Parasites Partying in my Colon!

*Beware the following blog entry is a little rogue...but this is my life and I feel compelled to educate/share with you all on some of the joys/misery of international travel. (Or perhaps you have experienced something similar...as I know many of you have traveled to faraway places where the bugs in the water source do not settle in our Western bellies.) *

Fred (and friends) are back (remember him from my trip to Morocco?) This time around he is back with a vengeance and his identity has been revealed: Blastocystis! (Blastocystis hominis a.k.a. B. hominis are anaerobic protozoan parasites frequently found in the human gastrointestinal tract.) Yep, after four trips to the health clinic, stool samples, and blood work, my Doc officially confirmed that these cheeky little bastards are dancing the night away in my colon. No wonder I have been spending a lot of time on the toilet, listening to a thunderstorm in my intestines, and at times doubled over by pain. The Doc thinks they must have hitched a ride in my colon when I was in Costa Rica three weeks ago...damn illegal immi-cites. According to the lab report I have 'moderate' levels of these little bandits taking shots of my poo and treating my colon as if it was a after-hours night club. I had to wait one day to receive the meds, as this medicine is so expensive and rarely prescribed that pharmacies do not have it in stock, it was special ordered. Now I will begin treatment and hope that I am one of the lucky few when treatment (antibiotics) actually works to ward off these aggressive dudes. If treatment does not work my doctor advises me that I will "have to ride it out". I am feeling hopeful!