Clear benefits and improved mood help cope with remaining issues
I have had rosacea since 2014.
I have tried quite a few things but nothing has really worked that well, so when I heard about helminthic therapy I thought I'd give it a go. My first inoculation was with 5 NA in mid-October 2021.
Benefits
- I no longer react to insect bites. Usually a sandfly bite would stick around for a good few days, but now I either don't react or the welt will be gone in half an hour.
- Cleaning anything dusty or changing beds used to make me very sneezy, but not any more.
- Much reduced nose drip and throat-clearing.
- Mood lift. Sometime in November I realised I actually consciously felt happy. First time in years. Less grumpy and angry.
- Premenstrual mood swings are gone/much reduced.
- Less constipation.
- Skin improved markedly (this took over a month) and I could relax my diet a little. I eat lots of not-usual things at Christmas time which my skin hates and this year I didn't have to pay for it for the next month as I usually do. My skin was not upset at all.
But then I suddenly lost most of my benefits - all except the insect bite thing - and I figured I must have killed the worms off, probably with a combination of my mum's baking (I forgot to ask about coconut) and almond dairy-free Magnums. It turns out these are full of coconut products, and I didn't read the label until it was too late. Then again, it might have been my metronidazole gel (Rozex), but that's topical so I figure it should be OK.
Anyway, I reinoculated with the following doses.
10 NA March 2022. (My benefits returned after this dose.)
15 NA November 2022
20 NA May 2023
Downsides
- There have been no side effects that I’ve noticed, apart from the itch and blisters where the NA enter, and abdominal discomfort at night for a few months, but lying on my front helps this.
- Also I sometimes feel really shaky when I wake up, which is a bit concerning, but if I just lie there for 10 minutes or so it subsides. It only seems to happen when I wake up, and not at any other time.
- So far, it hasn't fixed my dairy intolerance. Dairy still gives me insomnia, low level headaches and occasional migraines.
- Around week 7- 8 after the last inoculation, I noticed my nose was drippy, I felt sad a lot, and I got very angry at something that shouldn't have been a big deal. This seems to have worn off now and this last week has been a lot better.
- My skin hasn't really improved as much as I had expected after my initial good results but I think it's worth persevering because of the other benefits. It isn't too bad if I religiously avoid sugar but I definitely still have rosacea and look like it. But I think being more happy helps me cope with it better.
By J Anderson, July 2023