Has anyone ever been treated for giardia without definitive detection by the stool test?--I understand that it is not easily found and could need numerous randam testing..(which is not usually done)-It is also my understanding that this parasite can be dormant and flare up at different times....I have had cramps and D 5-6 week for many months (though I probably have IBS so called for many years) but it seems to be really getting worse and out of control.What kind of symtoms would the giardia manifest?--My bowels seem to settle down later in the day but the mornings are torturous and debilitating.I may consider a round of flagel...but that has its consequences too.Anybody experienced the giardia??????
Giardia-can it be detected?
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Generally, I would tend to think that an infectious sort of diarrhea would be less likely to follow the "worse in the morning" pattern.At least for me that seems to be true. When I get stomach flu or food poisioning I tend to do a 24/7 sort of issue.Everyone's colon is most active in the morning around the time they wake up. That seems to be a major problem for some people with IBS. It is like instead of being the normal more active it goes into a way more active than it needs to be sort of thing. This seems to be mediated by the Enteric Nervous System. One thing to try is to have an antidiarrheal, etc in place when you wake up, so taking something the night before might be helpful.One other thing. You may have at one point had an infection. But the damage from that can effect the Enteric Nervous System (gut nerves) and so even after the bug is long gone there can be symptoms. People often have symptoms after an infection is gone for several weeks, and if it goes longer than that it can become an IBS thing....basically it takes some time to settle down afterwards, and if things do not become normal then you develop a chronic condition.So I don't know how much of the "dormant and recurrs over and over again" thing is the biology of the pathogen, and how much is the Nerves are now not quite normal and during periods of stress (food, emotional, physical) the person has an IBS flare up or how much could really be chronic recurrent flare ups of the pathogenic organism. Usually when I have heard people talk about this the what flares it up could be the same thing that flares up IBS, and IBS is in some people a flare up and remit kinda thing.K.
I've had giardia and found it to be much worse in the morning. The giardia would wake me up very early in the morning. Then after the D the cramping would settle down and I'd feel better for the rest of the day. There is also a definite foul smell to it. I'd use the blood test to check for giardia. Giardia from what I've read can also trigger other things besides IBS like celiac or microscopic colitis but most doctors these days are jumping on the band wagon and diagnosing everyone with IBS. I personally believe between 40-60% of those on this BB do not have IBS.Good Luck
I took flagyl and yes it did work. I did get D later on for which I wasn't tested for giardia but instead was flatly told I had IBS, eat more fiber and learn to live with it. Ten years later after getting worse each year with zero remission time basically ten years of D every day I was finally diagnosed with colitis. Fiber makes colitis worse! I'm now on entocort but believe that had I been diagnosed sooner I might have been able to avoid steroids.Good Luck
One thing to try is to fast for 48 hours. If all symptoms disappear then IBS seems much more likely than if you continue to have D. I did this and would still have D.This site should be of interest to anyone with D. http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/villa/...r/diarrhea.html Good Luck
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