Help, I've got a tapeworm and it's messing with my head

[Invasionofthegutsnatchers]

I've had stomach ache for a few weeks. Phoned GP, submitted stool sample. Results not back yet. Gripey pain, back pain, feel tired. GP said probably gastritis or h.pylori infection.

This morning I passed a worm 🪱 about 5cm long 😱😱😱 it was dead. Looked a bit like tagliatelle but thinner.

I'm so disgusted, I wash my hands really regularly. Horrified, vaguely amused, stomach feels like it's being eaten from the inside out and now I know why! Dear Lord.

I will phone GP again on Monday to request prescription for tablets to kill it. Until then I KNOW IT IS THERE and it's so disturbing 🤯

@Ofnorman

We should set up a Pripsen Survivors thread.

I had the strawberry wormer too! Mum denies it now.

One of my dc had lots of gastro issues as a baby and at one appointment, I asked the gastroenterologist, so when should I start worming him? The gastro looked at me like I was mad and repeated "worming him?!" with horror. Such a mild man usually. So I thought maybe it was some peculiarity of our family

OP are you sure it was a tapeworm? The treatment for it, if it was is on prescription. Ovex is for a different sort of worm so you need a GP appointment. I hope you get whatever it was sorted quickly.

@Hoppinggreen

This happened to me but I saved it and took it to my GP. He called in a colleague for a second opinion and they agreed it was a bean sprout. I was surprised because I hadn’t eaten one for a while but apparently they can hang around.

And there I was thinking about going vegan 🤷‍♀️

I'm another ex-Pripsen taker. My mum used to mix it with milk. We lived in a country village and the chemist in the village stocked it. I remember taking it regularly and maybe the doctor knew there were cases in his village so prescribed it regularly? My mum and gran used to say it was from the sheep... we had several animals... it was normal to take worm medicine (mid 1970s)

Obviously as soon as a pp said not to Google Guinea worm I immediately went ahead and Googled.

Can't imagine I'm ever going to recover. 🤮

Tapeworms are grim but are mostly harmless. As long as it isn't pork tape worm, you will be fine.

By the way, I studied parasitology at university and my lecturer purposefully infected himself on a number of occasions for scientific study. They are mostly harmless, depends on the species of tape worm.

@andjsk

My cat once threw up a tape work and it looked exactly as you described OP.

My sister once threw one up at the kitchen table! This thread has triggered it!!!

Omg that pink worming medicine was the worst thing ever. It was AWFUL. I've never tasted anything so bad in my life since. And I grew up when we were still allowed loads of sugar in medicine (the children's banana flavoured antibiotic medicine was yummy, but I hardly ever got given that, boo).

@FuckPolitenessSSDGM

By the way, I studied parasitology at university and my lecturer purposefully infected himself on a number of occasions for scientific study. They are mostly harmless, depends on the species of tape worm.

He did WHAT????

Never have I been so glad to be a vegetarian after reading this thread!

I had the vile pink stuff in the 70’s too

Ahh bless you, that must have been such a shock.
DD has had threadworms before, treated successfully & quickly (within 24 hours) with Ovex. The pharmacist says Ovex will kill all the different kinds of worm, so that would be my first action, then ring the doctors for more advice xx

I’ll be really surprised if it’s a worm OP!

Fingers crossed for a bean sprout (I don’t think I’ve seen bean sprouts mentioned so much on the internet anywhere, ever)

I still don't know why the op won't say if she's eaten beansprouts.

I am sorry you are going through this, op. Do speak to your pharmacist asap.

I was about to have an "I know better than you" about roundworm because I had it when I was a teenager and it was nothing like that and then I remembered that I had ringworm and needed to shut up.

I feel for you @Invasionofthegutsnatchers. I felt totally icky when I had ringworm which is the least icky of all the worms. I hope it gets sorted soon.

I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my brother and a cup of pripsen in front of each of us and a plate of biscuits on the kitchen worktop as the bribe/incentive to drink it. Took my brother about two hours and lots of tears and tantrums to get it down!!

@MaverickDanger

37 years! Wow! Did it apply for residency?

@MrsSkylerWhite

Try not to panic! I was wormed regularly as a child, most of my friends were. Horrible medicine, supposed to be raspberry but was foul.

I’m sure there are much better treatments now

Yes, it was disgusting - thread worms

images.app.goo.gl/Ch2UCBopLjZ7xUCV6

Do you have one of these OP?

Urghhhh that's my worst nightmare my mum said one of her aunts passed a huge one once

Good luck!

Good luck as in hope it goes away very very soon!!!

I once saw a huge tapeworm on the pavement surrounded by digestive stuff. Must have been vomited by a dog as it was eight or nine inches long.

For the previous poster, just FYI, dog fleas cannot live on humans. They might jump on for a bite, but they will not stay.

Most fleas are host-specific for breeding - but not biting. They'll happily sample your blood. And it's the bites which are itchy (and occasionally disease-spreading.)

The life cycle of various helminths and other parasites are quite fascinating. But you probably need a strong stomach before googling. (I grew up on a farm. It turns out that discussing worms and fluke and the like isn't normal dinnertime conversation in most houses. Who knew? still, stood me in good stead for worrking in a medical library.)

What is this 'being wormed regularly as a child' thing?

I'm 52 and have only taken Ovex once when my youngest had an itchy bum (which turned out to be lazy wiping rather than worms.)