Parasite Cleanse

[barilla]

I was wondering if anyone has tried a parasite cleanse. I asked my doctors office to mail me my test results when I found out I had celiac disease. As I study the blood work results, I noticed that my Eosinophil count was VERY high. So I Googled what that would mean and it says:

"What abnormal results mean:

Increased eosinophils (eosinophilia) is usually associated with allergic diseases and parasites (such as worms).

Possible disorders include:

Eczema

Leukemia

Autoimmune diseases

Asthma

Hay fever "

So I wonder if it's high ONLY because of my allergic disease or because I have parasites too.

Has anyone ever done a parasite cleanse? Any recommendations? Is it harmless to do even if I don't have parasites? I think I want to do it just in case. I am looking for a new doctor so I don't wish to go through him.

Thanks!

[Ursa Major]

Be VERY careful with a cleanse. It was what made me desperately ill in May of 2005, and put me over the edge into full-blown celiac disease.

[drjmarkusic]

Be VERY careful with a cleanse. It was what made me desperately ill in May of 2005, and put me over the edge into full-blown celiac disease.

I've not had a cleanse performed but have a blood screening performed every 3 months. The procedure consists of withdrawing all of my blood, running it through a machine and all the while putting it back into my system at the proper temperature. I have this because I have hyperoxaluria as well as celiac disease. This test is performed to determine oxalate content and kidney function. However, since I was diagnosed with celiac disease 1 1/2 years ago my oxalates have been normal. The only side effect of this test is exteme tiredness for a day. Jim

[barilla]

drjmarkusic--

I am glad that your oxalate levels are normal since you've been gluten free! I hope you are feeling well.

Ursa Major--

I'm sorry the cleanse made you sick. I hope you are doing well now. How did it make you ill? Which cleanse did you use?

I'm still deciding if I should do it. There are parasite cleanses that are natural and use herbs. Example: Paragone. Has anyone ever used paragone? Their website makes it sound like you should do a cleanse first, then use the paragone. The thought of parasites totally wig me out! I wonder if I am just being paranoid!! I just want to be healthy! :-)

[Rachel--24]

There are parasite cleanses that are natural and use herbs. Example: Paragone. Has anyone ever used paragone?

I used Paragone...it was a couple years ago and it didnt give me any problems. I was very sick at the time and I actually felt somewhat better after taking the Paragone.

It was the craziest thing because the day after I started on it...I expelled a huge worm-like thing.

I have NO IDEA if it was a parasite or what??

It was long and white...I actually looked at it...to see if it was a worm. Whatever it was...it didnt appear to be alive....I was looking to see if it had eyes or *something* to give me an idea if it was a parasite.

LOL...I guess they probably wouldnt have eyes though.

All I know is I've never seen anything like it before or since....obviously the Paragone had something to do with what I saw.

I know I have candida and leaky gut but parasites could also play a role. They could be a reason for the candida overgrowth and they can also cause leaky gut.

No parasites have ever showed up in testing for me (I've had several) but I dont think whatever I expelled that day was anything that should have been inside me....so I'm pretty glad I got rid of it. Dont know if it had relatives though.

I was seeing a Dr. last year who specialized in gluten intolerance and he was adamant that nearly everyone with some damage to the intestinal lining has at least one parasite. He said they burrow themselves into the lining and make themselves at home....they usually will come out after gluten is removed from the diet and the gut begins to heal.

He said the damage to the lining creates little pockets that are perfect for the parasites....which normally wouldnt survive if the gut were healthy and in balance with a strong immune system keeping everything in check.

So he said that as the gut heals the pockets start disappearing and the parasites are forced out of their homes....then they are more likely to show up in testing.

Dont know if its true or not....nothing has showed up in testing but my experience with the Paragone tells another story. My gut is still damaged and I have a big candida overgrowth so I would actually be surprised if I didnt have any parasites right now.

If you decide to take it....like anything else...go slow....to see how your body reacts. If you are not highly sensitive to things it should be fine.

Oh....I didnt do the cleanse first....I guess I was overly anxious.

[RiceGuy]

After researching the cleansing products on the market, I have reached the conclusion that they are mostly a scam. What they do is fairly tricky for the uninformed to catch onto. Basically, they actually include the stuff people expel, only it's typically in powdered form at the time you take it. This is one reason why they usually make it clear to the user to consume large amounts of water. The powder will soak up the water as it travels through the intestinal tract, so if you don't have plenty extra in your gut, things can get really stuck When the resulting "stuff" is expelled, it can often be a casting of the inside of part of the intestinal tract. This makes for some "interesting" shapes to say the least.

Many of such products will use suspicious proportions of psyllium fiber. This particular fiber has the unique property of soaking up large amounts of water, and swelling to around 50 times its size. So you appear to ingest a small fraction of what you expel, making you believe the product cleaned something out of you. However, what got cleaned may have only been your wallet.

Do look up all the ingredients before buying into any of those products. Those herbs are often a collection of laxatives, which is how they get your gut to push out those weird looking "things". Laxatives cause your system to lose valuable nutrients. Something a person with already impaired absorption doesn't need.

[barilla]

So, it looks like maybe if I get my gut to heal the little "buggers" possibly will move out of their home. I'm kicking them out!! I'll give them a 2 week notice! lol

I think for now I'll just stick to my probiotics, glutamine and aloe vera juice with hopes of healing the gut. IF I do have parasites, and my gut starts healing, hopefully they will just flush out naturally without taking anything. I know that most of the cleanses are scams. I always seem to fall for scams!! Sometimes they are so convincing. Thank you all so much for your responses. I was starting to get freaked out.

[key]

THere is usually Senna in them and this is a stimulant. I was always worried about my body being addicted to a stimulant to go to the bathroom after the cleanse was over. I think alot of them are scams and you could buy one at the health food store for cheaper, if you were going to do it.

MOnica