dixonpete
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Celiac.com - Celiac Disease & Gluten-Free Diet Support Since 1995
Everything posted by dixonpete
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I was in a bit of a rush and didn't finesse the job as well as I would have liked. I ended up using too much stool in one jar and not enough on the other. The overweight one might tear through the threads and sink into the water, and the light one might not have enough stool to generate many larvae. This experience tells me there's some technique to this...
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Probably more concise than reading through my blog entries. Note, I'm now doing 10 larvae every 2 months. Hookworms successful against colitis and celiac disease after medicine fails ⚭Home>Personal stories>Detailed stories>Hookworms successful against colitis and celiac disease after medicine fails I currently inoculate with 25 Necator a...
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About those cheap microscope alternatives
dixonpete commented on dixonpete's blog entry in Pete Dixon
A red filter arrived today from AliExpress and I tried again. I could see the larva but only because it was moving. So still a bust, but slight progress. Probably this form factor could work with much better optics, maybe at the $150-$200 price point instead of the $16 I paid for this toy. Again, the only reason for trying this for portability. A real microscope... -
This afternoon I tried the last one of those AliExpress sub-$20 microscopes. All told there were four, and I'm including a pic of the most promising one where the tube is suspended above a platform. Even with top and below lighting and a sample where I knew there was a larva directly in the center of the drop, I still couldn't see it. I could sort of...
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A video showing another person's hookworm incubation method
dixonpete commented on dixonpete's blog entry in Pete Dixon
Ted also has a video where he shows himself performing his first self-inoculation: -
A video showing another person's hookworm incubation method
dixonpete posted a blog entry in Pete Dixon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHRZkZ_b1sg Ted Simon uses an incubator and vermiculite. His channel offers several other hookworm related videos, including one where he shows using a microscope to harvest the larvae. My method doesn't use an incubator or vermiculite and I get good results, but I can't claim consistency as I don't have that much... -
Final thoughts on that practice incubation
dixonpete commented on dixonpete's blog entry in Pete Dixon
I forgot to mention that there are likely many different, effective methods for hookworm incubation. The common theme of all of them is that the larvae must eventually hit the water after climbing out of the stool and be available to be collected for examination under the microscope. The larvae want to live and continue to play out their life cycle. ... -
I forgot to address the 'gross' factor you mentioned. Over these last six years that I've been doing HT I've come to greatly respect Necator americanus. It's supremely adapted to humans, and I believe its presence is actually a requirement for good health for many people. I think I read that most all mammals carry hookworms in their gut in nature. It...
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Hi Diana, The hookworms are a must for me as the improvement in colitis is life changing. Not having to worry and gluten or gluten contamination is simply a huge plus. You might remember the last time when I wrote about being without hookworms and consumed a meal of non-gluten-free oatmeal. I suffered a complete bowel evacuation and darn near passed...
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Final thoughts on that practice incubation
dixonpete commented on dixonpete's blog entry in Pete Dixon
Also, I think I'll try reducing the amount of water in the jar from 1/4" to 1/8". There just has to be enough water so the stool doesn't dry out and harden, and for the larvae to have a place to swim when they climb down the filter. 1/8" of water would still be an ocean for them. Less water means less time searching for larvae. -
I just had a last look at those two jars and this is what I came away with. The first jar's water probably had about 100 larvae total, the second had substantially more, in the order of 200-300. This estimate is based on how much water was in each jar and how much water I pipetted out of each into a petri dish and scanned. In the second jar that I launched...
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Both were successful. I think I have incubation down pat now, though I can see how a few refinements of technique might lead to larger larvae yields, not that such increases are necessary if I'm only going to be using 10 larvae at a time. Once again, the technique is pretty simple. Just use a hermetically sealable jar with 1/4" of mineral water (not...
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I should have added, an every two month inoculation cycle isn't something I would have considered pre-being able to incubate as the cost would have been prohibitive. ~$200 a pop X 6 = $1200+ a year is a lot. But now that hookworm larvae are free, I can pick whatever inoculation cycle I think might suit me best. Monthly seems too much of a hassle. 5...
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For long time followers of this blog will remember my account of my time at the start of my GI-trouble journey, which largely started in 2005-2008 when I was hit with an abscess, multiple corrective surgeries, ulcerative colitis and celiac disease. This was a particularly bad time in my life. After going gluten-free things got much better, I healed, but I...
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I've ordered several el-cheapo, tiny microscopes off AliExpress that claim to be able to do 40X, as well as a couple of battery powered microscope LED light sources. I'm interested in seeing if they could work in a pinch when travelling and lugging along my microscope would be awkward.
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It was pointed out on the HT Discord Server that hookworm larvae can live up to 4 months sitting in water after incubation. That would mean that a person inoculating monthly could potentially only need to incubate 4 times a year.
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It's been a rapid few days of learning about hookworm incubation. Here's what more I've learned. Most importantly, any microscope that can do 40X will suffice. That's because it turns out the concern about the distance from the lens to the plate for pipetting was a red herring. All one needs to do is lay down a bunch of very small drops on the slide...
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I should have added that the jar and anything else that might come in contact with the hookworm infested water needs to be disposed of with great care. It's recommended that the jar be frozen for 7+ days before its contents flushed. While hookworm eggs in stool are easily killed by the sanitation system and pose no threat, live hookworm larvae are an...
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The incubation worked. The biggest expense was the microscope I bought off Amazon, an AmScope SE306. I picked it because it would give plenty of room for pipette work above the sample. I paid ~$370 Can. The other supplies needed were variously sized pipettes, petri dishes, mineral water, adhesive gauze bandages, bleach for cleanup, paper towels...
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For those interested in a sneak peek of what I'm up to, the technique I'm trying is this one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/678894952216125/permalink/5400971020008471/ It's from the Helminthic Therapy Group on Facebook. You'll have to request to join the group to be able to see the post. No biggie, it's free, and if you have any intention on pursuing...
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I now have all my supplies and my microscope. I ended up buying a better one than I had planned because after doing extensive reading I decided I wanted a dissecting scope, and I justified the extra money by considering it a lifetime investment since I'll be using it for probably the next 20 or so years. Incubation will begin tomorrow and harvesting...
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How do you manage your social life?
dixonpete replied to Raquel2021's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
That was my deal as well, celiac disease and ulcerative colitis. I also had an abscess. The order of appearance was abscess, ulcerative colitis, then celiac disease, all starting when I was 42. I'm convinced it was immunological hell my guts were going through that begat the abscess. As far as social life, I was so reactive to gluten and other foods... -
It's been more than a month since my last inoculation of hookworm larvae. No issues to report. All told, I probably consume the gluten equivalent of 3 slices of bread+ in an average day. My stools are perfectly normal and there's no sign of any gastric distress. A few weeks ago though, I did find one cheap brand of yogurt that made me ill, something I chalked...
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Having a really hard time adjusting
dixonpete replied to Natalie14's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
My relatives never understood much about my celiac disease or other food sensitivities, and whenever I visited, I was always offered foods or drinks that would make me ill. I learned to accept that was just par for the course. You have to come to terms with the fact that you can't rely on others, however well-meaning, when it comes to your health. Anything... -
It's been a week since my latest hookworm inoculation with my usual 25 Necator americanus (NA) larvae. The skin reaction this time has been mild. As I look at it now I just see some redness and several marks, really nothing to look at. The site was mildly itchy for a few days and that was the extent of it. I was using a topical corticosteroid cream 3x a day...
