Some Success--Maybe it Will Help You

[pies]

Hello All,
I want to share my recent success with getting collagenous colitis under control in the hope that it may help you too. After 1 1/2 years of trying anything that I thought might help with the diarrhea such as being on steroids and a short unsuccessful stint on Asacol, the 8-week pepto bismol protocol, food sensitivity testing and only eating tolerable foods, using vibrational therapy, accupuncture......I have had normal bowel movements for 4+ months now.

In Feb 2012, I had a stool sample tested through Quest Labs-- it came back negative for O & P, and everything else. I continued on steroids and Asacol, and nothing seemed to help. So in Mar 2012, I visited a naturopathic doctor (ND). I told her I had just had the stool analysis and it came back negative and she asked where it was tested. I told her Quest. She said they are not very good and don't really look in depth for pathogens. She had me send another sample to Genova Labs in NC (also known as Great Smoky Labs). About a month later, the report came back and lo and behold I had the parasite blastocystis hominis, a nasty little critter that could be in everyone but that does not necessarily cause symptoms in everyone. I also had non-pathogenic klebsiella and one other bacteria. I jumped for joy because finally there was something that was a potential cause for my condition.

The ND started me on a rotation of different supplements to start killing off the parasite, such as wormwood, uva ursi, allicilin, berbercap, tanalbit, aloe vera, and within a month I was off the steroids and having normal BMs. After about 2 months, she started me on GI Revive (enzyme support) and after a few more weeks she started me on a probiotic. I had tried probiotics before but they seemed to give me diarrhea instead of stopping it, so the fact that I could now tolerate them was huge.

I may still have the parasite in me, but what the ND did was reset the flora of my GI by killing more of the bad microbes and repopulating with the good microbes, such that the parasite isn't causing symptoms. It seems to have worked at the moment, and I am so grateful. Like many of you, I was desperate for anything that would help. Perhaps you too have something in you that isn't being picked up by your lab?

Best to you!

[mbeezie]

Pies,

That's great news. I cerrtainly agree that parasites are often overlooked by doctors and standard parasites tests are inadequate. Kudos to your naturopath for digging deeper. For those that find remission elusive, I agree that parsite testinig should be the next step.

Mary Beth

[Leah]

Thanks for the great info and I am very happy for you that you finally got to the bottom of you not being able to get your symptoms under control! Would antibiotics also work to kill these pests? I am one of the lucky ones who is very close to remission, so I don't think I have this, but it's great info. Thank You!
Leah

[wmonique2]

Hey Pies,

great info. a naturopath was a good choice..

Monique

[mzh]

Good Lord, I was diagnosed with B. h. in 2002 - when my MC started up. The GI put me on metronidazole and then even doxycycline. I got better on those but when I stopped them I got worse. Now I see there are other treatments for it. Well, back to the GI doc if I still have D after going off Entocort yet again. I'd see an ND if our state allowed them!

The CDC paper says this about treatment:

The clinical significance of Blastocystis spp. is controversial.

Treatment with metronidazole* at various doses has been reported, for example (adults):

250 mg to 750 mg metronidazole* orally 3 times daily for 10 days
1500 mg metronidazole* orally once daily for 10 days

Note: Lack of response to metronidazole has been noted in some areas (Yakoob et al., Br J Biomed Sci 2004;61:75).

Treatment with trimethoprim (TMP)*/sulfamethoxazole (SMX)* at various doses has been reported, for example (adults):

6 mg/kg TMP*, 30 mg/kg SMX* once daily for 7 days
320mg TMP*, 1600 mg SMX* once daily for 7 days
160 mg TMP*, 800 mg SMX* twice daily for 7 days

Treatment with nitazoxanide* has been shown to be effective in clearing organisms and improving symptoms at the following doses:

Adults, 500 mg nitazoxanide* orally twice daily for 3 days.

[wmonique2]

Pies,

Where is your naturopath located? Maybe it can help some of us...

Thanks,


Monique

[Lesley]

I will most certainly ask my doc if I could have one of these, given my consistent symptoms.

[humbird753]

Hi -
I recently send in stool tests to Geneva Labs in NC through the NP doctor I have. I anxiously await the results.
Thank you for your post.

Paula

[Kari]

Thanks for this post Pies - good for you that figured out something that helps!!!

Paula - I'll be very curious about your results, as I've been considering doing the same test. Norman doesn't seem to have any interest in visiting me no matter what I do, so I keep searching for answers.

Love,
Kari

[Zizzle]

I had the Genova Labs complete stool analysis. With my history of living abroad, we were sure something would pop up, but alas, nothing. No parasites, no infections, no yeast overgrowth, decent flora, no answers. My gut permeability screen, a blood test, showed high levels of permeability, so that's probably my answer. No easy fix.

[humbird753]

Kari - I'll be glad to let you know what my results are.

Paula

[pies]

Thanks, everyone. I live in CT and have a great naturopath near me. I did some research on the parasite blastocystis hominis and it is apparently an extremely tenacious critter that likes to hide in the folds of the intestines, which can make identification difficult b/c it hides and doesn't necessarily show in every sample. I'm sure I still have it, but the supplements and probiotics seem to be keeping it in check. There is a gentleman who has a website and wrote an ebook about his experience with blasto (http://blastocystis-relief.com/blog); it was helpful, but also highlighted how challenging it is to rid yourself of it. Traditional antibiotics can help, but are not the only way. I personally didn't want more diarrhea from antibiotics, so chose a different path. Initially, my ND put me on wormwood, which is a Native American remedy, and it did give me diarrhea. She switched me to a weaker formulation of wormwood (liquid drops) that does not bother me.

I don't know about your GI doctors and how "open" to alternative therapies they are, but my GI doctor would know nothing about how to use natural supplements to treat blasto. I'd be happy to share the exact treatment I was given so you could share it with your GI docs, if you don't have a naturopath in your area. Also, check out the blastocystis relief website, as it offers natural methods for treating it. I also bought the ebook. Good luck!

[humbird753]

Hi - As I understand the results of my stool tests from Geneva Labs, I do not have any parasites. I had to discontinue taking my probiotics prior to taking the test, so there was a slight imbalance in the good/bad bacteria. Now that I am taking probiotics again I am sure that has leveled out.

At least I can rule that out which is comforting to know.

Paula

[Stanz]

Pies,
So glad to hear of your positive results with your ND. This sounds very similar to my daughters' experience after she became ill with what they first thought was Epstein Barr after a trip to Istanbul. The MD's couldn't help her so she saw a Naturopath who treated her with many of the supplements you were given. It took awhile, and was expensive, but she's never felt better.

Marcia - are you saying that S. Carolina doesn't allow ND's to practice there?

Connie