So it was not just anxiety after all. Conclusion of 3 years of unknown anxiety.

[androidz]

TL;DR: I had unexplained anxiety and a lot of physical symptoms for 2-3 years. Doctors told me everything was related to anxiety and nothing else, that it was all in my head. It turns out I had parasites for who knows how long and after treating them, I'm starting to feel normal again for the first time after so long.



Hey everybody, I used to visit this forum regularily for the past couple of years and I posted regularily for a while. I'm 26 now, and I've been suffering from anxiety, more specifically health anxiety for about 3 years. It sort of came out of the blue, I used to be normal and after some bad stuff happened in my life I developed this condition.

However, at first it wasn't so bad, I mean, I was worried about possibly getting an illness but I was able to dismiss it and forget about it relatively easily. It was only since 2 years ago that my condition started progressively worsening, reaching a very debilitating point, and I started developing physical symptoms too. Abdominal pain, nausea, weakness, fatigue, brain fog, muscle aches, arthritis, headaches, weight loss, abnormal bowel movements... and others. At first I was not very concerned, I simply went to doctors, they ran batteries of tests, but these always came back normal so they couldn't give me an answer that would explain my symptoms. The only slightly abnormal results I had was mild eosinophilia and 1 of my liver enzimes was slightly elevated. This, in turn, only fueled my anxiety even more. They simply told me it was all in my head, and attributed everything to anxiety and just brushed me off as a hypochondriac, eventhough the pain I felt was very real, and extremely debilitating at times. Not gonna lie, even I started believing that it could just be all in my head, and that I'd have to live with this pain for as long as I had anxiety.

This was until this very last week, when after a bowel movement, I noticed something very strange. If you get queasy easily I suggest you don't read this next part. I saw a long, spaghetti shaped figure in my stool. I separated it from the stool with two small wooden sticks, and after close inspection, it was... a piece of tapeworm. Here's a photo I took (WARNING: GRAPHICAL). So, yeah, parasites, you can clearly see the segments and all. I went to the doc, they sent it out for analysis and it was indeed a subspecies of tapeworm. They gave my one (1) pill to take that same day, which I did, and shortly after the parasite got eliminated. Now I have to take a few more pills for another week to kill any possible remainings.

How didn't any doctor think about this possibility in two years? No idea. How, or where did I even get infected? Also no idea, because I've always been VERY careful when cooking meat and washing my hands. I suppose it must have been eating outside somewhere. But after putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, the doctor explained me it's very likely all my symptoms were being caused by this little guy. They live in the gut, eating the food that you ingest and stealing your vitamins and minerals, depriving you from essential nutrients and releasing toxins into your bloodstream, which in turn causes long-term chronic fatigue, brain fog and anxiety, aside from abdominal cramps, bloating, allergies and itchiness (thus my eosinophilia) etc.

A few days after I got rid of the tapeworm the brain fog disappeared almost completely for the first time in two years, and I can feel my energy coming back to me. My anxiety is also fading away. Every day after each meal I used to get anxious, now not so anymore, on the contrary, a very calming sensation of relaxation comes to me after eating. This is great, but at the same time very frustrating how I've been sick with something "common" and so easy to treat for so long without any MDs being able to find it.

After I recover completely I'll have to make up for all the lost time. I'm still going to continue visiting this forum every now and then to try to help people out, because this condition has allowed me to learn how it is to live with chronic anxiety, and I know it sucks very very much.

If this story rings a bell to you and you have had these same symptoms for a very long time (upper abdominal pain, chronic fatigue and lack of energy etc.) it wouldn't be a bad idea to get tested for parasites, just in case. They're very easy to treat, but if not treated they can very easily mimic other diseases and cause anxiety. Especially if you eat a lot of beef and pork, or if you're a farmer or spend a lot of time with animals. Who knows, you might get "lucky" (I'm not saying that having parasites is good, though) and be in the same train that I was.

See you around!

[FlightlessFlamingo]

I'm happy for you for finding a resolution and that you're feeling so much better.. but.. reading this has just sent me into a panic that I may have a tapeworm and I'm sat here trying desperately not to google the symptoms. I'm not sure if this is the right place for a thread like this. Although to be fair the title alone should have stopped me from clicking on it.

[skymaid]

im glad you're feeling better but I think this needs some kind of warning in the subject or something or half the HA sufferers are going to think they have tapeworm

[Super_Freaked]

tapeworms and parasites are very common, especially if you travel. some can chew up some red blood cells and or your nutritional food stores and stuff..

You might have developed anxiety threw having the worm or it contributed. I am happy you found something and it's better, but keep working on yourself in general, don't forget what you learned and keep healthy so you don't fall back into a rut.


You really can't blame a doctor for missing this, you really do need to find some evidence or suspect a parasite to find this.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Have you really added a picture of this??? I doubt any of us want to look at what comes out of someone else's back passage!

Good luck with getting a solution to the cause though.

[Cusper]

I love that you posted this because I do believe a lot of people have parasites and they rob you of most nutrients hence the anxiety!!! It is not just travel that causes parasites. If you have a pet, mainly an outdoor pet you most certainly have one form or another of parasites.. I basically gave up all things when I started to major panic attacks. I quit drinking... didn't feel better, coffee, gluten, corn,the works and then I did a parasite cleanse and low and behold I saw all sorts of things that my doctors hadn't seen even though I had done the tests.

They are more common than people think and rob you of your nutrients. I do a cleanse every 6 months now. My doctor thought I was nuts until I gave her the samples that I collected. But they cause all sorts of digestive/psychological problems and are extremely common. I am really happy you posted this, but I don't think anyone suspects this as the root cause. I only found out because I tried everything.
thanks for posting this!

[MyNameIsTerry]

I do believe a lot of people have parasites and they rob you

We tend to refer to them more commonly as politicians.

[Super_Freaked]

cusped how do you do a cleanse ? i had a nasty parasite once and yes the docs thought i didn't have it but i knew had to go to a walk in clinic and get a new stool test and found it

[Cusper]

I order one called Humaworm. It is by far the best one I have tried. However it can be expensive because it's from the states and our dollar isn't that great. Although the good thing with this cleanse is that you don't have to change your diet. With paragone I think you have to give up things. I can't remember what but Humaworm was by far the best. I do it every 6 months.

[Mercime]

For crying out loud! Why on earth is it necessary to put a photo of something you have picked out of your poo? Seriously, just say you found it and doc confirmed it!

I think this is a bit of an issue really, its HA section so anything goes, I'm sorry but I disagree, trigger warnings are nice but surely there is a line that shouldn't be crossed? Personally I question the wisdom of allowing "has anyone had this?" photos on here, but can understand it, but this goes beyond it. Photos of any bodily excretions should not be allowed.