[pct-l] Dealing with Giardia on trail

[Don Billings]

Hey Matt,

You didn't postulate as to how you became infected. 

"Treat your water & you might get lucky." ??  What exactly did you do / not do properly ?

Hit that "send" button one more time to provide the ultimate advice to other hikers !

Don



----- Original Message ----
From: Matthew Edwards <hetchhetchyman at aol.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Mon, April 12, 2010 7:04:43 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Dealing with Giardia on trail

I was not gonna post this but I truly feel my mishap might help someone.
This is unimaginably embarassing for me but I really want to spare anyone I can the personal ignominy I went through even though, near it's worst, I was alone.
Okay, you have lost your appetite.. Warning sign #1.
Next you are in Crabtree meadows ready to climb Mt Whitney and on the way up you have a most unusual moment of dizzyness(#2).."altitude"..??
Then upon returning to Crabtree you have the first tangible sign, uncontrolled diarhea(#3). Only a little bit and then thankfully all seems to be well. You work your way down Kearsarge pass and take the bus up to Bishop with a feast in mind.. But when you get to the table that huge slab of homemade meatloaf smothered in heinz ketchup is somehow.. Inedible(4 and 5!). Your hiking partner looks at you funny and asks; "Ain't you gonna eat that?" The answer comes the next day when diarhea keeps you pinned to the throne(#6) of your tiny rented "kingdom" of a motel room.
Hey, you feel much better. In fact you go back into the Sierra. You make your way north feeling great but never as strong as you were before the "episode" back in Bishop and you still are eating less and less each day(#7).
Fast Forward.. The immodium you brought only makes your condition "uncontrollable" while you are sleeping.(Sigh..#8). Yea, that was real fun.
You manage to carry your self north battling incredible cramps(#9) only to collapse as far as possible from water sources and "give in" to your condition. This happens over 20 times a day(#10).
So, 230 miles later you drag your (30 lb lighter) butt into a clinic at S. Lake Tahoe and get the $9 worth of antibiotics your intestines desperately need.
Moral of the story?
You pick: 1. You might get lucky
2. Treat your water and you might still get lucky
3. Carry Metronidazole (Flagyll) just in case.
4. Do nothing, You might get lucky.
My main warning was a loss of apettite!!!
It is NOT normal to burn 5000 calories a day and NOT be hungry.
If you sit down at a restaurant with a huge plate of town food in front of you.. take one bite.. and then can't even bear the thought of eating... Well, remember my story!
-Iceaxe PCT09 
(You hopefully will never know how difficult hitting "Send" was for me.)

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