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parasitic infection

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carina62
carina62

does anyone else have this?  i am under the consultant at the moment for a hydatid cyst in the liver which could be parasitic.  The consultant does not seem too worried about this but i am freaking out.  I am waiting for a blood test result (for antibodies) and if it shows positive then i will be given a course of antibiotics.  I could have had this for months/years without knowing (it was found by chance looking for something else) but now i know that i may have this i just want to be treated ASAP :-(

0 likes, 19 replies

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  • Nanny1086
    Nanny1086 carina62

    Posted

    Hi ,I have no idea what a hydatid cyst is ,,,,,but after a stay in ICU in 2008 because I had septasyma ,,,I unknowingly,,,, of course had many X-rays and tests done while in there ,and it was found that I had " multiple cysts I my liver some quite enlarged,,,( that I knew nothing about ) a couple of months later I was given an appointment to see the consultant ,,,,,he said 

    " are they bothering you ?"

    ,,,,I replied ,,, " no ,,I didnt even know I'd hot them ".  ,,,,to which he said ,

    " well if they're not bothering you ,,,,and they're nit bothering me ,,,we will leave well alone ,,,,,until such time as they do bother you " ,,,,and that was the last time they have been mentioned ,,,,I'm hoping this is the same for you ,but I wish you well ,

    • carina62
      carina62 Nanny1086

      Posted

      hello there, thanks for taking the time to reply to me.  I do understand that they tend to leave liver cysts alone (if they can).  As it was found 'incidentally' the doctors say that it could have been there for years, he told me that if they scanned the whole population, more than half would have cysts in their bodies that they would never have known about unless scanned.  I think with my particular cyst it is a parasite (gross i know!) and it could have been caused by me eating undercooked meat which could have been infected.  As far as i know, if my blood test results come back positive then i will need to go on a course of antibiotics to kill the parasites :-(  i am just so eager for the treatment now that i know what it could possibly be.  I will keep you updated.
    • Nanny1086
      Nanny1086 carina62

      Posted

      Omg ,,,sounds awfull ,I wasn't making light your problem ,,,I genuinely hadn't heard of it ,,,now I know ,,,,I would be like you ,,,,I WANT IT GONE NOW ,,,

      my problem cyst is trivial to yours ,,please DO Let me know how you get on sending hugs 

    • carina62
      carina62 Nanny1086

      Posted

      Exactly and i am getting sooo frustrated how long this is taking.  Basically, what they are saying as that they don't regard it as 'life threaterning' and that i could have had it for months or even years so they don't think waiting another month or so will make any difference but now that I KNOW that this may be what it is i now of course cannot relax at all.  I think i will ring the hospital this PM and ask them to get a move on, but yes, i too had never heard of this before either :-(
    • Nanny1086
      Nanny1086 carina62

      Posted

      Ask to speak to the consultants secretary ,,,and stress to her that it's causing you extra stress and worry and you can't eat or sleep with worry ,make sure you tell her ,,,,you know it's not life threatening ,,,,and yes you could have had it for some time ,,,,but you didn't know that then ,,and now you do ,,,you feel the urgent need to sort it out , ,I'm sure the consultant wouldn't like to know he /she was living with it ,

      please let me know the out come ,

      take care ,

    • carina62
      carina62 Nanny1086

      Posted

      Have just phoned the secretary and she is going to chase it up fo rme, apparently the consultant was off ill sometime last week but i hope to get a letter soon.  Thanks for the advice.  i will keep you posted.
  • marygumbo
    marygumbo carina62

    Posted

    Toxoplasmosis creates cysts and is tested for titers of Igg or Igm but may not show up or be low a PCR might or may not show  toxo either as they tend to wane with time are you having any problems like pains in your head  behind your eyes are you having pain in your ears have you had an mri of your brain have you lost any weight have you had a rash of any sort have you had any UTI's is your throat sore do you have any cats like your meat rare Toxoplasmosis is a parasite called T. gondii in cysts form it may not show up in blood it replicate or come out if your immune system is comprimized in any way when you first contract it it may seem like flu It likes muscle brain liver heart throat area I recently had an Mri and saw it in my bi-cep and now brain the only problem is the Physicians and Radilolgist do not have enough education or knowledge on this subject and many misdiagnoses are being made it is ring shaped and can be one lesion cysts or muptiple and blood tests should be sent to a reference labortatory like Palo Alto Calif lab as these could not be done corredtly by the labs if the tests say less than 3 Hey you still have some titers and should be considered positive and sent to another reference lab I believe if your throat is sore inany way the best test would be a Sputum test sent to reference lab or urine PCR/lab Hey I am not a DR. see a Neurologist check for ringed cysts you get CD look and look up images of toxoplasmosis in the brain on the internet and compare they may say it is dementia but hey it could be Toxoplasmosis  

    also be tested for Hemochromatosis an Iron storage disease three test Serum Ferritin Transferrin and TIBC Toxoplasmosis is associated with this too much iron or you could even be anemic and still have too much iron insist they test you this is an inherited condition and may people in US have this but are not aware of it again Physicians do not have enough education on this it can cause diabetes organ damage even mental conditions I have been researdcing for 3 years htese both are not rare but not commonly tested for read all you can go to the CDC site 

    • carina62
      carina62 marygumbo

      Posted

      hello what happened was i was scanned for what i thought was gallstones and they found a 'complex' cyst in the liver and after an MRI scan the report came back saying it could be a hydatid cyst and serology should be performed (that is the blood test that i had last week).  I am chasing this up and hope i get a letter very soon from the consultant and hope to start a course of treatment (antibiotics).  I have been reading up about hydatid cysts and is caused by pork tapeworm or dog tapeworm (I used to have a dog many years ago) but i guess they are looking into what sort of parasite it is before they can give me treatment for it.  The consultant said that i don't need an operation as it's too risky (and they tend to leave liver cysts alone most of the time) but if it is a parasite infection then the only treatment for it is abendazole and another one which i can't remember the name of but i am just very eager to get some sort of treatment started ASAP as i want to rid my body of these things if that is what they are (seems likely cos i can't think what else it could be).  I also wonder if i have to have treatement every year or something to stop it coming back, i would guess so (i think i would want that anyway) and i will have to take it upon myself to be responsible for this and demand lots of routine tests in the future.  I cannot believe that people can have these things and not know about them until they are found on scans.   All my blood tests and liver function tests have come back normal so whatever it is hasn't been picked up by the normal blood tests.  I am also a Type 2 diabetic and i have put my general symptoms down to the diabetes ie feeling lethargic, and just a yukking feeling all the time.  Although it sounds horrid at least if it is that i know about it and can do something about it.  I think it is quite rare so i agree that the doctors don't know much about it but my GP did say it was treatable.  I had been worrying for weeks thinking it was possibly cancer but thankfully it's not that.  I just hope that i don't have too long a wait for treatment now as it is stressing me out.
  • marygumbo
    marygumbo carina62

    Posted

    Get tested for Hemochromatosis iron storage disease diabetes associated with it and also some parisites

     

    • carina62
      carina62 marygumbo

      Posted

      Thanks.  I will ask for a test (unless the test i had last week will pick it up).  Do i just ask my GP for it?  what are the chances of me getting this test do you think?  I would consider going private if my GP says no
    • marygumbo
      marygumbo carina62

      Posted

      three tests required S Ferritin , Tranferrin and TIBC my ferritin was 1600 and should be around 150 I was then given DNA test ask your DR. for test but they are not expensive and you could get them from a lab for about 150 dollars request a test is the company and it is Labcorp's site you could also get DNA test from the Hemocromatosis society for about $165.oo if you have this your siblings should also be tested look this up on the CDC Center for Disease Control site Hemochrmatosis, My sisters have had a hard time getting their DRs. to test them for this Why I do not know but perhaps they do not like to take suggestions from their patients!
    • carina62
      carina62 marygumbo

      Posted

      Just a thought, would this be picked up by a normal FBC (full blood count) test?  or is this a specialised test for it?  I will certainly ask my GP for this test though just to be on the safe side.
    • marygumbo
      marygumbo carina62

      Posted

      no not in FBC look up Hemochromatosis on the Center for Disease Contro CDC and take to your Physician he might not be educated on this subject and that is according to the CDC Physicians need more education

       

    • carina62
      carina62 marygumbo

      Posted

      sorry but i live in the UK but will have a look at CDC website, thanks
    • carina62
      carina62

      Posted

      i've made an appointment to see my GP today and ask for this blood test, i just hope she doesn't fob me off saying i don't need it otherwise i will go privately to have it done.
    • carina62
      carina62 marygumbo

      Posted

      Just as i thought, i went to see the GP today and asked for this test and she said i don't need it because my iron levels have shown up as OK and normal on my blood tests that i had recently.  She said high iron levels would have been picked up from the FBC test so what can i do?  i may go privately just for peace of mind.
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