Seven Weeks Into Helminth Therapy
On February 1st I decided to try a new alternative IBD therapy. It has now been 7 weeks since I started helminth therapy, and I am excited to share my results with you.
If you want to learn more about what helminth therapy is, and how it works, click here. Or if you want to read about how I prepared for helminth therapy, click here.
We will discuss;
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My Health Before Using Helminth Therapy
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My Experience During the Past 7 Weeks
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How I Am Feeling Now
My Health Before Helminth Therapy
Before starting helminth therapy I was in a full on IBD flare. Although I have learnt quite a few tips for managing flares over the past 10 years. I was still experiencing quite a few symptoms.
I was having 4-5 bowel movements every day. They were always loose, usually number 6 or 7 on the bristol stool chart.
I was having stomach pains. Especially just before having a BM. And for about 20 minutes after a BM. Sometimes this pain and nausea was so bad, I was doubled over.
I often felt nauseous, and I threw up a few times after eating. The nausea is by far my least favourite symptom of IBD.
I also had pretty bad joint pain. My ankles, especially my left, were swollen and very sore.
I was also getting almost all of my calories from meal replacement shakes. I had pretty bad food fear. And I have learnt that to manage my symptoms best, I need to drink meal replacement shakes. Rather than forcing myself to eat foods that would hurt my body, and make my symptoms worse.
My digestion had gotten so poor that it felt as if all foods were causing a reaction. Even foods that were previously ‘safe foods’ for me. My food introlerances were out of control.
How I Have Felt Over the Past Seven Weeks
I have definitely had some ups and downs over the past 7 weeks. Although I never experienced any severe side effects, I definitely had some.
From the time of inoculation, until about week 5. I was taking the steroid, and immuno suppressant prednisone. I was told that this may reduce any potential side effects caused by the worms.
In the inocculation site, I never experienced any rash, or marks. It did make me wonder if the therapy had worked. But I was told that the prednisone was suppressing my immune system, and preventing the rash.
The first few nights after inoculation, I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible stomach pains. They felt different than IBD pain, and did not make me have a BM. IBD pain feels more like spasming, and painful movement inside my intestines. This pain felt like a solid, dull ache, more like a flu.
Day 7 and day 8, I had very bad stomach pains and aches in the morning only. These pains disappeared by around noon both days.
Week 2 and week 3 my IBD symptoms got worse. I had more diarrhea, and more nausea. My mental health suffered a lot these two weeks. I had quite a bit of health anxiety, and also fear that the helminth therapy was not working. Or that I had somehow killed the worms.
It was around this time period that my ankle pain became quite severe. My ankles swelled up so badly that I was not able to walk, or wear shoes for quite a few days. This could have been due to the worms, or because I was tapering off prednisone.
Week 3 and week 4, I experienced the most terrifying IBD symptom. I began to poop blood. I was bleeding so badly that it was dripping out of my bum hole, even without a bowel movement. My mental health was a mess. And I spent many mornings in tears, crying uncontrollably before work. I only drank the meal replacement shakes while I was bleeding, to give my bowels complete bowel rest. My food fear and health anxiety were through the roof these two weeks.
The bleeding stopped around week 5.
By week 6 I began to see some small improvements. The first improvement that I noticed was that my mood improved. I began to feel more positive, more lighter. The changes were so subtle that it is hard to explain.
Half way through week 6, my ankle pain improved by around 80%. This change happened so suddenly, one day to the next. Over the next week it improved further. By week 7 I was only experiencing very very small amounts of discomfort.
How I Am Feeling Seven Weeks into Helminth Therapy
After 7 weeks of helminth therapy, I am surprised at how much I have improved.
I am currently having 3 bowel movements per day. They are normally number 4, and sometimes range to number 6. I have not had any completely loose bowel movements in the past week or so.
I have not had any blood in my stool at all.
My joint pain is at least 98% gone. I am beyond relieved that I am able to walk, and move around again without pain.
I am still drinking the meal replacement shakes to maintain my weight, but I am now able to eat 2 full meals a day. I am able to add one new food every 4 days or so. I am monitoring my symptoms closely as I add new foods, but have not had any adverse reactions so far.
My mental health has improved greatly. I still experience worry about developing another abscess and fistula. But I am feeling more positive overall about my health.
The biggest change I have experienced seven weeks into helminth therapy is that I feel that there is hope. Helminth therapy has given me hope that I can improve my quality of life. There is hope that I may be able to reduce my IBD symptoms, and live a normal life.
The stories that I have read of others successes using helminths for IBD have inspired me. They have shown me that this therapy does work for some people. And those people that it works for, see great improvements in their health.
All of my symptoms of IBD have not yet disappeared. But it is still early days. I know that I need to wait around 6 months to really get a good idea as to whether or not this is going to work for me.
But my results so far are showing me that there is hope that it will.
I do think that helminth therapy has been working for me. I am really excited to see how my health continues to improve.
It is my greatest wish to share this knowledge with others who are suffering.
Thank you for sharing your journey – I am new on this site and live with variety of a/i conditions requiring steriods which I have been taking for 9 years. I am getting desperate to find an alternative to these steriods but not brave yet to take the 1st step into the worm therapy without doing my homework.
I assume you are in NZ?
Regards Mary Beth
Hello Mary Beth, thank you for your comment. I live in Australia. I have also spent too much time on steroids. Although I am new to helminth therapy, I am super hopeful that it is going to help me manage severe Crohn’s disease. Please feel free to email me kfuller705@gmail.com if you want to talk directly about helminth therapy, or autoimmune conditions. Good luck on your healing journey! 🙂