Parasites, Yeast, and high/low minerals

[AHB900]

Hey guys,

 

Let me give you guys a quick background of my problem before i get into my question. I have always had tics since I was a child. They had their ups and downs, but this past 1.5-2 years they have been going crazy. Few things changed for me when this all started to get out of hand. I moved down stairs to the back house where I have found some mold. I did some DIY mold test and came out to find that the bathroom contains rare amounts of cladosporium (mold) and did some research and found it is not toxic to humans. Also, found Hyphai Fragments (rare amounts), and found pollen at moderate amounts, but there is no fungal growth according to the test.

 

Dr. Mullen also had me run some parasite test. Which came back positive for Blastocystis hominis cysts (protozoa rare amount), Iodamoeba butschii cysts (protozoa few), and also Yeast Organisms (fungi moderate amount).

 

Dr. Mullen also ran hair and mineral's test which brought back results stating that my Iron is very high (double the max normal), Lithium is low, potassium is low, and nickel is high.

 

I have been seeing two doctors recently both Neurologists. One of them is treating with natural treatments (vitamins/minerals) and the other with clonidine.

 

I have been taking clonidine at 0.2mg twice a day and I really don't see any help. I have been talking to Dr. Nancy Mullen who i actually found out about by doing a search on these forums. The clonidine is not giving me any bad side effects, but if i can i rather not take it.

 

Dr. Mullen (the one that treats with vitamins and minerals) believes that the increase in my tics in the passed year and a half might be due to the yeast and the parasites. I had gone to Cabo Mexico In July 2014 and my tics blew up out of control in November 2014. She believes I may have gotten the parasites during my trip to Cabo. She has prescribed me Alinia (Nitazoxanide)which is supposed to kill the parasites along with the following supplements.

 

An all in one vitamin supplement

Nicin

Lithium

Lactoferrin

b12

CadidiaFX

Potassium

Probiotics

 

My question:

What do you guys think about this? Can parasites (the ones found in my body) be the cause of the increase in my tics? Is her diagnosis plausible?

 

Also, in the year of 2014 I had been trying out some new supplements that were messing with my hormones. Could this have caused a permanent mix up in my brain that may have caused my permanent increase in tics? I know some drugs such as adderal or ritalin can cause a permanent increase in tics. I don't know if this is something I may have done to my self.

 

What do you all think of all of this?

 

Thank You

 

 

[Sheila]

Hi AHB900,

 

I suggest you take Dr. Mullen's lead on this--yes, candida and parasites can certainly be the cause of tics.

 

FYI different types of mold or other allergens like pollen can aggravate tics (mold need not always be toxic to cause a tic reaction). You mention exposures to these around the time of the relatively recent flare.

 

Treating imbalances shown in the lab tests, as you have indicated, should be helpful as well.

 

Can we assume you have ruled out a viral or bacterial infection, beyond the parasites?

 

Also, I would not worry that you have caused any kind of permanent neurological damage related to the supplements you had been taking.

 

I hope you will let us know how things go and what else you learn. Wishing you all the best with your efforts!

[AHB900]

Hi, Ms, Demare

 

Thank you for the response.

 

I am following her routine currently, I do need to figure out a anti yeast diet to follow. I did some google searches and realized pretty much nothing is allowed on a anti yeast diet. The mold will be taken care of during this summer, we will be tearing down the whole bathroom to rebuild it, because there are other problems with it on top of the mold.

 

Can you please go into more further details on why I should not worry about the supplements causing permanent damage? I have done research and nothing really comes up that really gives me a good answer, as to how the brain bounces back to normal after being exposed to certain supplements and drugs that alter neurotransmitters.

 

As far as viral/bacterial. Im not sure if we have ruled those out, but we did speak about strep. I actually get strep throat pretty much once a year and treat it with amoxicillin for about 10 days. She mentioned that strep and other bacteria/virus's work together to fight to immune system and feed off of each other to become stronger. I think thats what she was explaining.

 

 

Hi AHB900,

 

I suggest you take Dr. Mullen's lead on this--yes, candida and parasites can certainly be the cause of tics.

 

FYI different types of mold or other allergens like pollen can aggravate tics (mold need not always be toxic to cause a tic reaction). You mention exposures to these around the time of the relatively recent flare.

 

Treating imbalances shown in the lab tests, as you have indicated, should be helpful as well.

 

Can we assume you have ruled out a viral or bacterial infection, beyond the parasites?

 

Also, I would not worry that you have caused any kind of permanent neurological damage related to the supplements you had been taking.

 

I hope you will let us know how things go and what else you learn. Wishing you all the best with your efforts!

[Sheila]

Hi --

 

Did you ask Dr. Mullen for an anti-candida diet that she recommends? As you say, there are lot of diets on the internet; in general it's a restrictive diet but not impossible to follow. (Some people eventually need antifungal medications.)

 

It will be interesting to see how the Alinia treatment works. How long do you need to take it and did she say when you might see some results?

 

About the supplements not causing permanent damage -- i was suggesting you not focus on that. Though people can have negative reactions to different supplements, in comparison to prescription drugs, they are much safer and do not tend to cause they types of long-term serious problems that an antipsychotic, for example, has the potential to do.

 

When you redo your bathroom, it will be important to follow eco-friendly approaches to avoid dispersing the mold throughout the house as it is being torn up, and using nontoxic products in its place. You have a little time to look into that, since you said you are doing it this summer. FYI, high levels of candida and mold sensitivity often go together.

 

Have you tried any dietary changes or noticed if any certain foods bother you?

 

Can you try sleeping in a different area? Not sure how permanent your "move to the back house" is and what other options you may have? if you have to stay in the same place, any chance you can put a high quality air purifier in there if you don't have one already?

 

[AHB900]

Well she recommended a paleo diet she told me to purchase the book called practical paleo, but ill be honest I have not looked at it much yet. Im not sure if paleo = anti candidia...

 

I am also curious about Alinia, it should be arriving in the next week or so. From what she told me and what ive read its a 3 day treatment, but it may require more than one cycle of treatment.

 

Yes when I start to redo the bathroom I will be calling in a professional mold service to handle the mold, so that way I wont have it travel into the other rooms.

 

The thing about diet changes. My diet had never really been a problem, nor has caffeine ever been a problem. Not very many thing made my tics worse up until a few months after I went to mexico and came back. My tics exploded out of control and became worse than they have ever been. After this caffeine and bad diet became something that really had a effect on me. The problem is.. In addition to mexico, I also had tried a lot of harder non FDA approved muscle gaining supplements that I found in my local supplement shop, and also moved down to the back house where there was mold. Basically everything happened at once so it is really hard for me to pin point what the cause of the huge increase was.

Hi --

 

Did you ask Dr. Mullen for an anti-candida diet that she recommends? As you say, there are lot of diets on the internet; in general it's a restrictive diet but not impossible to follow. (Some people eventually need antifungal medications.)

 

It will be interesting to see how the Alinia treatment works. How long do you need to take it and did she say when you might see some results?

 

About the supplements not causing permanent damage -- i was suggesting you not focus on that. Though people can have negative reactions to different supplements, in comparison to prescription drugs, they are much safer and do not tend to cause they types of long-term serious problems that an antipsychotic, for example, has the potential to do.

 

When you redo your bathroom, it will be important to follow eco-friendly approaches to avoid dispersing the mold throughout the house as it is being torn up, and using nontoxic products in its place. You have a little time to look into that, since you said you are doing it this summer. FYI, high levels of candida and mold sensitivity often go together.

 

Have you tried any dietary changes or noticed if any certain foods bother you?

 

Can you try sleeping in a different area? Not sure how permanent your "move to the back house" is and what other options you may have? if you have to stay in the same place, any chance you can put a high quality air purifier in there if you don't have one already?

 

 

[Sheila]

I can see you had a lot of things happen at once. Hopefully you will be able to sort it out. When you said supplements, I wasn't thinking of muscle-building supplements. But again, I don't think you should get discouraged thinking there is permanent damage from them.

 

One thing--when you were in Mexico, did you ever notice if they sprayed for mosquitoes or other pests while you were there? Or did you smell pesticides in your hotel room? I was only in Mexico once, about 6 years ago, and I remember being so shocked that in the area we were, they sprayed really strong mosquito pesticides from low flying small planes right while we were all standing outside. I don't know how often that happens, but I wonder if you had any kind of chemical exposure while there. Just a wild thought. As a general comment, after a significant exposure to a toxin, one can then be less tolerant of low levels of allergens or other substances that might not bother you otherwise. I'm not suggesting a toxic exposure was the issue with you -- something else, like parasites if that pans out, can set things off also. Just crossed my mind.

 

About the paleo diet, there's a simplified reference on what you can and can't eat from WebMD. It gives you an overview.

See here Once you have a handle on the basics, the Practical Paleo book that was recommended to you by Dr. Mullen should make sense. It's a definite lifestyle change and yes, it would be considered anti-candida (though it goes beyond that in some ways).

 

Please keep us posted on how the anti-parasite treatment goes, OK?

[AHB900]

I honestly have no idea about pesticides in the hotel room. I really don't think so, but I mean anything is possible.

 

I just finished my 5 day cycle of Alinia for the parasites. It was prescribed at 500mg twice a day for 5 days. Yesterday night was the last dose i had to take. I feel no different, my bloating is not any less than before and there is no improvement or worsening in my tics. I have been told that it may require a second round of treatment, so I will give it a week and give it another 5 day try. Hopefully that makes a difference.

 

I have not started the paleo diet to remove the yeast over growth, but that is for sure next on my list of things to try. I know back in the days when I was losing weight I was on a very low carb diet and if i remember correctly I felt the best back then, so hopefully I can get back into a paleo/low carb/anti fungal diet and hopefully that helps.

 

Other notes. Clonidine really does not seem to be doing anything at all. Supplements I was told to take by my doctor have not proven to help or worsen my tics.

 

Im still holding on to the hope of it being the mold in the bathroom, as long as I have things to hold onto as possibilities I have hope to keep trying to figure it out. The tic increase has really taken a toll on my confidence and happiness since it got worse.

 

 

I can see you had a lot of things happen at once. Hopefully you will be able to sort it out. When you said supplements, I wasn't thinking of muscle-building supplements. But again, I don't think you should get discouraged thinking there is permanent damage from them.

 

One thing--when you were in Mexico, did you ever notice if they sprayed for mosquitoes or other pests while you were there? Or did you smell pesticides in your hotel room? I was only in Mexico once, about 6 years ago, and I remember being so shocked that in the area we were, they sprayed really strong mosquito pesticides from low flying small planes right while we were all standing outside. I don't know how often that happens, but I wonder if you had any kind of chemical exposure while there. Just a wild thought. As a general comment, after a significant exposure to a toxin, one can then be less tolerant of low levels of allergens or other substances that might not bother you otherwise. I'm not suggesting a toxic exposure was the issue with you -- something else, like parasites if that pans out, can set things off also. Just crossed my mind.

 

About the paleo diet, there's a simplified reference on what you can and can't eat from WebMD. It gives you an overview.

See here Once you have a handle on the basics, the Practical Paleo book that was recommended to you by Dr. Mullen should make sense. It's a definite lifestyle change and yes, it would be considered anti-candida (though it goes beyond that in some ways).

 

Please keep us posted on how the anti-parasite treatment goes, OK?

[Sheila]

Dealing with low self-esteem and confidence is one of the most difficult things when tics get worse, as you are describing. Try not to get down on yourself. I know that is easier said than done. Once you start to see some improvement, you should be able to start turning things around.

 

I hope you will let us know how things go. We hope you will begin to improve with the treatment your doctor is giving you (and changes once you can get away from the mold).

[karol_dr]

I also thinking about wheat allergy. Does anyone done the blood test for wheat allergy?, or maybe intolerance wheat test like food detective will be better?