Chronic Typhoid - Story of my miraculous escape

I have suffered from Chronic Typhoid for 7 months. As time passed by, I found it increasingly difficult to manage my illness and the resulting weakness from Typhoid. I started believing that I would have to deal with this reduced stamina and depressed state of mind all my life, as I had seen some of the sufferers from around the world commenting on medical sites about their struggle to fight Typhoid for years, and even decades. Then I came across some amazing home remedies to fight against the disease and tricks to control my delirious mind that helped me immensely to recover. Along the way, I’ve made some greats friends from all over the world that have suffered from the same flavor of typhoid and have come out winners.  I’m writing this blog for all those who have come down with long running Typhoid caused by the dreaded Salmonella Typhi and are finding it hard to cope with the situation. The biggest problem is that no doctor says the illness could be long running – it’s always said to be a 21-day illness, divided into 3 phases, at the end of which one is said to be completely cured. But, to us, it’s this never-ending weakness, lethargy, diarrhea that makes life miserable as it renders one useless for any sort of activity – at home or at work. When I searched for online content about Typhoid, NOT ONE webpage talked about long running Typhoid. However, there were hundreds of people complaining about the perpetual weakness they inherited and how the feeling of “being normal” had been long lost, in some cases for decades!

In this blog, to begin with, I will talk about Typhoid in general, what causes it, symptoms, treatments etc. Later, I will share my experience about long running typhoid and all the learnings I’ve had talking to people across the world who’ve been in the same boat. For those of you that don’t like reading long stories, the miracle remedies are - Neem leaves (Azadirachta Indica), Honey & Cinnamon and Yoga Pranayam (Anulom Vilom, Surya Namaskar).

My Story - from onset of Typhoid to complete recovery

I had delivered my second son in end of January 2014. I suffered UTI and diarrhea 7 days after the delivery. I was admitted and treated for UTI and the diarrhea went away in a month’s time. Everything was going well for 3 months. Then I decided to start exercising. In June, I went back to work and it was very hectic at work. Then I started dieting in the month of July and August. By September I was losing weight, even on weeks I was not exercising. I went down from 60 to 51 in a month. But I was feeling fit as ever. Folks in the family asked me to visit the doctor, I instead got my thyroid checked and it was normal (I take 25mg and 50 mg Thyronom alternate days).  

Then one day, I had a lot work in office and was feeling exhausted (we all have those days, don’t we?) and came down with a sore throat and fever by 5 PM in the evening. The fever started with 99 Fahrenheit, 100 & went up to 103 Fahrenheit.  Paracetomol (Crocin) just didn’t help and sponging with tap water also did not help. Later I was told that I should have used ice water for sponging, which my husband had insisted was the right way from the beginning, but husbands are never right, right! ;)  

The fever remained for the next whole day and subsided the day after. I resumed work and that week went by fine. Then one day, while sitting on a chair, I realized that I had lost all the cushion in my bottom, the bones in my buttocks were hurting as they were pressing against the hard surface of the chair. This was like a fire alarm – what was happening?? I planned to visit a doctor in internal medicine (amazing lady!). She initially wondered if it was TB but examined me thoroughly. She touched my tummy and realized there was tenderness all over. Since I didn’t get loose motions yet, she was not sure if it was really stomach related. She asked me to get a CBP, Widal and ESR done. The results came a day later and whoa! it was Typhoid. The titers were as follows 

S. TYPHI O Antigen: 1:80
S. TYPHI H ANTIGEN: 1:160
S. PARATYPHI AH: <1:80
S. PARATYPHI BH: 1:80
ESR: 35

Now, there was good feeling about the whole situation and I was enjoying it – why? Because this lovely typhoid had given me a sleeker body, love and care from all the dear ones at NO COST. I was feeling fit and fine as ever, no fever, nothing. Given how I was feeling and the fact that the Widal was not insanely high, the doctor just asked me to take rest and have probiotics and controlled diet (more about this in the Diet in Typhoid section). She didn’t start me on any antibiotics. She also asked me to visit her a week later. I continued with work and saw her a week later, only to discover that I had lost another kg. She was worried with the weight loss and put me antibiotic treatment for a month (Ciprofloxin 100 mg, twice a day, for 3 weeks). I was still feeling fine and energy levels were high, so even though she recommended bed rest for 2 weeks, I continued working. Meanwhile, I had another bout of fever (similar to the kind I had earlier), only this time it was accompanied by severe diarrhea and nausea. The fever, like before, started in the evening, around 5 and lasted the whole of next day, this time too, it didn't go down with an sort of antipyretic (One BIG Learning - If you can't get a fever down with antipyretics, it is likely a bacterial infection. The fever I experienced during the UTI episode was also associated with ECOLI and antipyretics didn't help there too). The fever came down the following day. I visited the doctor again and she checked my BP was down to 90/55. I was given symptomatic treatment immediately– IV electrolyte replacement (to provide electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium and chloride ions, lost through vomiting and diarrhea) and rehydration. The BP was up to 110/70 after the IV was administered. The same IV followed the next day. Though the BP was controlled, I didn't feel good. This marked the onset of Typhoid for me as I kept getting weaker and weaker from here on. There was no fever, no vomiting, but I would feel weak all day, head would hurt once in a while, eyes were always heavy and hurting , started losing hair, diarrhea all the time. This continued for 3-4 months and I took another course of Ciprofloxin, this time 400 mg, two times a day (4 times as strong as the last dose) for 4 weeks. I didn’t have the fever always, instead it would set it when I exerted myself physically or mentally. So I came to realize I needed break from work. I took Leave of Absence in February 2015 and researched my way to recovery. Here I am, writing this blog in March, feeling great, as never before. The reports still indicate slight infection in the body, though all the associated weakness and other symptoms are all gone.



Weight loss in Typhoid - I lost 12 Kgs in 2 months!!

Risk Factors - Where did I pick up Typhoid and why only me? 

I highly doubt that the panipuri (popular street food in India) I had at the road side to have caused the illness. I am not the only one, “all” the people I met at the hospital, and a few from India that I got in touch with online indicated that they often partied on the roadside panipuri. Now if that be true, one may wonder why some continue to have street food and never come down with Typhoid?  I was accompanied by my mother when I had panipuri, why did she not get it? I’ve spent the most of the 7 months I’ve suffered thinking about it. No online content gave me that answer, so I went ahead studying people you have suffered from typhoid, TB, Dengue, Malaria and similar deadly diseases. And I really didn’t have to struggle getting the answer – these people had low immunity and were clinically weaker when they caught the illness.  In my case, I had come out of child birth, was nursing my little one, had resumed work and made the mistake of dieting & exercising, in hope to get back to pre-pregnancy shape. I tell you, Mommies, we shouldn't do that.

Other likely risk factors for Typhoid are: 

1. Immunosuppression due to diabetes - As we are aware, diabetes increases the blood sugar levels and impacts body's ability to fight diseases. I came across two ladies that were suffering from chronic Typhoid for years (with Widal as high as 640!!) and both were diabetic. As with any disease, it's very important to control Diabetes to stay away from Typhoid.

2. Reduction in stomach acidity increases the chances that Salmonella Typhi gets the right, acid free environment to thrive in the stomach long enough to bring one down with Typhoid. Popping antacid pills is therefore not recommended. I had issues with digestion post-delivery and would regularly take antacid tablets to settle the acidity. Later I learnt how Cinnamon and Honey mix helps a great deal with acidity but that was after I had picked up the disease (More about Cinnamon and Honey in a later section).   

If you are suffering from Typhoid, please leave a comment sharing your symptoms, what worked for you and any other learnings you may have about the illness that can help the millions of people impacted by the disease every year.



Typhoid Treatment and Cure (Home Remedies)

Miraculous cure that helped me overcome the illness - Honey, Cinnamon and Neem (Azadirachta Indica) leaves and Yoga Pranayam - Anulom Vilom!!
 

I did everything under the sun to get back to my normal self.  I’m listing all the medicines (in Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Home remedies) that a patient is advised to take. Highlighted in green are the remedies that had a good effect on me. I started taking them 6 months into the illness, and started seeing the effects immediately, and was cured in 2-3 weeks.   



Medicines and Home remedies for Typhoid

1. Allopathy – Antibiotics, probiotics, antacid, ORS, supplements

1. Antibiotics - Antibiotics help in controlling further growth of the bacteria and really come in handy when the bacteria has invaded the system enough and entered the blood stream, at the same time continues to damage the intestines. Typhoid can be fatal when the intestinal lining (Peyer's patches) is sufficiently damaged, to an extent that fluid from the intestines leaks into the body. This condition is called Intestinal perforation. Doctors worry about this condition and may prescribe antibiotics to control the illness. Clinically, a Typhoid patient will know when the condition is severe (fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain and headache become unmanageable) and that will be the time doctors resort to antibiotics. The antibiotics provide quick relief in in a day or two and come in very handy to control the illness. I took antibiotics 3 times during my illness. Antibiotics are given for a longer duration in Typhoid (anywhere from 14 to 28 days). Note that antibiotic may not help with completely curing Typhoid and eliminating Salmonella Typhi from the system, it just helps destroying the bacteria in the bloodstream and intestines. The latter is important to control to avoid severe complications of Typhoid, namely TIP (Typhoid Intestinal Perforation). Antibiotic is ineffective in completely killing Salmonella the Salmonella bacteria hides in the Gallbladder, Liver and Macrophage.

   There are more and more cases of Antibiotic resistant bacteria, Blood culture can help identifying the antibiotic the bacteria is resistant to.
2. Probiotics – These are the good bacteria needed to help restore the digestion that’s severely impacted by the Salmonella infection. The naturally present good bacteria are killed when one takes antibiotcs, so it’s a must to complement the antibiotic with probiotics. Even when nt taking antibiotic, it’s advised to take probiotics as these help fight the bad bacteria in the body. I took probiotics for the entire 7 month duration of the Typhoid illness
3. Antacid – During Typhoid, digestion is impaired and acidity is . Having Antacid helps controlling the nauseous feeling. Although I would advise taking Honey and Cinnamon drink to see if it helps you with acidity.
4. Vitamin and Mineral supplements – Typhoid causes malabsorption and very soon into the illness, one observes loss of hair, weakness, fatigue and symptoms associated with nutrition deficiency. Therefore Vitamin supplements are to be taken all through the illness and are to be continued for much later.    
5. ORS – this is to be consumed at times there is diarrhea and vomiting. Helps restore body fluids and minerals.
6. Liv52 - even though this is an ayurvedic drug, I'm listing it under Allopathy as it's the only known treatment for restoring the Liver and is prescribed by the Internal Medicine doctors themselves. It helped me immensely repair the Liver, that was impacted by Typhoid in the first few months of the illness.

2.     Ayurveda – Ayurveda is known to cure a lot of illnesses and I'm a big fan of it myself as it helped me with PCOD and associated infertility that Allopathy (including the latest fancy techniques) could not help with for years. However, I can't resist calling out that it does not offer a guaranteed cure in Typhoid as it may in other illnesses. For me, Ayurveda was not effective for the recurrent typhoid attacks and the associated weakness, but it did help me in boosting my immunity in general so I didn’t catch other diseases like flues, Dengue, Malaria etc. which were highly prevalent in the city at that time. If you see, people suffering from Typhoid often are susceptible to other diseases, so it becomes important to safeguard oneself . Here are the known ayurvedic treatments for Typhoid.  

1.     Chutney (Khoob Kala, Anjeer, Munakka) – I saw this on YouTube (particularly heard about this from Ramdev Baba's video), and several other Ayurvedic sites. I was very hopeful this would work. I had this one month into the illness. Had it for 3 months, but didn’t find it effective in curing Typhoid. You can still try this as all the ingredients in the mixture are supposed to promote strength in the body.

2.     Mahasudarshan vati – This is to control the high fever in Typhoid and I think it helped bring down the intensity of the fevers I used to get once in a while.

3.     Sanjeevni vati – helps with immunity in general and I think it played a role in safeguarding me against the other prevalent sicknesses in the neighborhood - that my entire family was down with but I was untouched.

4.     Bhel Murraba - Bhel/WoodApple is supposed to help flush out any bacteria in the gut. So I consumed Bhel Murraba (aka Jam) from Patanjali twice a day.

5.     Liv52 – we get this in India. It helps repair the liver. It’s advised by allopathy doctors as well, in case of diseases that impact the liver – like Jaundice and Typhoid. Taking Liv52 tablets from Himalaya helped correct my LFT and enlarged liver.

3.     Homeopathy – I consulted a homeopath when I was 2 months into the illness and he gave some medicines (I don't know which ones as the Homeopaths here in India do not disclose the names) but I did not see any difference in my condition. So I stopped Homeopathy. Upon chatting with other people that have had Typhoid, I came to learn that Homeopathy didn’t work for them either.  Later I consulted my father who is a Homeopath himself and he asked me to take Galsemium 30 – 5 globules 3 times a day. I felt that it helped me with the symptoms related to the weakness. But I cannot be sure if it did help as much as the other remedies that I’ve marked in green, namely Yoga Pranayama, Neem leaves and Honey with Cinnamon.

4.     Yoga Pranayama – Pranayama is the technique of controlled breathing, that allows oxygen to flow into all parts of the body. I chose anulom vilom as it's the safest pranayama and known to be the most effective in all illnesses. I cannot sit for yoga or asanas, so I tried doing Anulom Vilom while watching TV, lying down or sitting. The idea is to breathe from one nostril, keeping the other closed, then exhaling from the other nostril. Repeating this for as long as possible. I would do it for an hour or two a day.  In the whole process, do not exert or make noise. Do it in a relaxed way, breathe in and out in a totally stress-free manner. When we yawn, we sense the air going to all parts of the body, you must feel the same when you breathe in during Anulom Vilom. Anulom Vilom helped me get back the lost strength. It helped with the headaches and the heaviness in the eyes. Overall, I got me back the lost stamina, and that to me was the turning point in the long running fight with the disease. I HIGHLY recommend doing this, doesn't matter which stage of the illness you are in. Just find the time and position you are most comfortable doing it (and watching TV is in my opinion the best time as you end up practicing anulom vilom for hours, before you know it) 

5.     Neem Leaves – Neem (Azadirachta Indica) is an excellent antibacterial. There have been hundreds of experiments on Neem, to establish its ability to destroy lots of diseases causing bacteria. Specifically, there were some reports highlighting effectiveness of Neem on Salmonella. I've looked up a lot of reports on Neem both online and in books. This research paper talks about one such experiment, where Neem was effective in inhibiting growth of E.coli and Salmonella bacteria. This person called Emma from Ghana also talked about Neem helping him and several of his friends get cured with chronic typhoid. I go in touch with him on mail and he gave me references of a lot f people that chewed Neem leaves and found their way out of reoccurring Typhoid. I tried it and felt it helped kill all the bacteria for good. I’d eat 20-30 fresh Neem leaves, 3 times a day. It caused slight acidity sometimes, to help with acidity, I’d take my honey cinnamon mix.

6.     Honey with Cinnamon/Apple Cider Vinegar – This helped me do away with the antacid pills I was taking. There’s something about honey, it soothes the system. The discomfort I had in the stomach always went away, every time I took honey. Dose is 2-3 tablespoons of honey with either 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder or Apple Cider vinegar. Mix it well and add water up to half a glass or even full glass. It makes a nice sweet drink.  Have his 3 times a day, start your day with the first set. Anytime you have a heavy meal or have trouble with digestion, immediately resort to the honey and cinnamon drink.