[cathvash]

Well, at least my daughter has it, and my son and I are being tested. Does anyone have any experience with this? How difficult was it to clear?

My daughter's symptoms are stomach/intestinal distress that comes and goes. She'll complain of stomach pain, bloating and diarrhea, but after a few days it disappears. Recently it escalated. She started having nausea too, and twice I was called by the school nurse. She also has not gained any weight in months. I had to "recommend" an O&P culture to the doctor. H. Pylori and Giardia were both negative. They finally came back with this nasty bug as the culprit.

I have read this intestinal parasite can be related to pinworms, but neither child has had these. However, my son was treated for Giardia after we returned from Russia last year. SO, she could have gotten it while traveling in Russia, from little brother, or possibly she's had it since SHE came home 4 years ago!

Is this something others have run across? The treatment is 10 days of that nasty Flagyl... Is it easy to get rid of, or is it one of those nasties that keeps coming back? I am so sick of pendulous bellies, smelly, bug-infested poop - first the Giardia and now this!

[ddahl]

OH NO! Its terrible to have this to go through. I have no insight whatsoever but as a Mommy the word Poop automatically catches my eye! Its the bain of our existance. Good luck with everything. Hope very much that you are all feeling better by the time you read this poop ... I mean post... sending hugs!

[rhouse77]

My son had that when he arrived home from Russia. It cleared up with one round of Flagyl

[amyfk]

Im not familiar with these medical issues, just want to wish your family luck!
Amy K, NJ

[sak9645]

First off, Giardia has a nasty habit of NOT showing up in standard ova and parasite tests. You could submit poop samples three times and have them come back negative, and then submit them one more time and have them come back positive. Giardia often causes foul-smelling and loose stools, abdominal pain, and nausea, and even when it doesn't, it can cause failure to gain weight normally.

If you suspect Giardia, have the O & P test done several times, or ask for one of the more specific tests, like the antigen test. Giardia is so common in internationally adopted kids that it ought to be one of the first things considered when a child doesn't grow and has a lot of not-very-specific gastrointestinal problems, such as intermittent tummyaches, loose and really foul stools, etc.

Since you have a diagnosis of another parasite that responds to Flagyl, however, you probably don't need to do any more testing right now. If there is Giardia as well as this parasite, the Flagyl "should" wipe it out. Flagyl is the standard treatment for Giardia in both humans and dogs! My Airedale terrier has had several rounds of it.

If the parasites are fully treated, they should not recur unless there is another exposure. However, it is always possible that there is a resistant strain. Also, because Flagyl is rather nasty-tasting, some kids may spit it out and not get a full dose. And you may simply forget a dose at some point, or give up in disgust when your child clamps her jaws shut. In such cases, there is a chance that your child's bug won't go away completely.

If you treat your child for Giardia or this parasite, you ought to ask your doctor whether other family members ought to be treated as well. Since Giardia can be asymptomatic (no symptoms), it is remotely possible that your son still has it or this other bug and is passing it around, or that you or your spouse caught it. If you and your spouse have it, you may not need treatment, but you should be extra careful about hygiene. And you might want to test your son, to make sure that he doesn't need further treatment. If he is still in diapers, you will need to be super mindful of his hygiene, as well as your own.

H. pylori is often found in internationally adopted kids, but some pediatric gastroenterologists aren't sure that it is the actual cause of the tummy problems that many of the kids have. It may be just an innocent bystander, even though it is implicated in some cases of ulcers.


Sharon

[cathvash]

Thanks for responding to the "poop" post!

What I have discovered is that this nasty bug often comes in as a parasite to other parasites, and then digs in. SSoOOOO... Even though we thought we "wiped out" the Giardia, this amoeba then had an opportunity to take hold.

Still waiting for labs for the rest of the family. Guess if there's a lesson here for anyone else, it's to remain hypervigilant if your kids have a prior history of intestinal parasites, because they could have been hosting yet another parasite that will later become active.

I can't wait to finally get past these bugs...Both kids have had these horrible poops and big pendulous bellys for months... One is tall and skinny and the other is short and round!

Thanks, and it's great to hear the Flagyl may work well with this one!