The 'bounce'
The bounce is a brief period of temporary, yet sometimes profound, symptom relief following inoculation that is accompanied by a sudden feeling of unusual wellness, and perhaps also by a strong sense of calm, focus, happiness and lightheartedness. The cessation of symptoms can be so profound that it is easy to assume that the worms have “worked” and that all will be well from this point onwards. Unfortunately, the bounce is always temporary and one should not suddenly abandon whatever medications one is taking (see Combining helminthic therapy with drug treatments) or the special diet one is following.
The experience of the bounce varies widely between individuals and may not appear at all in some.
Typically, the bounce appears around the end of the first week, and perhaps as early as day five but, more unusually, it can even manifest soon after inoculation.
For me, my bounce started as they entered my body and didn't stop for 2 weeks.
[1]12 hours after application (of 5 NA larvae) I've woken up raring to go with what I assume is a huge worm bounce. I feel the best I have in forever. I am elated and very surprised... I had no idea things could be this quick.
[2]I also experienced a significantly elevated mood that night after taking just 10 HDC, the elevated mood lasted until the end of the next day.
[3]The bounce may last for only 3-4 days but can persist for about a week and, rarely, for two or even three weeks. While it lasts, the bounce delivers a range of very welcome benefits.
My (NA) bounce effects: increased energy/decreased fatigue; able to tolerate lower temperatures without usual adverse reactions; able to tolerate foods with less adverse reactions; reduction in eczema inflammation and clearer complexion (observed by wife!!!); increased sense of emotional well being; increased quality of sleep - had first dream I could remember the details of for longer that I can recall.
[4]The bounce is here. Started on Day 11 of my first inoculation of 5 NA. I've slept better than I have since I can remember. My energy is up. My body temperature is up to normal/near normal. But the most surprising thing is the sense of optimism. Not something I've have much of after being sick for most of a decade.
[5]So I was waiting for the "bounce" and nothing was happening. Then I realized.... I feel good. I feel happy. I'm laughing with people at work. So many years of fake-smiling. I don't feel hyper. I just feel GOOD.
[6]My mood was the first indicator that TSO was working. I became calmer and happier despite my physical symptoms.
[7]The bounce can sometimes be delayed until the second week, and there has been an occasional report of a bounce occurring much later, as in this noteworthy case where a significant bounce was experienced at 8 weeks.
The Worm Bounce. Holy smokes.
At about week eight with 35 helminthics on-board, I woke up one morning and felt pretty good. And then … I was suddenly 30 years old again, instead of a middle-aged guy with MS. Seriously. I spent that day in my shop, working on one of those projects that I could only putter with on an MS "good day" and by six o-clock that evening I realized that I could keep working. So I did. I rocked it until nearly 11:00 pm. I was tired by the end but it was a "good" tired. The kind of "tired" you feel after a work-out, not the numb, dragging puddle of dullness with no energy "tired" that is often my reality. I slept like a rock that night, didn't even wake up once, and awoke early and refreshed and literally in the same position in the bed I'd fallen asleep in. And then I did it all over again.
And it wasn't just my body that was 30 years old. It was my mind. It was like my mind had just been professionally cleaned. The brain-fog was gone. Indecision was replaced with decisiveness. Thoughts and actions coalesced and worked together like they are supposed to. The path forward was clear; its execution precise. I actually remembered where I'd last set that tool down.
This revolution of mind and body lasted about three days. During this time I slept soundly and awoke refreshed. I had zero craving for alcohol. My energy level was perfect. Not frantic and hyper like I was high on pills or meth or something, but simply good and strong and correct. I thunk and moved and worked like I was young man again.
And then, it was gone. But what a miraculous thing. It's like the frikin' Fountain of Youth. Damn.
[8]All the therapeutic helminths are capable of producing a bounce, but there can be differences between the nature of the experience with each species.
This (NA) bounce differs from the HDC bounce which made me more energetic (kind of hyperactive).
[9] I almost always get that lovely 'bounce'. My thinking becomes clearer and my mood becomes calmer and more content. It happens when I top-up with TTO or TSO, not as obvious with NA.
[10]Some self-treaters continue to experience a bounce following supplementary doses.
The last time I inoculated (with NA), I felt high for much of the first week. I don't know what that was exactly - my inflammation going down so feeling like a normal person was like being high or something else. I felt extremely "spiritual" for lack of a better word, suffused with well-being and connected to the universe (ha, ha.) Too bad it doesn't last.
[11]I have had four doses of NA so far and for each, sometime in the first week I have experienced a feeling of euphoria or excitement like I am just about to embark on an exciting holiday.
[12]I looked through my last NA culture, found 15 perfect babies, and took one. I'm having a good time with my Bounce. I have energy until late evening and work was a piece of cake.
[13]I feel ridiculously happy in the week or so after inoculation. I take 10 NA.
[14]And one self-treater, who had had no 'bounce' at all after his first dose of NA, did get one following each of his subsequent doses.
I only had a bounce on my second, third etc dose. Nothing on first one.
[15]Unfortunately, for many, the repeat performances are more subdued.
The first day I take HDC it usually puts me in a really nice mood, especially the first time I did it. It's not exactly euphoric but I noticed it and counted on it… First time, (it lasted) 48 hours. Second time, 24 hours. Third time, 12 hours. Fourth time, 12 hours.
And bounces often cease to appear after the first couple of inoculations.
I experienced the bounce with my first two innoculations. Not so with the next two.
[16]I had an incredible bounce after doses 1 and 2 (each 2,500 TSO). I felt INCREDIBLE for days 1-3. I had SO much energy and was incredibly happy. Then it slowly decreases. After dose 3, I'm not having the same bounce that I did with the first two doses.
[17]One advantage of using the organisms that have to be dosed every couple of weeks (TSO and HDC), or adopting a regular dosing regimen for NA or TTO, is that self-treaters who get a bounce after every inoculation can enjoy the experience more often.
... every dose of HDC's is followed by a delightful stream of energy that lasts almost a week.
[18]I get the bounce too. In fact, it lets me know that I got a good inoculation. I currently inoculate with 1 hookworm larva every week, so my initial itch is muted enough that it doesn't tell me for sure if the larva made it. But the bounce that night does. And I get a small itchy rash a couple days later that confirms it.
[19]I get a nice 'bounce' (from TTO) that lasts for about a week...
An ‘anti-bounce’
As can be the case with any infection, a few new helminth hosts may experience an effect opposite to the bounce as their mood falls after inoculation.
I'm now up to day 8 and I'm experiencing the opposite of a bounce: mostly fatigue and an off gut.
[20]I inoculated with 9 NA 7.5 weeks ago. To date I have had very little of the typical initial side effects… Just this low mood setting in around week two or three & getting worse & worse. I'm no stranger to low mood, but this one seems worse that most bouts for me & unusually out-of-the-blue.
[21] [22]The period of low mood can last for a number of weeks and may be repeated after the second dose, but it does gradually improve.
I took five HW and felt pretty depressed at about week seven through to 12. I felt better after that. Six months after my first dose I took another five HW and am now at week ten. The depression hasn't been as bad the second time around. Something there but more manageable.
[23]It went away when I was about to receive my second dose.
[24]Things felt very black for awhile. Then about 10 weeks after my 2nd inoculation my mood turned around and was the best it's been in decades....
[25]The 'bounce' as predictor of eventual success
There has not been enough detailed feedback to make a firm determination as to whether there is a correlation between the occurrence and strength of the initial bounce and eventual success with the therapy.
One individual has reported a connection between the two in his own case.
I got a gigantic bounce, and in a few hours went from being incapacitated to tossing back pints of Guinness and played billiards half the night… (then) once the worms matured, several months later, I was a good responder to treatment.
[26]But another was less certain.
I’d say that, yes, the bounce is a good indication that NA will work for you. In terms of whether the bounce is an indication of the extent of the efficacy I would say that it depends on the person but I would suspect no. I got a bounce (of about a day) which was nowhere near as strong as the benefits I've been able to realise.
[27]Long-term improvements in neuropsychiatric function
The neuropsychiatric benefits experienced during the bounce phase can extend into long-term improvements in neuropsychiatric function, as can be seen from the accounts in the Anxiety and Depression sections of the Helminthic therapy personal stories collection, and from comments such as the following.
What is already interesting is my steady and calm mind. (Reported 6 weeks after inoculation with 25 NA.)
I have been depressed most of my life. That eased a bit with IV magnesium. But it changed dramatically about 20 weeks after starting hookworms. My mood improved dramatically and I just felt happy - my psychological issues just disappeared.
[28]See also
