Chronology

------------

January 20/2010 - Travelled to Peru, while I was there I did get a fever once or twice but it lasted no more then a day. I had many days of explosive diarrea, I assumed it was the food I had eaten so I did not pay any attention to it. I did a course of  Antibiotics for 1 week while I was there to treat the diarrea, it did not help. I spent most of my time in Iquitos, which is right in the Amazon.

April 1/2010 - Returned from Peru, healthy and happy. I was a really fun trip.

April 5/2010 - D-Day - While enjoying a Capuchino at Starbucks I suddenly felt very weak and dizzy, coming home I almost blacked out in my car. Later that night after feeling extremely weak I ended up going to the hospital. All tests came back negative except for a raise white blood cell count. This was the start of my misery, I became extremely weak, fatigue that had me bed bound for days, extreme restlessness (probably one of the worst symptoms) I was so tired but could not relax, insomnia, dizzyness, headaches (migrains really), nightmares, panic attacks, foggy brain, diarrea, stomach pains, air hunger. These symptoms would cycle through several times a day. For 2 months I had extreme versions of all these symptoms, since that time I have slightly milder versions of these symptoms but they are still with me everyday. The extreme weakness was largely resolved after I changed my diet and started with probiotics.     

April 8/2010 - Ended up going to the hospital after another bad episode, no new information.

April 13/2010 - Felt slightly better, thought I the worst was over. Had some potato pancakes, a few hours later I crashed twice as hard.

April 14/2010 - Ended up in hospital again.

April 23/2010 - After seeing an infectious disease doctor I was prescribe a 3 day anti malaria treatment (Malarone) despite testing negative for the bacteria, no improvement.

April 30/2010 - Seeing a new doctor who immediatly suggests doing a Metametrix stool test.

May 4/2010 - Perscribed [Biltricide (Praziquantel) 600MG, 3 times per day] for 4 days for possible parasitic worm infection, no improvement.

May 23/2010 - Received my gastrointestinal function profile from Metametrix, a mild yeast problem was found and " parasite present; taxonomy unavailable". Good bacteria and was within a normal range and no bad bacteria was present.

May 27/2010 - Trace Elements Report from LLSG shows my nutritional elements all within a normal range and no toxic element problems.

May 28/2010 - I test positive for Lyme Disease from my IGENEX Western Blot test.

May 31/2010 - I begin taking [Doxycycline 200MG, 2 times per day] and [Fluconazole 100MG, 2 times per day] for one and a half months, to treat the Lyme. No Improvement.

June 10/2010 - Received a second gastrointestinal function profile from Metametrix, yeast is no longer present. Bacteria count is low which is understandable given then Antibiotic use. I'm still presented with " parasite present; taxonomy unavailable" however.

June 14/2010 - I attempt to take [Rifampin 300MG, 2 times per day], I'm unable to follow through for more then a few days with this medication. I experience constant nausea and vomiting with it.

June 28/2010 - I begin taking [Metronidazole 250MG, 2 times per day] for 2 weeks.

July 15/2010 - Stop all medication for about one month

July 19/2010 - Tested positive for Blastocystis Hominis after speaking with a fellow who does research in this field. He found evidence of this parasite in my stool but also (interestingly) in my blood. Since Blastocystis is not a blood born parasite it's possible this could have either been misidentified, some new "evolved" strain or simply the result of a leaky gut (passing the parasite from my gut into my blood). 

August 12/2010 - I receive my third gastrointestinal function profile from Metametrix. Again I am presented with "Parasite present; taxonomy unavailable" and well as a hookworm infection (How did that happen?) 

August 15/2010 - I restart taking [Doxycycline 200MG, 2 times per day] along with a HUMAWORM parasite cleanse for one month. I also take [Mebendazole (Vermox) 100MG, 2 times per day] for 3 days and I repeat this 2 weeks later. My diet has become extremely strict as well as no proccesed foods, grains, refined sugar, alcohol or starches.

September 15/2010 - Stop all medication but I continue with the diet. I introduce some good probiotics into my diet. For the first time since this entire ordeal began, the extreme weakness goes away, I also notice that I no longer experience crashing symptoms like before. Fatigue, Headaches, Hot Flashes, Restlessness, Insomnia are still present.

October 15/2010 - Receive the results from my MRI scan, fortunately they are completely normal. No lesions or scars.

October 22/2010 - Receive the results for my stool test from Diagnos Tech, unfortunately they are unable to find any parasites but they do detect ongoing colonic inflamation.

------------

Symptoms Before Peru:
-None, I would never get sick. At most I would get the flu for a day or two

Symptoms As Of April 5/2010:
-Crashes (moments of extreme weakness where my body would just give up on me, this is what started everything)
-General Weakness
-Fatigue
-Extreme Restlessness
-Insomnia
-Dizzyness
-Migrains
-Nightmares
-Panic Attacks (scary also)
-Foggy Brain
-Diarrea
-Stomach Pains
-Air Hunger
-Hot Flashes

Symptoms As Of September 15/2010 (when I stopped Antibiotics and started probiotics):
-Fatigue
-General Weakness
-Hot Flashes
-Headaches (dull aching headaches all day long)
-Insomnia (not as bad as before)
-Dizzyness (when I stand up too fast or move around too much)
-Diarrea/Mushy Green Stools (comes and goes)

(I have not yet had a normal day since April 5/2010)

------------

My Thoughts (I'm open to all ideas off course):

Since good Science is often times learning by the process of elimination I think we can safely rule out some possible candidates here. I don't believe I have a yeast problem since other then the very first Metametrix test I have consistently tested negative for it. Heavy metal poisoning is probably another potential issue that can be safely ignored at this point because of the negative test and a more recent hair analysis has shown only a slightly elevated arsenic level. Since all these issues occurred after visiting Peru and because I have a history of visiting tropical countries I suspect I have a parasite problem. The million dollar question is, what kind of parasite? Based on the evidence I think we have 3 possible avenues to explore here, 

Lyme Disease - This is a possibility but it would not explain my flutulence, diarrea, green mushy stools or the sudden onset of my symptoms.
Blood Born Parasite - Another possibility (especially with what was found in my blood) but again this does not explain my gut problems.
Gut Parasite - Probably the most likely scenario, it could explain away almost all my current symptoms. It could explain why I felt bad under Antibiotics and much better after I severly restricted my diet and introduced probiotics. This would explain why 2 whole months after I went on the GAPS diet I still have an inflamed colon. This would also explain away the sudden crashes (moments of extreme weakness where my body just gives up on me) by the fact that it could have been the onset of an auto-immune type of disease cause by a leaky gut because of an infection. I'm not sure if Blastocystis is my problem, but it seems like a good place to start???