Day 36 — A glimpse of the Sun.

Last night I went to bed feeling tired, achy, and my mind was a chaotic muddle as I tried to tune out the tinnitus, and breathe through a stuffy nose. This is a fairly common state for me now, to feel worn out and on edge from the worm flu, especially at night.

But not 30 minutes after I had laid down, I began to feel an unusual warming in my limbs. I started to take an inventory of my senses, and it wasn’t like I had a fever. Instead, I was going from a cold and somewhat clammy state, to a healthy and warmish glow. The transformation was a bit shocking, because along with the temperature shift, my mind began to stir, and my mood lifted.

Soon, I realized I was fully awake, smiling spontaneously, and all my muscles were relaxed. This almost felt like a reprise of the “bounce” I got in week 1. Odd as it might sound, my sinuses opened completely, my chest congestion eased, and most any discomfort I had felt, anywhere in my body, went away. 15 minutes later I had drifted into a deep sleep that lasted until my usual, early wake-up time.

This morning, instead of being cloudy-headed I was alert and somewhat energetic. I went about my morning ritual feeling nearly “well”, but eventually I could tell the GI symptoms were still with me, and in time my nasal congestion returned.

What an incredible joy it was to catch a few hours of “health” again as I continue my adjustment. Perhaps best of all was the feeling in my mind, of stability and ease. Later this evening I had enough energy to ride my excercise bike — not a full workout, and not at that fast a pace, but enough to feel strength returning. Maybe it’s not quite linear, but this is progress.

Day 35 — Week 5.

And the roller coaster continues. Sinus issues — gone, the dry cough and bronchial pain that kept me up half the night — gone. But the fatigue has never let up, and it was all I could do to get out of bed, late this morning. I felt dehydrated, enough that a few pints of water were required, and then the GI symptoms came back. My body is still fighting to kick my new guests out, and this seems odd since I figured they’d reach a truce by now.

Tinnitus has become a worm flu barometer for me. When I sense it coming on, chances are my immune system is about to throw me a curve ball and mount an offensive. Sitting here tonight, I have a high-pitched whine in my ears, something that came on quickly the day of my inoculation, several weeks ago, and reappeared during my worst side effects in recent days. I’ll keep track of this, and see if its disappearance heralds a new phase of feeling good.

Day 34 — Tinkering.

So I woke up late again, with pretty intense fatigue, but discovered something unexpected — symptoms of a sinus infection. I thought I had banished it weeks ago, using my neti pot, but it appears to have been smoldering away, dormant, and is now flaring up again.

I’m not surprised — allergy season is still going full bore, predisone (even the small doses I took) may have weakened my immunity some, and the helminths themselves have a reputation for giving those of us with hyper-vigilant immune systems the vulnerability of mere mortals.

I’m back using my neti pot, twice so far today, with a pinch of salt and baking soda. It’s a simple solution that worked before, and this time around I plan to stick with it for maintenance after the “all clear” is sounded.

Again, I’m a witness to this process, and willing to be encouraged by things that aren’t altogether positive. It’s comforting to actually have a low-grade infection, whether it’s viral or bacterial, simply because the “sick” me never got them for the last 10 years. I think my defenses were always too reactive to let it happen.

And I’m realizing that if it weren’t for my sinus issues, I might actually be bouncing out of bed by now. My body feels pretty good, otherwise — no real GI issues anymore, more clarity in my head, and a brighter mood.

Let’s go, sinuses. Stop your sniveling. Onward!

Day 33 — A shade better.

I never thought I’d wake up late, feeling tired, blowing a stuffy nose, and consider myself “improved”, but that’s exactly how I would describe today. I still am coping with a fair amount of “worm flu”, including continued loose stools and a foggy head, however the most unpleasant allergic component of this — where I feel like my body is in an active fight against “invaders” — has stopped.

So, too, has the push-and-pull where my immune system challenges, and the helminths respond with their characteristic effects. Things are stabilizing some. Is this the bottom, a sort of dull and dark equilibrium, and am I about to start an uptrend?

Day 31 — Alkalinity.

Baking soda for “worm flu”? Today was less of a struggle, but still uncomfortable. Luckily, I stumbled upon something very effective tonight. After quitting the prednisone for a few days, i realized candida was flaring (pred usually makes me acidic and unable to combat the yeast) so I took a very small amount of baking soda to alkalinize my system, probably less than 1/4 teaspoon, and put it in a 16 oz glass of room temperature water.

15 minutes after gulping it down, I could breathe through my nose, my bad stomach ache had disappeared, and in 30 more minutes the body aches were much better, too. I would recommend if anyone tries this to go very easy on the stuff, since it can raise blood pressure, and may not even be good for helminths in higher concentrations, but for me this simple trick worked wonders.

Day 30 — The long view.

Today I woke up late, to a ringing telephone — a work call. It turns out I’d overslept by about 4 hours, and missed two alarms. I felt clammy, really tired, a bit disoriented. Thinking back, I knew I had been dreaming quite a bit, which for me is an unusual positive, but these were foggy and forgotten episodes.

Coffee. It was, up until recently, a forbidden substance, a trigger for not only UC but candida, too. It’s now an option for me, after doing the HT inoculation, and even provides a cleaner buzz than in the good old days when I was “healthy” and drank it regularly.

By mid afternoon my energy had picked up a bit, and my head was clearer. I still felt a bit unsteady, with some ringing in my ears and muscle pains, primarily in my neck. But the back-and-forth continues, just as it did a few days ago, where one minute I feel pretty rotten, and another I’m feeling a burst of worm magic.

For example, today I went outside for a while and sat in the sun, and I could smell it all — plants, flowers, grasses. In the past this would have been a toxic soup of allergens, and my nose would have been too stuffy to identify any of it, let alone each scent in the mix.

I’m realizing 55 hookworms is a large dose, and symptoms tend to be worse with a higher count, so this could take a while. I should settle in and prepare for the journey. I also know that along the way I’ll have moments of unexpected good vibes.

Day 29 — Ugh.

In my research I came across a few HT patients describing the current phase I’m experiencing: stomach ache, heart burn, intense fatigue, low appetite, body aches, chills, and insomnia. It’s quite a combination.

I am taking no medications or supplements at all now, but feel a touch of insomnia. If only I could just sleep through it all and wake up on the other side.

Please hurry up, helminths.

Settle in and strut your stuff.

Day 28 — Tug-O-Worm.

I hadn’t planned to post again until events warranted it, but since things are changing rapidly, here goes.

Today, like yesterday, I woke up feeling fairly good and as the afternoon approached had another reaction. It was a bit more muted this time, eventually coming on strong, then suddenly it would reverse and I would feel incredibly good. This push and pull continued for a while: body and mind, oscillating between harmony and dischord. Sleepy and relaxed, breathing freely, then I’d get hit with a stuffy nose and general unease.

At times the troughs were bad enough I decided to take more vitamin C, but there was no need for predinsone today, and for that I’m very thankful. My gut has been feeling really good most of the time, too, so if all goes according to plan, I hope to ditch the pills and lean on the worms, from here on out.

So what’s happening, why the back and forth? All I can think is the helminths are training my immune system to not harm them, by reacting when I react, and sending out the good vibes to calm everything down. It may sound a bit strange, but I’m really enjoying this process.

In moments I get glimpses of how I felt during the initial 5 day “bounce”, so maybe, just maybe, I can recapture that as my longer term benefit. Fingers crossed.

Day 27 — Some minor turbulence.

Today I woke after a long, deep sleep and I was feeling pretty good, so I avoided an early dose of prednisone. I wanted to see how my new old friends would behave on their own.

Several hours of stability gradually gave way to another reaction, again in mid afternoon, with a severe stuffy nose, feverish moments, and those throat sensations again. I took 10mg prednisone, hopefully the last of it I’ll need, and followed that with five 1000mg vitamin C tablets. I also drank a few pints of water, to curb dehydration after a few days of GI trouble. Within about 30 minutes — problem solved. I’m also happy to report my gut isn’t perfect yet, but it’s normalizing.

While there may be some dips along the way, I tend to think I’m getting over the worst of it. For now, let’s call it mere turbulence. Onward and upward, helminths.

Day 26 — Unpleasant.

I’m not sure if my helminths recently went migrating to a new location, but my body is acutely aware of them now. This morning I took 10mg Prednisone (I haven’t taken it in months) to help with the GI symptoms I recently developed. It seemed to help, but as the day wore on I noticed some very odd symptoms: nerve sensations — sciatica, while driving in the car. Twinges in my left hand as I reached out to open doors, etc. An unusual warming sensation on my face, migrating to the top of my head. Ringing ears. Numbness in my lips, a pressure as if they were swelling, but no noticeable visual signs of this. I had a gagging sensation, like my throat was closing, that came and went periodically. Also some dizziness, and a racing heart. I really felt out of sorts, as this is unlike any allergic reaction I’ve had in the past, except for something like a nut or shellfish reaction. Even those foods don’t create the same broad impact.

I took a benadryl, then started dosing with lots of vitamin C, which for me has always been a potent antihistamine.

An hour later I was beginning to feel a bit better, enough to eat, and I had an appetite. Four hours later, and I’m feeling pretty stable. Given this sudden and unexpected episode, I now have a good supply of benedryl on hand. I don’t want to become dependent on the steroids, so will leave them alone as long as possible. Let’s hope today’s reaction was a one-off, or that at the very least any subsequent ones will be less intense.