My Chinese Protozoans Met Their Match
I haven't spoken much about the health issues I've had from getting dysentery and giardia while in China. The Peace Corps doctor told me giardia can be recurring and there is nothing you can do about it, and I heard this from other sources too, so I've lived with the flare-ups, discomfort and bloating since then. (I hide my stomach as much as possible and joked I brought home parasites as a special souvenir.) My awesome nurse practitioner told me that didn't sound right based on her work with refugees when she was in Brooklyn and sent me to a referral-only, awesome Infectious Diseases specialist.
There aren't a lot of these specialists in my area due to the low demand so I had to wait over 2 months to see her but she gave me the great news that yes, it can be treated and after one or more rounds of treatment I can expect to be protozoan free! (She told me they are referred to as protozoans, not parasites. Protozoans sounds so much nicer, I think.)
She also told me the dysentery and giardia have been the things that worsened my lactose intolerance, and do I notice a difference now after I eat bread? (Yup.) Because they can also cause gluten sensitivity. (Basically they screw up your intestinal tract so it can't break down/absorb stuff the same.) And when I heard that I had to laugh hard at karma because I always make fun of people who can't eat gluten and NEVER STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT FACT. So, don't make fun of people if you have protozoans. It leads to no good. KARMA. It's a thing.
I am relieved this isn't something I have to live with the rest of my life and want to share this good news. If you have had giardia and been told there is no treatment for recurrences, ask to see a specialist!
There aren't a lot of these specialists in my area due to the low demand so I had to wait over 2 months to see her but she gave me the great news that yes, it can be treated and after one or more rounds of treatment I can expect to be protozoan free! (She told me they are referred to as protozoans, not parasites. Protozoans sounds so much nicer, I think.)
She also told me the dysentery and giardia have been the things that worsened my lactose intolerance, and do I notice a difference now after I eat bread? (Yup.) Because they can also cause gluten sensitivity. (Basically they screw up your intestinal tract so it can't break down/absorb stuff the same.) And when I heard that I had to laugh hard at karma because I always make fun of people who can't eat gluten and NEVER STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT FACT. So, don't make fun of people if you have protozoans. It leads to no good. KARMA. It's a thing.
I am relieved this isn't something I have to live with the rest of my life and want to share this good news. If you have had giardia and been told there is no treatment for recurrences, ask to see a specialist!
Comments
http://ohjustducky.blogspot.com/2012/09/things-i-read-sometimes.html
Before I read your post.
(I didn't quote the next section of the text, which described an area of China that, at least through the 1920s, would gorge themselves on surplus rice to convert to fertilizer)