Pete Dixon

Back in the summer of 2018 I was reaching a pivotal moment in my life. I had had celiac disease and ulcerative colitis since 2006, but the colitis had flared to an 11 and wasn't responding to drugs. Prednisone disrupted my sleep but didn't even begin to take the edge off my colitis pain. Daily I was going into the shower, closing the door, cranking the radio, and literally screaming because I couldn't take the pain anymore. I had talked to my doctor several times about the prospect of colectomy surgery and had been watching videos about what it was like to live with a stoma/bag. I didn't like the idea but I was rapidly being forced towards that decision.

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I remembered something that had been floating around in my mind for years but had been afraid to try: hookworms. Science Daily had had an article about them in 2010 and the possibility of their helping to resolve IBD. Seemed weird, complicated, and I didn't have any idea how to go about doing such a thing. Also, medical science was gravely skeptical. But now hookworms seemed like a much lessor evil. If I could keep my colon I'd be willing to host cockroaches! Well almost.

So in July 2018 I used Quora to find a provider, contacted them, and used Bitcoin to make the purchase. Twenty-five microscopic Necator americanus hookworm larvae arrived in the mail 3 weeks later.

More hookworm history next week.