I thought the antibiotics I took for the dysentery had worked, but that was short-lived. My stomach has been sort of upset even after taking the full course, but I sort of chalked it up to eating nothing but spicy Indian food. But then on Friday night, I couldn't fall asleep because it felt like I was in the movie "Alien," and I just generally felt crappy and low-energy all week. I also chalked this up to the rigorous schedule that we had been following.But this afternoon I had a low-grade fever and had a lot of...intestinal issues. I also was peeing a lot. Like, I would drink an ounce of water and immediately run to the bathroom. Also, Electral in water tasted delicious, and oral rehydration salts only taste good if you're dehydrated. I sucked it up and went to the doctor today. I didn't have to poop in a cup this time, but I did take a cup home to poop in just in case the medication he prescribed didn't work.
Turns out I was misdiagnosed. Bacterial dysentery, my ass. Instead, I've got the ever-pleasant giardia! Check out that lovely chart of the life cycle of the protozoa from the CDC on the left. Symptoms of giardiasis include -- diarrhea, gas, greasy stools that tend to float, stomach or abdominal cramps, upset stomach or nausea/vomiting, and dehydration. I've had all of these things. Additionally, giardiasis can apparently appear to get better only to come back in full force a few days later. This is probably what happened to me after taking the antibiotics.
Hopefully this will be the end of my GI problems in this country. My roommate, on the other hand, is raring to eat some street food. I still just want a simple salad and maybe some tomato soup. Arugula, where are you?!
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