Helminthic Therapy wiki - User contributions [en]

Helminth providers

2024-11-21T00:57:34Z

Michelle: Provider: Helminth Therapy NZ: Email Update Change

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|title=Helminth providers
|description=Full details about all the main commercial suppliers of therapeutic helminths (NA, TTO, TSO and HDC) compiled by independent editors.
|keywords=helminth provider, helminth providers, helminth supplier, helminth suppliers, worm provider, worm providers, worm supplier, worm suppliers, therapeutic worm provider, therapeutic worm providers, therapeutic worm supplier, therapeutic worm suppliers, providers of therapeutic helminths, providers of therapeutic worms, suppliers of therapeutic helminths, suppliers of therapeutic worms helminths, therapeutic helminths, hookworm, hookworms, NA, whipworm, whipworms, TSO, TTO, rat tapeworm, rat tapeworms, HDC, Necator americanus, Trichuris suis, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids, Symmbio, Biome Restoration, Tanawisa, Worm Therapy, Autoimmune Therapies, AIT, Jasper Lawrence
|og:image=}}This page contains details about all the main suppliers of therapeutic helminths that have been vetted by the editors of this wiki. The individuals who founded and run these companies all emerged from within the helminthic therapy community and are passionate about the therapy. There are no purely profit-oriented companies listed here, and no scammers. Where there have been any concerns raised about the service that a company provides - for example, any unreliability, slow response to emails, or incorrect advice about dosing - these issues are mentioned in the details for that company, or on the separate [[Helminth provider reviews | '''Customer reviews''']] page.

All details have been gathered and carefully checked by independent volunteer editors, none of whom have any affiliation with the companies listed.

For more information about the helminths that are available from these providers, see [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Therapeutic helminths | '''Therapeutic helminths''']] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

== Providers ==

The providers each offer one or more of four different organisms, along with different services and pricing options, all of which need to be considered very carefully by each prospective customer in the light of their own unique needs and preferences. Most Providers ship to many regions so listed costs are generally '''without''' shipping costs included. In other words, you need to contact the suppliers to determine your final cost including shipping.

''Symmbio'', ''Au NAturel'', ''Nathural'',  ''Tanawisa'', ''Helminth Therapy NZ'', ''Biome Restoration'' and ''YourSymbionts'' all sell their products as individual doses. 
To assist readers in comparing the cost of obtaining helminths from each of the companies, the approximate annual costs are shown in bold.

The providers are listed according to the overall customer rating that each has achieved based on customer reviews. The companies with the highest rating and the most reviews are presented first.

<div style="background-color:#FFF5FA;border: 1px solid #F2CEDD; border-radius:16px; padding:8px; padding-left:8px; margin-bottom:12px;">'''Customer reviews for the companies listed below are available on the following page. 
[[Helminth provider_reviews | '''Helminth provider reviews''']]'''
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==='''[http://symmbio.com/ Symmbio]''' ★★★★★===
5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Symmbio | '''28 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2016. 
Organisms supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Express shipping with tracking is available. 
Payment in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin] is preferred, and Symmbio is happy to help anyone who is unfamiliar with the currency. Other payment options may be available depending on country of residence.  
Contact: Simon. 
Communication is via email, however consultation calls are available. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements. 
'''NA'''. A single dose of NA is $200 USD. Three doses are $450 USD, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. '''Special offer from February 2020: a free dose with purchases made via Bitcoin. So $450 USD will buy 4 doses ordered at any time during the 24 months following payment. Further discounts''' are also available for children and families, and for those facing financial difficulties. 
'''TTO'''. Doses of 50, 100 or 250 ova are shipped in lots of 6 vials. (Minimum order: 6 vials of 50 TTO.) '''New prices from February 2020'''. 300 ova for $250 USD / 600 ova for $450 USD / 1200 ova for $750 USD. TTO have a long shelf-life so unused doses can be stored in a refrigerator until required. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about the therapy, along with email support. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
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==='''Au NAturel''' ★★★★★===
5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Au NAturel | '''28 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2019. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited/Express shipping with tracking. 
Payment accepted via PayPal or Crypto option 
Contact: Max: max.contact$protonmail.com (change $ to @). 
Communication is via email only. 
Supplies single doses starting with a first dose of (usually) 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are individually adjusted. 
Doses are a flat rate of $120 USD for 2 to 25 larvae. (plus shipping). Family rates are available. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
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===[https://nalab.eu '''Nathural'''] ★★★★★===
5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Nathural | '''9 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships (from France) to Europe (express), to the UK (tracked letter) and worldwide (letter or tracked letter). 
Payment is accepted via PayPal, credit card or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin]. 
Contact: Nathalie. Orders are done via their website (https://nalab.eu/). 
Supplies single doses. Prices from €50. Shipping from €5. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased. Discount automaticaly applied during checkout for multiple doses'''. 
No support is provided for helminthic therapy. For this purpose, use the following resources: the [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki Helminthic Therapy wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
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==='''[http://www.tanawisa.com/ Tanawisa]''' ★★★★★===
4.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Tanawisa | '''15 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2003. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova) | TSO]]. 
Ships worldwide, but excluding Russia, using express courier services with tracking. Shipments typically reach their destination within 3 days of ordering. 
Payment methods include PayPal, all major credit cards and bank transfers. 
Contact: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOk2mMcPB7Q Detlev Goj]. 
Support is available via telephone and email. 
Supplies doses of 500, 1,000 and 2,500 ova, with special offers on packs of 10 doses. 
'''Cost per year: $5,200''' for the most frequently used dose size of 2,500 ova, if taken every 2 weeks and purchased in multiples of 10 doses. A very small number of users may require up to 7,500 ova every two weeks, but many people who take TSO are able to transition to a much smaller maintenance dosage after the first 10 doses (5 months), which greatly reduces the annual cost. 
Individual discounts are available. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']].
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===[https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ '''Helminth Therapy NZ'''] ★★★★★===
4.8 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy NZ | '''5 customer reviews''']]. 

Founded: 2022. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships within New Zealand and Australia. 
Payment is accepted via bank transfer in NZD or Wise Payment AUD. 
Contact: Michelle. 
Contact Email: support@helminths.co.nz, or via Facebook messenger at [https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/102706412577752 Helminth Therapy NZ], or via their [https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ Facebook page] 
Supplies doses of various sizes, on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements discussed during an initial free consultation. 
Prices (per person/dose). 1-10 NA larvae is $200NZD. 11 NA and over is $300NZD 
New Zealand shipping is with NZ Courier. Standard is $8.00. Rural delivery (RD) is $15.00 
Australian Shipping is $38.00NZD 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but a care pack with easy-to-follow instructions is provided, along with email and telephone support, if needed. Use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]. 
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==='''[http://www.biomerestoration.com/ Biome Restoration Ltd]''' ★★★★★===
4.7 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Biome Restoration Ltd | '''12 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2013. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], which is produced to exacting quality control standards in the company’s UK laboratory. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited shipping is extra, but a saving can be made on shipping costs by purchasing two doses at the same time. 
Contact: Marc Dellerba PhD. For shipping and order queries, use this email: shipping$biomerestoration.com (change $ to @). 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
'''Cost per year: £1,280 for UK residents (including VAT) or approximately £1,430 for customers outside the UK.''' These prices are for 30 HDC every 2 weeks, ordered via automatically renewing subscription and including shipping. 
Some users take 60 HDC every 2 weeks, or 30 every week, either of which will double the cost. 
No medical advice is provided, but assistance is available with how to use the HDC. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[https://www.yoursymbionts.com YourSymbionts]''' ★★★★☆ ===
3.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | '''16 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB. There have been repeated reports of difficulty getting a response from this supplier, and in receiving helminths in a timely manner. For more details, see the most recent [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | customer reviews]] for this company.''' 
Founded: 2018. 
Organisms supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. All shipments are sent in an insulated box by UPS Express, with tracking. All prices include shipping. 
Payment is via PayPal, or by bank transfer (Europe). 
Contact: Steven. Email: info$yoursymbionts.com (change $ to @). Tel: +32456078504. Can also be contacted via WhatsApp and their [https://www.facebook.com/YourSymbionts Facebook page]. 
{{Quote|indent}}The best way to reach them is through WhatsApp. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/5187217014667545/?comment_id=5187578297964750]{{Quote|/indent}}
Communication is via email only. 
'''NA'''. Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis, starting with a first dose of 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are determined by consultation. 
A starter package of the first 3 doses of NA costs €400. Thereafter, single doses cost €200 each, and three doses are €450, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. 
'''TTO'''. Doses start at €1 per ovum. Doses of 25, 50, 100 or 250 are available, with a minimum order of €300. Discounts are available for bulk orders, e.g., a package containing a year's supply of 1200 ova is €750. 
A starter package of 240 TTO, comprising 6 doses of 40 ova, each to be taken at two week intervals, costs €200. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about helminthic therapy, along with email support, and 1 hour consultations are available for €50. (Details [https://www.yoursymbionts.com/booking here].) New customers get a €25 refund on the consultation when they buy a starter package. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
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==='''The Llamas Clinic''' ★★★★☆===
3.7 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#The Llamas Clinic | '''3 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB'''. Dr Llamas is very reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. And he has been known to send clients more NA than they have requested, for example, sending 10 NA to a client with MCAS who had asked for 3 NA - the recommended starting dose for her condition. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: [[Hookworm dosing and response | '''Hookworm dosing and response''']]). 
Organisms supplied. [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]]. 
Contact: Jorge Llamas MD. 
Contact email: dr_llamas$hotmail.com (change $ to @). Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ 
Until 2018, Dr Llamas worked with [http://www.wormtherapy.com/ Worm Therapy] and allowed them to use his clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, but Worm Therapy are now operating independently. 
Dr Llamas has been invited to provide more details about his service for inclusion here but has not yet done so. Anyone wanting further information should therefore contact him directly via email or [https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ Facebook]. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://autoimmunetherapies.com/ Autoimmune Therapies (AIT)]''' ★★☆☆☆===
2.0 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''18 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2007. 
Owner: Jasper Lawrence. 
The editors of this wiki cannot recommend Autoimmune Therapies, due to the many [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''adverse reports''']] submitted to us by this company's clients, and because of the company's practice of advising the use of, and supplying, excessively large doses of NA. For more about this, see: [[Jasper Lawrence and helminthic therapy#Therapist | '''Jasper Lawrence: the therapist''']]. 

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<div style="border:1px solid #A3B0BF;background-color:#CEDFF2;padding:6px;border-radius:5px;margin-bottom:22px;">The information above was believed to be correct at the time of publication, but please contact the providers to double-check prices, etc., in case of any recent changes.</div>

==Local sources==

In addition to the main providers listed above, there are a number of naturopathic physicians, particularly in the US, who grow HDC for supply to their own patients but who operate outside the online community of helminth self-teaters, and who typically charge exorbitant, and sometimes eye-watering, prices for their HDCs.

There are also many home growers who produce NA for their own use, a few of whom are sometimes willing to share any surplus worms with others in their locality. However, private growers of NA are unlikely to be able to definitively confirm the species of worm they have, or to screen their donors for communicable diseases, and they are unlikely to "clean" their NA, as the listed providers above always do.

==Contacting providers by email==

If you email a provider, be sure to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitelisting whitelist] their email address to prevent their reply from being rejected or sent to a spam/junk mail folder. This happens regularly, resulting in people posting to the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] asking if anyone knows what's happened to one or other of the providers.

It's also worth remembering that most helminth providers don't work weekends.

==Regarding advice from the providers==

When seeking information from a provider, it should be borne in mind that no one provider sells, or has experience with, all four helminth species. Since some people may have more success with one particular species, with a combination of two or more species, or by starting with one species and later switching to another, it is arguably better to rely more on the information in this wiki when selecting a therapeutic helminth than on advice from a single helminth provider. No single provider can match the objectivity or breadth of information found in this wiki, which offers a balanced assessment of all four available helminths based on the findings of science and the first-hand experience of self-treaters. See [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

It is also important to remember that the companies listed on this page are all commercial entities and, as such, their owners are keen to promote their own products. This can result in ''some'' of them occasionally exaggerating the benefits of their own worms and/or misrepresenting the attributes of the worms sold by their competitors, sometimes even claiming that their own worms are cleaner, safer or more powerful than the alternatives, or that their competitors’ products will cause worse side effects, and possibly even multiply within a host or mis-migrate to the wrong parts of a host’s body. However, none of these claims of adverse effects are true for NA, TTO, TSO or HDC. See the [[Helminthic therapy safety | '''Helminthic therapy safety''']] page and [http://www.yourwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/galley-proof-v2.pdf this study].

Alternatives to the advice available from the providers include talking to a [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''helminthic therapy practitioner''']] and asking questions of the members in the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support Group], some of whom have many years of experience with several different helminth species.

==Doctors as providers==

Some naturopathic physicians who recommend therapy with NA, TTO or HDC and supply these organisms themselves, have claimed that the worms they supply are superior to those available elsewhere, or have implied that the worms sold by others might not be the species they are claimed to be. For example, some doctors who supply hookworms direct to their patients have claimed that their worms are "stronger" than those from their competitors, while others have maintained that theirs are "more gentle". One practitioner even claims that his hookworms are a superior subspecies of NA, termed, "NA457". However, all these claims are merely marketing hype, so self-treaters should always compare the prices quoted by doctors with those of the providers listed above, who supply exactly the same products but invariably charge much lower prices.

The physician who claims to be supplying his patients with the supposedly superior "NA457", introduced this notion in a book he published in 2018, [https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Hookworm-Therapy-parabiotics-anti-fragile/dp/1729619983/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1D279X2XYOJ6A&keywords=Steve+Nenninger&qid=1662258403&sprefix=steve+nenninger%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3 Understanding Hookworm Therapy: parabiotics - the rise of anti-fragile medicine]. (A free copy is available in digital book form as the [https://www.stevenenninger.com/thehookwormmiracle The Hookworm Miracle].) In the book, Steve Nenninger suggests that people who are looking to host hookworms should check that the worms they buy are [[Self-treating with NA | '''Necator americanus''']] (the New World Hookworm) and not the less desirable [[Ancylostoma duodenale | '''Ancylostoma duodenale''']] (the Old World Hookworm), appearing to suggest that some of the hookworms being sold by helminth providers may be AD and not NA, but this is just more marketing spin.

Although Nenninger has been reported to have claimed that "NA457" has been identified by "research", [https://youarethehealer.org/parasitic-worms-to-treat-autoimmune-disease/] a search of the scientific literature reveals no mention of "NA457", and there is no evidence that this term is anything other than the number of a particular hookworm sample that was prepared for genetic testing. It does not signify a new NA subspecies, and the special characteristics of "NA457" that Nenninger lists in his book are ''all'' descriptive of ''any'' example of NA that is available from ''any'' of the helminth providers.

The only difference between what is available from physicians and from an online provider is seen in HDC. This organism loses viability very quickly from the moment it is removed from its beetle host and, without nutritional support, will be dead within 48 hours. Biome Restoration use a proprietary nutrient solution that keeps their HDC alive for 2-3 weeks, so their product is the only one that will survive long-distance shipping. (For more detail, see [[Self-treating with HDC#Storage and survival of HDC | '''Storage and survival of HDC''']].)

The locally-grown HDC available from physicians’ offices must be taken within 24 hours of being harvested to be fully effective - not 24 hours after receipt. Provided that these ''fresh'' HDC are used within 24 hours of extraction, they do have slightly greater efficacy than a similar number of the ''commercially prepared'' HDC sold by Biome Restoration, and this difference is reflected in the [[Self-treating with HDC#Dosing with HDC |'''dosing guidelines for HDC''']] which show that the use of slightly larger numbers of Biome Restoration’s HDC fully compensates for their slightly reduced efficacy when compared with ''fresh'' HDC that are used within 24 hours of extraction. There is therefore no justification for the very high prices being charged for ''fresh'' HDC by some physicians.

==Comparing NA larvae from different sources==

NA larvae all produce the same therapeutic effects whichever company they are bought from.

All the Necator americanus in captivity today have come from one or other of only two sources. Firstly, the specimens collected from Kar Kar Island, Papua New Guinea, by Prof David Pritchard and his colleagues at Nottingham University, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180429035224/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/research/01prof.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin] and, secondly, those collected from the wild by the first two commercial suppliers of NA (Garin Aglietti and Jasper Lawrence) who were, at that time, jointly running Autoimmune Therapies (AIT). All the NA in use at the present time in research laboratories around the world were sourced from Pritchard's stock, and all the hookworms available from helminth providers, including doctors, are the descendants of those originally collected by AIT staff. Pritchard, himself, identified his hookworms as NA, and AIT’s stock was identified as NA by a PhD microbiologist using PCR testing.

With all the hookworm providers currently supplying NA larvae that are descended from the original AIT stock, any variation between the larvae from different providers is not due to those from one company being superior, or inferior, to those from other suppliers, whatever a few suppliers may claim when describing their own products.

However, different batches of NA larvae can produce differing strengths of skin response to inoculation, with varying severity of rash and itching - a fact seen by self-treaters as either positive or negative depending on their point of view. Some may perceive a stronger skin response as indicating better worms, while others might prefer larvae that produce less itching.

Variations in skin response between larvae from different sources can be due to the effects of one or more of four factors.

:1. '''Incubation temperature'''. Larvae incubated at higher temperatures develop more quickly but remain viable for a shorter period of time.

:2. '''Age'''. The viability of NA larvae has been shown to decrease rapidly over time from a mean of 85% to < 70% within 14 days. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9264692/]

:3. '''Natural variation'''. There can be considerable variation between batches of hookworm larvae, even between batches grown side-by-side by the same producer on the same day using the same stool sample with identical materials and procedures. This is due to the fact that hookworms are living creatures, so completely different from pills produced by a machine. Some incubations can even occasionally fail to yield any larvae at all, and this happens to growers who have been incubating for many years as well as novices, and to commercial providers as well as private growers. Even within a single batch, there can be dead or decaying larvae side-by-side with healthy ones, and, even though it is always the latter that providers select for supply to their customers, there can still be hidden variations between healthy larvae.

:4. '''Cleaning'''. Providers clean their larvae before shipping for the protection of customers, but this process reduces the worms' shelf life. Variation between the cleaning protocols used by different providers results in differing lengths of shelf life. For example, one hookworm provider ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221209070413/http://wormswell.com/ Wormswell] [2014-2018]) said that their larvae had a shelf life of 3 to 4 weeks after rinsing, whereas those from a different provider (Worm Therapy) only have a stated shelf life of 2 weeks.

:One supplier has been reported anonymously in a [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/images/a/ad/Socio-medical_studies_of_individuals_self-treating_with_helminths_provide_insight_into_clinical_trial_design_for_assessing_helminth_therapy.pdf socio-medical study] to have claimed that extensive washing of NA can reduce its effectiveness, but there is no evidence for this. The claim may have been based on the testimony of self-treaters who had observed a less robust skin response following inoculation with washed larvae, and who had assumed, incorrectly, that this would indicate a likely reduction in therapeutic effect, unaware that there is no correlation between the strength of skin response and eventual therapeutic benefit. However, anyone with a preference for unwashed larvae can purchase their first dose from a provider, then [[Helminth incubation#Hookworm incubation | grow their own supply]] from this colony and use them unwashed.

Concern is sometimes expressed about the possibility that the hookworm larvae available from the suppliers may have become weakened as a result of a genetic bottleneck in the domesticated hookworm stock. However, this is extremely unlikely and there is no evidence that this might be the case. See: [[Self-treating with NA#Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms? | '''Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms?''']]

==Comparing the available helminth species==

Details about the different species, and how they compare, can be found on the following page.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']]

==Predicting the long-term cost==

In the case of helminths that are sold by the dose, the actual cost is dependent on the number and size of doses that may be required to achieve and maintain disease remission. TSO need to be taken even 2 or 3 weeks, at least for a few months (see [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']] and this [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova)| page section]]) and HDC also need to be taken every 2 or 3 weeks (occasionally weekly or monthly), usually indefinitely (see [[Self-treating with HDC | '''Self-treating with HDC''']]). Small doses of TTO may be taken regularly, but larger doses can be taken less frequently (see [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']]). Some users of NA might only require a single dose every few years, while others may need supplementary doses every few months, indefinitely, due to a higher rate of attrition, which varies greatly between individuals (see [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]). Replacement hookworm doses would also be needed following any accidental losses due to the use of certain substances, all of which are detailed in the [[Human helminth care manual | '''Human helminth care manual''']].

== Minimising the cost ==

The cost of helminthic therapy varies considerably between the providers and the different worm species, all of which is explained in the [[Helminth providers#Providers | '''Provider details''']] section above.

A number of factors need to be taken into account when looking at the cost of helminthic therapy.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Considering the cost of helminthic therapy | '''Considering the cost of helminthic therapy''']]

Possible options for minimising the costs are as follows.

=== Discounts and payment plans ===

In cases of genuine financial hardship, some providers may be willing to help customers by offering a discount or arranging a payment plan.

=== Don't let cost influence dosing decisions ===

Some providers of NA charge by the dose, whatever number of larvae a dose contains. Some hookworm self-treaters can't resist trying to maximise the value of their purchases from these companies by ordering more larvae than they need, but inoculating with a larger number can result in excessive side effects.

{{Quote|indent}}The provider I use charges per dose, no matter if I want 2 worms or 30. So I tried to push it, and learned my lesson! [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1983242591731686/?comment_id=1984166848305927&reply_comment_id=1985439641511981&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

=== Purchasing helminths from doctors ===

Physicians invariably charge far more for helminths than the online providers listed above, and the organisms supplied by doctors are in no way superior, whatever they may claim. See [[Helminth providers#Doctors as providers | '''Doctors as providers''']] above.

=== Hookworm donation ===

In the case of NA, it may be possible to obtain a donation of hookworm larvae from a fellow self-treater who grows their own supply, although very few people are actually willing to provide this service, and there are risks attached to accepting larvae from a private grower. For more about these risks, see the following page sub-sections.

* [[Helminth incubation#Infection risk | '''Infection risk''']]

* [[Helminth incubation#Legal risks | '''Legal risks''']]

=== DIY helminth incubation ===

NA and HDC are relatively easy to culture at home after purchasing a microscope, an initial dose of worms and a few other sundries. The incubation of TTO is also possible but more challenging. For more about helminth incubation, see the following page.

* [[Helminth incubation | '''Helminth incubation''']]

==Using Bitcoin==

Commercial helminth providers don't have a clear green light to ship their products to all destinations, so some of them need to remain anonymous in order to protect both themselves and the supply. Since the maintenance of anonymity must also extend to methods of payment, some providers only accept payment in Bitcoin.

The use of this cryptocurrency can appear daunting to those who are new to it, but most people find that Bitcoin is easy to use, once they get into it.

{{Quote|indent}}I been paying with btc for NA since 2016 (i.e., for 7 years) and find [https://www.bitcoin.com bitcoin.com app] to be the easiest and fastest. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/6652735928115639/?comment_id=6652888008100431]{{Quote|/indent}}

====Coinbase====

Watch the video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b8vaN9ujxE Helminthic Therapy User's Guide To Bitcoin - Full Coinbase Tutorial]

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase streamlines the process for you, but they charge a fee for their service. It was around 3% of the transaction by memory. It was worth it to me. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1830892493633364/?comment_id=1830940486961898&reply_comment_id=1830945646961382&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I was very concerned about the bitcoin process and security… it seems a bit dodgy for newbies, but I have had no issues, and no one that I have heard on this forum has had issues. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1583377658384850/?comment_id=1598050406917575&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I just had to wrap my mind around it. Now, it's easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1468002149922402&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R0%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}The ordering experience was very easy, and I'm new to bitcoin. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470903532965597/]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I felt comfortable with Coinbase. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470319949690622/?comment_id=1470616372994313&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I use coinbase. It is not hard. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase is easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&reply_comment_id=1468256369896980&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

Once you have a [https://www.coinbase.com Coinbase] account, you will also be able to use [https://pro.coinbase.com Coinbase Pro], which offers the ability to trade a variety of digital assets on a secure, insurance-backed platform.

Although Coinbase Pro is an advanced trading platform aimed at serious traders, the fact that it is owned by the same company as Coinbase means that, once you have a Coinbase account, you can use the same details to log in to Coinbase Pro. You may then need to provide some further details, and you may have to move funds from one wallet to the other, but this should be easy.

===Help with using Bitcoin===

Those helminth providers who request payment in bitcoins include detailed Bitcoin guides on their websites to help their customers, and they will assist personally with the process, if asked.

For those who prefer not to get involved with Bitcoin themselves, there are trustworthy members of the Helminthic Therapy Support group who will exchange PayPal payments or bank wires for bitcoins, which they will then send directly to the appropriate provider on behalf of the customer. For further details, see the posts at the following links.

* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1479835298739087 PayPal payments]
* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/3309194392469826?comment_id=3309197035802895 PayPal payments or bank wires]

==Routing shipments via a different country==

If you are unable to have your selected helminths delivered direct to your home, you could have them shipped to another country and either travel there to collect these yourself, or arrange for someone who lives there to receive and re-ship them to you. However, a potential problem with traveling to collect hookworm larvae is that these can succumb to freezing during transit, including while in the cargo hold of a plane, so doses may be dead on arrival at their destination. This can result in a wasted journey for the person collecting them.

==Losses during shipping==

The vast majority of helminth deliveries arrive safely at their destination containing viable organisms. However, since helminths are living creatures, they are susceptible to extremes of heat and cold, both of which may be encountered during shipping. NA larvae are the most at risk because they have a very limited temperature tolerance range and will die if exposed to very low or very high temperatures.

There is no universally applied temperature for the cargo hold on commercial passenger planes, but they are typically heated by the warm air exiting the main cabin, so should, in theory, remain above freezing for the duration of each flight. However, planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, different companies apply different practices, and different types of flights have their own protocols, so temperatures do vary, and, in practice, can range from 7°C (45°F) to 13°C (55°F), with bulk areas (where animals are carried) sometimes reaching more than 18°C (64°F).

There can be further variation in temperature throughout a cargo hold depending on placement, location, time at altitude, and the duration of the flight. Data loggers used to record temperatures have found that they can reach as low as ''minus'' 7°C (19°F) during international flights above the ocean, where the outside temperature at 30,000 feet can average ''minus'' 44.6°C (minus 48°F).

The greatest vulnerability to temperature extremes occurs on the airport tarmac, where goods may be left for extended periods during loading and unloading. This can result in hookworm larvae dying from the cold during the winter months, or from excessive heat in the summer, when the walls of aircraft containers can increase by more than 20°C (68°F) above the ambient air temperature due to exposure to solar radiation during ramp transfers.

Outside post boxes are another potential death trap for NA larvae, so, if you have one of these, arrange for winter shipments to be delivered to an alternative, heated location, or temporarily rent a PO Box.

Providers will usually make good any losses incurred during shipping.

See also.

* [[Self-treating with NA#Hookworm larvae storage and survival | '''Hookworm larvae storage and survival''']] (For details about the temperature tolerance of hookworms).

* [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#Shelf life | '''The shelf life of helminths''']]

* [[Helminthic therapy FAQ#Is helminthic therapy legal? |'''Is helminthic therapy legal?''']] (Includes details about Customs departments preventing shipments from entering some countries.)

==Further advice==

Additional advice is available from naturopathic physicians, a medical doctor, a specialist nurse, a counsellor and a health coach, all of whom have extensive experience with helminthic therapy.

* [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''Helminthic therapy practitioners''']]

Helminth providers

2024-04-04T01:48:27Z

Michelle: /* Helminth Therapy NZ */

{{Breadcrumb}}
{{Breadcrumb|[[Using_helminths|Using helminths]]}}
{{SEO 
|title=Helminth providers
|description=Full details about all the main commercial suppliers of therapeutic helminths (NA, TTO, TSO and HDC) compiled by independent editors.
|keywords=helminth provider, helminth providers, helminth supplier, helminth suppliers, worm provider, worm providers, worm supplier, worm suppliers, therapeutic worm provider, therapeutic worm providers, therapeutic worm supplier, therapeutic worm suppliers, providers of therapeutic helminths, providers of therapeutic worms, suppliers of therapeutic helminths, suppliers of therapeutic worms helminths, therapeutic helminths, hookworm, hookworms, NA, whipworm, whipworms, TSO, TTO, rat tapeworm, rat tapeworms, HDC, Necator americanus, Trichuris suis, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids, Symmbio, Biome Restoration, Tanawisa, Worm Therapy, Autoimmune Therapies, AIT, Jasper Lawrence
|og:image=}}This page contains details about all the main suppliers of therapeutic helminths that have been vetted by the editors of this wiki. The individuals who founded and run these companies all emerged from within the helminthic therapy community and are passionate about the therapy. There are no purely profit-oriented companies listed here, and no scammers. Where there have been any concerns raised about the service that a company provides - for example, any unreliability, slow response to emails, or incorrect advice about dosing - these issues are mentioned in the details for that company, or on the separate [[Helminth provider reviews | '''Customer reviews''']] page.

All details have been gathered and carefully checked by independent volunteer editors, none of whom have any affiliation with the companies listed.

For more information about the helminths that are available from these providers, see [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Therapeutic helminths | '''Therapeutic helminths''']] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

== Providers ==

The providers each offer one or more of four different organisms, along with different services and pricing options, all of which need to be considered very carefully by each prospective customer in the light of their own unique needs and preferences. Most Providers ship to many regions so listed costs are generally '''without''' shipping costs included. In other words, you need to contact the suppliers to determine your final cost including shipping.

''Symmbio'', ''Au NAturel'', ''Nathural'',  ''Tanawisa'', ''Helminth Therapy NZ'', ''Biome Restoration'' and ''YourSymbionts'' all sell their products as individual doses. 
To assist readers in comparing the cost of obtaining helminths from each of the companies, the approximate annual costs are shown in bold.

The providers are listed according to the overall customer rating that each has achieved based on customer reviews. The companies with the highest rating and the most reviews are presented first.

<div style="background-color:#FFF5FA;border: 1px solid #F2CEDD; border-radius:16px; padding:8px; padding-left:8px; margin-bottom:12px;">'''Customer reviews for the companies listed below are available on the following page. 
[[Helminth provider_reviews | '''Helminth provider reviews''']]'''
</div>

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==='''[http://symmbio.com/ Symmbio]'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Symmbio | '''28 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2016. 
Organisms supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Express shipping with tracking is available. 
Payment in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin] is preferred, and Symmbio is happy to help anyone who is unfamiliar with the currency. Other payment options may be available depending on country of residence.  
Contact: Simon. 
Communication is via email, however consultation calls are available. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements. 
'''NA'''. A single dose of NA is $200 USD. Three doses are $450 USD, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. '''Special offer from February 2020: a free dose with purchases made via Bitcoin. So $450 USD will buy 4 doses ordered at any time during the 24 months following payment. Further discounts''' are also available for children and families, and for those facing financial difficulties. 
'''TTO'''. Doses of 50, 100 or 250 ova are shipped in lots of 6 vials. (Minimum order: 6 vials of 50 TTO.) '''New prices from February 2020'''. 300 ova for $250 USD / 600 ova for $450 USD / 1200 ova for $750 USD. TTO have a long shelf-life so unused doses can be stored in a refrigerator until required. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about the therapy, along with email support. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
</div>

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==='''Au NAturel'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Au NAturel | '''26 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2019. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited/Express shipping with tracking. 
Payment accepted via PayPal or Crypto option 
Contact: Max: max.contact$protonmail.com (change $ to @). 
Communication is via email only. 
Supplies single doses starting with a first dose of (usually) 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are individually adjusted. 
Doses are a flat rate of $120 USD for 2 to 25 larvae. (plus shipping). Family rates are available. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
</div>

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===[https://nalab.eu '''Nathural''']===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Nathural | '''9 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships (from France) to Europe (express), to the UK (tracked letter) and worldwide (letter or tracked letter). 
Payment is accepted via PayPal, credit card or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin]. 
Contact: Nathalie. Orders are done via their website (https://nalab.eu/). 
Supplies single doses. Prices from €50. Shipping from €5. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased. Discount automaticaly applied during checkout for multiple doses'''. 
No support is provided for helminthic therapy. For this purpose, use the following resources: the [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki Helminthic Therapy wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
</div>


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==='''[http://www.tanawisa.com/ Tanawisa]'''===
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Tanawisa | '''14 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2003. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova) | TSO]]. 
Ships worldwide, but excluding Russia, using express courier services with tracking. Shipments typically reach their destination within 3 days of ordering. 
Payment methods include PayPal, all major credit cards and bank transfers. 
Contact: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOk2mMcPB7Q Detlev Goj]. 
Support is available via telephone and email. 
Supplies doses of 500, 1,000 and 2,500 ova, with special offers on packs of 10 doses. 
'''Cost per year: $5,200''' for the most frequently used dose size of 2,500 ova, if taken every 2 weeks and purchased in multiples of 10 doses. A very small number of users may require up to 7,500 ova every two weeks, but many people who take TSO are able to transition to a much smaller maintenance dosage after the first 10 doses (5 months), which greatly reduces the annual cost. 
Individual discounts are available. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']].
</div>

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===[https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ '''Helminth Therapy NZ''']===
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy NZ | '''5 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships within New Zealand and Australia. 
Payment is accepted via bank transfer in NZD or Wise Payment AUD. 
Contact: Michelle. 
Contact Email: admin@helminththerapy.co.nz, or via Facebook messenger at [https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/102706412577752 Helminth Therapy NZ], or via their [https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ Facebook page] 
Supplies doses of various sizes, on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements discussed during an initial free consultation. 
Prices (per person/dose) 
1-10 NA larvae is $200NZD 
11 NA and over is $300NZD 
NZ Courier 
Standard - $8.00 
Rural delivery (RD) - $15.00 
Australian Shipping - $38.00NZD 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but a care pack with easy-to-follow instructions is provided, along with email and telephone support, if needed. Use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]. 
</div>

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==='''[http://www.biomerestoration.com/ Biome Restoration Ltd]'''===
★★★★★ 4.7 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Biome Restoration Ltd | '''12 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2013. 
Organism supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], which is produced to exacting quality control standards in the company’s UK laboratory. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited shipping is extra, but a saving can be made on shipping costs by purchasing two doses at the same time. 
Contact: Marc Dellerba PhD. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
'''Cost per year: £1,280 for UK residents (including VAT) or approximately £1,430 for customers outside the UK.''' These prices are for 30 HDC every 2 weeks, ordered via automatically renewing subscription and including shipping. 
Some users take 60 HDC every 2 weeks, or 30 every week, either of which will double the cost. 
No medical advice is provided, but assistance is available with how to use the HDC. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
</div>

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==='''The Llamas Clinic'''===
★★★★☆ 4 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#The Llamas Clinic | '''2 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB'''. Dr Llamas is very reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. And he has been known to send clients more NA than they have requested, for example, sending 10 NA to a client with MCAS who had asked for 3 NA - the recommended starting dose for her condition. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: [[Hookworm dosing and response | '''Hookworm dosing and response''']]). 
Organisms supplied. [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]]. 
Contact: Jorge Llamas MD. 
Contact email: dr_llamas$hotmail.com (change $ to @). Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ 
Until 2018, Dr Llamas worked with [http://www.wormtherapy.com/ Worm Therapy] and allowed them to use his clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, but Worm Therapy are now operating independently. 
Dr Llamas has been invited to provide more details about his service for inclusion here but has not yet done so. Anyone wanting further information should therefore contact him directly via email or [https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ Facebook]. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
</div>

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==='''[https://www.yoursymbionts.com YourSymbionts]'''===
★★★★☆ 3.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | '''16 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB. There have been repeated reports of difficulty getting a response from this supplier, and in receiving helminths in a timely manner. For more details, see the most recent [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | customer reviews]] for this company.''' 
Founded: 2018. 
Organisms supplied: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. All shipments are sent in an insulated box by UPS Express, with tracking. All prices include shipping. 
Payment is via PayPal, or by bank transfer (Europe). 
Contact: Steven. Email: info$yoursymbionts.com (change $ to @). Tel: +32456078504. Can also be contacted via WhatsApp and their [https://www.facebook.com/YourSymbionts Facebook page]. 
{{Quote|indent}}The best way to reach them is through WhatsApp. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/5187217014667545/?comment_id=5187578297964750]{{Quote|/indent}}
Communication is via email only. 
'''NA'''. Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis, starting with a first dose of 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are determined by consultation. 
A starter package of the first 3 doses of NA costs €400. Thereafter, single doses cost €200 each, and three doses are €450, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. 
'''TTO'''. Doses start at €1 per ovum. Doses of 25, 50, 100 or 250 are available, with a minimum order of €300. Discounts are available for bulk orders, e.g., a package containing a year's supply of 1200 ova is €750. 
A starter package of 240 TTO, comprising 6 doses of 40 ova, each to be taken at two week intervals, costs €200. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about helminthic therapy, along with email support, and 1 hour consultations are available for €50. (Details [https://www.yoursymbionts.com/booking here].) New customers get a €25 refund on the consultation when they buy a starter package. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
</div>

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==='''[http://autoimmunetherapies.com/ Autoimmune Therapies (AIT)]'''===
★★☆☆☆ 2.0 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''18 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2007. 
Owner: Jasper Lawrence. 
The editors of this wiki cannot recommend Autoimmune Therapies, due to the many [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''adverse reports''']] submitted to us by this company's clients, and because of the company's practice of advising the use of, and supplying, excessively large doses of NA. For more about this, see: [[Jasper Lawrence and helminthic therapy#Therapist | '''Jasper Lawrence: the therapist''']]. 

</div>

<div style="border:1px solid #A3B0BF;background-color:#CEDFF2;padding:6px;border-radius:5px;margin-bottom:22px;">The information above was believed to be correct at the time of publication, but please contact the providers to double-check prices, etc., in case of any recent changes.</div>

==Local sources==

In addition to the main providers listed above, there are a number of naturopathic physicians, particularly in the US, who grow HDC for supply to their own patients but who operate outside the online community of helminth self-teaters, and who typically charge exorbitant, and sometimes eye-watering, prices for their HDCs.

There are also many home growers who produce NA for their own use, a few of whom are sometimes willing to share any surplus worms with others in their locality. However, private growers of NA are unlikely to be able to definitively confirm the species of worm they have, or to screen their donors for communicable diseases, and they are unlikely to "clean" their NA, as the listed providers above always do.

==Contacting providers by email==

If you email a provider, be sure to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitelisting whitelist] their email address to prevent their reply from being rejected or sent to a spam/junk mail folder. This happens regularly, resulting in people posting to the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] asking if anyone knows what's happened to one or other of the providers.

It's also worth remembering that most helminth providers don't work weekends.

==Regarding advice from the providers==

When seeking information from a provider, it should be borne in mind that no one provider sells, or has experience with, all four helminth species. Since some people may have more success with one particular species, with a combination of two or more species, or by starting with one species and later switching to another, it is arguably better to rely more on the information in this wiki when selecting a therapeutic helminth than on advice from a single helminth provider. No single provider can match the objectivity or breadth of information found in this wiki, which offers a balanced assessment of all four available helminths based on the findings of science and the first-hand experience of self-treaters. See [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

It is also important to remember that the companies listed on this page are all commercial entities and, as such, their owners are keen to promote their own products. This can result in ''some'' of them occasionally exaggerating the benefits of their own worms and/or misrepresenting the attributes of the worms sold by their competitors, sometimes even claiming that their own worms are cleaner, safer or more powerful than the alternatives, or that their competitors’ products will cause worse side effects, and possibly even multiply within a host or mis-migrate to the wrong parts of a host’s body. However, none of these claims of adverse effects are true for NA, TTO, TSO or HDC. See the [[Helminthic therapy safety | '''Helminthic therapy safety''']] page and [http://www.yourwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/galley-proof-v2.pdf this study].

Alternatives to the advice available from the providers include talking to a [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''helminthic therapy practitioner''']] and asking questions of the members in the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support Group], some of whom have many years of experience with several different helminth species.

==Doctors as providers==

Some naturopathic physicians who recommend therapy with NA, TTO or HDC and supply these organisms themselves, have claimed that the worms they supply are superior to those available elsewhere, or have implied that the worms sold by others might not be the species they are claimed to be. For example, some doctors who supply hookworms direct to their patients have claimed that their worms are "stronger" than those from their competitors, while others have maintained that theirs are "more gentle". One practitioner even claims that his hookworms are a superior subspecies of NA, termed, "NA457". However, all these claims are merely marketing hype, so self-treaters should always compare the prices quoted by doctors with those of the providers listed above, who supply exactly the same products but invariably charge much lower prices.

The physician who claims to be supplying his patients with the supposedly superior "NA457", introduced this notion in a book he published in 2018, [https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Hookworm-Therapy-parabiotics-anti-fragile/dp/1729619983/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1D279X2XYOJ6A&keywords=Steve+Nenninger&qid=1662258403&sprefix=steve+nenninger%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3 Understanding Hookworm Therapy: parabiotics - the rise of anti-fragile medicine]. (A free copy is available in digital book form as the [https://www.stevenenninger.com/thehookwormmiracle The Hookworm Miracle].) In the book, Steve Nenninger suggests that people who are looking to host hookworms should check that the worms they buy are [[Self-treating with NA | '''Necator americanus''']] (the New World Hookworm) and not the less desirable [[Ancylostoma duodenale | '''Ancylostoma duodenale''']] (the Old World Hookworm), appearing to suggest that some of the hookworms being sold by helminth providers may be AD and not NA, but this is just more marketing spin.

Although Nenninger has been reported to have claimed that "NA457" has been identified by "research", [https://youarethehealer.org/parasitic-worms-to-treat-autoimmune-disease/] a search of the scientific literature reveals no mention of "NA457", and there is no evidence that this term is anything other than the number of a particular hookworm sample that was prepared for genetic testing. It does not signify a new NA subspecies, and the special characteristics of "NA457" that Nenninger lists in his book are ''all'' descriptive of ''any'' example of NA that is available from ''any'' of the helminth providers.

The only difference between what is available from physicians and from an online provider is seen in HDC. This organism loses viability very quickly from the moment it is removed from its beetle host and, without nutritional support, will be dead within 48 hours. Biome Restoration use a proprietary nutrient solution that keeps their HDC alive for 2-3 weeks, so their product is the only one that will survive long-distance shipping. (For more detail, see [[Self-treating with HDC#Storage and survival of HDC | '''Storage and survival of HDC''']].)

The locally-grown HDC available from physicians’ offices must be taken within 24 hours of being harvested to be fully effective - not 24 hours after receipt. Provided that these ''fresh'' HDC are used within 24 hours of extraction, they do have slightly greater efficacy than a similar number of the ''commercially prepared'' HDC sold by Biome Restoration, and this difference is reflected in the [[Self-treating with HDC#Dosing with HDC |'''dosing guidelines for HDC''']] which show that the use of slightly larger numbers of Biome Restoration’s HDC fully compensates for their slightly reduced efficacy when compared with ''fresh'' HDC that are used within 24 hours of extraction. There is therefore no justification for the very high prices being charged for ''fresh'' HDC by some physicians.

==Comparing NA larvae from different sources==

NA larvae all produce the same therapeutic effects whichever company they are bought from.

All the Necator americanus in captivity today have come from one or other of only two sources. Firstly, the specimens collected from Kar Kar Island, Papua New Guinea, by Prof David Pritchard and his colleagues at Nottingham University, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180429035224/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/research/01prof.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin] and, secondly, those collected from the wild by the first two commercial suppliers of NA (Garin Aglietti and Jasper Lawrence) who were, at that time, jointly running Autoimmune Therapies (AIT). All the NA in use at the present time in research laboratories around the world were sourced from Pritchard's stock, and all the hookworms available from helminth providers, including doctors, are the descendants of those originally collected by AIT staff. Pritchard, himself, identified his hookworms as NA, and AIT’s stock was identified as NA by a PhD microbiologist using PCR testing.

With all the hookworm providers currently supplying NA larvae that are descended from the original AIT stock, any variation between the larvae from different providers is not due to those from one company being superior, or inferior, to those from other suppliers, whatever a few suppliers may claim when describing their own products.

However, different batches of NA larvae can produce differing strengths of skin response to inoculation, with varying severity of rash and itching - a fact seen by self-treaters as either positive or negative depending on their point of view. Some may perceive a stronger skin response as indicating better worms, while others might prefer larvae that produce less itching.

Variations in skin response between larvae from different sources can be due to the effects of one or more of four factors.

:1. '''Incubation temperature'''. Larvae incubated at higher temperatures develop more quickly but remain viable for a shorter period of time.

:2. '''Age'''. The viability of NA larvae has been shown to decrease rapidly over time from a mean of 85% to < 70% within 14 days. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9264692/]

:3. '''Natural variation'''. There can be considerable variation between batches of hookworm larvae, even between batches grown side-by-side by the same producer on the same day using the same stool sample with identical materials and procedures. This is due to the fact that hookworms are living creatures, so completely different from pills produced by a machine. Some incubations can even occasionally fail to yield any larvae at all, and this happens to growers who have been incubating for many years as well as novices, and to commercial providers as well as private growers. Even within a single batch, there can be dead or decaying larvae side-by-side with healthy ones, and, even though it is always the latter that providers select for supply to their customers, there can still be hidden variations between healthy larvae.

:4. '''Cleaning'''. Providers clean their larvae before shipping for the protection of customers, but this process reduces the worms' shelf life. Variation between the cleaning protocols used by different providers results in differing lengths of shelf life. For example, one hookworm provider ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221209070413/http://wormswell.com/ Wormswell] [2014-2018]) said that their larvae had a shelf life of 3 to 4 weeks after rinsing, whereas those from a different provider (Worm Therapy) only have a stated shelf life of 2 weeks.

:One supplier has been reported anonymously in a [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/images/a/ad/Socio-medical_studies_of_individuals_self-treating_with_helminths_provide_insight_into_clinical_trial_design_for_assessing_helminth_therapy.pdf socio-medical study] to have claimed that extensive washing of NA can reduce its effectiveness, but there is no evidence for this. The claim may have been based on the testimony of self-treaters who had observed a less robust skin response following inoculation with washed larvae, and who had assumed, incorrectly, that this would indicate a likely reduction in therapeutic effect, unaware that there is no correlation between the strength of skin response and eventual therapeutic benefit. However, anyone with a preference for unwashed larvae can purchase their first dose from a provider, then [[Helminth incubation#Hookworm incubation | grow their own supply]] from this colony and use them unwashed.

Concern is sometimes expressed about the possibility that the hookworm larvae available from the suppliers may have become weakened as a result of a genetic bottleneck in the domesticated hookworm stock. However, this is extremely unlikely and there is no evidence that this might be the case. See: [[Self-treating with NA#Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms? | '''Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms?''']]

==Comparing the available helminth species==

Details about the different species, and how they compare, can be found on the following page.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']]

==Predicting the long-term cost==

In the case of helminths that are sold by the dose, the actual cost is dependent on the number and size of doses that may be required to achieve and maintain disease remission. TSO need to be taken even 2 or 3 weeks, at least for a few months (see [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']] and this [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova)| page section]]) and HDC also need to be taken every 2 or 3 weeks (occasionally weekly or monthly), usually indefinitely (see [[Self-treating with HDC | '''Self-treating with HDC''']]). Small doses of TTO may be taken regularly, but larger doses can be taken less frequently (see [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']]). Some users of NA might only require a single dose every few years, while others may need supplementary doses every few months, indefinitely, due to a higher rate of attrition, which varies greatly between individuals (see [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]). Replacement hookworm doses would also be needed following any accidental losses due to the use of certain substances, all of which are detailed in the [[Human helminth care manual | '''Human helminth care manual''']].

== Minimising the cost ==

The cost of helminthic therapy varies considerably between the providers and the different worm species, all of which is explained in the [[Helminth providers#Providers | '''Provider details''']] section above.

A number of factors need to be taken into account when looking at the cost of helminthic therapy.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Considering the cost of helminthic therapy | '''Considering the cost of helminthic therapy''']]

Possible options for minimising the costs are as follows.

=== Discounts and payment plans ===

In cases of genuine financial hardship, some providers may be willing to help customers by offering a discount or arranging a payment plan.

=== Don't let cost influence dosing decisions ===

Some providers of NA charge by the dose, whatever number of larvae a dose contains. Some hookworm self-treaters can't resist trying to maximise the value of their purchases from these companies by ordering more larvae than they need, but inoculating with a larger number can result in excessive side effects.

{{Quote|indent}}The provider I use charges per dose, no matter if I want 2 worms or 30. So I tried to push it, and learned my lesson! [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1983242591731686/?comment_id=1984166848305927&reply_comment_id=1985439641511981&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

=== Purchasing helminths from doctors ===

Physicians invariably charge far more for helminths than the online providers listed above, and the organisms supplied by doctors are in no way superior, whatever they may claim. See [[Helminth providers#Doctors as providers | '''Doctors as providers''']] above.

=== Hookworm donation ===

In the case of NA, it may be possible to obtain a donation of hookworm larvae from a fellow self-treater who grows their own supply, although very few people are actually willing to provide this service, and there are risks attached to accepting larvae from a private grower. For more about these risks, see the following page sub-sections.

* [[Helminth incubation#Infection risk | '''Infection risk''']]

* [[Helminth incubation#Legal risks | '''Legal risks''']]

=== DIY helminth incubation ===

NA and HDC are relatively easy to culture at home after purchasing a microscope, an initial dose of worms and a few other sundries. The incubation of TTO is also possible but more challenging. For more about helminth incubation, see the following page.

* [[Helminth incubation | '''Helminth incubation''']]

==Using Bitcoin==

Commercial helminth providers don't have a clear green light to ship their products to all destinations, so some of them need to remain anonymous in order to protect both themselves and the supply. Since the maintenance of anonymity must also extend to methods of payment, some providers only accept payment in Bitcoin.

The use of this cryptocurrency can appear daunting to those who are new to it, but most people find that Bitcoin is easy to use, once they get into it.

{{Quote|indent}}I been paying with btc for NA since 2016 (i.e., for 7 years) and find [https://www.bitcoin.com bitcoin.com app] to be the easiest and fastest. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/6652735928115639/?comment_id=6652888008100431]{{Quote|/indent}}

====Coinbase====

Watch the video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b8vaN9ujxE Helminthic Therapy User's Guide To Bitcoin - Full Coinbase Tutorial]

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase streamlines the process for you, but they charge a fee for their service. It was around 3% of the transaction by memory. It was worth it to me. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1830892493633364/?comment_id=1830940486961898&reply_comment_id=1830945646961382&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I was very concerned about the bitcoin process and security… it seems a bit dodgy for newbies, but I have had no issues, and no one that I have heard on this forum has had issues. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1583377658384850/?comment_id=1598050406917575&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I just had to wrap my mind around it. Now, it's easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1468002149922402&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R0%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}The ordering experience was very easy, and I'm new to bitcoin. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470903532965597/]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I felt comfortable with Coinbase. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470319949690622/?comment_id=1470616372994313&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I use coinbase. It is not hard. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase is easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&reply_comment_id=1468256369896980&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

Once you have a [https://www.coinbase.com Coinbase] account, you will also be able to use [https://pro.coinbase.com Coinbase Pro], which offers the ability to trade a variety of digital assets on a secure, insurance-backed platform.

Although Coinbase Pro is an advanced trading platform aimed at serious traders, the fact that it is owned by the same company as Coinbase means that, once you have a Coinbase account, you can use the same details to log in to Coinbase Pro. You may then need to provide some further details, and you may have to move funds from one wallet to the other, but this should be easy.

===Help with using Bitcoin===

Those helminth providers who request payment in bitcoins include detailed Bitcoin guides on their websites to help their customers, and they will assist personally with the process, if asked.

For those who prefer not to get involved with Bitcoin themselves, there are trustworthy members of the Helminthic Therapy Support group who will exchange PayPal payments or bank wires for bitcoins, which they will then send directly to the appropriate provider on behalf of the customer. For further details, see the posts at the following links.

* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1479835298739087 PayPal payments]
* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/3309194392469826?comment_id=3309197035802895 PayPal payments or bank wires]

==Routing shipments via a different country==

If you are unable to have your selected helminths delivered direct to your home, you could have them shipped to another country and either travel there to collect these yourself, or arrange for someone who lives there to receive and re-ship them to you. However, a potential problem with traveling to collect hookworm larvae is that these can succumb to freezing during transit, including while in the cargo hold of a plane, so doses may be dead on arrival at their destination. This can result in a wasted journey for the person collecting them.

==Losses during shipping==

The vast majority of helminth deliveries arrive safely at their destination containing viable organisms. However, since helminths are living creatures, they are susceptible to extremes of heat and cold, both of which may be encountered during shipping. NA larvae are the most at risk because they have a very limited temperature tolerance range and will die if exposed to very low or very high temperatures.

There is no universally applied temperature for the cargo hold on commercial passenger planes, but they are typically heated by the warm air exiting the main cabin, so should, in theory, remain above freezing for the duration of each flight. However, planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, different companies apply different practices, and different types of flights have their own protocols, so temperatures do vary, and, in practice, can range from 7°C (45°F) to 13°C (55°F), with bulk areas (where animals are carried) sometimes reaching more than 18°C (64°F).

There can be further variation in temperature throughout a cargo hold depending on placement, location, time at altitude, and the duration of the flight. Data loggers used to record temperatures have found that they can reach as low as ''minus'' 7°C (19°F) during international flights above the ocean, where the outside temperature at 30,000 feet can average ''minus'' 44.6°C (minus 48°F).

The greatest vulnerability to temperature extremes occurs on the airport tarmac, where goods may be left for extended periods during loading and unloading. This can result in hookworm larvae dying from the cold during the winter months, or from excessive heat in the summer, when the walls of aircraft containers can increase by more than 20°C (68°F) above the ambient air temperature due to exposure to solar radiation during ramp transfers.

Outside post boxes are another potential death trap for NA larvae, so, if you have one of these, arrange for winter shipments to be delivered to an alternative, heated location, or temporarily rent a PO Box.

Providers will usually make good any losses incurred during shipping.

See also.

* [[Self-treating with NA#Hookworm larvae storage and survival | '''Hookworm larvae storage and survival''']] (For details about the temperature tolerance of hookworms).

* [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#Shelf life | '''The shelf life of helminths''']]

==Further advice==

Additional advice is available from naturopathic physicians, a medical doctor, a specialist nurse and a health coach, all of whom have extensive experience with helminthic therapy.

* [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''Helminthic therapy practitioners''']]

Hookworms literally saved my life

2023-09-08T02:26:38Z

Michelle:

{{Breadcrumb|[[Helminthic_therapy_personal_stories|Personal stories]]|[[Helminthic_therapy_personal_stories#Detailed stories|Detailed stories]]}}
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__NOTOC__I’m now 41, I live in New Zealand, and my health had been a problem since my teens.

When I was around 16, I was given a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which was later changed to ulcerative colitis (UC), and then finally confirmed as Crohn’s disease when I was 20. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Febrile_neutrophilic_dermatosis Sweet syndrome], which is related to Crohn’s disease, was added to my diagnosis when I was 37.

=== Disability, pain, medication, and a recurring threat of surgery ===
By my early 20’s, I was on a moderate/high level of medication - a constant 12 weekly infliximab (Remicade) infusion, methotrexate, azathioprine, mesalamine (Asacol) and prednisone, in addition to trying multiple other medications that didn’t help.

When I was 39, I was urgently flown back to New Zealand from Vanuatu, where I’d been on business, and admitted to hospital with extreme symptoms of Sweet syndrome and Crohn’s disease. I had non-contagious lesions on my arms, legs and face, and my left ankle had become so swollen it had no flex at all and I couldn’t put any weight on it.

Then I lost the use of my arms, legs and all my joints, which was horribly frightening. It came on over a matter of days, from slight pain to completely no feeling or movement. Going from having a coffee and not being able to stand up afterwards, my legs turned to concrete. The pain started moving down my arms till I woke up one morning and couldn’t move. My skin was so sensitive that even clothes hurt when they touched it, and running water when I tried to shower was excruciating. On top of this, my bowel wasn’t functioning and I had lost most of the feeling there as well. I had basically given up at this stage and wanted to die. When the doctors in Vanuatu wanted to amputate my foot from fear of infection, I flew home to New Zealand.

The ambulance staff gave me a fentanyl patch (25mg) under one arm, but after 2 hours I still couldn’t stand and I had to get off the gurney and into a wheelchair to get on the plane to leave Vanuatu, so they gave me a second 25mg fentanyl patch. After this, I got the feeling back in my arms and legs and managed to get into the wheelchair but, by the time the 3-hour flight landed in New Zealand, I was so overdosed from the extreme amount of Fentanyl in my system that I just kept passing out.

After 2 weeks in hospital and trying every antibiotic they could give me, plus 60mg of prednisone daily and 20mg morphine 3 times a day, they had no answers other than to suggest removing a chunk of bowel and giving me a permanent Ileostomy bag. I refused this and was discharged on a walker as I still couldn’t use my foot or any of my fingers due to now having rheumatoid arthritis in them all.

Two weeks after this, my bowel perforated while getting into bed, so back I went to hospital, where no medications were helping. When I was discharged a fortnight later, I still couldn’t walk and had been given no answers other than, "we need to take out your bowel"! They had very limited information on Sweet syndrome and couldn’t even tell me how I got it.

This cycle then continued with 2 further admissions with bowel incontinence, blood, mucus, extreme pain, sensitive skin and arthritic joints. I still couldn’t walk on my left foot and the lesions weren’t getting any better.

=== Anti-MAP (AMAT) therapy and helminth therapy ===
Eleven months later, I could walk about 200 meters if I was lucky and could get downstairs on my bottom. The lesions were getting better and my skin was no longer sensitive, but my ankle still had almost no flex, my bowel was still horrific and I had no strength in my hands. I couldn’t even use a pen to write.

They put me back on Remicade infusions every 12 weeks, with morphine 20mg x3 daily and prednisone 60mg daily, plus omeprazole 40mg, buscopan 10mg and Panadol, but none of it was helping, so I ended up seeing a leading gastroenterologist in Sydney who put me on [https://humanpara.org/treatment-of-crohns-via-anti-map-therapy/ Atypical Mycobacteria Antibiotic Therapy (AMAT)] which specifically targets human paratuberculosis (MAP). This consisted of rifabutin, tinidazole, vancomycin HCL, clofazimine, metrogyl and vitamin D.

This helped for about 6 months and a colonoscopy confirmed my bowel had gone from black to pink with lesions. While I still needed surgery, the improvement shocked my specialist in New Zealand. But I couldn’t stay on this treatment because I was taking nearly 30 pills a day and had started getting side effects. So, I stopped, and so did my improvements.

In January 2021, aged 38, I could walk with a limp, but not far. I still had incontinence issues and a lot of pain, abscesses, rheumatoid arthritis in all my joints so I couldn’t sit comfortably and preferred to lie down where possible. And that’s when I began helminth therapy using the human hookworm, Necator americanus (NA).

I started with 3NA on January 4th 2021 and had a "bounce" 2 days later. It was a nice change to feel good for a moment, but it passed after 4 days and life went on as normal with me spending 8 hours straight not being able to leave the bathroom and, if I did, I’d be back an hour later until sunrise. I was still on prednisone 60mg daily, 20mg morphine x3 daily and Panadol every 6 hours.

=== Increasingly positive progress ===
Three weeks after starting NA, and not having been able to live independently for 2 years because of pain with my hands, back and legs, or being capable of walking more than 800m, I decided to move to Auckland 4 hours away from my family home and get my life back, or at least what I could. No one really thought I would move, or that I would even be capable of it at this point, but I was determined, even though I still had pain, which was sometimes extreme, and I couldn’t leave my bed or the bathroom.

On my 2nd dose of 3 NA, 10 weeks later, I was getting a few days each month with slightly less pain. Blood and mucus had slowed nearly to a stop, my lesions were fading scars, and my blood work was coming back into alignment. But I was still a long way off feeling amazing.

After my 3rd dose of NA 10 weeks later (5NA this time), I was decreasing my prednisone, nearly off the morphine and using Panadol instead, and I was having a lot more good days. I still had a limp, but the arthritis in my joints had gone completely, I was standing for longer periods and had days where I felt almost human again. My CRP had gone from 6000+ down to 50 and my blood work was all in range.

Another dose of 5 NA 10 weeks later, and I was feeling good. No more 8-hour stints in the bathroom. My bowel movements were almost normal, the pain was gone, and I had started actively trying to do a little walking outside. My CRP was now 1. Yes 1, with perfect blood work!

I was lucky that I started with low doses, which meant that I didn’t get any side effects from the NA. I only increased from 3 to 5 NA from my 3rd dose onwards and stayed on 6 NA every 10 weeks after that. I’m now currently pushing this dose out to 13 weeks and will continue to increase the interval further. And I won’t ever give them up.

One year and six months in, I would say that I’m now 98% better than the day I started. I’m on no medication, I have no pain and I run daily, although it has taken a long time to build up strength in my ankle to get to this point. I eat anything, though I’m currently on a diet to lose the weight I gained over 2 years of basically no movement, and I’m nearly 20kg lighter. I find if I drink alcohol, I notice arthritis pain in my elbow and fingers in the following days, so that’s the remaining 2% to fix.

=== Advocating for helminth therapy ===
If you’re thinking about trying helminth therapy, figure out first which species is going to be best, not only for your symptoms but also for what you’re comfortable with financially. And consider whether you prefer to swallow doses or apply them via a patch on your skin overnight, because this all varies across the [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Therapeutic helminths | '''4 different species''']].

Do your research, but don’t hold off. The sooner you start, the sooner you will improve. It may be slow, but all improvement is good. Don’t let other people sway your thinking. Everyone will have an opinion and, until they see results for themselves, they may be a little negative, but they all come round when you start improving.

I didn’t tell my GP because I didn’t feel she would understand, but my Gastro specialist, who knew I hadn’t been taking any medications for nearly a year, could see my improvement, and you can’t deny what you see in front of you. He was supportive and asked loads of questions.

I get asked some strange things when people hear my story, like “Do the worms crawl out your bum when you do poo’s?” “Can I catch them from you?” and “Will they multiply and eat you alive from the inside?” And the answer to all of these questions is NO. LOL!

Some people will look at you like you’re crazy but my basic response is, “helminths lower inflammation in your body, your symptoms subside and you improve." It’s very simple. There’s obviously really more to it than that, but this seems to do the trick and makes sense.

I wish I had found helminth therapy 20 years earlier. If I had, my life would have been less focused on my illness and hospital appointments and more on enjoyment, but I’m making up for it now. NA literally saved my life.

 By Michelle Robinson, July 2023.

Hookworms literally saved my life

2023-07-27T05:56:40Z

Michelle: /* Increasingly positive progress */

{{SEO 
|title=Hookworms literally saved my life
|description=
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__NOTOC__
I’m now 41, live in New Zealand, and my health had been a problem since my teens.

When I was around 16, I was given a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which was later changed to ulcerative colitis (UC), and then finally confirmed as Crohn’s disease when I was 20. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Febrile_neutrophilic_dermatosis Sweet syndrome], which is related to Crohn’s disease, was added to my diagnosis when I was 37.

=== Disability, pain, medication, and a recurring threat of surgery ===
By my early 20’s, I was on a moderate/high level of medication - a constant 12 weekly infliximab (Remicade) infusion, methotrexate, azathioprine, mesalamine (Asacol) and prednisone, in addition to trying multiple other medications that didn’t help.

When I was 39, I was urgently flown back to New Zealand from Vanuatu, where I’d been on business, and admitted to hospital with extreme symptoms of Sweet syndrome and Crohn’s disease. I had non-contagious lesions on my arms, legs and face, and my left ankle had become so swollen it had no flex at all and I couldn’t put any weight on it.

Then I lost the use of my arms, legs and all my joints, which was horribly frightening. It came on over a matter of days, from slight pain to completely no feeling or movement. Going from having a coffee and not being able to stand up afterwards, my legs turned to concrete. The pain started moving down my arms till I woke up one morning and couldn’t move. My skin was so sensitive that even clothes hurt when they touched it, and running water when I tried to shower was excruciating. On top of this, my bowel wasn’t functioning and I had lost most of the feeling there as well. I had basically given up at this stage and wanted to die. When the doctors in Vanuatu wanted to amputate my foot from fear of infection, I flew home to New Zealand.

The ambulance staff gave me a fentanyl patch (25mg) under one arm, but after 2 hours I still couldn’t stand and I had to get off the gurney and into a wheelchair to get on the plane to leave Vanuatu, so they gave me a second 25mg fentanyl patch. After this, I got the feeling back in my arms and legs and managed to get into the wheelchair but, by the time the 3-hour flight landed in New Zealand, I was so overdosed from the extreme amount of Fentanyl in my system that I just kept passing out.

After 2 weeks in hospital and trying every antibiotic they could give me, plus 60mg of prednisone daily and 20mg morphine 3 times a day, they had no answers other than to suggest removing a chunk of bowel and giving me a permanent Ileostomy bag. I refused this and was discharged on a walker as I still couldn’t use my foot or any of my fingers due to now having rheumatoid arthritis in them all.

Two weeks after this, my bowel perforated while getting into bed, so back I went to hospital, where no medications were helping. When I was discharged a fortnight later, I still couldn’t walk and had been given no answers other than, "we need to take out your bowel"! They had very limited information on Sweet syndrome and couldn’t even tell me how I got it.

This cycle then continued with 2 further admissions with bowel incontinence, blood, mucus, extreme pain, sensitive skin and arthritic joints. I still couldn’t walk on my left foot and the lesions weren’t getting any better.

=== Anti-MAP (AMAT) therapy and helminth therapy ===
Eleven months later, I could walk about 200 meters if I was lucky and could get downstairs on my bottom. The lesions were getting better and my skin was no longer sensitive, but my ankle still had almost no flex, my bowel was still horrific and I had no strength in my hands. I couldn’t even use a pen to write.

They put me back on Remicade infusions every 12 weeks, with morphine 20ml x3 daily and prednisone 60ml daily, plus omeprazole 40mg, buscopan 10mg and Panadol, but none of it was helping, so I ended up seeing a leading gastroenterologist in Sydney who put me on [https://humanpara.org/treatment-of-crohns-via-anti-map-therapy/ Atypical Mycobacteria Antibiotic Therapy (AMAT)] which specifically targets human paratuberculosis (MAP). This consisted of rifabutin, tinidazole, vancomycin HCL, clofazimine, metrogyl and vitamin D.

This helped for about 6 months and a colonoscopy confirmed my bowel had gone from black to pink with lesions. While I still needed surgery, the improvement shocked my specialist in New Zealand. But I couldn’t stay on this treatment because I was taking nearly 30 pills a day and had started getting side effects. So, I stopped, and so did my improvements.

In January 2021, aged 38, I could walk with a limp, but not far. I still had incontinence issues and a lot of pain, abscesses, rheumatoid arthritis in all my joints so I couldn’t sit comfortably and preferred to lie down where possible. And that’s when I began helminth therapy using the human hookworm, Necator americanus (NA).

I started with 3NA on January 4th 2021 and had a "bounce" 2 days later. It was a nice change to feel good for a moment, but it passed after 4 days and life went on as normal with me spending 8 hours straight not being able to leave the bathroom and, if I did, I’d be back an hour later until sunrise. I was still on prednisone 60mg daily, 20mg morphine x3 daily and Panadol every 6 hours.

=== Increasingly positive progress ===
Three weeks after starting NA, and not having been able to live independently for 2 years because of pain with my hands, back and legs, or being capable of walking more than 800m, I decided to move to Auckland 4 hours away from my family home and get my life back, or at least what I could. No one really thought I would move, or that I would even be capable of it at this point, but I was determined, even though I still had pain, which was sometimes extreme, and I couldn’t leave my bed or the bathroom.

On my 2nd dose of 3 NA, 10 weeks later, I was getting a few days each month with slightly less pain. Blood and mucus had slowed nearly to a stop, my lesions were fading scars, and my blood work was coming back into alignment. But I was still a long way off feeling amazing.

After my 3rd dose of NA 10 weeks later (5 this time), I was decreasing my prednisone, nearly off the morphine and using Panadol instead, and I was having a lot more good days. I still had a limp, but the arthritis in my joints had gone completely, I was standing for longer periods and had days where I felt almost human again. My CRP had gone from 6000+ down to 50 and my blood work was all in range.

Another dose of 5 NA 10 weeks later, and I was feeling good. No more 8-hour stints in the bathroom. My bowel movements were almost normal, the pain was gone, and I had started actively trying to do a little walking outside. My CRP was now 1. Yes 1, with perfect blood work!

I was lucky that I started with low doses, which meant that I didn’t get any side effects from the NA. I only increased from 3 to 5 NA from my 5th dose onwards and, after starting to add 6 NA every 10 weeks, I’m now currently pushing this dose out to 13 weeks, and will continue to increase the interval further. And I won’t ever give them up.

One year and six months in, I would say that I’m now 98% better than the day I started. I’m on no medication, I have no pain and I run daily, although it has taken a long time to build up strength in my ankle to get to this point. I eat anything, though I’m currently on a diet to lose the weight I gained over 2 years of basically no movement, and I’m nearly 20kg lighter. I find if I drink alcohol, I notice arthritis pain in my elbow and fingers in the following days, so that’s the remaining 2%.

=== Advocating for helminth therapy ===
If you’re thinking about trying helminth therapy, figure out first which species is going to be best, not only for your symptoms but also for what you’re comfortable with financially. And consider whether you prefer to swallow doses or apply them via a patch on your skin overnight, because this all varies across the [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Therapeutic helminths | '''4 different species''']].

Do your research, but don’t hold off. The sooner you start, the sooner you will improve. It may be slow, but all improvement is good. Don’t let other people sway your thinking. Everyone will have an opinion and, until they see results for themselves, they may be a little negative, but they all come round when you start improving.

I didn’t tell my GP because I didn’t feel she would understand, but my Gastro specialist, who knew I hadn’t been taking any medications for nearly a year, could see my improvement, and you can’t deny what you see in front of you. He was supportive and asked loads of questions.

I get asked some strange things when people hear my story, like “Do the worms crawl out your bum when you do poo’s?” “Can I catch them from you?” and “Will they multiply and eat you alive from the inside?” And the answer to all of these questions is NO. LOL!

Some people will look at you like you’re crazy but my basic response is, “helminths lower inflammation in your body, your symptoms subside and you improve." It’s very simple. There’s obviously really more to it than that, but this seems to do the trick and makes sense.

I wish I had found helminth therapy 20 years earlier. If I had, my life would have been less focused on my illness and hospital appointments and more on enjoyment, but I’m making up for it now. NA literally saved my life.

 By Michelle Robinson, July 2023.

Helminth providers

2023-06-18T01:26:43Z

Michelle: /* Helminth Therapy NZ */

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{{SEO 
|title=Helminth providers
|description=Full details about all the main commercial suppliers of therapeutic helminths (NA, TTO, TSO and HDC) compiled by independent editors.
|keywords=helminth provider, helminth providers, helminth supplier, helminth suppliers, worm provider, worm providers, worm supplier, worm suppliers, therapeutic worm provider, therapeutic worm providers, therapeutic worm supplier, therapeutic worm suppliers, providers of therapeutic helminths, providers of therapeutic worms, suppliers of therapeutic helminths, suppliers of therapeutic worms helminths, therapeutic helminths, hookworm, hookworms, NA, whipworm, whipworms, TSO, TTO, rat tapeworm, rat tapeworms, HDC, Necator americanus, Trichuris suis, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids, Symmbio, Biome Restoration, Tanawisa, Worm Therapy, Autoimmune Therapies, AIT, Jasper Lawrence
|og:image=}}This page contains details about all the main suppliers of therapeutic helminths that have been approved by the editors of this wiki. The individuals who founded and run these companies all emerged from within the helminthic therapy community and are passionate about the therapy. There are no purely profit-oriented companies listed here, and no scammers. Where there have been any concerns raised about the service that a company provides - for example, any unreliability, slow response to emails, or incorrect advice about dosing - these issues are mentioned in the details for that company, or on the separate [[Helminth provider reviews | '''Customer reviews''']] page.

All details have been gathered and carefully checked by independent volunteer editors, none of whom have any affiliation with the companies listed.

For more information about the helminths that are available from these providers, see [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Therapeutic helminths | '''Therapeutic helminths''']] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

== Providers ==

The providers each offer one or more of four different organisms, along with different services and pricing options, all of which need to be considered very carefully by each prospective customer in the light of their own unique needs and preferences. Most Providers ship to many regions so listed costs are generally '''without''' shipping costs included. In other words, you need to contact the suppliers to determine your final cost including shipping.

''Symmbio'', ''Au NAturel'', ''Nathural'', ''Gut Happy Pty Ltd'', ''Tanawisa'', ''Helminth Therapy NZ'', ''Biome Restoration'' and ''YourSymbionts'' all sell their products as individual doses. 
To assist readers in comparing the cost of obtaining helminths from each of the companies, the approximate annual costs are shown in bold.

The providers are listed according to the overall customer rating that each has achieved based on customer reviews. The companies with the highest rating and the most reviews are presented first.

<div style="background-color:#FFF5FA;border: 1px solid #F2CEDD; border-radius:16px; padding:8px; padding-left:8px; margin-bottom:12px;">'''Customer reviews for the companies listed below are available on the following page. 
[[Helminth provider_reviews | '''Helminth provider reviews''']]'''
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==='''[http://symmbio.com/ Symmbio]'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Symmbio | '''27 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2016. 
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. (TTO are temporarily unavailable.) 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Express shipping with tracking is available. 
Payment is only accepted in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin], but Symmbio will help anyone who is unfamiliar with the currency. There are also reliable intermediaries who can save the customer having to have any involvement with this currency themselves. See [[Helminth providers#Using Bitcoin | '''Using bitcoin''']] for details. 
Contact: Simon. 
Communication is via email only. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements. 
'''NA'''. A single dose of NA is $200 USD. Three doses are $450 USD, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. '''Special offer from February 2020: a free dose with purchases made via Bitcoin. So $450 USD will buy 4 doses ordered at any time during the 24 months following payment.''' 
'''TTO'''. Doses of 50, 100 or 250 ova are shipped in lots of 6 vials. (Minimum order: 6 vials of 50 TTO.) '''New prices from February 2020'''. 300 ova for $250 USD / 600 ova for $450 USD / 1200 ova for $750 USD. TTO have a long shelf-life so unused doses can be stored in a refrigerator until required. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about the therapy, along with email support. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
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==='''Au NAturel'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Au NAturel | '''24 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2019. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited/Express shipping with tracking is available. 
Payment accepted via PayPal or bitcoins. 
Contact: Max: max.contact$protonmail.com (change $ to @). 
Communication is via email only. 
Supplies single doses starting with a first dose of (usually) 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are individually adjusted. 
Doses are a flat rate of $120 USD for 2 to 25 larvae. (plus shipping) 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
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===[https://nalab.eu '''Nathural''']===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Nathural | '''6 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships (from France) to Europe (express), to the UK (tracked letter) and worldwide (letter). 
Payment is accepted via PayPal, or in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin]. 
Contact: Nathalie 
Communication is via email only: nathural.contact$gmail.com (change $ to @). English and French spoken. 
Supplies single doses, as follows. 3-5 larvae: €65 / 10 larvae: €70 / 15 larvae: €75 / 20 larvae: €80. Shipping starts from €5. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased. Discounts on bulk orders.''' 
No support is provided for helminthic therapy. For this purpose, use the following resources: the [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki Helminthic Therapy wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
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==='''[https://www.guthappy.com.au/helminthic-therapy Gut Happy Pty Ltd]'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy Aust & NZ (formerly Brisbane Naturopaths) | '''4 customer reviews''']]. 
:From 2015 until 2019, and trading under the name, Brisbane Naturopaths, this company was the Australian distributor for HDCs produced by [https://biomerestoration.com Biome Restoration]. The company then began producing their own HDCs in 2019, under the name, Helminthic Therapy Australia & New Zealand, before finally adopting the name, Gut Happy Pty Ltd, in 2022. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], supplied ''fresh'', in saline, for immediate use only. Cannot be stored. [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Self-treating_with_HDC#Storage_and_survival_of_HDC] 
Ships weekly within Australia. 
Payment is accepted via electronic funds transfer (EFT), credit cards and PayPal. 
Contact: Denise Hales ND, Senior Naturopath 1300 03 03 25. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
Cost for 1-10 HDCs is $100 AUD; 11-15 HDCs an extra $10 each; 16-20 HDCs are $175; plus postage (with toll priority). 
'''Cost per year: $4,550 AUD for 20 HDC every 2 weeks'''. Yearly packages are available at a guaranteed fixed price. 
Initial communication via email, but telephone or Skype consultations can be arranged. 
Consultations about the use of HDC are available at $300 AUD for an initial hour, and $200 AUD for a 30 minute follow up, or $90 AUD for 15 minutes. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://www.tanawisa.com/ Tanawisa]'''===
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Tanawisa | '''14 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2003. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova) | TSO]]. 
Ships worldwide, but excluding Russia, using express courier services with tracking. 
Payment methods include PayPal, all major credit cards and bank transfers. 
Contact: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOk2mMcPB7Q Detlev Goj]. 
Support is available via telephone and email. 
Supplies doses of 500, 1,000 and 2,500 ova, with special offers on packs of 10 doses. 
'''Cost per year: $5,200''' for the most frequently used dose size of 2,500 ova, if taken every 2 weeks and purchased in multiples of 10 doses. A very small number of users may require up to 7,500 ova every two weeks, but many people who take TSO are able to transition to a much smaller maintenance dosage after the first 10 doses (5 months), which greatly reduces the annual cost. 
Individual discounts are available. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']].
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===[https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ '''Helminth Therapy NZ''']===
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy NZ | '''5 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships within New Zealand and Australia only. 
Payment is accepted via bank transfer in NZD. 
Contact: Michelle. 
Contact Email: admin@helminththerapy.co.nz, or via Facebook messenger at [https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/102706412577752 Helminth Therapy NZ], or via their [https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ Facebook page] 
Supplies doses of various sizes, on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements discussed during an initial free consultation. 
Prices: Per person/dose of 1-10 NA larvae is $200NZD More than 10 is $300NZD. 
NZ Shipping- Non Rural $8 and Rural Delivery (RD) $12 and $38NZD for tracked courier to Australia. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but a care pack with easy-to-follow instructions is provided, along with email and telephone support, if needed. Use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]. 
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==='''[http://www.biomerestoration.com/ Biome Restoration Ltd]'''===
★★★★★ 4.7 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Biome Restoration Ltd | '''12 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2013. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], which is produced to exacting quality control standards in the company’s UK laboratory. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited shipping is extra, but a saving can be made on shipping costs by purchasing two doses at the same time. 
Contact: Marc Dellerba PhD. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
'''Cost per year: £1,280 for UK residents (including VAT) or approximately £1,430 for customers outside the UK.''' These prices are for 30 HDC every 2 weeks, ordered via automatically renewing subscription and including shipping. 
Some users take 60 HDC every 2 weeks, or 30 every week, either of which will double the cost. 
No medical advice is provided, but assistance is available with how to use the HDC. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[https://www.yoursymbionts.com YourSymbionts]'''===
★★★★☆ 4.4 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | '''15 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB. There have been repeated reports of difficulty getting a response from this supplier, and in receiving helminths in a timely manner. For more details, see the most recent [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | customer reviews]] for this company.''' 
Founded: 2018. 
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. All shipments are sent in an insulated box by UPS Express, with tracking. All prices include shipping. 
Payment is via PayPal, or by bank transfer (Europe). 
Contact: Steven. Email: info$yoursymbionts.com (change $ to @). Tel: +32456078504. Can also be contacted via WhatsApp and their [https://www.facebook.com/YourSymbionts Facebook page]. 
{{Quote|indent}}The best way to reach them is through WhatsApp. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/5187217014667545/?comment_id=5187578297964750]{{Quote|/indent}}
Communication is via email only. 
'''NA'''. Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis, starting with a first dose of 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are determined by consultation. 
A starter package of the first 3 doses of NA costs €400. Thereafter, single doses cost €200 each, and three doses are €450, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. 
'''TTO'''. Doses start at €1 per ovum. Doses of 25, 50, 100 or 250 are available, with a minimum order of €300. Discounts are available for bulk orders, e.g., a package containing a year's supply of 1200 ova is €750. 
A starter package of 240 TTO, comprising 6 doses of 40 ova, each to be taken at two week intervals, costs €200. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about helminthic therapy, along with email support, and 1 hour consultations are available for €50. (Details [https://www.yoursymbionts.com/booking here].) New customers get a €25 refund on the consultation when they buy a starter package. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
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==='''The Llamas Clinic'''===
★★★★☆ 4 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#The Llamas Clinic | '''2 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB'''. Dr Llamas is very reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. And he has been known to send clients more NA than they have requested, for example, sending 10 NA to a client with MCAS who had asked for 3 NA - the recommended starting dose for her condition. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: [[Hookworm dosing and response | '''Hookworm dosing and response''']]). 
Organisms. [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]]. 
Contact: Jorge Llamas MD. 
Contact email: dr_llamas$hotmail.com (change $ to @). Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ 
Until 2018, Dr Llamas worked with [http://www.wormtherapy.com/ Worm Therapy] and allowed them to use his clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, but Worm Therapy are now operating independently. 
Dr Llamas has been invited to provide more details about his service for inclusion here but has not yet done so. Anyone wanting further information should therefore contact him directly via email or [https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ Facebook]. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://autoimmunetherapies.com/ Autoimmune Therapies (AIT)]'''===
★★☆☆☆ 1.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''17 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2007. 
Owner: Jasper Lawrence. 
The editors of this wiki cannot recommend Autoimmune Therapies, due to the many [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''adverse reports''']] submitted to us by this company's clients, and because of the company's practice of advising the use of, and supplying, excessively large doses of hookworms. For more about this, see: [[Jasper Lawrence and helminthic therapy#Therapist | '''Jasper Lawrence: the therapist''']]. 

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<div style="border:1px solid #A3B0BF;background-color:#CEDFF2;padding:6px;border-radius:5px;margin-bottom:22px;">The information above was believed to be correct at the time of publication, but please contact the providers to double-check prices, etc., in case of any recent changes.</div>

==Local sources==

In addition to the main providers listed above, there are a number of naturopathic physicians, particularly in the US, who grow HDC for supply to their own patients but who operate outside the online community of helminth self-teaters, and who typically charge exorbitant, and sometimes eye-watering, prices for their HDCs.

There are also many home growers who produce NA for their own use, a few of whom are sometimes willing to share any surplus worms with others in their locality. However, private growers of NA are unlikely to be able to definitively confirm the species of worm they have, or to screen their donors for communicable diseases, and they are unlikely to "clean" their NA, as the providers listed above always do.

==Contacting providers by email==

If you email a provider, be sure to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitelisting whitelist] their email address to prevent their reply from being rejected or sent to a spam/junk mail folder. This happens regularly, resulting in people posting to the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] asking if anyone knows what's happened to one or other of the providers.

It's also worth remembering that most helminth providers don't work weekends.

==Regarding advice from the providers==

When seeking information from a provider, it should be borne in mind that no one provider sells, or has experience with, all four helminth species. Since some people may have more success with one particular species, with a combination of two or more species, or by starting with one species and later switching to another, it is arguably better to rely more on the information in this wiki when selecting a therapeutic helminth than on advice from a single helminth provider. No single provider can match the objectivity or breadth of information found in this wiki, which offers a balanced assessment of all four available helminths based on the findings of science and the first-hand experience of self-treaters. See [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

It is also important to remember that the companies listed on this page are all commercial entities and, as such, their owners are keen to promote their own products. This can result in ''some'' of them occasionally exaggerating the benefits of their own worms and/or misrepresenting the attributes of the worms sold by their competitors, sometimes even claiming that their own worms are cleaner, safer or more powerful than the alternatives, or that their competitors’ products will cause worse side effects, and possibly even multiply within a host or mis-migrate to the wrong parts of a host’s body. However, none of these claims of adverse effects are true for NA, TTO, TSO or HDC. See the [[Helminthic therapy safety | '''Helminthic therapy safety''']] page and [http://www.yourwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/galley-proof-v2.pdf this study].

Alternatives to the advice available from the providers include talking to a [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''helminthic therapy practitioner''']] and asking questions of the members in the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support Group], some of whom have many years of experience with several different helminth species.

==Doctors as providers==

Some naturopathic physicians who recommend therapy with NA, TTO or HDC and supply these organisms themselves, have claimed that the worms they supply are superior to those available elsewhere, or have implied that the worms sold by others might not be the species they are claimed to be. For example, some doctors who supply hookworms direct to their patients have claimed that their worms are "stronger" than those from their competitors, while others have maintained that theirs are "more gentle". One practitioner even claims that his hookworms are a superior subspecies of NA, termed, "NA457". However, all these claims are merely marketing hype, so self-treaters should always compare the prices quoted by doctors with those of the providers listed above, who supply exactly the same products but invariably charge much lower prices.

The physician who claims to be supplying his patients with the supposedly superior "NA457", introduced this notion in a book he published in 2018, [https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Hookworm-Therapy-parabiotics-anti-fragile/dp/1729619983/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1D279X2XYOJ6A&keywords=Steve+Nenninger&qid=1662258403&sprefix=steve+nenninger%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3 Understanding Hookworm Therapy: parabiotics - the rise of anti-fragile medicine]. (A free copy is available in digital book form as the [https://www.stevenenninger.com/thehookwormmiracle The Hookworm Miracle].) In the book, Steve Nenninger suggests that people who are looking to host hookworms should check that the worms they buy are [[Self-treating with NA | '''Necator americanus''']] (the New World Hookworm) and not the less desirable [[Ancylostoma duodenale | '''Ancylostoma duodenale''']] (the Old World Hookworm), appearing to suggest that some of the hookworms being sold by helminth providers may be AD and not NA, but this is just more marketing spin.

Although Nenninger has been reported to have claimed that "NA457" has been identified by "research", [https://youarethehealer.org/parasitic-worms-to-treat-autoimmune-disease/] a search of the scientific literature reveals no mention of "NA457", and there is no evidence that this term is anything other than the number of a particular hookworm sample that was prepared for genetic testing. It does not signify a new NA subspecies, and the special characteristics of "NA457" that Nenninger lists in his book are ''all'' descriptive of ''any'' example of NA that is available from ''any'' of the helminth providers.

The only difference between what is available from physicians and from an online provider is seen in HDC. This organism loses viability very quickly from the moment it is removed from its beetle host and, without nutritional support, will be dead within 48 hours. Biome Restoration use a proprietary nutrient solution that keeps their HDC alive for 2-3 weeks, so their product is the only one that will survive long-distance shipping. (For more detail, see [[Self-treating with HDC#Storage and survival of HDC | '''Storage and survival of HDC''']].)

The locally-grown HDC available from physicians’ offices must be taken within 24 hours of being harvested to be fully effective - not 24 hours after receipt. Provided that these ''fresh'' HDC are used within 24 hours of extraction, they do have slightly greater efficacy than a similar number of the ''commercially prepared'' HDC sold by Biome Restoration, and this difference is reflected in the [[Self-treating with HDC#Dosing with HDC |'''dosing guidelines for HDC''']] which show that the use of slightly larger numbers of Biome Restoration’s HDC fully compensates for their slightly reduced efficacy when compared with ''fresh'' HDC that are used within 24 hours of extraction. There is therefore no justification for the very high prices being charged for ''fresh'' HDC by some physicians.

==Comparing NA larvae from different sources==

NA larvae all produce the same therapeutic effects whichever company they are bought from.

All the Necator americanus in captivity today have come from one or other of only two sources. Firstly, the specimens collected from Kar Kar Island, Papua New Guinea, by Prof David Pritchard and his colleagues at Nottingham University, [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/research/01prof.html] and, secondly, those collected from the wild by the first two commercial suppliers of NA (Garin Aglietti and Jasper Lawrence) who were, at that time, jointly running Autoimmune Therapies (AIT). All the NA in use at the present time in research laboratories around the world were sourced from Pritchard's stock, and all the hookworms available from helminth providers, including doctors, are the descendants of those originally collected by AIT staff. Pritchard, himself, identified his hookworms as NA, and AIT’s stock was identified as NA by a PhD microbiologist using PCR testing.

With all the hookworm providers currently supplying NA larvae that are descended from the original AIT stock, any variation between the larvae from different providers is not due to those from one company being superior, or inferior, to those from other suppliers, whatever a few suppliers may claim when describing their own products.

However, different batches of NA larvae can produce differing strengths of skin response to inoculation, with varying severity of rash and itching - a fact seen by self-treaters as either positive or negative depending on their point of view. Some may perceive a stronger skin response as indicating better worms, while others might prefer larvae that produce less itching.

Variations in skin response between larvae from different sources can be due to the effects of one or more of four factors.

:1. '''Incubation temperature'''. Larvae incubated at higher temperatures develop more quickly but remain viable for a shorter period of time.

:2. '''Age'''. The viability of NA larvae has been shown to decrease rapidly over time from a mean of 85% to < 70% within 14 days. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9264692/]

:3. '''Natural variation'''. There can be considerable variation between batches of hookworm larvae, even between batches grown side-by-side by the same producer on the same day using the same stool sample with identical materials and procedures. This is due to the fact that hookworms are living creatures, so completely different from pills produced by a machine. Some incubations can even occasionally fail to yield any larvae at all, and this happens to growers who have been incubating for many years as well as novices, and to commercial providers as well as private growers. Even within a single batch, there can be dead or decaying larvae side-by-side with healthy ones, and, even though it is always the latter that providers select for supply to their customers, there can still be hidden variations between healthy larvae.

:4. '''Cleaning'''. Providers clean their larvae before shipping for the protection of customers, but this process reduces the worms' shelf life. Variation between the cleaning protocols used by different providers results in differing lengths of shelf life. For example, one hookworm provider ([https://web.archive.org/web/20221209070413/http://wormswell.com/ Wormswell] [2014-2018]) said that their larvae had a shelf life of 3 to 4 weeks after rinsing, whereas those from a different provider (Worm Therapy) only have a stated shelf life of 2 weeks.

:One supplier has been reported anonymously in a [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/images/a/ad/Socio-medical_studies_of_individuals_self-treating_with_helminths_provide_insight_into_clinical_trial_design_for_assessing_helminth_therapy.pdf socio-medical study] to have claimed that extensive washing of NA can reduce its effectiveness, but there is no evidence for this. The claim may have been based on the testimony of self-treaters who had observed a less robust skin response following inoculation with washed larvae, and who had assumed, incorrectly, that this would indicate a likely reduction in therapeutic effect, unaware that there is no correlation between the strength of skin response and eventual therapeutic benefit. However, anyone with a preference for unwashed larvae can purchase their first dose from a provider, then [[Helminth incubation#Hookworm incubation | grow their own supply]] from this colony and use them unwashed.

Concern is sometimes expressed about the possibility that the hookworm larvae available from the suppliers may have become weakened as a result of a genetic bottleneck in the domesticated hookworm stock. However, this is extremely unlikely and there is no evidence that this might be the case. See: [[Self-treating with NA#Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms? | '''Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms?''']]

==Comparing the available helminth species==

Details about the different species, and how they compare, can be found on the following page.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']]

==Predicting the long-term cost==

In the case of helminths that are sold by the dose, the actual cost is dependent on the number and size of doses that may be required to achieve and maintain disease remission. TSO need to be taken even 2 or 3 weeks, at least for a few months (see [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']] and this [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova)| page section]]) and HDC also need to be taken every 2 or 3 weeks (occasionally weekly or monthly), usually indefinitely (see [[Self-treating with HDC | '''Self-treating with HDC''']]). Small doses of TTO may be taken regularly, but larger doses can be taken less frequently (see [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']]). Some users of NA might only require a single dose every few years, while others may need supplementary doses every few months, indefinitely, due to a higher rate of attrition, which varies greatly between individuals (see [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]). Replacement hookworm doses would also be needed following any accidental losses due to the use of certain substances, all of which are detailed in the [[Human helminth care manual | '''Human helminth care manual''']].

== Minimising the cost ==

The cost of helminthic therapy varies considerably between the providers and the different worm species, all of which is explained in the [[Helminth providers#Providers | '''Provider details''']] section above.

A number of factors need to be taken into account when looking at the cost of helminthic therapy.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Considering the cost of helminthic therapy | '''Considering the cost of helminthic therapy''']]

Possible options for minimising the costs are as follows.

=== Discounts and payment plans ===

In cases of genuine financial hardship, some providers may be willing to help customers by offering a discount or arranging a payment plan.

=== Don't let cost influence dosing decisions ===

Some providers of NA charge by the dose, whatever number of larvae a dose contains. Some hookworm self-treaters can't resist trying to maximise the value of their purchases from these companies by ordering more larvae than they need, but inoculating with a larger number can result in excessive side effects.

{{Quote|indent}}The provider I use charges per dose, no matter if I want 2 worms or 30. So I tried to push it, and learned my lesson! [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1983242591731686/?comment_id=1984166848305927&reply_comment_id=1985439641511981&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

=== Purchasing helminths from doctors ===

Physicians invariably charge far more for helminths than the online providers listed above, and the organisms supplied by doctors are in no way superior, whatever they may claim. See [[Helminth providers#Doctors as providers | '''Doctors as providers''']] above.

=== Hookworm donation ===

In the case of NA, it may be possible to obtain a donation of hookworm larvae from a fellow self-treater who grows their own supply, although very few people are actually willing to provide this service, and there are risks attached to accepting larvae from a private grower. For more about these risks, see the following page sub-sections.

* [[Helminth incubation#Infection risk | '''Infection risk''']]

* [[Helminth incubation#Legal risks | '''Legal risks''']]

=== DIY helminth incubation ===

NA and HDC are relatively easy to culture at home after purchasing a microscope and a few other sundries. The incubation of TTO is also possible but more challenging. For more about helminth incubation, see the following page.

* [[Helminth incubation | '''Helminth incubation''']]

==Using Bitcoin==

Commercial helminth providers don't have a clear green light to ship their products to all destinations, so some of them need to remain anonymous in order to protect both themselves and the supply. Since the maintenance of anonymity must also extend to methods of payment, some providers only accept payment in Bitcoin.

The use of this cryptocurrency can appear daunting to those who are new to it, but most people find that Bitcoin is easy to use, once they get into it.

====Coinbase====

Watch the video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b8vaN9ujxE Helminthic Therapy User's Guide To Bitcoin - Full Coinbase Tutorial]

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase streamlines the process for you, but they charge a fee for their service. It was around 3% of the transaction by memory. It was worth it to me. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1830892493633364/?comment_id=1830940486961898&reply_comment_id=1830945646961382&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I was very concerned about the bitcoin process and security… it seems a bit dodgy for newbies, but I have had no issues, and no one that I have heard on this forum has had issues. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1583377658384850/?comment_id=1598050406917575&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I just had to wrap my mind around it. Now, it's easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1468002149922402&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R0%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}The ordering experience was very easy, and I'm new to bitcoin. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470903532965597/]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I felt comfortable with Coinbase. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470319949690622/?comment_id=1470616372994313&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I use coinbase. It is not hard. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase is easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&reply_comment_id=1468256369896980&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

Once you have a [https://www.coinbase.com Coinbase] account, you will also be able to use [https://pro.coinbase.com Coinbase Pro], which offers the ability to trade a variety of digital assets on a secure, insurance-backed platform.

Although Coinbase Pro is an advanced trading platform aimed at serious traders, the fact that it is owned by the same company as Coinbase means that, once you have a Coinbase account, you can use the same details to log in to Coinbase Pro. You may then need to provide some further details, and you may have to move funds from one wallet to the other, but this should be easy.

====Local Bitcoins====

Some people prefer to use Local Bitcoins, who have a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHLeeU1tFE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0gUHBfHxk1pRli4lQUzP4gvX3dF96rnQNRwzPrjdJBgKdn-eTE5GZGRns How to Buy Bitcoins Tutorial]. (Video)

{{Quote|indent}}Always had a good run with Local Butcoin... most sellers are happy to help. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/2146827588706518/?comment_id=2147399078649369&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

===Help with using Bitcoin===

Those helminth providers who request payment in bitcoins include detailed Bitcoin guides on their websites to help their customers, and they will assist personally with the process, if asked.

For those who prefer not to get involved with Bitcoin themselves, there are trustworthy members of the Helminthic Therapy Support group who will exchange PayPal payments or bank wires for bitcoins, which they will then send directly to the appropriate provider on behalf of the customer. For further details, see the posts at the following links.

* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1479835298739087 PayPal payments]
* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/3309194392469826?comment_id=3309197035802895 PayPal payments or bank wires]

==Routing shipments via a different country==

If you are unable to have your selected helminths delivered direct to your home, you could have them shipped to another country and either travel there to collect these yourself, or arrange for someone who lives there to receive and re-ship them to you. However, a potential problem with traveling to collect hookworm larvae is that these can succumb to freezing during transit, including while in the cargo hold of a plane, so doses may be dead on arrival at their destination. This can result in a wasted journey for the person collecting them.

==Losses during shipping==

The vast majority of helminth deliveries arrive safely at their destination containing viable organisms. However, since helminths are living creatures, they are susceptible to extremes of heat and cold, both of which may be encountered during shipping. NA larvae are the most at risk because they have a very limited temperature tolerance range and will die if exposed to very low or very high temperatures.

There is no universally applied temperature for the cargo hold on commercial passenger planes, but they are typically heated by the warm air exiting the main cabin, so should, in theory, remain above freezing for the duration of each flight. However, planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, different companies apply different practices, and different types of flights have their own protocols, so temperatures do vary, and, in practice, can range from 7°C (45°F) to 13°C (55°F), with bulk areas (where animals are carried) sometimes reaching more than 18°C (64°F).

There can be further variation in temperature throughout a cargo hold depending on placement, location, time at altitude, and the duration of the flight. Data loggers used to record temperatures have found that they can reach as low as ''minus'' 7°C (19°F) during international flights above the ocean, where the outside temperature at 30,000 feet can average ''minus'' 44.6°C (minus 48°F).

The greatest vulnerability to temperature extremes occurs on the airport tarmac, where goods may be left for extended periods during loading and unloading. This can result in hookworm larvae dying from the cold during the winter months, or from excessive heat in the summer, when the walls of aircraft containers can increase by more than 20°C (68°F) above the ambient air temperature due to exposure to solar radiation during ramp transfers.

Outside post boxes are another potential death trap for NA larvae, so, if you have one of these, arrange for winter shipments to be delivered to an alternative, heated location, or temporarily rent a PO Box.

Providers will usually make good any losses incurred during shipping.

See also.

* [[Self-treating with NA#Hookworm larvae storage and survival | '''Hookworm larvae storage and survival''']] (For details about the temperature tolerance of hookworms).

* [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#Shelf life | '''The shelf life of helminths''']]

==Further advice==

Additional advice is available from naturopathic physicians, a medical doctor, a specialist nurse and a health coach, all of whom have extensive experience with helminthic therapy.

* [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''Helminthic therapy practitioners''']]

Helminth providers

2023-03-21T00:39:19Z

Michelle: /* Helminth Therapy NZ */

{{Breadcrumb}}
{{Breadcrumb|[[Using_helminths|Using helminths]]}}
{{SEO 
|title=Helminth providers
|description=Full details about all the main commercial suppliers of therapeutic helminths (NA, TTO, TSO and HDC) compiled by independent editors.
|keywords=helminth provider, helminth providers, helminth supplier, helminth suppliers, worm provider, worm providers, worm supplier, worm suppliers, therapeutic worm provider, therapeutic worm providers, therapeutic worm supplier, therapeutic worm suppliers, providers of therapeutic helminths, providers of therapeutic worms, suppliers of therapeutic helminths, suppliers of therapeutic worms helminths, therapeutic helminths, hookworm, hookworms, NA, whipworm, whipworms, TSO, TTO, rat tapeworm, rat tapeworms, HDC, Necator americanus, Trichuris suis, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids, Symmbio, Biome Restoration, Tanawisa, Worm Therapy, Autoimmune Therapies, AIT, Jasper Lawrence
|og:image=}}This page contains details about all the main suppliers of therapeutic helminths that have been approved by the editors of this wiki. The individuals who founded and run these companies all emerged from within the helminthic therapy community and are passionate about the therapy. There are no purely profit-oriented companies listed here, and no scammers. Where there have been any concerns raised about the service that a company provides - for example, any unreliability, slow response to emails, or incorrect advice about dosing - these issues are mentioned in the details for that company, or on the separate [[Helminth provider reviews | '''Customer reviews''']] page.

All details have been gathered and carefully checked by independent volunteer editors, none of whom have any affiliation with the companies listed.

For more information about the helminths that are available from these providers, see [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Therapeutic helminths | '''Therapeutic helminths''']] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

== Providers ==

The providers each offer one or more of four different organisms, along with different services and pricing options, all of which need to be considered very carefully by each prospective customer in the light of their own unique needs and preferences.

''Symmbio'', ''Au NAturel'', ''Nathural'', ''Gut Happy Pty Ltd'', ''Tanawisa'', ''Helminth Therapy NZ'', ''Biome Restoration'' and ''YourSymbionts'' all sell their products as individual doses, while ''Worm Therapy'' offer a 2-year contract. 
To assist readers in comparing the cost of obtaining helminths from each of the companies, the approximate annual costs are shown in bold.

The providers are listed according to the overall customer rating that each has achieved based on customer reviews. The companies with the highest rating and the most reviews are presented first.

<div style="background-color:#FFF5FA;border: 1px solid #F2CEDD; border-radius:16px; padding:8px; padding-left:8px; margin-bottom:12px;">'''Customer reviews for the companies listed below are available on the following page. 
[[Helminth provider_reviews | '''Helminth provider reviews''']]'''
</div>

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==='''[http://symmbio.com/ Symmbio]'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Symmbio | '''27 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2016. 
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Express shipping with tracking is available. 
Payment is only accepted in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin], but Symmbio will help anyone who is unfamiliar with the currency. There are also reliable intermediaries who can save the customer having to have any involvement with this currency themselves. See [[Helminth providers#Using Bitcoin | '''Using bitcoin''']] for details. 
Contact: Simon. 
Communication is via email only. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements. 
'''NA'''. A single dose of NA is $200 USD. Three doses are $450 USD, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. '''Special offer from February 2020: a free dose with purchases made via Bitcoin. So $450 USD will buy 4 doses ordered at any time during the 24 months following payment.''' 
'''TTO'''. Doses of 50, 100 or 250 ova are shipped in lots of 6 vials. (Minimum order: 6 vials of 50 TTO.) '''New prices from February 2020'''. 300 ova for $250 USD / 600 ova for $450 USD / 1200 ova for $750 USD. TTO have a long shelf-life so unused doses can be stored in a refrigerator until required. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about the therapy, along with email support. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
</div>

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==='''Au NAturel'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Au NAturel | '''22 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2019. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited/Express shipping with tracking is available. 
Payment accepted via PayPal or bitcoins. 
Contact: Max: max.contact$protonmail.com (change $ to @). 
Communication is via email only. 
Supplies single doses starting with a first dose of (usually) 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are individually adjusted. 
Doses are a flat rate of $150 USD for 2 to 25 larvae. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
</div>

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===[https://nalab.eu '''Nathural''']===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Nathural | '''5 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships (from France) to Europe (express), to the UK (tracked letter) and worldwide (letter). 
Payment is accepted via PayPal, or in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin]. 
Contact: Nathalie 
Communication is via email only: nathural.contact$gmail.com (change $ to @). English and French spoken. 
Supplies single doses, as follows. 3-5 larvae: €65 / 10 larvae: €70 / 15 larvae: €75 / 20 larvae: €80. Shipping starts from €5. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased. Discounts on bulk orders.''' 
No support is provided for helminthic therapy. For this purpose, use the following resources: the [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki Helminthic Therapy wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
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==='''[https://www.guthappy.com.au/helminthic-therapy Gut Happy Pty Ltd]'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy Aust & NZ (formerly Brisbane Naturopaths) | '''4 customer reviews''']]. 
:From 2015 until 2019, and trading under the name, Brisbane Naturopaths, this company was the Australian distributor for HDCs produced by [https://biomerestoration.com Biome Restoration]. The company then began producing their own HDCs in 2019, under the name, Helminthic Therapy Australia & New Zealand, before finally adopting the name, Gut Happy Pty Ltd, in 2022. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], supplied ''fresh'', in saline, for immediate use only. Cannot be stored. [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Self-treating_with_HDC#Storage_and_survival_of_HDC] 
Ships weekly within Australia. 
Payment is accepted via electronic funds transfer (EFT), credit cards and PayPal. 
Contact: Denise Hales ND, Senior Naturopath 1300 03 03 25. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
Cost for 1-10 HDCs is $100 AUD; 11-15 HDCs an extra $10 each; 16-20 HDCs are $175; plus postage (with toll priority). 
'''Cost per year: $4,550 AUD for 20 HDC every 2 weeks'''. Yearly packages are available at a guaranteed fixed price. 
Initial communication via email, but telephone or Skype consultations can be arranged. 
Consultations about the use of HDC are available at $300 AUD for an initial hour, and $200 AUD for a 30 minute follow up, or $90 AUD for 15 minutes. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://www.tanawisa.com/ Tanawisa]'''===
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Tanawisa | '''14 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2003. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova) | TSO]]. 
Ships worldwide, but excluding Russia, using express courier services with tracking. 
Payment methods include PayPal, all major credit cards and bank transfers. 
Contact: Detlev Goj. 
Support is available via telephone and email. 
Supplies doses of 500, 1,000 and 2,500 ova, with special offers on packs of 10 doses. 
'''Cost per year: $5,200''' for the most frequently used dose size of 2,500 ova, if taken every 2 weeks and purchased in multiples of 10 doses. A very small number of users may require up to 7,500 ova every two weeks, but many people who take TSO are able to transition to a much smaller maintenance dosage after the first 10 doses (5 months), which greatly reduces the annual cost. 
Individual discounts are available. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']].
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===[https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ '''Helminth Therapy NZ''']===
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy NZ | '''5 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships within New Zealand and Australia only. 
Payment is accepted via bank transfer in NZD. 
Contact: Michelle. 
Contacts: Email: admin@helminththerapy.co.nz, or via Facebook messenger at [https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/102706412577752 Helminth Therapy NZ], or via their [https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ Facebook page] 
Supplies doses of various sizes, on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements discussed during an initial free consultation. 
Prices: Per person/dose of 1-10 NA larvae is $200NZD. More than 10 is $300NZD. Shipping is free within NZ and $35 Tracked courier to Australia. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but a care pack with easy-to-follow instructions is provided, along with email and telephone support, if needed. Use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]. 
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==='''[http://www.biomerestoration.com/ Biome Restoration Ltd]'''===
★★★★★ 4.6 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Biome Restoration Ltd | '''11 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2013. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], which is produced to exacting quality control standards in the company’s UK laboratory. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited shipping is extra, but a saving can be made on shipping costs by purchasing two doses at the same time. 
Contact: Marc Dellerba PhD. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
'''Cost per year: £1,050 for UK residents (including VAT) or £1,170 for customers outside the UK.''' These prices are for 30 HDC every 2 weeks, ordered via automatically renewing subscription and including shipping. 
Some users take 60 HDC every 2 weeks, or 30 every week, either of which will double the cost. 
No medical advice is provided, but assistance is available with how to use the HDC. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://www.wormtherapy.com/ Worm Therapy]'''===
★★★★★ 4.5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Worm Therapy | '''16 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2008. 
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]]. 
Contact: Garin Aglietti. 
Historically, Worm Therapy have been reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: [[Hookworm dosing and response | '''Hookworm dosing and response''']]). 
Worm Therapy have declined to provide any information about their services, citing the FDA's [https://www.fda.gov/forindustry/importprogram/importbasics/ucm432661.htm Personal Import Policy]. Enquirers should therefore contact the company directly if they require further details. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[https://www.yoursymbionts.com YourSymbionts]'''===
★★★★☆ 4.36 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | '''15 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB. There have been repeated reports of difficulty getting a response from this supplier, and in receiving helminths in a timely manner. For more details, see the most recent [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | customer reviews]] for this company.''' 
Founded: 2018. 
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. All shipments are sent in an insulated box by UPS Express, with tracking. All prices include shipping. 
Payment is via PayPal, or by bank transfer (Europe). 
Contact: Steven. Email: info$yoursymbionts.com (change $ to @). Tel: +32456078504. Can also be contacted via WhatsApp and their [https://www.facebook.com/YourSymbionts Facebook page]. 
{{Quote|indent}}The best way to reach them is through WhatsApp. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/5187217014667545/?comment_id=5187578297964750]{{Quote|/indent}}
Communication is via email only. 
'''NA'''. Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis, starting with a first dose of 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are determined by consultation. 
A starter package of the first 3 doses of NA costs €400. Thereafter, single doses cost €200 each, and three doses are €450, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. 
'''TTO'''. Doses start at €1 per ovum. Doses of 25, 50, 100 or 250 are available, with a minimum order of €300. Discounts are available for bulk orders, e.g., a package containing a year's supply of 1200 ova is €750. 
A starter package of 240 TTO, comprising 6 doses of 40 ova, each to be taken at two week intervals, costs €200. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about helminthic therapy, along with email support, and 1 hour consultations are available for €50. (Details [https://www.yoursymbionts.com/booking here].) New customers get a €25 refund on the consultation when they buy a starter package. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
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==='''The Llamas Clinic'''===
★★★★☆ 4 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#The Llamas Clinic | '''2 customer reviews''']]. 
:'''NB'''. Dr Llamas is very reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. And he has been known to send clients more NA than they have requested, for example, sending 10 NA to a client with MCAS who had asked for 3 NA - the recommended starting dose for her condition. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: [[Hookworm dosing and response | '''Hookworm dosing and response''']]). 
Organisms. [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]]. 
Contact: Jorge Llamas MD. 
Contact email: dr_llamas$hotmail.com (change $ to @). Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ 
Until 2018, Dr Llamas worked with [http://www.wormtherapy.com/ Worm Therapy] and allowed them to use his clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, but Worm Therapy are now operating independently. 
Dr Llamas has been invited to provide more details about his service for inclusion here but has not yet done so. Anyone wanting further information should therefore contact him directly via email or [https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ Facebook]. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://autoimmunetherapies.com/ Autoimmune Therapies (AIT)]'''===
★★☆☆☆ 1.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''17 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2007. 
Owner: Jasper Lawrence. 
The editors of this wiki cannot recommend Autoimmune Therapies, due to the many [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''adverse reports''']] submitted to us by this company's clients, and because of the company's practice of advising the use of, and supplying, excessively large doses of hookworms. For more about this, see: [[Jasper Lawrence and helminthic therapy#Therapist | '''Jasper Lawrence: the therapist''']]. 

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<div style="border:1px solid #A3B0BF;background-color:#CEDFF2;padding:6px;border-radius:5px;margin-bottom:22px;">The information above was believed to be correct at the time of publication, but please contact the providers to double-check prices, etc., in case of any recent changes.</div>

==Local sources==

In addition to the main providers listed above, there are a number of naturopathic physicians, particularly in the US, who grow HDC for supply to their own patients but who operate outside the online community of helminth self-teaters, and who typically charge exorbitant, and sometimes eye-watering, prices for their HDCs.

There are also many home growers who produce NA for their own use, a few of whom are sometimes willing to share any surplus worms with others in their locality. However, private growers of NA are unlikely to be able to definitively confirm the species of worm they have, or to screen their donors for communicable diseases, and they are unlikely to "clean" their NA, as the providers listed above always do.

==Contacting providers by email==

If you email a provider, be sure to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitelisting whitelist] their email address to prevent their reply from being rejected or sent to a spam/junk mail folder. This happens regularly, resulting in people posting to the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] asking if anyone knows what's happened to one or other of the providers.

It's also worth remembering that most helminth providers don't work weekends.

==Regarding advice from the providers==

When seeking information from a provider, it should be borne in mind that no one provider sells, or has experience with, all four helminth species. Since some people may have more success with one particular species, with a combination of two or more species, or by starting with one species and later switching to another, it is arguably better to rely more on the information in this wiki when selecting a therapeutic helminth than on advice from a single helminth provider. No single provider can match the objectivity or breadth of information found in this wiki, which offers a balanced assessment of all four available helminths based on the findings of science and the first-hand experience of self-treaters. See [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

It is also important to remember that the companies listed on this page are all commercial entities and, as such, their owners are keen to promote their own products. This can result in ''some'' of them occasionally exaggerating the benefits of their own worms and/or misrepresenting the attributes of the worms sold by their competitors, sometimes even claiming that their own worms are cleaner, safer or more powerful than the alternatives, or that their competitors’ products will cause worse side effects, and possibly even multiply within a host or mis-migrate to the wrong parts of a host’s body. However, none of these claims of adverse effects are true for NA, TTO, TSO or HDC. See the [[Helminthic therapy safety | '''Helminthic therapy safety''']] page and [http://www.yourwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/galley-proof-v2.pdf this study].

Alternatives to the advice available from the providers include talking to a [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''helminthic therapy practitioner''']] and asking questions of the members in the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support Group], some of whom have many years of experience with several different helminth species.

==Doctors as providers==

Some naturopathic physicians who recommend therapy with NA, TTO or HDC and supply these organisms themselves, have claimed that the worms they supply are superior to those available elsewhere, or have implied that the worms sold by others might not be the species they are claimed to be. For example, some doctors who supply hookworms direct to their patients have claimed that their worms are "stronger" than those from their competitors, while others have maintained that theirs are "more gentle". One practitioner even claims that his hookworms are a superior subspecies of NA, termed, "NA457". However, all these claims are merely marketing hype, so self-treaters should always compare the prices quoted by doctors with those of the providers listed above, who supply exactly the same products but invariably charge much lower prices.

The physician who claims to be supplying his patients with the supposedly superior "NA457", introduced this notion in a book he published in 2018, [https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Hookworm-Therapy-parabiotics-anti-fragile/dp/1729619983/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1D279X2XYOJ6A&keywords=Steve+Nenninger&qid=1662258403&sprefix=steve+nenninger%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3 Understanding Hookworm Therapy: parabiotics - the rise of anti-fragile medicine]. (A free copy is available in digital book form as the [https://www.stevenenninger.com/thehookwormmiracle The Hookworm Miracle].) In the book, Steve Nenninger suggests that people who are looking to host hookworms should check that the worms they buy are [[Self-treating with NA | '''Necator americanus''']] (the New World Hookworm) and not the less desirable [[Ancylostoma duodenale | '''Ancylostoma duodenale''']] (the Old World Hookworm), appearing to suggest that some of the hookworms being sold by helminth providers may be AD and not NA, but this is just more marketing spin.

Although Nenninger has been reported to have claimed that "NA457" has been identified by "research", [https://youarethehealer.org/parasitic-worms-to-treat-autoimmune-disease/] a search of the scientific literature reveals no mention of "NA457", and there is no evidence that this term is anything other than the number of a particular hookworm sample that was prepared for genetic testing. It does not signify a new NA subspecies, and the special characteristics of "NA457" that Nenninger lists in his book are ''all'' descriptive of ''any'' example of NA that is available from ''any'' of the helminth providers.

The only difference between what is available from physicians and from an online provider is seen in HDC. This organism loses viability very quickly from the moment it is removed from its beetle host and, without nutritional support, will be dead within 48 hours. Biome Restoration use a proprietary nutrient solution that keeps their HDC alive for 2-3 weeks, so their product is the only one that will survive long-distance shipping. (For more detail, see [[Self-treating with HDC#Storage and survival of HDC | '''Storage and survival of HDC''']].)

The locally-grown HDC available from physicians’ offices must be taken within 24 hours of being harvested to be fully effective - not 24 hours after receipt. Provided that these ''fresh'' HDC are used within 24 hours of extraction, they do have slightly greater efficacy than a similar number of the ''commercially prepared'' HDC sold by Biome Restoration, and this difference is reflected in the [[Self-treating with HDC#Dosing with HDC |'''dosing guidelines for HDC''']] which show that the use of slightly larger numbers of Biome Restoration’s HDC fully compensates for their slightly reduced efficacy when compared with ''fresh'' HDC that are used within 24 hours of extraction. There is therefore no justification for the very high prices being charged for ''fresh'' HDC by some physicians.

==Comparing NA larvae from different sources==

NA larvae all produce the same therapeutic effects whichever company they are bought from.

All the Necator americanus in captivity today have come from one or other of only two sources. Firstly, the specimens collected from Kar Kar Island, Papua New Guinea, by Prof David Pritchard and his colleagues at Nottingham University, [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/research/01prof.html] and, secondly, those collected from the wild by the first two commercial suppliers of NA (Garin Aglietti and Jasper Lawrence) who were, at that time, jointly running Autoimmune Therapies (AIT). All the NA in use at the present time in research laboratories around the world were sourced from Pritchard's stock, and all the hookworms available from helminth providers, including doctors, are the descendants of those originally collected by AIT staff. Pritchard, himself, identified his hookworms as NA, and AIT’s stock was identified as NA by a PhD microbiologist using PCR testing.

With all the hookworm providers currently supplying NA larvae that are descended from the original AIT stock, any variation between the larvae from different providers is not due to those from one company being superior, or inferior, to those from other suppliers, whatever a few suppliers may claim when describing their own products.

However, different batches of NA larvae can produce differing strengths of skin response to inoculation, with varying severity of rash and itching - a fact seen by self-treaters as either positive or negative depending on their point of view. Some may perceive a stronger skin response as indicating better worms, while others might prefer larvae that produce less itching.

Variations in skin response between larvae from different sources can be due to the effects of one or more of four factors.

:1. '''Incubation temperature'''. Larvae incubated at higher temperatures develop more quickly but remain viable for a shorter period of time.

:2. '''Age'''. The viability of NA larvae has been shown to decrease rapidly over time from a mean of 85% to < 70% within 14 days. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9264692/]

:3. '''Natural variation'''. There can be considerable variation between batches of hookworm larvae, even between batches grown side-by-side by the same producer on the same day using the same stool sample with identical materials and procedures. This is due to the fact that hookworms are living creatures, so completely different from pills produced by a machine. Some incubations can even occasionally fail to yield any larvae at all, and this happens to growers who have been incubating for many years as well as novices, and to commercial providers as well as private growers. Even within a single batch, there can be dead or decaying larvae side-by-side with healthy ones, and, even though it is always the latter that providers select for supply to their customers, there can still be hidden variations between healthy larvae.

:4. '''Cleaning'''. Providers clean their larvae before shipping for the protection of customers, but this process reduces the worms' shelf life. Variation between the cleaning protocols used by different providers results in differing lengths of shelf life. For example, one hookworm provider (Wormswell [2014-2018]) said that their larvae had a shelf life of 3 to 4 weeks after rinsing, whereas those from a different provider (Worm Therapy) only have a stated shelf life of 2 weeks.

:One supplier has been reported anonymously in a [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/images/a/ad/Socio-medical_studies_of_individuals_self-treating_with_helminths_provide_insight_into_clinical_trial_design_for_assessing_helminth_therapy.pdf socio-medical study] to have claimed that extensive washing of NA can reduce its effectiveness, but there is no evidence for this. The claim may have been based on the testimony of self-treaters who had observed a less robust skin response following inoculation with washed larvae, and who had assumed, incorrectly, that this would indicate a likely reduction in therapeutic effect, unaware that there is no correlation between the strength of skin response and eventual therapeutic benefit. However, anyone with a preference for unwashed larvae can purchase their first dose from a provider, then [[Helminth incubation#Hookworm incubation | grow their own supply]] from this colony and use them unwashed.

Concern is sometimes expressed about the possibility that the hookworm larvae available from the suppliers may have become weakened as a result of a genetic bottleneck in the domesticated hookworm stock. However, this is extremely unlikely and there is no evidence that this might be the case. See: [[Self-treating with NA#Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms? | '''Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms?''']]

==Comparing the available helminth species==

Details about the different species, and how they compare, can be found on the following page.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']]

==Predicting the long-term cost==

In the case of helminths that are sold by the dose, the actual cost is dependent on the number and size of doses that may be required to achieve and maintain disease remission. TSO need to be taken even 2 or 3 weeks, at least for a few months (see [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']] and this [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova)| page section]]) and HDC also need to be taken every 2 or 3 weeks (occasionally weekly or monthly), usually indefinitely (see [[Self-treating with HDC | '''Self-treating with HDC''']]). Small doses of TTO may be taken regularly, but larger doses can be taken less frequently (see [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']]). Some users of NA might only require a single dose every few years, while others may need supplementary doses every few months, indefinitely, due to a higher rate of attrition, which varies greatly between individuals (see [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]). Replacement hookworm doses would also be needed following any accidental losses due to the use of certain substances, all of which are detailed in the [[Human helminth care manual | '''Human helminth care manual''']].

== Minimising the cost ==

The cost of helminthic therapy varies considerably between the providers and the different worm species, all of which is explained in the [[Helminth providers#Providers | '''Provider details''']] section above.

A number of factors need to be taken into account when looking at the cost of helminthic therapy.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Considering the cost of helminthic therapy | '''Considering the cost of helminthic therapy''']]

Possible options for minimising the costs are as follows.

=== Discounts and payment plans ===

In cases of genuine financial hardship, some providers may be willing to help customers by offering a discount or arranging a payment plan.

=== Don't let cost influence dosing decisions ===

Some providers of NA charge by the dose, whatever number of larvae a dose contains. Some hookworm self-treaters can't resist trying to maximise the value of their purchases from these companies by ordering more larvae than they need, but inoculating with a larger number can result in excessive side effects.

{{Quote|indent}}The provider I use charges per dose, no matter if I want 2 worms or 30. So I tried to push it, and learned my lesson! [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1983242591731686/?comment_id=1984166848305927&reply_comment_id=1985439641511981&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

=== Purchasing helminths from doctors ===

Physicians invariably charge far more for helminths than the online providers listed above, and the organisms supplied by doctors are in no way superior, whatever they may claim. See [[Helminth providers#Doctors as providers | '''Doctors as providers''']] above.

=== Hookworm donation ===

In the case of NA, it may be possible to obtain a donation of hookworm larvae from a fellow self-treater who grows their own supply, although very few people are actually willing to provide this service, and there are risks attached to accepting larvae from a private grower. For more about these risks, see the following page sub-sections.

* [[Helminth incubation#Infection risk | '''Infection risk''']]

* [[Helminth incubation#Legal risks | '''Legal risks''']]

=== DIY helminth incubation ===

NA and HDC are relatively easy to culture at home after purchasing a microscope and a few other sundries. The incubation of TTO is also possible but more challenging. For more about helminth incubation, see the following page.

* [[Helminth incubation | '''Helminth incubation''']]

==Using Bitcoin==

Commercial helminth providers don't have a clear green light to ship their products to all destinations, so some of them need to remain anonymous in order to protect both themselves and the supply. Since the maintenance of anonymity must also extend to methods of payment, some providers only accept payment in Bitcoin.

The use of this cryptocurrency can appear daunting to those who are new to it, but most people find that Bitcoin is easy to use, once they get into it.

====Coinbase====

Watch the video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b8vaN9ujxE Helminthic Therapy User's Guide To Bitcoin - Full Coinbase Tutorial]

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase streamlines the process for you, but they charge a fee for their service. It was around 3% of the transaction by memory. It was worth it to me. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1830892493633364/?comment_id=1830940486961898&reply_comment_id=1830945646961382&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I was very concerned about the bitcoin process and security… it seems a bit dodgy for newbies, but I have had no issues, and no one that I have heard on this forum has had issues. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1583377658384850/?comment_id=1598050406917575&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I just had to wrap my mind around it. Now, it's easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1468002149922402&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R0%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}The ordering experience was very easy, and I'm new to bitcoin. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470903532965597/]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I felt comfortable with Coinbase. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470319949690622/?comment_id=1470616372994313&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I use coinbase. It is not hard. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase is easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&reply_comment_id=1468256369896980&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

Once you have a [https://www.coinbase.com Coinbase] account, you will also be able to use [https://pro.coinbase.com Coinbase Pro], which offers the ability to trade a variety of digital assets on a secure, insurance-backed platform.

Although Coinbase Pro is an advanced trading platform aimed at serious traders, the fact that it is owned by the same company as Coinbase means that, once you have a Coinbase account, you can use the same details to log in to Coinbase Pro. You may then need to provide some further details, and you may have to move funds from one wallet to the other, but this should be easy.

====Local Bitcoins====

Some people prefer to use Local Bitcoins, who have a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHLeeU1tFE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0gUHBfHxk1pRli4lQUzP4gvX3dF96rnQNRwzPrjdJBgKdn-eTE5GZGRns How to Buy Bitcoins Tutorial]. (Video)

{{Quote|indent}}Always had a good run with Local Butcoin... most sellers are happy to help. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/2146827588706518/?comment_id=2147399078649369&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

===Help with using Bitcoin===

Those helminth providers who request payment in bitcoins include detailed Bitcoin guides on their websites to help their customers, and they will assist personally with the process, if asked.

For those who prefer not to get involved with Bitcoin themselves, there are trustworthy members of the Helminthic Therapy Support group who will exchange PayPal payments or bank wires for bitcoins, which they will then send directly to the appropriate provider on behalf of the customer. For further details, see the posts at the following links.

* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1479835298739087 PayPal payments]
* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/3309194392469826?comment_id=3309197035802895 PayPal payments or bank wires]

==Routing shipments via a different country==

If you are unable to have your selected helminths delivered direct to your home, you could have them shipped to another country and either travel there to collect these yourself, or arrange for someone who lives there to receive and re-ship them to you. However, a potential problem with traveling to collect hookworm larvae is that these can succumb to freezing during transit, including while in the cargo hold of a plane, so doses may be dead on arrival at their destination. This can result in a wasted journey for the person collecting them.

==Losses during shipping==

The vast majority of helminth deliveries arrive safely at their destination containing viable organisms. However, since helminths are living creatures, they are susceptible to extremes of heat and cold, both of which may be encountered during shipping. NA larvae are the most at risk because they have a very limited temperature range and will die if exposed to very low or very high temperatures.

There is no universally applied temperature for the cargo hold on commercial passenger planes, but they are typically heated by the warm air exiting the main cabin, so should, in theory, remain above freezing for the duration of each flight. However, planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, different companies apply different practices, and different types of flights have their own protocols, so temperatures do vary, and, in practice, can range from 7°C (45°F) to 13°C (55°F), with bulk areas (where animals are carried) sometimes reaching more than 18°C (64°F).

There can be further variation in temperature throughout a cargo hold depending on placement, location, time at altitude, and the duration of the flight. Data loggers used to record temperatures have found that they can reach as low as ''minus'' 7°C (19°F) during international flights above the ocean, where the outside temperature at 30,000 feet can average ''minus'' 44.6°C (minus 48°F).

The greatest vulnerability to temperature extremes occurs on the airport tarmac, where goods may be left for extended periods during loading and unloading. This can result in hookworm larvae dying from the cold during the winter months, or from excessive heat in the summer, when the walls of aircraft containers can increase by more than 20°C (68°F) above the ambient air temperature due to exposure to solar radiation during ramp transfers.

Outside post boxes are another potential death trap for NA larvae, so, if you have one of these, arrange for winter shipments to be delivered to an alternative, heated location, or temporarily rent a PO Box.

Providers will usually make good any losses incurred during shipping.

See also.

* [[Self-treating with NA#Hookworm larvae storage and survival | '''Hookworm larvae storage and survival''']] (For details about the temperature tolerance of hookworms).

* [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#Shelf life | '''The shelf life of helminths''']]

==Further advice==

Additional advice is available from naturopathic physicians, a medical doctor, a specialist nurse and a health coach, all of whom have extensive experience with helminthic therapy.

* [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''Helminthic therapy practitioners''']]

Helminth providers

2022-10-01T21:15:42Z

Michelle: /* Helminth Therapy NZ */

{{Breadcrumb}}
{{Breadcrumb|[[Using_helminths|Using helminths]]}}
{{SEO 
|title=Helminth providers
|description=Full details about all the main commercial suppliers of therapeutic helminths (NA, TTO, TSO and HDC) compiled by independent editors.
|keywords=helminth provider, helminth providers, helminth supplier, helminth suppliers, worm provider, worm providers, worm supplier, worm suppliers, therapeutic worm provider, therapeutic worm providers, therapeutic worm supplier, therapeutic worm suppliers, providers of therapeutic helminths, providers of therapeutic worms, suppliers of therapeutic helminths, suppliers of therapeutic worms helminths, therapeutic helminths, hookworm, hookworms, NA, whipworm, whipworms, TSO, TTO, rat tapeworm, rat tapeworms, HDC, Necator americanus, Trichuris suis, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids, Symmbio, Biome Restoration, Tanawisa, Worm Therapy, Autoimmune Therapies, AIT, Jasper Lawrence
|og:image=}}This page contains details about all the main suppliers of therapeutic helminths that have been approved by the editors of this wiki. The individuals who founded and run these companies all emerged from within the helminthic therapy community and are passionate about the therapy. There are no purely profit-oriented companies listed here, and no scammers. Where there have been any concerns raised about the service that a company provides - for example, any unreliability, slow response to emails, or incorrect advice about dosing - these issues are mentioned in the details for that company, or on the separate [[Helminth provider reviews | '''Customer reviews''']] page.

All details have been gathered and carefully checked by independent volunteer editors, none of whom have any affiliation with the companies listed.

For more information about the helminths that are available from these providers, see [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Therapeutic helminths | '''Therapeutic helminths''']] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

== Providers ==

The providers each offer different organisms, services and pricing options, all of which need to be considered very carefully by the prospective buyer.

''Symmbio'', ''Au NAturel'', ''Nathural'', ''Helminth Therapy Aust & NZ'', ''Biome Restoration'', ''Tanawisa'' and ''YourSymbionts'' all sell their products as individual doses, while ''Worm Therapy'' offers a 2-year contract. 
To assist readers in comparing the cost of obtaining helminths from each of the companies, the approximate annual costs are shown in bold.

The following providers are listed according to the overall customer rating that each has achieved based on customer reviews. The companies with the highest scores and the most reviews are presented first.

<div style="background-color:#FFF5FA;border: 1px solid #F2CEDD; border-radius:16px; padding:8px; padding-left:8px; margin-bottom:12px;">'''Customer reviews for the companies listed below are available on the following page. 
[[Helminth provider_reviews | '''Helminth provider reviews''']]'''
</div>

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==='''[http://symmbio.com/ Symmbio]'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Symmbio | '''27 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2016. 
Contact: Simon. 
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements. 
'''NA'''. A single dose of NA is $200 USD. Three doses are $450 USD, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. '''Special offer from February 2020: a free dose with purchases made via Bitcoin. So $450 USD will buy 4 doses ordered at any time during the 24 months following payment.''' 
'''TTO'''. Doses of 50, 100 or 250 ova are shipped in lots of 6 vials. (Minimum order: 6 vials of 50 TTO.) '''New prices from February 2020'''. 300 ova for $250 USD / 600 ova for $450 USD / 1200 ova for $750 USD. TTO have a long shelf-life so unused doses can be stored in a refrigerator until required. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
Payment is only accepted in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin], but Symmbio will help anyone who is unfamiliar with the currency. There are also reliable intermediaries who can save the customer having to have any involvement with this currency themselves. See [[Helminth providers#Using Bitcoin | '''Using bitcoin''']] for details. 
Communication is via email only. 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about the therapy, along with email support. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
</div>

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==='''Au NAturel'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Au NAturel | '''20 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2019. 
Contact: Max. 
Contact email: max.contact$protonmail.com (change $ to @) 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. Expedited/Express shipping with tracking is available. 
Supplies single doses starting with a first dose of (usually) 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are individually adjusted. 
Doses are a flat rate of $120 USD for 2 to 25 larvae. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
Payment is accepted via PayPal or bitcoins. 
Communication is via email only. 
No medical advice is offered, but use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
</div>

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==='''[https://www.guthappy.com.au/helminthic-therapy Gut Happy Pty Ltd]'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy Aust & NZ (formerly Brisbane Naturopaths) | '''4 customer reviews''']]. 
From 2015 until 2019, and trading under the name, Brisbane Naturopaths, this company was the Australian distributor for HDCs produced by [https://biomerestoration.com Biome Restoration]. The company then began producing their own HDCs in 2019, under the name, Helminthic Therapy Australia & New Zealand, before finally adopting the name, Gut Happy Pty Ltd, in 2022. 
Contact: Denise Hales ND, Senior Naturopath 1300 03 03 25. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], supplied ''fresh'', in saline, for immediate use only. Cannot be stored. [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Self-treating_with_HDC#Storage_and_survival_of_HDC] 
Ships weekly within Australia. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
Cost for 1-10 HDCs is $100 AUD; 11-15 HDCs an extra $10 each; 16-20 HDCs are $175; plus postage (with toll priority). 
'''Cost per year: $4,550 AUD for 20 HDC every 2 weeks'''. Yearly packages are available at a guaranteed fixed price. 
Payment is accepted via electronic funds transfer (EFT), credit cards and PayPal. 
Initial communication via email, but telephone or Skype consultations can be arranged. 
Consultations about the use of HDC are available at $300 AUD for an initial hour, and $200 AUD for a 30 minute follow up, or $90 AUD for 15 minutes. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''Nathural'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Nathural | '''2 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Contact: Nathalie 
Contact email: nathuralcontact$gmail.com (change $ to @) 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships only to Europe and the UK. English and French spoken. 
Supplies single doses, as follows. 1-5 larvae: €65 / 6-10 larvae: €70 / 11-15 larvae: €75 / 16-20 larvae: €80. Shipping starts from €4. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
Payment is accepted via PayPal, or in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin bitcoin]. 
Communication is via email only. 
General helminthic therapy support can be provided, but use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']].
</div>

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==='''Helminth Therapy NZ'''===
★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Helminth Therapy NZ | '''1 customer review''']]. 
Founded: 2022. 
Contact: Michelle. 
Contacts: Email: admin@helminththerapy.co.nz, or via Facebook messenger at [https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/102706412577752 Helminth Therapy NZ], or via their [https://www.facebook.com/HelminthTherapyNZ Facebook page] 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]]. 
Ships within New Zealand only. 
Supplies doses of various sizes, on a pay-per-dose basis according to individual requirements discussed during an initial free consultation. 
Prices: Per person/dose of 1-10 NA larvae is $200NZD. More than 10 is $300NZD. Shipping is free. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
Payment is accepted via bank transfer or cash in NZD. 
No medical advice is offered, but a care pack with easy-to-follow instructions is provided, along with email and telephone support, if needed. Use of the community resources is strongly recommended, i.e., [https://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_Therapy_Wiki this wiki] and the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ support group] on Facebook. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]. 
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==='''[http://www.tanawisa.com/ Tanawisa]'''===
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Tanawisa | '''13 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2003. 
Owner: Detlev Goj. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova) | TSO]]. 
Ships worldwide, but excluding Russia, using express courier services with tracking. 
Supplies doses of 500, 1,000 and 2,500 ova, with special offers on packs of 10 doses. 
'''Cost per year: $5,200''' for the most frequently used dose size of 2,500 ova, if taken every 2 weeks and purchased in multiples of 10 doses. A very small number of users may require up to 7,500 ova every two weeks, but many people who take TSO are able to transition to a much smaller maintenance dosage after the first 10 doses (5 months), which greatly reduces the annual cost. 
Payment methods include PayPal, all major credit cards and bank transfers. 
Individual discounts are available. 
Support is provided via telephone and email. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']].
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==='''[http://www.biomerestoration.com/ Biome Restoration Ltd]'''===
★★★★★ 4.6 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Biome Restoration Ltd | '''11 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2013. 
Founder: Marc Dellerba PhD. 
Organism: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]], which is produced to exacting quality control standards in the company’s UK laboratory, as explained [http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1114995636029&ca=c88013ff-f043-480c-82ec-5569078b872d here]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. 
Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis. 
'''Cost per year: £1,050 for UK residents (including VAT) or £1,170 for customers outside the UK.''' These prices are for 30 HDC every 2 weeks, ordered via automatically renewing subscription and including shipping. 
Some users take 60 HDC every 2 weeks, or 30 every week, either of which will double the cost. 
Expedited shipping is extra, but a saving can be made on shipping costs by purchasing two doses at the same time. 
No medical advice is provided, but assistance is available with how to use the HDC. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://www.wormtherapy.com/ Worm Therapy]'''===
★★★★★ 4.5 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Worm Therapy | '''16 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2008. 
Owner: Garin Aglietti. 
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]]. Historically, Worm Therapy have been reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: [[Hookworm dosing and response | '''Hookworm dosing and response''']]). 
Worm Therapy have declined to provide any information about their services, citing the FDA's [https://www.fda.gov/forindustry/importprogram/importbasics/ucm432661.htm Personal Import Policy]. Enquirers should therefore contact the company directly if they require further details. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
</div>

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==='''[https://www.yoursymbionts.com YourSymbionts]'''===
★★★★☆ 4.36 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#YourSymbionts | '''14 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2018. 
Contact: Steven. Email: info$yoursymbionts.com (change $ to @). Tel: +32456078504. Can also be contacted via WhatsApp and their [https://www.facebook.com/YourSymbionts Facebook page]. 
{{Quote|indent}}The best way to reach them is through WhatsApp. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/5187217014667545/?comment_id=5187578297964750]{{Quote|/indent}}
Organisms: [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TTO (Trichuris trichiura ova) | TTO]]. 
Ships worldwide, including to the US. All shipments are sent in an insulated box by UPS Express, with tracking. All prices include shipping. 
'''NA'''. Supplies doses of various sizes on a pay-per-dose basis, starting with a first dose of 5 larvae. Subsequent dose sizes are determined by consultation. 
A starter package of the first 3 doses of NA costs €400. Thereafter, single doses cost €200 each, and three doses are €450, valid for 2 years from the date of purchase. 
'''TTO'''. Doses start at €1 per ovum. Doses of 25, 50, 100 or 250 are available, with a minimum order of €300. Discounts are available for bulk orders, e.g., a package containing a year's supply of 1200 ova is €750. 
A starter package of 240 TTO, comprising 6 doses of 40 ova, each to be taken at two week intervals, costs €200. 
'''Cost per year: variable, depending on the number of doses purchased.''' 
Payment is via PayPal, or by bank transfer (Europe). 
Communication is via email only. 
No medical advice is offered, but free information is available about helminthic therapy, along with email support, and 1 hour consultations are available for €50. (Details [https://www.yoursymbionts.com/booking here].) New customers get a €25 refund on the consultation when they buy a starter package. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']].
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==='''The Llamas Clinic'''===
★★★★☆ 4 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#The Llamas Clinic | '''2 customer reviews''']]. 
Owner: Jorge Llamas MD. 
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ 
Contact email: dr_llamas$hotmail.com (change $ to @) 
Until 2018, Dr Llamas worked with [http://www.wormtherapy.com/ Worm Therapy] and allowed them to use his clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, but Worm Therapy are now operating independently. 
Organisms. [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#NA (Necator americanus) | NA]] and [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) | HDC]]. 
'''NB'''. Dr Llamas is very reluctant to supply hookworm doses of less than 25 NA, which is far too large a number with which to commence therapy. And he has been known to send clients more NA than they have requested, for example, sending 10 NA to a client with MCAS who had asked for 3 NA - the recommended starting dose for her condition. (Best dosing practice for NA is explained here: [[Hookworm dosing and response | '''Hookworm dosing and response''']]). 
Dr Llamas has been invited to provide more details about his service for inclusion here but has not yet done so. Anyone wanting further information should therefore contact him directly via email or [https://www.facebook.com/DrJorgeLlamas/ Facebook]. 
Also see: [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']] and [[Self-treating with HDC |'''Self-treating with HDC''']].
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==='''[http://autoimmunetherapies.com/ Autoimmune Therapies (AIT)]'''===
★★☆☆☆ 1.9 out of 5 stars. [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''17 customer reviews''']]. 
Founded: 2007. 
Owner: Jasper Lawrence. 
The editors of this wiki cannot recommend Autoimmune Therapies, due to the many [[Helminth provider reviews#Autoimmune Therapies (AIT) | '''adverse reports''']] submitted to us by this company's clients, and because of the company's practice of advising the use of, and supplying, excessively large doses of hookworms. For more about this, see: [[Jasper Lawrence and helminthic therapy#Therapist | '''Jasper Lawrence: the therapist''']]. 

</div>

<div style="border:1px solid #A3B0BF;background-color:#CEDFF2;padding:6px;border-radius:5px;margin-bottom:22px;">The information above was believed to be correct at the time of publication, but please contact the providers to double-check prices, etc., in case of any recent changes.</div>

==Contacting providers by email==

If you email a provider, be sure to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitelisting whitelist] their email address to prevent their reply from being rejected or sent to a spam/junk mail folder. This happens regularly, resulting in people posting to the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support group] asking if anyone knows what's happened to one or other of the providers.

It's also worth remembering that most helminth providers don't work weekends.

==Regarding advice from the providers==

When seeking information from a provider, it should be borne in mind that no one provider sells, or has experience with, all four helminth species. Since some people may have more success with one particular species, with a combination of two or more species, or by starting with one species and later switching to another, it is arguably better to rely more on the information in this wiki when selecting a therapeutic helminth than on advice from a single helminth provider. No single provider can match the objectivity or breadth of information found in this wiki, which offers a balanced assessment of all four available helminths based on the findings of science and the first-hand experience of self-treaters. See [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']].

It is also important to remember that the companies listed on this page are all commercial entities and, as such, their owners are keen to promote their own products. This can result in ''some'' of them occasionally exaggerating the benefits of their own worms and/or misrepresenting the attributes of the worms sold by their competitors, sometimes even claiming that their own worms are cleaner, safer or more powerful than the alternatives, or that their competitors’ products will cause worse side effects, and possibly even multiply within a host or mis-migrate to the wrong parts of a host’s body. However, none of these claims of adverse effects are true for NA, TTO, TSO or HDC. See the [[Helminthic therapy safety | '''Helminthic therapy safety''']] page and [http://www.yourwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/galley-proof-v2.pdf this study].

Alternatives to the advice available from the providers include talking to a [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''helminthic therapy practitioner''']] and asking questions of the members in the [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/ Helminthic Therapy Support Group], some of whom have many years of experience with several different helminth species.

==Doctors as providers==

Some naturopathic physicians who recommend therapy with NA, TTO or HDC and supply these organisms themselves, have claimed that the worms they supply are superior to those available elsewhere, or have implied that the worms sold by others might not be the species they are claimed to be. For example, some doctors who supply hookworms direct to their patients have claimed that their worms are "stronger" than those from their competitors, while others have maintained that theirs are "more gentle". One practitioner even claims that his hookworms are a superior subspecies of NA, termed, "NA457". However, all these claims are merely marketing hype, so self-treaters should always compare the prices quoted by doctors with those of the providers listed above, who invariably charge much lower prices for exactly the same products.

The physician who claims to be supplying his patients with the supposedly superior "NA457", introduced this notion in a book he published in 2018, [https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Hookworm-Therapy-parabiotics-anti-fragile/dp/1729619983/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1D279X2XYOJ6A&keywords=Steve+Nenninger&qid=1662258403&sprefix=steve+nenninger%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3 Understanding Hookworm Therapy: parabiotics - the rise of anti-fragile medicine]. (A free copy is available in digital book form as the [https://www.stevenenninger.com/thehookwormmiracle The Hookworm Miracle].) In the book, Steve Nenninger suggests that people who are looking to host hookworms should check that the worms they buy are [[Self-treating with NA | '''Necator americanus''']] (the New World Hookworm) and not the less desirable [[Ancylostoma duodenale | '''Ancylostoma duodenale''']] (the Old World Hookworm), appearing to suggest that some of the hookworms being sold by helminth providers may be AD and not NA, but this is just more marketing spin.

All the hookworms in captivity today have come from one or other of only two sources. Firstly, the specimens collected from Kar Kar Island, Papua New Guinea, by Prof David Pritchard and his colleagues at Nottingham University, [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/research/01prof.html] and, secondly, those collected from the wild by Garin Aglietti and Jasper Lawrence, the first two commercial suppliers of NA who were, at that time, jointly running AIT. All the NA in use at the present time in research laboratories around the world were sourced from Pritchard's stock, and all the hookworms available from helminth providers - including doctors - are the descendants of those originally collected by Aglietti and Lawrence. Pritchard himself identified his hookworms as NA, and AIT’s stock were also identified as NA by means of PCR testing. The company that supplies Nenninger with the hookworms that he claims to be the special "NA457" obtained their original stock from the same source as all the other NA providers - AIT.

Although Nenninger has been reported to have claimed that "NA457" has been identified by "research", [https://youarethehealer.org/parasitic-worms-to-treat-autoimmune-disease/] a search of the scientific literature reveals no mention of "NA457", and there is no evidence that this term is anything other than the number of a particular hookworm sample that was prepared for genetic testing. It does not signify a new NA subspecies, and the special characteristics of "NA457" that Nenninger lists in his book are ''all'' descriptive of ''any'' example of NA that is available from ''any'' of the helminth providers.

The only difference between what is available from physicians and from an online provider is seen in HDC. This organism loses viability very quickly from the moment it is removed from its beetle host and, without nutritional support, it will be dead within 48 hours. Biome Restoration use a proprietary nutrient solution that keeps their HDC alive for 2-3 weeks, so their product is the only one that will survive long-distance shipping. (For more detail, see [[Self-treating with HDC#Storage and survival of HDC | '''Storage and survival of HDC''']].)

The locally-grown HDC available from physicians’ offices must be taken within 24 hours of being harvested to be fully effective - not 24 hours after receipt. Provided that these ''fresh'' HDC are used within 24 hours of extraction, they do have slightly greater efficacy than a similar number of the ''commercially prepared'' HDC sold by Biome Restoration, and this difference is reflected in the [[Self-treating with HDC#Dosing with HDC |'''dosing guidelines for HDC''']] which show that the use of slightly larger numbers of Biome Restoration’s HDC fully compensates for their slightly reduced efficacy when compared with ''fresh'' HDC that are used within 24 hours of extraction. There is therefore no justification for the very high prices being charged for ''fresh'' HDC by some physicians.

==Comparing the available helminth species==

Details about the different species, and how they compare, can be found on the following page.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Selecting a therapeutic helminth | '''Selecting a therapeutic helminth''']]

==Comparing NA larvae from different sources==

NA larvae all produce the same therapeutic effects whichever company they are bought from.

Some self-treaters have occasionally reported that the hookworms from one provider produced a stronger or weaker skin response than those from another provider, a fact which is seen by users as either positive or negative depending on their point of view. (Some may perceive a stronger skin response as indicating better worms, while others might prefer larvae that produce less itching.) But any variation between the larvae from different providers is not due to those from one company being any better or worse than those from another

All the providers currently supplying NA larvae are using stock from the same original source, but there can be considerable natural variation between batches of hookworm larvae, even between batches grown side-by-side by the same provider. This is due to the fact that hookworms are living creatures and not pills punched out identically by a machine. Some incubations can even occasionally fail to yield any larvae at all, and this happens to growers who have been incubating for many years as well as novices, and to commercial providers as well as private growers.

Concern is sometimes expressed about the possibility that the hookworm larvae available from all the suppliers may have become weakened as a result of a genetic bottleneck in the domesticated hookworm stock. However, there is no evidence that this might be the case. See: [[Self-treating with NA#Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms? | '''Is there genetic degradation in laboratory-reared hookworms?''']].

==Predicting the long-term cost==

In the case of helminths that are sold by the dose, the actual cost is dependent on the number and size of doses that may be required to achieve and maintain disease remission. TSO need to be taken even 2 or 3 weeks, at least for a few months (see [[Self-treating with TSO | '''Self-treating with TSO''']] and this [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#TSO (Trichuris suis ova)| page section]]) and HDC also need to be taken every 2 or 3 weeks (occasionally weekly or monthly), usually indefinitely (see [[Self-treating with HDC | '''Self-treating with HDC''']]). Small doses of TTO may be taken regularly, but larger doses can be taken less frequently (see [[Self-treating with TTO | '''Self-treating with TTO''']]). Some users of NA might only require a single dose every few years, while others may need supplementary doses every few months, indefinitely, due to a higher rate of attrition, which varies greatly between individuals (see [[Self-treating with NA | '''Self-treating with NA''']]). Replacement hookworm doses would also be needed following any accidental losses due to the use of certain substances, all of which are detailed in the [[Human helminth care manual | '''Human helminth care manual''']].

== Minimising the cost ==

The cost of helminthic therapy varies considerably between the providers and the different worm species, all of which is explained in the [[Helminth providers#Providers | '''Provider details''']] section above.

A number of factors need to be taken into account when looking at the cost of helminthic therapy.

* [[Introduction to helminthic therapy#Considering the cost of helminthic therapy | '''Considering the cost of helminthic therapy''']]

Possible options for minimising the costs are as follows.

=== Discounts and payment plans ===

In cases of genuine financial hardship, some providers may be willing to help customers by offering a discount or arranging a payment plan.

=== Don't let cost influence dosing decisions ===

Some providers of NA charge by the dose, whatever number of larvae a dose contains. Some hookworm self-treaters can't resist trying to maximise the value of their purchases from these companies by ordering more larvae than they need, but inoculating with a larger number can result in excessive side effects.

{{Quote|indent}}The provider I use charges per dose, no matter if I want 2 worms or 30. So I tried to push it, and learned my lesson! [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1983242591731686/?comment_id=1984166848305927&reply_comment_id=1985439641511981&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

=== Purchasing helminths from doctors ===

Physicians invariably charge far more for helminths than the online providers listed above, and the organisms supplied by doctors are in no way superior, whatever they may claim. See [[Helminth providers#Doctors as providers | '''Doctors as providers''']] above.

=== Hookworm donation ===

In the case of NA, it may be possible to obtain a donation of hookworm larvae from a fellow self-treater who grows their own supply, although very few people are actually willing to provide this service, and there are risks attached to accepting larvae from a private grower. For more about these risks, see the following page sub-sections.

* [[Helminth incubation#Infection risk | '''Infection risk''']]

* [[Helminth incubation#Legal risks | '''Legal risks''']]

=== DIY helminth incubation ===

NA and HDC are relatively easy to culture at home after purchasing a microscope and a few other sundries. The incubation of TTO is also possible but more challenging. For more about helminth incubation, see the following page.

* [[Helminth incubation | '''Helminth incubation''']]

==Using Bitcoin==

Commercial helminth providers don't have a clear green light to ship their products to all destinations, so some of them need to remain anonymous in order to protect both themselves and the supply. Since the maintenance of anonymity must also extend to methods of payment, some providers only accept payment in Bitcoin.

The use of this cryptocurrency can appear daunting to those who are new to it, but most people find that Bitcoin is easy to use, once they get into it.

====Coinbase====

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase streamlines the process for you, but they charge a fee for their service. It was around 3% of the transaction by memory. It was worth it to me. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1830892493633364/?comment_id=1830940486961898&reply_comment_id=1830945646961382&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I was very concerned about the bitcoin process and security… it seems a bit dodgy for newbies, but I have had no issues, and no one that I have heard on this forum has had issues. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1583377658384850/?comment_id=1598050406917575&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I just had to wrap my mind around it. Now, it's easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1468002149922402&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R0%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}The ordering experience was very easy, and I'm new to bitcoin. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470903532965597/]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I felt comfortable with Coinbase. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1470319949690622/?comment_id=1470616372994313&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}I use coinbase. It is not hard. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

{{Quote|indent}}Coinbase is easy. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1467952616594022/?comment_id=1467953929927224&reply_comment_id=1468256369896980&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

Once you have a [https://www.coinbase.com Coinbase] account, you will also be able to use Coinbase's sister company, [https://www.gdax.com GDAX], which has dramatically lower fees varying from 0.1% to 0.25%, compared to upwards of 4% with Coinbase.

Although GDAX is an advanced trading platform aimed at serious traders, the fact that it is owned by the same company as Coinbase means that, once you have a Coinbase account, you can use the same details to log in to GDAX. You may then need to provide some further details, and you’ll have to move funds from one wallet to the other, but this should be easy.

====Local Bitcoins====

Some people prefer to use Local Bitcoins, who have a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHLeeU1tFE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0gUHBfHxk1pRli4lQUzP4gvX3dF96rnQNRwzPrjdJBgKdn-eTE5GZGRns How to Buy Bitcoins Tutorial]. (Video)

{{Quote|indent}}Always had a good run with Local Butcoin... most sellers are happy to help. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/2146827588706518/?comment_id=2147399078649369&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D]{{Quote|/indent}}

===Help with using Bitcoin===

Those helminth providers who request payment in bitcoins include detailed Bitcoin guides on their websites to help their customers, and they will assist personally with the process, if asked.

For those who prefer not to get involved with Bitcoin themselves, there are trustworthy members of the Helminthic Therapy Support group who will exchange PayPal payments or bank wires for bitcoins, which they will then send directly to the appropriate provider on behalf of the customer. For further details, see the posts at the following links.

* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/1479835298739087 PayPal payments]
* For [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/posts/3309194392469826?comment_id=3309197035802895 PayPal payments or bank wires]

==Routing shipments via a different country==

If you are unable to have your selected helminths delivered direct to your home, you could have them shipped to another country and either travel there to collect these yourself, or arrange for someone who lives there to receive and re-ship them to you. However, a potential problem with traveling to collect hookworm larvae is that these can succumb to freezing during transit, including while in the cargo hold of a plane, so doses may be dead on arrival at their destination. This can result in a wasted journey for the person collecting them.

==Losses during shipping==

The vast majority of helminth deliveries arrive safely at their destination containing viable organisms. However, since helminths are living creatures, they are susceptible to extremes of heat and cold, both of which may be encountered during shipping. NA larvae are the most at risk because they have a very limited temperature range and will die if exposed to very low or very high temperatures.

There is no universally applied temperature for the cargo hold on commercial passenger planes, but they are typically heated by the warm air exiting the main cabin, so should, in theory, remain above freezing for the duration of each flight. However, planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, different companies apply different practices, and different types of flights have their own protocols, so temperatures do vary, and, in practice, can range from 7°C (45°F) to 13°C (55°F), with bulk areas (where animals are carried) sometimes reaching more than 18°C (64°F).

There can be further variation in temperature throughout a cargo hold depending on placement, location, time at altitude, and the duration of the flight. Data loggers used to record temperatures have found that they can reach as low as ''minus'' 7°C (19°F) during international flights above the ocean, where the outside temperature at 30,000 feet can average ''minus'' 44.6°C (minus 48°F).

The greatest vulnerability to temperature extremes occurs on the airport tarmac, where goods may be left for extended periods during loading and unloading. This can result in hookworm larvae dying from the cold during the winter months, or from excessive heat in the summer, when the walls of aircraft containers can increase by more than 20°C (68°F) above the ambient air temperature due to exposure to solar radiation during ramp transfers.

Outside post boxes are another potential death trap for NA larvae, so, if you have one of these, arrange for winter shipments to be delivered to an alternative, heated location, or temporarily rent a PO Box.

Providers will usually make good any losses incurred during shipping.

See also.

* [[Self-treating with NA#Hookworm larvae storage and survival | '''Hookworm larvae storage and survival''']] (For details about the temperature tolerance of hookworms).

* [[Selecting a therapeutic helminth#Shelf life | '''The shelf life of helminths''']]

==Further advice==

Additional advice is available from naturopathic physicians, a medical doctor, a specialist nurse and a health coach, all of whom have extensive experience with helminthic therapy.

* [[Helminthic therapy practitioners | '''Helminthic therapy practitioners''']]