Worms (Helminth Therapy) For Cholinergic Urticaria?
Post by: Daniel_S on November 17, 2011, 06:17:09 AM
First of all I`m from germany therefore I`m sorry should my english be not that perfect.
Like all of you I`m suffering under the curse called “cholinergic urticaria”. It really sucks that our own immune system tortures us. As many people know those kinds of diseases are most of the time occuring in our clean western countries. A few centuries ago allergies and autoimmune diseases were (as far as I understand) very rare. You also find very few people in developing countries who have allergies. Many scientists now claim that the reason is that our human body can not take the overclean enviroment… dirt, parasites and more might actually be important for us. Therefore knew ideas are created in order to challenge our hyperactive immune system:
btw. I know that cholinergic urticaria is technically not an “allergy” but it is an immune repsone and therefore it could also be interesting for us.
EDIT: Ah perhaps this post should be remove to “studies”
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Title: Re: Worms against cholinergic urticaria
Post by: nowash on November 18, 2011, 07:22:56 AM
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Wow Germany! Did you know one of our earliest important publications was in German? Zur pathogenesie(?) dur cholinergischen urtikaria by Illig, if I recall correctly (probably butchered that). Been meaning to teach myself some German just to read it.
About the worms, dunno if HG will let me post this link or not but there are a couple companies who will either infect you with helminths or sell you their ova as probiotics.
There are some videos on youtube of the owner talking about his story with asthma and allergies and about the therapy (search Jasper Lawrence or helminth therapy). They also have forums where you can see some testimonials. I haven’t seen an urticaria patient post anything, but I’ve seen an atopic dermatitis patient post something; they had no benefit.
Still, however, I plan to try it anyways. Thing is they require a huge blood test before they would be willing to infect you. I talked to my allergist/immunologist to see if he would do it and replied, “No, I don’t want anything to do with that.” So we’re still climbing uphill, and I have to find a doctor as crazy as me to let me test myself. You also have to travel to Canada or Mexico to pick up the helminth package.
P.S. – They also have the Disease Information + side tab which links you to a list of different disease study results in regards to helminthic infections.
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Title: Re: Worms against cholinergic urticaria
Post by: HivesGuy on November 18, 2011, 08:43:43 AM
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Hey Daniel,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for your post.
Yes, I’ve read a lot of information on this in the past, and it is quite interesting. I’ve never messed with actual parasites, but I have experimented quite a bit with probiotics. Right now I am taking them and they really do make a huge difference on your digestion. They have also helped prevent a lot of food allergy related sensitivities. But they are only normal bacterial strains, and no worms.
@Nowash, are your hives still bad right now? I don’t know if I could ever actually eat worms or worm eggs, but I have read about this in the past. From what I read back in the day (it was in relation to crohns and stomach issues), it didn’t seem like it conclusively helped people. A couple of people on a news program said it really helped, but then others have tried with no success.
It does seem interesting though.
Things are still going incredibly well for me. I have expanded on my diet, and I am still able to workout and sweat. I am doing this with no medications whatsoever, aside from a few simple supplements (vitamins and probiotics). I am just eating really healthy, working out, and keeping my skin super moisturized at all times.
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Title: Re: Worms against cholinergic urticaria
Post by: nowash on November 21, 2011, 02:25:47 AM
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@HG, well there’s multiple species of worm they’re studying. They have different effects, and I think some companies may not try to tie the pathogenesis of your disease specifically to the right worm. They don’t really say trichuris trichura is better for one disease or not, but the research may give results that may suggest trying one kind of worm over another. The research is really new and they haven’t tried helminthic therapy for all kinds of diseases yet. IIRC, the only atopic disease they’ve actually done a trial on humans with is asthma. I have a feeling that’s different than atopic dermatitis or urticaria since allergy shots can work so well for asthma and rhinitis whereas there is only one or a few studies tried with AD and nearly none with urticaria. So I’m willing to be a guinea pig.
My hives are still bad. I’m still going crazy, wait, no, I AM crazy, but am coping and controlling it like I have for all my life. Funny thing is that recently I’ve gotten punched in the face, beaten with a bottle, singed with hot ashes from a fire, manhandled by a bouncer which gave me scrapes that are going to scar, and have smashed my finger between my turning alternator belt and its pully working on my car (stupidly); The pain with each of these I feel is really nothing compared to cholinergic urticaria, which astounds me. I feel that the term ‘hives’ seems to belittle the disease and makes the condition seem much less than it can be. But we’re not dying so excuse my bitching, right? Every forum should be the vent forum. 😉
I’m going to try to get some ketotifen from canada first before I start to go through the necessary motions for any helminthic therapy. Hopefully the company won’t go out of business before then.
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Title: Re: Worms against cholinergic urticaria
Post by: HivesGuy on November 21, 2011, 11:06:25 AM
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Hmm, yes that is very interesting about the worms. It would be neat if this turns out to be a big treatment for autoimmune type diseases, but only time will tell.
What’s interesting is that I’ve noticed probiotics have a somewhat similar affect. I can’t recall if you’ve mentioned whether or not you’ve ever tried them, but they work similarly (and may be a bit safer to try for now). I think they can have a dramatic affect on the immune system as well.
For example, when I was eating bad, I would get these terrible rashes on my elbow, neck, back of my calves, and hands. But when I started to take probiotics, suddenly the food didn’t bother me nearly as bad, and my skin inflammation died down tremendously. So that may be something you want to experiment, since putting the “friendly” bacteria in your gut is somewhat similar to the worm idea. I’m not sure if this was because the probiotics helped digest the food, or if it just gave my immune system something to do. But either way, I noticed a big difference (and they are relatively inexpensive too, for a months supply they range from $8-30).
Wow, it does sound like a rough time you’ve had recently. Sorry to hear it, but I’m sure things will calm down. Life’s like that sometimes. I agree that the pain from Cholinergic Urticaria is just an annoying and different kind of pain. I’ve long thought that I’d much rather have some other nagging pain as opposed to that stinging/itching sensation.