Not sure if its a flare or giardia

JamesEcuador · Post by **JamesEcuador** » Mon May 26, 2014 10:45 am

I live in the Galapagos Islands which is rife for giardia and intestinal infections like E-Coli. Practically everyone has them and confirmation from a stool test showed I was positive about 6 months ago for giardia . It gets treated (we are recommended to de-parasite every 3 months) and then it returns within a month or so.

I'm having a bad time at the moment and in a lot of pain with abdominal cramps. I’m also experiencing looser than normal BMs about 2-3 times a day. At first I thought this was a LC flare and I've cut back my diet to very boring foods (DF, GF) and drinking water. Two weeks later and I'm still just as bad. I'm pretty sure I have giardia again but also concerned that it’s just an LC flare or both. There is very limited testing available here in the Galapagos and usually everyone is prescribed Metronidazole for a week to kill the parasite without blood or feces testing and I know if I go to the Drs that's what I will be prescribed. I also doubt the doctor will have any knowledge about LC.

My worry is that I'm sure giardia and the other intestinal infections I've picked up over the last few years have caused my LC in the first place. Is it a good idea to take (strong) parasitic antibiotics if I have LC? Or perhaps better to ride the storm and see if I have any improvements with my diet? The problem is I'm getting to the stage where these ab pains are crippling me.

Thanks

Post by **tex** » Mon May 26, 2014 1:09 pm

Hi James,

Sorry to hear of your dilemma. Those are tough questions. Without the availability of appropriate tests, the best one can hope to do is to make a guess based on the odds, and if I were to have to make a guess in such a situation I would guess that giardia are the problem. True, a giardia infection might be triggering an MC reaction, but it's not likely that an MC reaction could be controlled without first controlling the giardia infection. So a Metronidazole treatment may be a necessary evil.

Anyway, that's how I see the situation, FWIW.

Tex

JamesEcuador · Post by **JamesEcuador** » Mon May 26, 2014 2:42 pm

Thanks Tex, much appreciated. It is a dilema and the only other option I have is to leave the Islands to travel to the continent for proper testing which isn't so realistic at the moment.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon May 26, 2014 8:23 pm

James
What you have shared with us over these recent weeks, and the ongoing issues based on where you are living, my perspective is, your ability to minimise symptoms and 'train/tame' Fred will be very limited whilst you are living there.

not really what you want to hear, and a bit overwhelming whilst there is no 100% certain diagnosis.

Having to give serious consideration to making a drastic lifestyle change is a BIG thing. I have had to do it twice since my MC diagnosis 4.5 years ago.
while there is no quick fix, no medication regime that will eradicate the ongoing symptoms, you have limited choices, and I totally get that it sucks!

There are some slightly harsh realities when it comes to IBD's.
a) you can minimise symptoms but they never go away. A major emotional event, or lots of niggly histamine/dental/fatigue issues can cause a major flare at any time
b) if you dont get the right balance of diet / medication / supplements / lifestyle the ability to improve is very very limited, the longer you have ongoing symptoms, the longer it takes to heal.
c) long term constant inflammation in the gut will cause issues elsewhere in the body. Aside from the direct issues such as poor nutrition absorption, anal fissures, dental issues and the like, over time your liver function will be impaired, your kidney function will be affected, health issues such as Thyroid, Diabetes, Heart, Blood pressure, osteoporosis will have increased likelyhood, and/or increased intensity.

I am not trying to scare you, far from it, I am trying to help you see the not so long term (5-10 years) issues with wellness,
and hopefully help you avoid the worst case scenerios.

2 weeks on a bland diet is a short time. I agree with tex that metronidazole maybe a necessary evil. Mindful that while ever you are continuing to consume the dodgy water you mentioned, no treatment may be 100% effective.

JamesEcuador · Post by **JamesEcuador** » Thu May 29, 2014 4:15 pm

Hi Gabes

You are totally right and its something Ive been speaking about with my wife for the last month or so. I’ve realized over the last 12 months that my health is the most important thing and can’t be gambled with anymore by poor water, inept doctors and a lack of suitable food.

We are already putting our plans in place. It’s not so easy though as my wife is Ecuadorian and to move back to England (where we want to go) means lots of stress in applying for a spouse visa. I won't bore you with the details but because of how strict immigration laws now are in England, if we want to go back together it will take at least 6 months from this point until we can start thinking about applying. The other option is for me to leave now on my own and then in 6 months I can sponsor my wife to live with me and then start the visa application process. So whilst we are making plans now I’ve pretty much accepted that option one is the least worse and I have to do my best over here until the end of the year.

Speaking of inept doctors, I decided to go and see one in the end. I perhaps stupidly told him that they found LC in my colonoscopy biopsy at the start of the year. I told him about my abs cramps and he examined me and my bloated gut and said “yep, that’s colitis”. He then did a search online in his meds browser and gave me a prescription for Sulfadiazine (Falazine?) and told me that should fix me straight away. I’m so pleased that I use this site as the first thing I did was search for related Sulfadiazine posts and gathered pretty quickly that it wouldn’t be a good idea to take it – especially prescribed by a doctor who isn’t a gastroenterologist. In the end I did a stool test (for what its worth) and it confirmed I’m positive for giardia and giardia cysts.

I hope so much that the parasite medication will make me feel better at least for a while. If not, it may mean me giving up with life in Galapagos sooner rather than later but leaving and living without my wife for a considerable amount of time while we go through the visa pain.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu May 29, 2014 6:34 pm

James
I do understand the immigration process, I had to organise work visa's for Canadians to come to Australia company sponsored. We were a new company and it took a year to get the company registered with Immigration Dept, then I had to work on individuals getting their visa's.
It takes alot of energy and can be quite stressful. (not good for someone with MC)

Albeit, I am relieved that you and your wife have been discussing long term options, and will take the steps to put the plans in place.

If you can stick to the bland diet, use some good quality supplements, you should be able to get some stable improvement to get you through the next 12 months.
Olive leaf would be really good given the water issues. If you are interested, and have issues getting tablets let me know, i can send you a care package from Aus. Even if it means just trying it and seeing if it is something that will help.

Since the MC Dx, I always take the script from the doctor, say thanks. Come home and research pro's and cons, and is there a natural way I can mitigate the issue and not cause the MC into a total spinout.

Take care
healing hugs and energy hugs for your journey over the next 12 months

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Thu May 29, 2014 6:54 pm

James,

I too am familiar with the immigration process. My daughter, from the US, married a man from St Lucia. Getting her husband a visa to come to this country took a very long time and it was stressful, but finally last November he got his visa and they came to the US and are now living in Atlanta, Georgia. It was also expensive, but in the end certainly worth it. Sometimes life can feel too complicated but better that there is a solution, even if a difficult one, than having no solution.

Nasty water, ignorant doctor and limited food choices, make your options limited, but if you can find just a small handful of foods you can eat and just stick to them things should improve.

Jean

JamesEcuador · Post by **JamesEcuador** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 5:45 pm

Sorry for not replying earlier Gabes but I've not been very well this last week and not online much. Thanks for your lovely offer but I'm not sure if olive leaf would get through the Galapagos Island's strict bio-security control. What form does it come in? (I'm a complete novice when it comes to this kind of thing).

As an update, I've been taking Metronidazole for 7 days now and continued with a bland diet (rice, fish/meat and only water) and had no improvements. In fact, the abdominal pain is worse than before I started taking the treatment. However, I do know that the side effects of taking this parasite medication are nasty and include stomach and abdominal pain so it does feel somewhat like I'm going round the symptom merry-go-round at the moment! I'm coming off the tablets tomorrow and if I have no improvement in the next week or so, I will have to travel to the continent to see my doctor, probably go through more tests and try and see if he can prescribe treatment for LC (in addition to the diet changes I've made).

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:25 pm

James
some basic info about Olive Leaf, I have provided Information on the capsules (which is most likely the best option to get through customs

http://www.naturesway.com.au/our-produc ... g-30s.html

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:31 pm

James
I found the list for herbs/vegetables/fruit on the SicGal website, but could not locate a listing that relates to vitamins/supplements.

Keep up the bland diet, it may not feel like it is helping, but I am sure it will be.

If there is anything that I can do to assist, make your days better, let me know.

JamesEcuador · Post by **JamesEcuador** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:12 pm

Hi Gabes

I don't think capsules will be a problem to send here - I was picturing actual leaves which would have been a different thing! I'm sending a PM now with my address. Thanks a lot

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:17 pm

I am pretty confident there will be no issue with the capsules.
Liquid olive leaf extract would probably get confiscated.

Got your pm. It will go next week from aus, I will pm the tracking number to you when I send it.
It won't cure you, but it may calm your gut enough to get through the next few months.

JamesEcuador · Post by **JamesEcuador** » Fri Jun 06, 2014 8:34 am

Thank you so much. It will probably take at least 3 weeks to get here but better late than never.