagnosed
her with post-natal depression. Her daughter was 2 at the
time.
J
consulted a homeopath who treated her for 8 months on suspicion
of a bladder infection. The symptoms became so bad J said
she "would lie on the bed and cry.".
Despite the
homeopath's reassurances that the remedy was working J. finally
decided to stop treatment.
A few months after finishing the homeopathic treatment J.
decided to again seek help from her docotr. Her dr referred
her to a uologist. After an examination the urologist felt
J's symptoms were not related to the bladder because of the
location of the pain. The urologist said "that's
too high for bladder problems you need to see a gastroenterologist,
but if you like we can take a look inside your bladder."
After finding Elaine Gottschal's
web site for the Specific Carbohydrate diet she decided to
give it a go. Avoiding grains, starches and yeast and following
the diet strictly "really has helped" although she
found that some of the allowed foods would increase her symptoms
(in particular cheese, almond meal, dates. (for more info
about dietary restrictions and parasites click here)
J. consulted a gastroenterologist in April 2003. A
colonoscopy and CT scan of the pelvis found nothing abnormal.
Blood tests for celiac disease and a stool
sample for parasites were negative.
The gastroenterologist suggested J. visit a gynaecologist
for a laproscopy. She decided against an appointment with
a
Gynaecologist because "I knew whatever was wrong had
to do with my digestive tract because when on the SCD my symptons
were manageable."
J.
felt dismayed that no answer to her health problems was in
sight.
Meanwhile, 3 years after becoming ill, her family thought
she may be anorexic as she had lost 11 kgs (24 lb) in 3 years.
At the time of writing she weighs 47kgs (103 lb). Her sister,
concerned about the weight loss, encouraged J to keep looking
for an answer.
After
finding my site J discovered that accurate testing for parasites
was based on the need for specialised stool collection and
testing methods to detect Blasto. and D.fragilis, and so J
consulted a doctor who uses these these testing methods. The
doctor, a gp/nutritionist, advised J: "I think
you have severe dysbiosis of the bowel, lets do a complete
digestive stool analysis". J. told him
that she had found this site and and based on her symptoms,
and reaction to certain foods, suspected she may have Dientamoeba
fragilis.
After waiting for six weeks the results came back showing
that she was infected with Dientamoeba fragilis, plus increased
candida and yeast. The test also showed that her food
was not being absorbed properly.
J. is about to be treated for her D.fragilis infection.
Melbourne, Australia, March 2005
|
Dientamoeba
fragilis--a protozoal infection which may cause
severe bowel distress.
Norberg A. et al., Clin Microbiol Infect. 2003 Jan;9(1):65-8
|
"My
son is 7. He was diagnosed with Blastocystis hominis, Dientameoba
fragilis and Endolimax nana when he had diarrhea as a baby.
We did not treat him because we were told that these were
non pathogenic...although the diarrhea cleared on its own
he has suffered digestive problems for years as has my daughter
and myself."
25 Feb 2005, USA
" I am from Ontario, Canada. I am overjoyed to have come
across your site. I have just recently found out that I have
D. Fragilis. Ten years ago I was diagnosed with Irritable
Bowel Syndrome, but just recently found out that I
have the bug. This bug has screwed up my life and living for
10 long years. "
E.S., Canada. July 2004
"After more than 10 years of chronic low-grade fever,
fatigue and IBS, I was diagnosed with D. fragilis last
October. I believe I picked up the organism in Western Turkey
in 1990."
sent
by BF, 18 May 03
|
Ever
since its first description in 1918, Dientamoeba fragilis
has struggled to gain recognition as a significant pathogen.
There is little justification for this neglect
Johnson EH, Windsor JJ, Clark CG.
Clin Microbiol Rev. 2004 Jul;17(3):553-70
|
40
y.o. woman suffered for 16 years with severe abdo pains - a
common syptom of parasitic infection - diagnosed as IBS. In
2001 she was hospitalised with severe abdo. pains, fever and
a high white blood count:
"After 3 days they couldn't find
what was wrong. A stool sample eventually identified DF.
My regular doctor doesn't think DF could cause my symptoms for
which I was hospitalized."
July 2001
"I went to the first specialist in 1992 and he didn't bother
to test for (Dientamoeba fragilis), told me that the good news
was that I didn't have cancer or Crohn's disease and that I
would just have to learn to live with the symptoms of IBS which
were largely stress related!"
emailed by W. Symptomatic since 1991,
diagnosed with D.fragiils in 1999.
" After weeks of feeling awful, losing 22 pounds, stomach
cramps, and lots of medical tests (upper GI, Abdominal CT scan,
all kinds of blood work) I finally asked my Dr. on the advice
of an alternative medicine doctor. to test me for a parasite.
His exact words were, "I've been testing Ova & Parasite for
15 years and have never seen anything in the USA."
When my results came in the nurse called to say I had an "amoeba".
I retrieved a copy of my test and discovered that it was D.Fragilis.
My wife now has been having some of the same symptoms. I asked
the Nurse about it being contagious and her reply was "only
if someone is playing with your fecal matter."
Mikey
- Nov. 25 2001
Thanks
to the info you posted on your site my doctor has allowed me
to get my stool testing done at the local hospital wich apparantly
has a much better testing facility. He's also let me assist
in determining how to do the testing (ie. several seperate screenings
over the period of a week.) As opposed to the single screenings
done in the past. This is great news for me cause I was
looking at spending $600 to have it done through Great Smokies.
I still wasn't able to get to get much info on culture or staining
but I figured I'd better not push it.
emailed by C - specialised stool collection
and testing methods revealed infection with D.fragilis
I have
been diagnosed with the above. Have been ill for 10 years
after returning from two months in Indonesia. Parasites
were suspected and never found.
emailed by FL, USA, eventually diagnosed
with Dientamoeba fragilis as well as Blastocystis
hominis
Sept 00
I
have had numerous hospital procedures to be told that there
appears an inflamed area of my bowel, but nothing could be detected.
Instead I was diagnosed with a stress disorder and given tranquillisers
for two years. During this time I had chronic fatigue, headaches,
sore throats, chronic bowel pain and wind...yet the doctors
prescribe me with more stress related chemicals.
emailed by J Feb 01
Further stool testing revealed infection
with Dientamoeba fragilis & Endolimax Nana
A
doctor's reliance on a single stool sample to test for parasitic
infection resulted in an unnecessary operation for this woman:
"In 1990 I contracted Dientamoeba fragilis
from my two year old who had frequent pinworm infections. I
had all the usual symptoms and told the doctor that I thought
I had a parasite. He tested one stool which was negative
and proceeded to convince me that my symptoms were caused by
a faulty gall bladder, even though all the gall bladder
tests were negative.
Unfortunately I agreed to the removal of my gall bladder
which exacerbated the symptoms so severely that I thought I
was going to die. After surgery I had diarrhea 12 times
a day, had to eat every two hours and suffered with severe migrating
arthralgia. I lost a total of 25 pounds, my hair was falling
out and had severe insomnia. Not until my husband contracted
the disease did the doctor conclude that we might have an infectious
disease.
The parasite was finally found in my husbands stool, but
I was being treated with flagyl. I had to call the CDC to find
get information on treatment and at that time even they were
not convinced that dfragilis was pathogenic
When I got sick there was nothing printed about the disease
and I even went to Shands teaching hospital and they had never
heard of it. It was very disheartening!
I
took Iodiquinol for four months and gained back 40 pounds.
I still had diarrhea 6 times a day. I was also treated with
Parmomycin but none of the medications cleared up the infection.
Over the years I continued to improve and I suppose that my
own immune system was keeping the infection at bay. I only
seemed to have mild occasional symptoms that didn't compromise
my lifestyle. Just recently though my gyn doctor started my
on birth control pills to control pms symptoms and the dfragilis
symptoms started to come back with more frequent mushy stools
and joint and muscle pain.
I stopped taking the birth control pills and I'd like to try
taking the Iodiquinol and doxycycline together, but I can't
bear to go back to the unbelieving doctors and go through
all those tests again.
I'd love to knock this thing out once and for all. My husband
still has mild symptoms also, but fortunately he did not have
his gall bladder removed."
received Dec 01
|
