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PLEASE NOTE:
The case histories on these pages are Dientamoeba fragils cases only. They were added before the Blastocystis hominis section of the site was included in 2001.

For details of a clinically proven treatment for Dientamoeba fragilis please contact the author of the site.

In 1998 I posted my story on an internet newsgroup and shortly afterwards began to receive emails from other people many of whom had also been diagnosed with D.fragilis, and also found it difficult to get an initial diagnoses, effective treatment, and information or help from their doctors or specialists.

Many of these people had endured years of ill health and were told their symptoms are due to stress, or IBS or some other unknown cause, and that they would just have to learn live with it.

These emails are surely testament to the need for correct testing of amoebic parasites in both symptomatic children and adults and the need for Dientamoeba fragilis to be taken far more seriously as a cause of chronic ill health in some people, and less serious IBS like symptoms in others.

To protect confidentiality only the writer's first initial is shown. Some of the emails have been edited slightly to keep the focus on diagnoses, symptoms, and treatment of D. fragilis. If you would like your story added to this page - please contact me.

I also found this story on the internet:

I was infected by dientamoeba fragilis & blastocystis hominus (something like that). I became violently ill; and went to the emergency room 4 times. Every couple of months I'd have a reocuurence of episodes, each time worse. The last episode I had a 104 degree fever, severe abdominal cramping; totally dehydrated, I felt I was going to die.

I finally went to a private doctor (I have Kaiser HMO & they couldn't diagnose my illness) he treated me with Tinidazole (available in Europe, & family to Metrinidazole, but not as harsh). Be careful with Metrinidazole it can be deadly, especially at the doses prescribed. I took the medicine Tinidazole for one week, & I haven't hadany problems since. I suffered for two years, with one week of proper medicine & diagnosis I was cured. Kaiser did an endoscopy & colonoscopy; and due to their type of Lab testing, came up with nothing; said I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome & it would go away by itself.

There is an Institute of Parasitology in Phoenix Arizona, that is where I sent my lab samples, for proper testing. Amoebic infections can cause problems with the liver & enter other organs & can be very difficult to get rid of. My doctor used a very strict diet, Tinidazole, & herbal supplements, to give the hardest punch. Since I had taken different antibiotics, prescribed by Kaiser, & had been ill for 2 years.

The following are from others diagnosed with D.fragilis who have contacted me directly:
Subject: Adult female
Length of illness: x months
Treatment: Flagyl - not successful followed by Humatin (Paromomycin).
Severity of symptoms: severe
Outcome: irritable bowel and fatigue

Hello,
I too went months before I was treated properly for Dientamoeba Fragilis.
Thank goodness I read your information, I am not alone!!

My physician told me that I was 'too worried'. I was so ill, just as you and (I) was becoming weaker as the days, weeks and months went on. After many months I finally received appropriate medical attention.

Initially Flagyl also did not work for me either. It disguises the parasite
as a false negative. The internal medicine specialist I saw prescribed
a medicine known as Humantin (Paramomycin) which did kill the parasite.
However, it has been a few months and I still have irritable bowel
and fatigue. It is taking a long time to recover. I do sympathize
with you greatly, as I went through the same thing you did. I hope
you are well now, and if you would like to know more please contact
me. Sometimes I feel as if I think about this illness too much (every
day). But when you have been treated so poorly, you can't help but
have the need to heal not only physically, but emotionally too.
Good luck to you and thank you for posting this information.
A


 Subject: Adult male
Primary Diagnoses: Giardia - treated with Flagyl, symptoms relieved. Two years later became ill with similar symptoms - stool tests showed infection with D.fragilis. Symptoms attributed to stress - prescribed anti-depressants.
Length of illness: since Xmas 2000
Treatment: Flagyl for initial Giardia infection. Iodoquinol for D.fragilis
Severity of symptoms: Severe
Outcome: currently on medication (29/1/01)

Hi Jackie,
Two years ago I contracted giardia and was really ill. I lost 45 pounds and vomited many times through the day. I also had loose stools, and lower back pain. I had these symptoms for 5 months before I was treated with flagyl and the symptoms went away. My wife then had giardia last year and lost 15 pounds and had explosive diareah ( not sure how to spell it). Now 2 weeks before Christmas this year I was vomiting throughout the day several times. I was pale and had terrible indigestion.
Just after Christmas I suffered from abdominal bloating, flatulence, the feeling that I was full or that something was living in me, and very loose stools with blood it them.

I finally went to the Dr and they tested me and said I had giardia and put me on flagy again for 7 days. I ended up getting tremors and high Blood pressure yet no release of symptoms. I have now lost 15 pounds and I have a lot of blood in my stools and mucous, tons of it and terrible abdominal pain and I am sleeping half the day away. I went back to the Drs saying that I was still sick and they put me on antidepressants telling me it was stress. My wife insisted not to take the medication of course.

I then went back and made them test my stool again. I submitted 3 samples 24 hours apart. My dr phoned me and said I had Df but there was nothing they could do for it and I should learn to live with it. I then went to another Dr who said she could put me on meds. She put me on diiodohydroxyquin 3 times a day for 20 days. I just started taking it yesterday. In the mean time I feel really tired. I got up today at 7 and went back to bed at 9 until 1.15.. got up for an hour then went back to bed for several more hours. My stools are very loose and just hmmmmm sort of bits of stool. What ever I eat goest through me in 20 mins approximately. I am to the point where I don't want to eat as the pain is so bad in the abdomen that it isn't worth the pain.

I have to run now so that is mainly my story. If there is anything you can help me with I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for writing back. I want the rest of my family to get tested also, and I wish I knew where I contracted this!
Take care
I
Subject: Child
Length of illness: x years
Treatment: Humatin x 1 treatment
Severity of symptoms: Severe
Outcome: cured

Hi,
It has been more than two months since we used "Humatin" for one cycle (as usual for an antibiotic) What an amazing improvement! We are talking about an ongoing problem since he was a toddler. He is now eleven. No attacks, no late night writhing on the bathroom floor followed by gelatinous, explosive diaharea. No periods of malaise, on the verge of stomach upset, for days at a time. And the biggest miracle of all, no more bedwetting. This had been a once, twice and even three times nightly occurance, sine he was a wee tike.

It was driving all of us crazy. I wore out my washing machine. Lucky for him, we tried to stay focussed on the notion that there was a physiological cause for his problems. This wasn't always easy. Now an interesting question, He was stricken with mononucleosis when he was seven, he also had a lot of warts on his face and hands. Now I'm wondering if the DF was sapping his resistance?

If that was the case, thank God we have found out what the problem was before he came down with something really life threatening. This was all confounding because this is an active, big boned, lean and muscular boy...... Mom's opinion!!!! You'd look at him and think, how can he be sick? But every morning when he would eat his breakfast he looked pretty dull with dark circles under his eyes, and then every few or three weeks there would be an attack. I'll be glad to share our experience with anyone who is in the "same boat". We had been confounded for years. Fortunately ours is a saga with a happy ending. Thank you for your reply,
K

Subject: Child
Length of illness: 1 year approx.
Treatment: not stated
Severity of symptoms: Severe
Outcome: cured

Hi Jackie,
I don't mind responding - I know how hard it was for me to find out any information on dientamoeba, so I'm more than willing to share what I know.
My (now 11) year old daughter starting losing weight about a year ago. She was having re-occuring episodes of cramping and loose bowel motions and complaining of nausea. She is 5 feet tall 1 1/2 inches tall, and dropped to 76 pounds by Christmas time last year.
I put her on a higher fat, higher calorie diet, and although her weight stabilized at 80 pounds, she couldn't gain, no matter how much she ate. The abdominal symptoms also caused discomfort and distress frequently. Despite several doctor's visits, it took until this summer to convince our family doctor to test for parasites. It came back positive for diantamoeba.
My daughter has been on medication for 10 days now (10 to go), and has gained four pounds, with almost no cramps experienced in the last five days or so. We are very happy with the results so far. She had been referred to a pediatrician several months ago, and we saw him this week.
While the doctors all seem to feel that it would be unusual for diantamoeba to cause this severe a reaction, the pediatrician said that it is usually found in association with Girardia (I think that is how it is spelled), which can cause more problems. He thinks when the initial test for parasites was done, they may have stopped looking when they found the diantamoeba, and so not detected Girardia if it was present (He said Girardia is harder to find.) If her symptoms persist despite the current treatment, he will re-test her for Girardia.
Do your symptoms sound at all similar to what my daughter experienced? I'd be interested in knowing, as they all shake their heads and say diantamoeba doesn't usually cause this much problem.
C
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