[downunder]

Our 28th month old son who we recently adopted from India has been here in Canada with us for 2 months now. About a month ago, here started having diarrhea and a stool test found a Gerardia bateria, and the anti-bio didn't help much. The last 3 weeks have been very difficult as he has had diarrhea constantly 4-5 times a day, sometimes it is really watery and sometimes it is not. The last stool test show he had a tapeworm and we just gave him anit-bio yesterday for that. We have also modified this diet, with no diary products and no juice. We have only been giving him water and lots of starch like potatoes, yogurt (yes I know it's made from milk), etc. - but it has not helped.

We are at our wit's end, anybody with ideas to solve this mystery (his stomach was fine in India).

[cjhawk38]

Could it be the water? Try giving him bottled water and see if that helps.

[tamif]

If your Dr isn't sure what is gonig on I would see a Dr who specializes in travel/international medicine. They would be more familiar with things that are not necessarily found in North America.

[Jo~Kiwi~]

Have they retested to make sure that the Giardia is taken care of? He might need another dose of Furoxone. Because Giardia will sometimes cycle, it can take a few tests to determine whether or not he still has it. Did the Dr prescribe anything for the tapeworm? I'm not sure if something over the counter like Pinrid or Pinex would get rid of that or not.

I sure do hope he gets to feeling alot better really soon!

Jo

[downunder]

Thanks everybody for replying. We have been seeing a pediatrician who specializes in adoption. It's been 3 days since our son took a single dose of anti-bi for the tape worm and he was about 50% better. I mean better in the sense that didn't have extreme watery diarrhea but 4-5 times a day he semi - hard stool, sometimes he would do just a little bit with his pee. I thought my last resort would be the natural medicines that I use. Today afternoon, I gave child portions of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Charcoal tablets and DiarEase (a natural electrolyte) after doing some research on-line. It seemed to work as afterwards he did pee with no diarrhea but after dinner he had a bad case which was all watery (he hadn't done that since the day after the anti-bio for the taper worm).
I don't what else to do !

[Jo~Kiwi~]

Just wanted you to know that I've been thinking about you and wondering how your little guy is going. You sound like parents after my own heart, going for all of the natural options ...lol ... My husband calls me Dharma, and I don't think hes joking ... \

I hope he's feeling better.... and I look forward to an update...

Gotta love those charcoal tabs!

Jo

[StorkWatcher]

Downunder - those internation bugs can be nasty. I don't have firsthand experience with them but have had family/co-workers who travel and pick them up....

I know when my son had a stomach bug (not similar to yours), others recommended the BRAT diet. Bananas, rice, applesauce and tea. Don't know if the B and R would help firm things up, but if you're still looking for anything to try.....

Good luck! Poor baby! I bet his little bum is sore. Do you have Boudreaux's Butt Paste ointment there? If so, maybe it would help!

[sak9645]

Giardia can be a real "bear" to eliminate. You may need to give several courses of Flagyl or similar medication. This is often very unpleasant for the child, since some of the medicines taste nasty.

Be very careful, until your child tests free of Giardia. It is very contagious, and parents of adopted children often get it from their kids.

Wash your hands thoroughly after changing diapers. Wash thoroughly before preparing food for your family. Try not to let other children "mouth" toys used by your child, since he might have touched his bottom before handling the toys.

Tapeworms, roundworms, and other worms are also extremely common in internationally adopted children. In most cases, these are easy to eliminate, if you use the right anti-worm medicine.

[nicoleanders]

Make sure you retest for giardia. My son had it until they tested the 4th time. Also, when you give him yogurt make sure to give him the yogurt with live bacteria in it. (or live active cultures)
If you want to pm, go ahead. We battled this for many months with our son.

[downunder]

Thanks everybody for your comments and help, it is reassuring to know so many people care.
Currently, we are waiting for the results of his third stool test by the end of this coming week. Our son is about 80% better, he does not have the extreme diarrhea like before, but he is not getting a proper hard stool once or twice a day either. Slowly we have been moving him on to a regular diet. We have been giving him the Lactobacillus Therapy twice a day and I think it's helping. Below is link to a article I found on the net about this natural remedy.

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/pedia...tobacillus.htm

[downunder]

Originally Posted by downunder

Thanks everybody for your comments and help, it is reassuring to know so many people care.
Currently, we are waiting for the results of his third stool test by the end of this coming week. Our son is about 80% better, he does not have the extreme diarrhea like before, but he is not getting a proper hard stool once or twice a day either. Slowly we have been moving him on to a regular diet. We have been giving him the Lactobacillus Therapy twice a day and I think it's helping. Below is link to a article I found on the net about this natural remedy.

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/pedia...tobacillus.htm

I just want to let everybody know that our son's third stool sample was negative today. He is about 90% better with no exteme or watery diarrhea. However does go about 4 times a day on average and mostly his stool is like a thick apple sauce. The doctor said not to worry so I won't, we can go back to trying to toilet train him. Thanks everybody out there for their help including all the people that PMed me.

[downunder]

It's over 8 weeks since our son first started having on and off Diarrhea related to Giardia and Tapeworms and he's still not much better. The stress is getting to us as at times I don't what else to do, as he is not gaining weight. Last week was the third round of antibotics with have given him. We have given him Metronidazole for the Giardia and that was difficult becuase no liquid form of this medicine is available here. We have used Combantrin for the Tapeworm. We are also giving him natural medicines like probotic's (LB), Omega 3 and pumpkin seeds for the tapeworm. Our pediatrician doesn't seem overly concerned as there is no blood in stool. Please help !

[taramayrn]

If I were the doctor I'd be doing a colonoscopy to see if there is some sort of pathalogical reason as to why the diarrhea has continued. I would suspect that something in his diet is causing the diarrhea.

[gkasche]

You may want to consider that there may be a second reason for the diarrhea. Try this...take him off all wheat, rice, barley, and oat products for 24 hours and see if it makes a difference. My nephew had diarrhea his entire life...at least 4 stools per day and very soft/mushy. This went on until he was 1.5 years old. My niece finally took him for testing...he wasn't gaining any weight and was very small for his age. Turns out he is allergic to the products listed above. Easy test for it...just omit them from his diet for one day and see if it makes a difference. If the parasites are pretty much cleared and he is still having diarrhea...it would not hurt to alter his diet just to make sure he does not have something else going on. If he still has diarrhea you know it is not Ciliac Disease(?sp.).

I have three daughters from India. Two tested positive for Giardia. The Flagyl worked for them. But I have known of others who had to repeat this several times. One family for six months.

I don't mean to worry you more ...I was just wondering if the diet was altered to omit the grains whether he would improve. It certainly doesn't hurt him to try.

Prayers are with you...I KNOW how frustrating it can be. Congratulations on your new little one...I'm sure he is darling.

Karen

[downunder]

We saw another doctor today who couldn't really give us any answers and said we were doing everything correctly. She said Giardia and Tapeworms can be difficult to remove in adopted children from many third world countries and it could need several rounds or more. She said after 4 or 5 rounds it might be OK to seen a gastrogist for him.