[at-l] giardia

[itinerant_ej@yahoo.com (EJ Baker)]

Hi all,
been coasting through the digest--just came back from the Long Trail north which I hiked with Giardia as my companion for three weeks.  I thought it was a stomach bug and when I went back to visit my dr. (had to get off trail for a week because I went for two days without eating, on one liter of water) she thought it was a stomach bug too.  I thought it was a stomach bug because one had been going around my school right before I left and she thought it was one because one was going around town.  So the moral is:  even if you think it's something still TEST right away--would have saved me a week off trail and 2 more uncomfortable ones on.  I had hoped to walk out whatever it was and couldn't--though I normally can walk out anything--so that was a lesson to me as well, though I think I got it because I was so stressed out and my immune system was down (usually I can drink anything with little trouble).  And I'm still not sure if I started with a stomach bug and picked up the giardia because I was already sick--since I was sick from the first day in and was still drinking tap water at the time.
Anyway,  Metro whatever is only 3dollars and 15 cents in southern VT.  Giardia disguises itself as many things--the reason I thought I did n't have it, as well, was I kept feeling better and half the time I had dysentery, but half the time I had the opposite.  I've heard of people having it for months while thinking they had other stomach disorders.  Before we decided to test for Giardia just to cancel it out of options, my md and I discussed pos. irritable bowel syndrome and gall bladder problems--had blood work done and was scheduled for an ultra sound just in case--again, because the Giardia wasn't constant and or "classic".
I'm up in the air on the water treatment options.  I iodine water and have never had a problem with that before.  On the LT there were two places that  were all beaver pond, and no other options--skyline lodge and tillotson camp, so I boiled the shit, literally, out of it AND iiodined, but perhaps I was sloppy with my cup and didn't notice (this was all in the dark).  Up near Canada there were a few places I didn't treat and still wouldn't.  But maybe if I was going for a longer trek, I'd treat everything anyway.  I would still be hiking now, even with the giardia (found out that after a couple weeks adaptation, yes, I could still do long days--ended up chewing ginger so I could drink enough water and that helped quite a bit) but it sure feels better not to have it!
EJ



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