My story -- Please help me identify this picture
I've been putting this off for far too long now. I'm at the point where I feel as if I've exhausted all of my resources, all of my options...yet here I am sitting and typing while I cringe at every symptom, every 'squirm' or 'tingle' that continues to plague me. I need to share my story because I feel like I am in a very dark place. Bear in mind that despite the torture and agony caused by my symptoms, I am in no way suicidal or 'crazy' because of them. Despite my self-perceived composure throughout the horror ravaging within me, I accept the fact that I have been significantly debilitated by it. I have lost all sense of urgency or drive to accomplish things. My motivation and morale are all but eradicated, and as consequence I am diminishing in other areas of life – been doing very poorly in school and falling out of relationships with people because I feel defeated. I've been spiraling downward in a vortex of
Depression and despair for so long now that I fear I've accepted my demise, and even entertained the thought of death as release (not suicide, just speculation on the seemingly only freedom from my condition). But here I am, somehow managing to piece together whatever information I can recall since the inception of my condition...anyway, I apologize for the lengthy intro and here's my story:
The late winter of 2012, or early winter of 2013 was probably the first time I ever felt I strange tingling sensation in my rectal-anal region. It happened at night and remember it striking me as strange but as it did not last very long and only occurred every several weeks if not months, it did not elicit any sense of urgency to uncover the cause of the phenomena. Moving forward to late May/ early June after coming home from completing the second semester of my university, I noticed these symptoms again, but they were somewhat more pronounced in their occurrence and a bit more frequent. This prompted me to do a little research, and what I discovered was unnerving to say the least. A lot of what I read pointed to a possible
parasite infestation – my symptoms were consistent with one if nothing else. I asked a relative to schedule me with their supposedly 'good' doctor. When I explained to him what I was experiencing and that what I'd read suggested some kind of parasitic worm infestation (big mistake; don't ever try to explain to a doctor that you read this or that you think this is that...90% of them are hardwired to dismiss your inquiries), he scoffed at me and made it clear that I did not have worms. I asked him if there was at least something that could test if by the slightest chance I did have them – and he proceeded to give me a rectal examination and say “Well, I can't feel anything.” I'd never felt so humiliated in my life.
I walked out of his office with an Rx for a hemorrhoids cream that I was initially reluctant to pick up but eventually decided to do so anyways. After several weeks of using the cream with no real difference in my nocturnal symptoms, it eventually came time for me to move out of my parent's house and into my grandparents' place to facilitate my commute for a summer internship. I left my house the last week of June, and what transpired the night I left may or may not be significant concerning my current condition. As I was packing my things I'd piled all of my clothes on the floor in the hall outside my bedroom. As I was walking back and forth I'd noticed something smelled very foul. A bit later I noticed a huge pile of crap my dog laid at the base of my clothes pile. He was running around outside in the grassy area (we live on mountainous terrain consisting of lots of trees and grass) before coming in to do the deed. I was extremely irritated and ran after him to put him in his cage. As I did this I accidentally stepped on the pile with my bare feet before getting a hold of him (this may or may not be significant). I washed off what I could and had to handle the soiled clothes before departing.
I'd worked for around 5 weeks before noticing significant deterioration of my body. During this time I'd noticed an incredible increase in my appetite, craving especially for carbohydrates (I was able to eat an entire pound of pasta salad and still be hungry). I'd also noticed that I became chronically bloated as the work pants that I wear (which normally required a belt to not fall) had actually become tight around the waist. Another changing feature I'd noticed was a persistent 'tired look', especially around my eyes. I also noticed a strange swelling in my cheek area that had a squishy consistency to it. None of this particularly alarmed me until approximately the final week of July. This is when my life became absolute hell.
One night while asleep, I was awakened by that familiar feeling within my anus. I was rather annoyed by it, but also noticed it was a bit more aggressive than before. I struggled to fall back asleep, and went to work the next day feeling lethargic. That night I experienced the same aggressive 'squirming' feeling down there. After the third consecutive night having disturbed sleep and the hemorrhoids cream providing no relief, I decided something had to be done. I remembered the thought of pinworms as a potential culprit, so I decided to dramatically change my diet consuming mostly vegetables and 'anti-parastic' properties. I consumed raw garlic en masse and apple cider vinegar which are purported to be disliked by such critters. The result was that all of my symptoms became far worse! If what was causing my symptoms were inside me, it was as if they were very upset and it severely aggravated my condition. I had the most terrible slithering sensation throughout the day, and to make matters worse other symptoms began to present themselves. In the week and a half that ensued, I endured probably the most physically torturous time of my life. The sensations now became very painful, as if I were being bitten in an extremely sensitive area within my rectum. I started to find strange (albeit small) marks around my body. I became almost completely incapable of sleep, lucky to achieve an hour a night at best. As a result I was very lethargic and so weak to the point that physically lifting myself out of bed and putting on clothes became an incredibly demanding and difficult task. I even experienced what I can only describe as arthritic-like symptoms in my legs. I woke up from a nap during the middle of the day and upon standing experienced immense pain around my knees. Since I was wearing long pants, I did not notice the strange marks that accompanied the pain until later that day. The only way I'd managed to get sleep was when I slept bare ass with the the lights on (strange?).
During this time I went to the same urgent care facility twice to explain my symptoms. The physician's assistant that saw me halfheartedly ordered a nurse to obtain a stool sample. I was given a plastic bag and a 'hat' to defecate in and instructed to place it in the bag when finished. I later discovered that this was not the appropriate protocol the second time I visited, being told that they were supposed to provide a sample tube to collect the sample the first time. I could not produce a sample the second time, and what was supposed take at most 2 days for results took the lab 9 days only because I went back demanding the results after being hung up several times by staff on their phone line. The results were as expected – negative. I was even seen by a GI doctor who found a hemorrhoid but could not account for any of my other symptoms. He seemed puzzled because after inquiring about my lifestyle, I revealed that hadn't partaken in any real physically straining activity. I asked, “Could the hemorrhoid cause all of these other symptoms that I've been experiencing?” His reply was “I don't thinks so”, and he proceeded to lecture me on what to take for it. He prescribed a sitz bath and another hemorrhoids cream, both which offered no help. He had me drop off a stool sample, but I assume it came back negative because I never heard about it again.
As my symptoms persisted and my decrepit state worsened, my family began to question my psychological integrity. They're very traditional when it comes to anything, and the medical field is no exception. If the tests didn't find anything wrong with me, then there musn't be anything wrong with me. Without the support of my family, I knew I had to do something quickly about my condition. I made the decision to purchase humaworm and diatomaceous earth, both which I took for the course of over a month. The results seemed spectacular. Suddenly my symptoms began fading and I felt 90% after the first week (after the initial die off reaction). As my vitality returned, people began noticing and commenting how much better and healthier I looked. This continued for the duration of the treatment and I returned to my school with a positive outlook. Unfortunately within the first three weeks I felt that familiar tingle in my rear, but continued to take DE despite its efficacy appearing to wane.
Recently I finished ICU's
Tapeworm protocol (Niclosamide, Albendazole, Biltricide), as I figured a broad spectrum anthelmintic would provide the most favorable results. Fast forward to today, I am about a week after the last day of the two week protocol and I am experiencing a reemergence of my symptoms. The despicable wriggling feeling, the pain in my legs, and what I forgot to mention, the unusual appearance of my stool (it's been greenish, yellowish sort of looking like blanched almonds and rice at times). Now though I've been feeling a strange sensation in my nostrils as if I need to clear my nose with a tissue, but doesn't seem to produce any obstructive mucus. I feel my vitality and energy levels waning again, and have a bit of a sickly look to boot. I've had days where I've felt just too miserable to even get to class and felt the need to sleep several more hours than I usually need. If I continue on this path I will surely fail out of school and heaven knows what will become of me.
I desperately need all of your help because the reality is I am not certain of what afflicts me. When my symptoms got really bad, I thought of hookworms as a culprit because I learned that they pass through the host's feces and can infect other vessels upon contact. I remembered how several weeks earlier I'd stepped in my dog's pile of feces and this alarmed me. But without anything concrete, I am at a loss. My quality of life has been destroyed by these symptoms and my will is a few bends away from breaking. Please, if you can help me identify what is pictured in the attachment and help determine the cause of my decrepit state I would be eternally grateful.
http://s1281.photobucket.com/user/cdplaya7/media/abc/image_zps8aeca288.jpg.ht...
**It is a zoomed in photo I took during my symptoms. You can clearly see a foreign figure in the midst. It is technically of graphic nature because the video that it originally comes from captures my bare lower back, but it is zoomed in to the point where 'distinguishable features' are negligible. I apologize if the quality isn't the greatest.