Entamoeba histolytica -- Amebiasis -- part three
I wanted to write up something a bit more in depth about our situation. This is intended for anyone who is unfortunate enough to get this, and who goes looking on the web for information, and "comfort". At least that's how my mind works. If I get sick -- I read other people's accounts of it, to see how they deal, what they went through, and what I should expect. I find it comforting.
When this first occurred -- probably about ... shoot, more than two months back. I thought I'd caught a bug. Perhaps a touch of food poisoning. But it didn't seem to go away. It got worse, and over a few days traveled from my stomach, to my gallbladder side, and finally into my lower intestines.
It was fairly uncomfortable. At times extremely so. And, of course, I developed the runs. Though not unmanageable ones. And after a few days, it got a little bit better, but didn't go away completely. And some days after that, flaired up again, and I decided to go to the doctor.
He figured it was a bacterial infection, and gave me antibiotics. It was the natrualpathic kind, so I was to take them for a month. And my symptoms got better. But as soon as I was off them, they began to return. I went on them again, and saw improvement. But again, as soon as I was off them, in about a week, they returned.
So my Doc sent me home with a full G.I. Panel. It tests for EVERYTHING. Food sensitivities, basic adrenal function, enzymes, bacterias, and a whole lot of stuff. To do it, you have to go off caffeine, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and various foodies for a week. And it caught the amoeba. (If you're curious about this, any Naturopathic Doctor should have it available, and it costs about $250) And thus, began my 90 day treatment.
One thing I haven't seen anywhere online about this, but I highly suspect it is connected, is that I believe it effected my eyesight.
Very suddenly, sometime in the last two months, my eyes began to get very, very blurry. I was having trouble seeing clearly even with my bifocals. I was doing a lot of drawing during this time, so it was very obvious. I couldn't understand why -- I was taking all my vitamins, and I have specific ones for just my eyesight. And so why were my eyes going bad so fast? It was very upsetting.
HOWEVER? Since I've been on the treatment, the problem seem to be going away -- almost a quickly. My glasses work like they used to again. So -- if you have someone with stomach upset that doesn't' go away, and a sudden change in eyesight -- consider the G.I. Panel.
If any of you have read about Entamoeba histolytica, you know it can get very nasty. In a weakened system, it can get into the liver, and cause all kinds of damage, and spread into the bloodstream, and attack other organs - usually the lungs. This worries us particularly, because Jatina had a third of her lung removed last October, and it can take a long time for that to grow back. We worry, because it's technically "damaged" -- it still causes her pain -- and fear she might be at higher risk for it invading her lungs. But so far, there's no sign of blood in the tests, and that may mean it's still in the digestive tract only. And that's a good thing.
I should stress -- We are doing pretty well on the treatment.
Day One was the most interesting. We woke up, and spent a good day completely stupid. We were disoriented and dizzy, with milder digestive problems than before the treatment.
Day Two, we were more tired than stupid. Extremely, extremely tired. With a slight increase in digestive problems.
Day Three, today, I woke up better. Jatina did too. But once I was up and around and tried to do things, about a hour in, the exhaustion kicked in, and a bit of the dopey-ness. Plus those digestive problems.
I suspect it will get better every day. Though, because there is a life cycle to this, I expect, at some point in our improvement, new baby amoebas will be born, and we'll have another bad day. I say this, not because it's a bad thing, but because, if I plan this into my future, possible, experiences, I won't be upset by it, if it occurs. It'll just be, "ah, okay. That's probably what's happening." Instead of going "oh shit! THE TREATMENTS ARE NOT WORKING!!!!!"
If at all possible, I like to remain calm. Our house is too cluttered for running around screaming and pulling our hair out. We'd trip over things, and knock stuff off counters. And then I'd have to clean that @#$ up. So, calm is better.
Okay. That's all I'm writing today. Though I may add to my journal another entry when the digestive upset finally goes away, so anyone looking into the topic will know about how long it might take for that to happen.
And have a great day. We're doing okay. Eating well, taking our meds. Best wishes -- Teresa
When this first occurred -- probably about ... shoot, more than two months back. I thought I'd caught a bug. Perhaps a touch of food poisoning. But it didn't seem to go away. It got worse, and over a few days traveled from my stomach, to my gallbladder side, and finally into my lower intestines.
It was fairly uncomfortable. At times extremely so. And, of course, I developed the runs. Though not unmanageable ones. And after a few days, it got a little bit better, but didn't go away completely. And some days after that, flaired up again, and I decided to go to the doctor.
He figured it was a bacterial infection, and gave me antibiotics. It was the natrualpathic kind, so I was to take them for a month. And my symptoms got better. But as soon as I was off them, they began to return. I went on them again, and saw improvement. But again, as soon as I was off them, in about a week, they returned.
So my Doc sent me home with a full G.I. Panel. It tests for EVERYTHING. Food sensitivities, basic adrenal function, enzymes, bacterias, and a whole lot of stuff. To do it, you have to go off caffeine, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and various foodies for a week. And it caught the amoeba. (If you're curious about this, any Naturopathic Doctor should have it available, and it costs about $250) And thus, began my 90 day treatment.
One thing I haven't seen anywhere online about this, but I highly suspect it is connected, is that I believe it effected my eyesight.
Very suddenly, sometime in the last two months, my eyes began to get very, very blurry. I was having trouble seeing clearly even with my bifocals. I was doing a lot of drawing during this time, so it was very obvious. I couldn't understand why -- I was taking all my vitamins, and I have specific ones for just my eyesight. And so why were my eyes going bad so fast? It was very upsetting.
HOWEVER? Since I've been on the treatment, the problem seem to be going away -- almost a quickly. My glasses work like they used to again. So -- if you have someone with stomach upset that doesn't' go away, and a sudden change in eyesight -- consider the G.I. Panel.
If any of you have read about Entamoeba histolytica, you know it can get very nasty. In a weakened system, it can get into the liver, and cause all kinds of damage, and spread into the bloodstream, and attack other organs - usually the lungs. This worries us particularly, because Jatina had a third of her lung removed last October, and it can take a long time for that to grow back. We worry, because it's technically "damaged" -- it still causes her pain -- and fear she might be at higher risk for it invading her lungs. But so far, there's no sign of blood in the tests, and that may mean it's still in the digestive tract only. And that's a good thing.
I should stress -- We are doing pretty well on the treatment.
Day One was the most interesting. We woke up, and spent a good day completely stupid. We were disoriented and dizzy, with milder digestive problems than before the treatment.
Day Two, we were more tired than stupid. Extremely, extremely tired. With a slight increase in digestive problems.
Day Three, today, I woke up better. Jatina did too. But once I was up and around and tried to do things, about a hour in, the exhaustion kicked in, and a bit of the dopey-ness. Plus those digestive problems.
I suspect it will get better every day. Though, because there is a life cycle to this, I expect, at some point in our improvement, new baby amoebas will be born, and we'll have another bad day. I say this, not because it's a bad thing, but because, if I plan this into my future, possible, experiences, I won't be upset by it, if it occurs. It'll just be, "ah, okay. That's probably what's happening." Instead of going "oh shit! THE TREATMENTS ARE NOT WORKING!!!!!"
If at all possible, I like to remain calm. Our house is too cluttered for running around screaming and pulling our hair out. We'd trip over things, and knock stuff off counters. And then I'd have to clean that @#$ up. So, calm is better.
Okay. That's all I'm writing today. Though I may add to my journal another entry when the digestive upset finally goes away, so anyone looking into the topic will know about how long it might take for that to happen.
And have a great day. We're doing okay. Eating well, taking our meds. Best wishes -- Teresa