Helminthic therapy and narcolepsy

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Although narcolepsy has been confirmed as an autoimmune disease, [1] [2] helminths had been thought not to be able to help in many cases of this disease because studies have shown that the hypocretin-producing neurons are killed rapidly, within 2 weeks of the disease developing. So it was believed that intervention would only be possible at the onset, if the patient shows sudden dramatic symptoms but, unfortunately, only familial cases are likely to be diagnosed within that critical 2 week period, and the average time to diagnosis is 10 years.

However, there are reports that narcolepsy has improved on both a gluten-free diet and a low-carbohydrate diet, which suggests that the hypocretin cells are not necessarily all killed. In this case, helminthic therapy might help after all, and there are two reports confirming this.

I don't have Narcolepsy myself but my relative does. She has found three things to be most important:

1. To adhere to a Low Carb, High Fat - diet.

2. To do daily exercise (running/yoga/weightlifting/cycling.

3. When she added helminth therapy (some 15 + 20 hookworms by now) she got even more awake.

She can really tell a beneficial difference from the hookworms. She could tell after 5 weeks that something had changed very much because she was staying wide awake during university lectures for several hours, contrary to what had been the case before. The helminth therapy aspect has really changed her quality of life for the better!!! She wants to keep her hookworms and is very content! She tried HDC, for approx half a year, that made no difference at all so she stopped taking HDC. [3]

I don't have MS but narcolepsy, which is actually pretty similar, autoimmune reaction to brain, and have found a lot of relief with the paleo diet combined with worms. I used to have to take amphetamines so stay conscious, now I no longer need them, although I do still take medicine at night to improve my sleep cycles.

Any patient with narcolepsy who decides to try helminthic therapy should use very conservative dosing. See the details in the following page section.

Conditions that require a modified approach to helminth dosing

The first time I took hookworm I took 25 and had a terrible reaction and had to kill them. Restarted with 7 and didn't react. I've been inching the dose up every time I re-dose and have not reacted. That's what you have to do if you are on the CFS spectrum, which includes narcolepsy, mast cell disease, fibromyalgia, ME. [4] (After hosting helminths for several years, this individual was able to tolerate a dose of 15 NA without experiencing any side effects.)

Even if helminthic therapy does not help their main condition, patients with narcolepsy may benefit from hosting a small colony of worms to help with the comorbidities, and also in preventing the development of additional autoimmune diseases. It is known that narcoleptics tend to accumulate other autoimmune diseases, such as celiac disease, which appears to develop in an estimated 50% or more of narcoleptics.

If a parent has narcolepsy, it may be worth using helminths prophylactically in their children in the hope of preventing them developing the same condition.

Low-dose naltrexone (LDN) has been suggested as a possible treatment for narcolepsy, and features in the list of treatments for this disease on the Cure Together website, [5] with no mention of any adverse side effects. LDN is compatible with helminthic therapy.

Helminthic therapy and low-dose naltrexone (LDN)

See also