Very Curious....whipworms/TCO/Entocort

[tmfjets07]

Hello all,
I'm Terry, I was diagnosed with Chrohns last july, and am happy to say I am in complete remission. I have put on like 40 pounds since, and am pretty much living my normal life. I found many people on this forum extremely helpful and supportive when I was struggling back in July, and for that I thank you.

Now,I have two things I want to touch upon in this thread....

1. I was reading Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, and in the paper there was a section about whipworms. Apparently, these worms, which are found in pigs and rather harmless to humans, have been known to greatly help humans suffering from auto immune disorders. I was surprised to hear this, so i did some further research and found that there is a decent amount of evidence to show that if various types of worms are ingested, they actually greatly decrease intestinal inflammation. I was just wondering if anyone on here has any experiences with these things, or knows any more?

2. I also have a question about entocort. I have been taking it for about 7 months now, and it has made a world of difference. However, for about the last month, I find myself getting out of breath rather easily. I am a 21 year old, and have been very active all of my life. It gets to the point now that if I play a whole half of a basketball game hard, I get so out of breath that I am almost dizzy, and when time even came close to fainting. Has anyone had anything similar with entocort, or know if it is related to long term entocort use?

Thanks for taking the time to read, you are all great.

 

[NikiB]

Hi Terry!

As far as the whipworms go I know just about as much as you do about them. But I must say I am intrigued with the idea! I think I would try it, would you?

And I also felt similar symptoms with the Entocort as well as dizzy upon standing. I was only on the steroid for 3 months though. It's as long my Dr. would allow. Any longer and I would have developed more severe symptom as well as a nice full moustache! (Not a good look on a girl):ytongue:

 

[Miss Underestimated]

Whipworms aren't harmless, but I can see it as a last resort for people who just have not had any relief from IBD. I wouldn't consider it a first line of treatment.

Entocort usually is used to get you into remission so they can put you on a maintenance drug. It is a synthetic cortisone, which is not readily absorbed, and so doesn't have a lot of the usual side effects of regular cortisone.

Have you told your GI doc about the side effects you're having? I was on it for about a year - some of the side effects go away after a while, some get worse. Either way, it's better than having the inflammation damage to your intestines. However, I'm sure your doctor can find a better maintenance drug - there are a lot of available drugs, depending on your particular case.

 

[David]

Many refer to what you speak of as Helminthic Therapy. If you click that link to our wiki article on the subject, you'll find some information but also, at the very bottom of the article, a series of popular threads where people discuss Helminthic Therapy here on the forum. I hope that helps

As for your Entocort related question, have you by chance had your routine blood tests lately?

 

[tmfjets07]

Niki B, I am fortunate and at this point only have mild crohns...so at this point I would probably not try it....but it really does sound intruiging, and yeah idk if there is some more clinical testing done or my case took a turn for the worse, i also would not be opposed...

 

[tmfjets07]

Miss Underestimated, no I have not spoken to my GI, but I am scheduled to see him in early March, so I am going to wait until then

 

[tmfjets07]

David, thanks for the link, that information is exactly what I was looking for...Hygiene theory is such a weird concept, that we are just too clean... and no, I have not had blood test recently, I am going to my GI in March though, so i should get tests then.