Someone else has written about Ciguatera at last… here is a link to that site to read more about it… Nothing new from the information I have but its more up to date which might help some…
I dont think I would trust the bleed test at all after suffering this for so long… nothing would make me trust fish ever again… always take great care when eating fish….
https://surfsimply.com/magazine/dont-eat-that-fish-about-ciguatera-french-polynesia
Ciguatera Fish Poisoning is still rife all over the world, people suffering and frightened when they get the first symptoms so quickly and violently… yes! its violent on the body. Ciguatera is a maotoxin and 1000 times stronger than arsenic poisoning. It can kill quickly as well. Most people’s first symptoms are terrible pain – everywhere, especially legs and feet, hands.
Please be careful over the holiday period about what fish you are eating.. anything over 30cms or 3kg can be deadly and you cannot tell if a fish has CIGUATERA. People who are aware of it give a piece of fish to a cat or dog (yes, its true!!) and if it gets sick or dies fairly fast, then they throw the fish out… there is no way to know. There is NO blood test for you to have, there is no cure, there is no support, research or help.
THINK TWICE before eating fish and if you do not know the original size of the fish, dont risk it! I know people who had sushi in a restaurant and have been sick for a long long time now.. a simple meal that can affect your life forever. I read once that it can also disable you… well, it did to me. I couldn’t walk for around 5-7 years and most of that was bed ridden in dreadful pain. DO NOT EAT FISH without knowing this…
Not every fish has Ciguatera… but how can you know…. you can’t.
PLEASE INFORM YOURSELF AND READ ABOUT THIS AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE CAREFUL TO NOT GET THIS DREADFUL POISONING
Ciguatera still plays havoc within my body after 18 years now… I am very active compared to the past but trying to push the boundaries just sets the muscle “disability” into pain so I am still learning boundaries… makes life slow.. Please make sure your family and friends are all aware of this maotoxin… let them read it all for themselves online.. there isnt much change in information, study, awareness or help in the last 18 years.. not good people.
I am living in a new neighbourhood now and got talking to neighbours and would you believe one neighbour has had her time with this poison. She was attacked with the poison after eating fish up north queensland and was flown to a hospital for care. The doctors didnt have a clue what was wrong with her.. she says she was in hospital for 18 months, horribly sick … they suggested that they “operate” and open her up to “take a look”.. can you believe they would do this to someone… just for their own observation! Holy moly!! poor girl… she said NO!!
It turns out they never helped her… like me.. put her in a TOO HARD BASKET and sent her home to get on with it… terrible! She seems to lead a normal life now and works hard physically so she recovered well. She did admit that her muscular system was not attacked; she suffered more the nervous and digestive system but avoids fish or only eats little fillets.. her family are all aware of it.
It seems, more of us have had it, suffer it or will at some time come across it… I so wish this would get into the more main stream media… globally… this is all around the world and was here before we were… we should be told about this; it should be common knowledge that BIG FISH ARE DANGEROUS… take care… anyone got a friend in main media..?
Good luck and dont eat fish, canned tuna, salmon… and more …. please read up on it wherever you can.
/div>
Hi all… I dont write much on Ciguatera these days but having had 2 more serious emails this last week has me concerned… this is becoming so common now and people are still suffering terribly and the media and doctors are still not doing anything about it… I have suffered this for 18 years now and no new findings or research or even a blood test has been done… THIS IS AWFUL!
I am putting this new email here to show you that someone can have it and live normally til seafood is ingested again and it can come back at you… I cant believe that no one is helping this issue.. I have written to tv stations and shows, newspapers, all sorts of people; spent a fortune on mail and publishing my boring book cost me a lot as well and I never got a thing back from it… I was hoping for awareness and something to be done. Does anyone know anyone who can get this into the media and have some awareness done about it… let me know…
Latest Email: (persons name is kept confidential)…. I Was diagnosed with this quite a few years ago now but have been a bit sceptical from time to time.
Just this last week I’ve eaten some sashimi and then was invited to dinner on NYE and ate some salmon quiche which I never do.
Since then I feel like rubbish. Tingling in my lips, sore back of neck, throat, fatigued, itchy, vision worse than normal.
Maybe I believe it now. Especially going back through all your notes.
I also had the most horrific vertigo attack last Eater when I was under quite a bit of stress – dehydrated, had a few drinks, during a competition ( I endurance ride horses believe it or not).
The wandering blood pressure, etc. This caused me concern b/c it was always a toss up whether I could donate blood or not.
Thinking about it. Should I even consider this – would my blood be toxic for someone else?
My GP not long referred me for this to a cardiologist who I am due to go and see next week. As in her tests for the wandering BP I had one renal artery scan with narrowing.
She did some prelim tests which have my noradrenaline higher than it should be and I think they’re going looking for ectopic sources of that adrenal tissue.
Now I read that due to the effects on Ca2+ gating that this is one of the symptoms?
IF ANYONE WANTS ONE OF MY BOOKS I AM HAPPY TO SEND YOU ONE FREE…
Since writing that I have improved greatly but it has cost me a lot of money at naturopath and still does… disability aids cost a lot which I dont have to use now…a trip to Bali saw me doing a 3 day healing, purge with a Bali healer and I have been able to be free of the ciguatera in mind and body for several years now… however, I will always have physical limitations due to the poison changing my muscle structure forever so I am very limited to physical activity. I am also always paying for a special treatment I get every 2 weeks (wish it was weekly but cant afford it) and this fellow helps my muscles recover from the stress of movement and allows me to have a better physical life. This will never go away but it is manageable and better than lying in bed in pain!! This is what you life can become if you get Ciguatera… and I am one of the lucky ones!!!
I hope these notes and warning reach as many people as they can, please pass this information on and around so that everyone knows and can be aware that
EATING FISH IS PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH YOUR LIFE !! Dont eat anything over 30cm or 3kgs… it can kill you and it will if it has CIGUATERA… you cant see it, taste it, feel it, cook it, delete it in any way… it is a silent poison and it frightens me that more and more people are suffering…. take care all and pass it around please
Christine
I had someone contact me and accuse me of making money out of having ciguatera… what a loser! As if I would do that… who ever you are, you are assuming and I only help people with information because I have suffered it for so long…
stop judging others and get on with being a helpful being
My astrology site and work is not connected to this in any way, it just happens to be something else I do for a living and pages and posts are often linked.
18 March, 2014 3:37PM AEST
Call for ciguatera awareness after 17 cases in Townsville
By Nathalie Fernbach with Paula Tapiolas
The partner of a woman who developed ciguatera poisoning after eating fish and chips is calling for greater awareness of the toxin.
Print
Email
Permalink
Share 7
Seventeen people presented at the Townsville Hospital over the weekend with ciguatera poisoning.
Brett McGuire says his family all ate fish and chips on Saturday night, shortly afterward his wife Sarah developed diarrhoea, tingling around her mouth, numbness in her hands and feet, uncontrollable itching and severe pain.
“Growing up in north Queensland I had known of (ciguatera) but I think what we found was that there is really not much awareness of it and what it actually is,” he said.
Diagnosing ciguatera poisoning
Mr McGuire says hospital staff were caring but many had not dealt with ciguatera poisoning before.
“It was quite surprising and a bit disheartening how much the health professionals themselves didn’t know much about it either so it made it hard for them to diagnose and to treat,” he said.
The ciguatera toxin comes from an algae that small reef fish consume, larger predatory fish can build up high doses of the toxin from eating smaller reef fish.
Mr McGuire would like to see more public information about ciguatera poisoning made available and upper limits on fish size introduced for some species.
“Recreational fishermen know that large fish carry bad things so they catch and release, whereas I suppose the commercial fishermen they catch a big fish they say ‘oh well I can cut this large mackerel up into 20 different fillets and sell it on,'” he said.
17 cases very unusual
Director of emergency at the Townsville Hospital Doctor Niall Small says it is not unusual to see ciguatera cases but it is rare to have so many cases at once.
“One of the big problems is that we really don’t understand what causes the symptoms, we know about the toxin but we don’t know what causes the symptoms so we are slightly limited in what treatment we can use,” he said.
Dr Small says the best way to avoid ciguatera is to avoid large predatory fish like mackerel and pelagics and find out what fish you are buying when you eat out.
“Don’t buy mixed reef fillets because there is a risk that the wrong kind of fish has been chopped up and added to the mixed reef fillets,” he said.
Ciguatera on the rise
Ciguatera researcher Doctor Mark Skinner says the algae that causes ciguatera is becoming more dominant in the ecosystem.
Dr Skinner advises people not to eat fish over 2kgs in weight and to avoid the meat around the head and intestines.
He says the poisoning can be debilitating for weeks or months and if people consume the toxin again they are likely to have worse symptoms the second time.
“We know that the toxin is built up in the fatty tissues of fish so quite obviously there is no reason for it not to build up in the fatty tissues of mammals and so it can take quite some time to get out of the system,” he said.
It seems negative to always talk about something that is so difficult to live with but I believe it helps those suffering. It helps to express your frustration, anger and pain and in time it will get better. When I first got Ciguatera I read about long term disability. I didn’t, for one minute, think that it was really possible for me. I had eaten only a small amount of fish and symptoms were horrible but I could still do everything I wanted to. At the time I didnt know that to continue normal activity etc is not the right thing to do for a body that is coping with poison.
However, with time my symptoms lessened until I took more physical work and this tired me out so much that the poison began to ‘awaken’ again. The symptoms were quite different this time, second attack is nothing like the first, in fact it is much much worse. It took me a while to realize, actually I didnt even realize as my body just collapsed and I could not get out of bed or walk at all. This happened in small doses, a few days at a time. I continued working but eventually collapsed and became disabled.
I initially used the typing chair to get around on as it has wheels but the attack continued to get worse until I had to purchase a disability scooter to get in and out of bed and around my small house. For quite some time I spend all day on the day lounge and all night in the bedroom – for years. No shopping or driving or gardening, getting to the post box was a major achievement. Cooking meals and just taking a shower became the goal for the day. By this time the toxin was very active and my muscles were in enormous pain. Nerve endings were so alive I could not even tap my finger on a surface without hours of pain from it. I spent many hours, days and night just crying in pain. The toxin definitely affects the brain, sight and other important faculties as it is moving through the bloodstream at all times. It becomes especially active 2 hours after eating. In digesting food we are re-ingesting the toxin as well… each person must watch the body carefully and I cannot say strongly enough that you need to REST. Rest does heal the nerve endings which are being attacked and bi-carb & water or chlorophyll to keep the stomach alkaline will help your suffering lots. The toxin creates an acidic environment in the stomach and this helps it remain active. I always have a very fiery itch – everywhere – when the toxin is active, especially after eating. This is one reason so many people get so thin, eating becomes quite scary! Do not eat more fish, eggs, chicken, some oils, peanuts or any peanut products to name the most common.
Toxins cannot remain active in an alkaline stomach, so this is one of the best tips ever!
So, I just with all sufferers the very best. If you choose not to slow down or take proper care of your body while you are suffering the toxin, then you may very well end up more sick. Please take heed of what is happening to you at all times. Bless this poison (not!). Everything is for a purpose, so try not to wonder why it happened but attend to doing what you can in the best way you can. It has changed my lifestyle forever but I have found new ways to enjoy things. Good luck to everyone out there and
DONT EAT FISH
Unfortunately, another 2 people have fallen victim to Ciguatera! I have contacted these girls to try and help them but I just want to remind everyone that CIGUATERA does not go away, it is not curable, there is no
One of the welts that come up and itch and burn. Burns all over body.
real help for this awful suffering. People –
DONT EAT FISH !! Get educated about Ciguatera so you do not suffer.
“My sister and I had Amberjack last Friday and have become victims of Ciguatera. The gi symptoms have abated however the muscle weakness and the severe itching and temperature symptoms have not. We have been using ibuprofen, Tylenol and benedryl with limited and minimal results. Topical applications of hydrocortisone are futile. Any suggestions you might have would be appreciated. We are both very uncomfortable”
WELL, IT HAS HAPPENED YET AGAIN AND THOSE WHO THOUGHT ‘SECOND RATE COUNTRIES’ ONLY HAD THIS PROBLEM ARE PROVEN WRONG AGAIN.
ANOTHER FISH ON THE LONG LIST OF CIGUATERIC FISH, MACKEREL ARE RUNNING ON THE GOLD COAST AND FISHER PEOPLE ARE CATCHING THEM. THE FISH THEY HAD WAS A LONG WAY OVER 30 CMS AND THEY HAVE BECOME GRAVELY ILL. ITCHING, VOMITTING, PAIN ARE ALL SYMPTOMS (IF YOU LIVE) THAT COME ON WITHIN HOURS OF DIGESTING.
MORE AWARENESS AND INFORMATION NEEDS TO GET TO MORE OF THE PUBLIC. PLEASE LET OTHERS KNOW SO THEY CAN HAVE A CHOICE. CIGUATERA IS 1000 TIMES MORE TOXIC THAN ARSENIC AND CAUSES DEEP PAIN AND MISERY. PLEASE BE AWARE OF WHAT FISH YOU EAT. THE SIZE IS IMPORTANT MORE THEN THE TYPE OF FISH… READ MORE HERE
Living with Ciguatera Fish Poisoning 