1 Faculty of Medicine, University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2 University Hospital Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
3 The Public Institution Health Centre of Stolac, Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
In this case report we describe a 49 year-old man who presented with chronic urticaria, angioedema and soft stool consistency. During diagnostic examinations Hashimoto’s thyroiditis was found even though the patient never had clear symptoms of this disease. Blastocystis hominis was isolated through a stool microbiologic examination, implicating that this parasite can cause the development of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and chronic urticaria. After two-weeks treatment with metronidazole the Blastocystis hominis was eradicated, then urticaria and angioedema disappeared. During the four years of follow-up, the patient presented without any symptoms, whereas thyroid hormones were normalized and anti-thyroid antibodies declined. For the first time in the literature we show that eradication of Blastocystis hominis can prevent the development of both symptomatic Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and chronic urticaria.
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mourneadventurer
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This is interesting. My daughter has CFS and very low cortisol (plus 15 symptoms of hypothyroidism but tests within range so no diagnosis). She improved with grain free low sugar diet and supplements and has improved again since being treated with Paromomycin antibiotic for parasite D. Fragilis. For the first time in 18 months she was able to go out and have a couple of drinks with no ill effects; previously her face and eyes puffed up and it took her about five days to recover from drinking alcohol.
Did your daughter have her testosterone/ aldosterone checked? When we are very stressed cortisol will find its constituents from the sex hormones. Check out pregnenolene steal.
From what I can find out about this opportunistic protozoan it loves carbohydrates, wheat and dairy amongst other things and goes through a complex series of life cycles leading to a leaky gut. Sounds familiar!
Hi Mourneadventurer, could you tell me please what you mean by carbohydrates, these days some people mean pastry, bread etc, while others mean the carbs in fruit and vegetables?
My understanding and I'm not from a nutritional background is that they can either be fast or slow releasing carbohydrates. If we are having bloating, wind, burping or any of those symptoms that we might have had for a long time and ignored - then we might have unwanted guests who are opportunists and love a fast sugar hit and just love the fast release carbohydrates. So your answer depends on what unwanted guests you have. The only way to identify them is through testing, stool, organic acid, breath etc. Then you know what you've got and be able to get rid of them! Altering your gut bacteria helps by altering your food intake.
As we become more hypothyroid on T4 every cell is starved of the Iodine it should be receiving when converted to T3. The impact on our gut and beyond is far reaching leading initially to Leptin resistance then Insulin resistance leading onto Adrenal resistance.
I'm now working with a Functional Nutritionist on Skype and have gone through this testing and am now resetting my gut based on my individual results. In the past 2 months I've lost 22 lbs in weight by getting rid of the bad guys and putting in the good ones alongside eating a Paleo auto-immune diet. With individualised supplementation related to my tests.
I hope this answers your questions.
Wishing you very success in your journey back to Good Health,
i don't know if it would be done on the NHS worth asking. I did it privately and even my endocrinologist said he hadn't seen anything as comprehensive. I worked with a Functional Nutritionist and through her I was able to access the test. It is called a DUTCH test 24 hour dried urine. Very worthwhile as I was able to see what was happening when my heart started to slow done and skip beats and relate that to this test.
Interesting article as I have Hashimotos and was diagnosed with Blastocystis Hominid and Dientamoeba Fragilis: Rare Trophozoite(s) last June.
With specialist advice I took many supplements known to eradicate parasites and support the gut and was cleared 6 months later, evidenced by stool sample and good gut health in dec.
I'm glad you've successfully eradicated your unwanted and unwelcome passengers and now have good gut health. Well done for your persistence and specialist advice. These organisms are not benign. Blastocystis has long been thought of as a commensal organism but this research might have it reclassified!
I thought I had picked them up after some worldly travels about seven years ago. However, your article reinforces suspicions that my autoimmunity dates back to childhood when I experienced almost constant painful lymph glands (but not glandular fever) and my gut health has been bad most of my life.
A very healthy life style and a constant search for improved gut health has probably proved more prudent than I ever imagined. Having unwelcome passengers for seven years was bad enough but the realisation that it may have been quite substantially longer is totally gross ! ! ..
My guts ecology is now very different and continues to improve but I still fail miserably in the gastric acid department having to supplement large doses of Betaine HCL ( & other) with all meals. However, it is obviously working as precious thyroid hormones are doing well ... hooray ! ! ..
That's good to hear Radd, it heartens me to hear of others success along the route back to full health. Having an under active thyroid with an auto immune component leaves us susceptible to unwanted guests which add hidden stress to our adrenal glands.
Having a really good stool test with H pylori and parasites included along with an organic acid test has been enlightening.
I did The Comprehensive Parasitology stool test by Genova. It also evaluates levels of beneficial flora, imbalanced flora, pathogenic bacteria, and yeast.
My nutritionist advised candida//yeast(s) (although may be present) don't always show in a stool test, so I did a Great Plains Laboratory Microbial Organic Acids Urine Test as well.
As she advised might happen, candida did show in the urine test but not in the stool.
Hello Radd, I guess when the Blastocystis is removed then the yeast will have a field day with no competition from parasites though it would depend on bacteria present as well.
There definitely is a sequence to eradicating these unwanted guests and supplementing alongside the correct diet.
I've also been looking at Dr Hulda Clarke's zapper but still have to research it some more.
I was cleared of both parasites and candida but after christmas suffered the suspicious gut bloating again so assume once "bitten" the candida poses a susceptibility and so becomes always an inherent problem ... she says whilst eating the chocolate off chocolate brazils and leaving the nut ! ! ! ... lol.
The zapper looks interesting but I can't work out where one would put it ? ! ? ! ...
Very funny, seems to scan the body and zap the nasties as their own frequency. Has to be done in a controlled way so as not to overwhelm the immune system. Acupuncture points on hands and feet to clear the meridians.
I'm also looking at far infra red sauna which works from the inside to kill and remove toxins provided you have a shower afterwards to remove sweat etc.
Thanks for the laugh Radd. Sunny day here and off for a walk around the Spring Flowers in the local botanic garden this afternoon.
I am also working with a nutritionist and last year was tested as zinc deficient so immediately supplemented Aqueous Zinc and now 25mg (as zinc gluconate and zinc citrate).
I have been chelating heavy metals for 8 months (just stopped) and understand zinc can take some while to raise as taking too much too quickly is toxic. I had forgotten the connection between HCL and zinc so maybe my gastric acid secretion will eventually sort. I have been supplementing Betaine HCL with pepsin for nearly a year.
I didn’t realise Blastocystis was considered to be a commensal organism. You would think a parasite is called a parasite because of its abhorant undesirability ! ! .. .. Blastocysts infection is now so common that although a fecal-oral route is thought the usual transmission, contaminated water is now being considered.
One study commonly found Blastocystis in the stools in over 30% of returned travellers from developing countries but it is postulated to be a much higher occurance as only a few exhibit immediate symptoms.
Symptoms are usually associated with IBS and the pathogenicity linked to specific subtypes of Blastocystis as well as a patients previous health. Those immune compromised are more susceptible and considering your article …. leads to the old question of “what came first “? ? …
Commensal means lacking an inherent ability to cause disease and although the outcome is not inevitable, disease appears to be a strong possibility for many , even if only an indirect result of the pathogen interaction.
Two National Health stool tests missed my eventual diagnosis arrived at by a private comprehensive stool test and specialist evaluation//treatment.
Given the wide range of virulence and spread of Blastocystis, this is something GP’s should be educated about.
Totally agree Radd, we need an integrative apporoach to treating Thyroid disorders. The thyroid is just the canary in the coal mine letting us know that something isn't quite right and out of balance. We need to be thinking along the lines of finding the cause instead of papering over the cracks.
Yes, as good gut health is imperative for any recovery .... but mine was unbelievably slow due to years of undiagnosed low thyroid hormone (like many of us) that left a whole shed load of other conditions that needed addressing.
I also chose the holistic route that required copious amounts of supplements, money and a total dedication ! ! ..
No idea when I picked it up but could've been in 2000 when I swam in an indoor pool in Mexico as I developed a really bad ear and neck gland infection afterwards?
Paleo diet grain/gluten, soy, dairy, sugar free. Sacchromyces boulardii and liposomal Biocidin from Bio botanical research. Probiotics and a lot of other minerals and vitamins that I need identified by testing. Check out the Amrita nutrition UK website. I'm working with a functional nutritionist to guide me through the quagmire.
Thanks for this, like radd I have had Blastocystis hominis and Dientamoeba Fragilis. I was unsure about the first test, so had another some months later through a different lab and exactly the same bugs showed up. A nutritionist has helped me get rid of them over the last year and the last test was fine. I was diagnosed hypothyroid by Dr Skinner with normal test results going back some years, but I do not have Hashis. Nevertheless it's very interesting to see the bits of the puzzle fitting together!
Dr Isabella Wenz author of Hashimoto's Root Cause had Blastocystis as one of her triggers. Her book is worth a read and her website has success stories from folk who've reversed their symptoms.
If Blastocystis is present it will be creating hidden stress for your adrenals to cope with. What I've come to realise is that stress is cumulative and builds so what I always managed became more challenging with the onset of menopause, slipped discs etc.
Well done you for finding a good nutritionist to support your journey back to health.
I hadn't seen this research paper on the impact of Vitamin D on reversing auto-immune conditions. I've just retested my vitamin D levels yesterday with vitamindtest.org.uk telephone 01215074278 based at Sandwell and West Birmingham hospital cost I think it was £28? I've been supplementing as my levels had dropped to 62 and I'm aiming for 100-120 nmol/L.
I wonder if eliminating the blasto was directly responsible, or whether it was the improvement in gut health from eliminating the blasto that allowed the thyroid problem to heal. The treatment with metronidazole could have eliminated other potential problem invaders of the GI tract too. Interesting, but not possible to tell enough from just the one case!
I guess the only way is to be really specific identifying the parasite, bacteria or yeast and then having a bio-unique eradication protocol. Certainly as Blasto has four parts to its life cycle and at least one is on/through the gut wall if this is stopped then the gut can heal. The herbal method including biofilms and S Boulardii with infra red sauna is worth considering.
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