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I have had all these gastrointestinal problems, including severe pain and vomiting. I have never been satisfied with the onc just saying it is probably the 8cm in my mesenteric area which is causing the problem. I had a test for h. pyloric and it was negative, but I asked the onc to treat me for it anyway. He did with a triple antibiotic regimen and I was "cured" for about 8 months!! But, then it came back and we treated it again. It has been better, but I still get the bloating, constipation, etc. problems, and I have had one or two episodes of the pain/vomitting...but, no where near as powerful as in the beginning.
I read somewhere about parasites and with all the travel that I have done, asked the onc to order me up some stool sample tests. The result? I have diagnosed with blastocystis hominis and one other (awaiting a copy of the full test results). I have been busy reading and find that it is often misdiagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and some researchers think that it can aggravate and stimulate malignancies in immunosuppressed patients. Now isn't that interesting?
If you get a moment, please take a look at this article
http://ams.cu.edu.tr/July1999Vol8No2/hominis.htm
The onc has written a prescription for Flagyl, but I am going to do some more reading before I take it. I have read that it doesn't always kill all the parasites and can cause liver and kidney damage. On second thought, I think Flagyl (under another name) was one of the triple antibiotics he prescribed for the h. pyloric treatment...might as well take it, I guess. I am starting to become very fatigued again ... I know this whole thing sounds self-serving, but my thoughts are that any NHL patient with gastro problems should be checked out and treated for parasites, if necessary! I have had several occasions to be treated with antibiotics in the last two years and my energy level always improves dramatically as does my overall feeling of physical well-being. I also tried the artemesia drug (given for malaria) and it greatly improved my overall feeling of health. Artemesia as an herb is one of the "naturals" that is recommended for parasite infection by some herbalists.
UPDATE:
An update on my b.hominis. I took Flagyl - 750mg 3 times a day - for 10 days. At about day 3, I almost called the onc and asked what else we could do because I had flu symptoms and lots of fatigue from this
antibiotic. But, I stuck with it and survived. Now, I feel 100%! Literally...if I didn't know I have NHL, I would think I was the healthiest person in town. My strength and vigor has returned, my stomach is giving
me no problems and many people are commenting on how well I look and how my type A personality is in gear.
What all this means, I don't know. I go to see the onc on the 18th with a blood test the week before....if I don't get hung up on jury duty. I do not relish the idea of sitting in a courthouse during flu season....
Sands
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