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I have just been diagnosed with Giardia and have been ill for nearly four weeks. I've had constant diarrhea, tiredness and no feelings of hunger whatsoever. It's been great for weight loss, though I wouldn't recommend this to anyone! The first tests didn't show anything abnormal. The doctor recommended starving for two to three days, which I did. Obviously, it didn't help. Fortunately, the second test revealed Giardia, which was a slight relief as I thought I had become intolerant to some food. I am just about to pick up a prescription of a three-day course of antibiotics that will, I pray, cure it completely. I believe I may have picked it up following eating something horrid at a carnival.

I had a cyclic occurrence. About every 5 to 10 days I would become sicker with all the symptoms except the fatigue, which would persist all the time. Stool samples were tested and were negative each time. Then the symptoms would stop and I'd feel mostly better except for the fatigue so I thought that whatever I had had cured itself. A week or so it would start again. I'd send a sample for testing and get a negative result again. Finally I got a positive result from a sample which showed the presence of Giardia and the doctor said "good news it is easy to treat." The doctor gave me these large tablets of Flagyl. They were hard to take as I couldn't take them with any food and only some water and they were revolting. They worked fast. The next day I felt better and two days later I felt like superman (this is the best way to describe the feeling of improvement after the weeks of feeling tired and lazy). It was the most amazing recovery I have every experienced. I have had Giardiasis at least twice since.

I have come in contact with giardia lamblia several times in my life and it is a horrible experience. Usually during camping trips, but most recently at a popular water park. The first time I ever got it I had no idea what was wrong and I was so very tired and had no energy and just had to lay down so often. I had weight loss, loss of appetite, fatigue, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, bloating, sometimes gas and foul order to the stools. It was very uncomfortable. Sometimes doctors just blow it off as something you ate and that it will pass. If you know you went camping or to a water park do not ignore these signs and insist on the stool test or insist on the giardia treatment because I had suffered for a few weeks before the doctor finally diagnosed me the first time. Now I know the signs all to well and go immediately to the doctor for treatment. The treatment is very effective and you feel better pretty quickly.

I travel extensively overseas. I have had pain, severe bloating and alternating constipation and diarrhea for over a year. Stool cultures revealed yersinia and giardia. I have taken 3 rounds of antibiotics for these and enjoyed two weeks of "recovery" before my symptoms seem to have returned. I'm discouraged to think this can go on for years. I was also interested to read that antacids can actually make symptoms worse. That was definitely my experience. Doctors were so quick to label me IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) even though I did not have symptoms of this for 50+ years.

I have had gastritis with an ulcer for more then a year now. I went to the gastroenterologist and my general practitioner and they both chalked up my problems to too much alcohol consumption since it occurred after the Super bowl weekend. I suffered for more then a year without drinking and taking antacids to get better with no results. Finally, I decided I was being poisoned somehow and my husband tested our drinking water, which is a private well. It turned out that we had tons of chloroform and bacteria in our water. Looking back, I remember over the past year how we had some of our cats get intestinal and stomach problems, so they must have been suffering from the same thing. Anyway, none of my doctors asked me about my drinking water, and then when they found out I had bad water, none of them suggested a test for parasites. It took me going to the doctor and saying that I wanted to be tested for parasites before anything was done. Now, I find out that I have had Giardia for who knows how long, not to mention I was taking antacids, which even helps the disease multiply.