Blastocystis Lab
Symptoms Page

Updated June 1, 2007

Below statements are from Commensal and Pathogenic Blastocystis (ISBN 1430309040)

Bob: Father, Husband
Age 58, Infected at age 54,

 "I got this non-stop gas and fatigue.  I got a test that said Blastocystis hominis.  My doctor looked it up and he said it was nothing to worry about..  The fatigue totally wipes me out.  I tried cutting out grains, and that helped with the gas, but I am tired all day.  I am just totally wiped out. My wife has the same symptoms now too.  I got it right after we moved into our new house 4 years ago, which is on well water.  We're near a river, and the field behind our house floods.  It never occurred to me that this could be the reason." 

 

Sheryl, Graphic Artist
Age 25, Infected at Age 21

 “I've spent over a thousand dollars on medical bills trying to get rid of it…I took an entire year off to get rid of it. This has changed the course of my life.  I can’t get away from it.  When I’m out with my friends, it’s hard to think about anything else because I’m in pain all the time…”

 
 

Robert, Age 41
Father, Husband, Technical Worker
Infected at age 37

"Everyone in my family got sick at the same time.  I got it the worst.  It took a year of testing to get a diagnosis.  After 3 years, the symptoms got very bad.  I've run up over $10,000 in medical bills and I was on disability for 5 weeks.  The doctors just kept saying that Blastocystis hominis could not be the cause of these symptoms.  They couldn't provide any help at all.  The worst part was being sick in front of my kids.  I'm the only breadwinner in my family.  I don't know what's going to happen to them if I can't work." 
 

Janice
Age 39, Infected at Age 29

"I was working in the hills with another woman doing archaeological surveys.  We were checking fragments to see if they were bone or rock by licking them.  We both got this non-stop diarrhea.  I went to a naturopath, and she tried some things, and finally said that it was too serious for her to treat.  The allopathic doctor did a colonoscopy and endoscopy and couldn't find anything.  I kept losing weight, I would eat and it would go through me.  I finally got so thin that I thought I was going to die.   They put me on a Serotonin antagonist and that helped.  I've been on different drugs for 10 years to try to control it."
 

Shelly, Mother of 20-year old patient
Infected at age 14

 “My daughter got this when she was 14 swimming in the Mary’s river…..They couldn’t diagnose it for 3 years, then they tried treating it but it didn’t work….She got a scholarship to college.  She had to cut back on her course load because of the headaches and fatigue, and now she has lost her scholarship.  She may take a year off to try to get better.”