Kiks--This is what I'm learning about this whole problem: You can definitely pick up parasites in Mexico, but they are prevalent in this company too. I have not been out of the country (except to Alberta!) in two years. 20-25% of the people in this country have the particular parasite I have; other kinds are quite prevalent as well, such as giardia. A lot of people aren't bothered by the infection so much, and their systems may even be able to fight it off. But a lot of us who have weak digestive systems and IBS have more trouble with this and can get sick and stay sick for awhile. Most doctors use Flagyl to treat all these different parasites, but it is often only about 50% effective. Humatin is a more effective antibiotic, but not as commonly used. It isn't as hard on your body as Flagyl. The only definitive way to be diagnosed is through stool testing (no blood tests for it). This is no fun, but it's a good thing to do. The gold standard for diagnostic testing of this sort is Great Smokies Laboratories. But most doctors just use their local lab--which is kind of hit and miss. Great Smokies is the most thorough. If you can find a doc who uses them, that's best.
As Leah said, it's critical to take probiotics while you're on the antibiotics (I take them all the time to help my digestive system).
A lot of general practitioners and even GI docs don't know a lot about parasites--look for a doc that specializes or has a lot of experience with this.
Hope this helps. If I learn more from my new doc, I'll pass it on. And thank you for your kind words and support!!
Judith
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Re: IBS AND an intestinal parasite! This is not fair!
