Just a little allergy pill

Reflecting back on the last week, I thought that this abdominal pain was gone and it IS going... I had two great days this week with almost no pain, but yesterday I found it particularly bothersome and my tolerance is kind of weaning. (Its kind of cumulative with back pain). So I emailed Garin describing what I was feeling and asking if this was characteristic of the worms, if I should just wait it out, or if there was some sort of medical intervention. He replied that the pain I described was "classic hookworm" and to try some Benadryl first. I tried some this morning and it helped! The pain isn't gone and my stomach is still distended but it is better and I can actually suck my stomach almost normally, which is an improvement.
I don't know if you're like me in this sense, but when my stomach is so bloated consistently for so long, it tends to get me depressed as I start to feel really fat (you know, on top of everything else). And the longer it lasts, the more I become convinced that I've gained a large amount of weight and it isn't just going to go away when I feel better. (I tend to gain when I'm sick and lose when I'm healthy). So I've come up with some ways to gage if its bloated or if I've gained weight, because usually my stomach can be pretty tender regardless. Two questions: can I suck it in and can I push it out? If I can't push my stomach out voluntarily because its already distended as far as it can go, I know I'm bloated, and if I can't suck it in or its too painful to suck in, I'm bloated. Also, if I lay down on my back, does it stick out or does it sink in (convex vs. concave)? Just something small to keep myself sane. This illness has done a number on me, psychologically.
I have a really hard time gaging how sick I am or how much pain I am in--basically from years of being told I was faking or that whatever is ailing me, isn't significant. Its all very confusing, especially because its an invisible illness. I can't see the sick; its all mysterious, subjective and changing.
When I talked to my mom this morning, (she's been inoculated twice with hookworms now in the last 8-9 months), I was describing to her the pain in my stomach and how it was different and similar to what I normally experience. She basically said: "That's exactly what happened to me, only I didn't know it was the worms! I spent weeks in bed! All this time I could have just taken a little allergy pill..." Because now, she's well past the 3 month mark and I think we both kinda expect treatment that is going to be terrible from the side effects, or scary from the dangers, invasive or whatever. But no, just a little allergy pill. That's cool, I like this worm therapy stuff so far.