Two nematode larvae
So I returned to the microscopist who did my first live blood cell analysis (or phase contrast - not darkfield) three months ago. You can see the video here and also below. The first thing we noticed was that my red blood cells are exhibiting more rouleaux (when they stick/clump together). This could mean dehydration or food allergies or bowel toxicity or leaky gut...It was funny how I went from a 1 out of 5 three months ago to a 4 out of 5 for roleaux amount. Especially because I am feeling pretty good. The practitioner wanted to know if I was eating gluten or casein. Nope. Soy was third on the list and eggs fourth. Eggs I'd had for breakfast but soy not for years. These foods, which are allergenic for some of us, have sticky proteins also known as lectins. Maybe I'm not making enough finishing enzymes. Or maybe parasites in my small intestine are maintaining the inflammation. Or perhaps there's so much proteinaceous waste from the die-off my treatment is creating that that could help explain some of the rouleaux. Anyway, Francine thought that my gut was still leaking proteins, aka I still have leaky gut.
As we continued to look at my blood and talk about what could be causing the inflammation, Francine wondered if she set her 5000x microscope to low power magnification, would we see something that she's been seeing a lot lately, especially in the blood of Lyme people. She switched it to low power, looked into it for a minute, and then showed us these lovely things. They are what appear to be nematode larvae. Possibly strongyloides, but all nematode larvae look alike. Perhaps even ascaris larvae as well (ascaris lumbroides is the type that the parisitologist found in my stool sample two months ago). They come to a point at one end, and they're a little blunt on the other end - the tail versus the head. It's a microscopic larva; you would never see it with the naked eye. Adult nematodes are 1 cm, but these larvae are only 200-400 microns long.
These roundworms, also known as threadworms, could be what is perpetuating my leaky gut, because they bore into the lining of the gut and lap up blood. They don't feed on feces and other food, like typical gut parasites.
Some doctors will give Ivermectin (what they give to dogs for heartworm larvae) for 1-3 days, but this is not the way to eradicate the worms. Treatment must be deep and thorough and commonly involve other strong antiparasitic meds. Francine is suspicious that we may be picking these parasites up from produce from South America or Mexico or other countries. Roundworms are a common parasite in the tropics - more than 50% of people living there are infected with them. However if their immunity is strong they will be asymptomatic.
The nematode throws larvae into the stool or the blood. They don't throw eggs into the stool. They might not be picked up in a stool sample.They get into the lining of the G.I. tract, into the tissue; they're not hanging out in the lumen. The ones that go into the blood are called filarial form larvae. They go into the blood, come up through the heart, toward the lungs. They're too big to go through the capillaries in the lungs so they're forced out of the lung tissue, and the cilia work them up the throat, until you swallow them back down.
What do people in the tropics grow and eat to deal with these infections, or to perhaps keep the things at bay? Papaya seeds, pineapple, and I'm sure others that I don't know about. Francine suggested I start grinding those foods up and drink them in smoothies. I would also add pumpkin seeds to this. She told me about Jeff Primack and how he advises taking the bottom inch of the pineapple floret and juicing that to help expel worms.
Francine also saw another nematode-like larva that had a forked tail. She told us about how there is a nematode in Haiti that can cause elephantitis. This too was being aggressively attacked by my immune system, the white blood cells.
The good news: she saw only one spirochete and one cyst. And much less evidence of yeast. Compared to my first visit three months ago, these are improvements for sure. I have been on salt/c for four months, and on an anti-parasitic protocol for two. These treatments however may not be getting at these nematode larvae.
So much to learn! I will do this again in another three months and will keep you posted. Here's the edited video:
