Indian Hitchhikers

Hitchhikers. Stowaways. Uninvited guests.
I started to get sick before leaving Kashmir. Fever, headache, really bad diarrhea. No worries. I had magic pills given to me by my travel doctor for just such an event. Powerful antibiotics, and I only had to take them for 3 days. I took them. Nothing changed. I also took my probiotic pills, and ate lots of yogurt. Nothing changed. I was well enough to get on the plane, and had no embarassing accidents on the 14 hour flight from Delhi to Chicago, but was not well. I was beginning to think I might need to see a doctor once I got to the US. But I would need to notify my travel insurance company first, and be sure I was covered in the US before I went to a doctor there. So one of the first things I did once I arrived was contact the insurance company and pay for an upgrade for coverage in the US. That took a few days. A few days where I found I had to sleep more and more, and my energy was rapidly draining from me, despite all my sleeping. And the diarrhea continued as bad as ever. I began to think I might have to go to the emergency room. I began to wonder if my thyroid might be not getting what it needed to function, so I made sure to get plenty of iodized salt. That seemed to help. Once I had my US travel insurance coverage, I e-mailed them and let them know I was going to see a doctor for whatever it was I had. They wrote back and told me I would not be covered for it, because it started in India and I didn't tell them about it before I left India!!!! I was not happy about that, but I was grateful that I found it out before I saw a doctor. Who knows how big a medical bill might have been worked up as they ran tests, probably more antibiotics that wouldn't have worked, etc. And I would have submitted my claim form, sure in my knowledge that I had good medical coverage, only to have it rejected. That would have been much more painful. So once I knew I couldn't see a doctor, I began some research, and concluded that I had parasites. Itchy butt, bloating, diarrhea, etc. I had become less and less careful about the water I was drinking in Kashmir, as the weeks progressed. I felt fine. Thought my body was adjusting. Wrong move.

I was telling this story to my friend Patti in Iowa, and she told me about a colon cleanse product she had been using that might help. It worked on parasites, she said. I researched the company online, www.drnatura.com. It sounded good, but there was no mention of parasites on the website. So I called them, and asked about this. Oh yes, they said. It works on parasites. But we can't say anything on our web site any more because we have recently been bought out by a large pharmaceutical company. Good enough for me. Patti had an extra box of the product, and I started taking it. I really do try not to kill any creatures - of any type. And I really didn't mind sharing my food with whatever these creatures were. But when they took all my energy, that was too much. I like my energy. I am not ready to give it up. So they had to go. I hope this product encouraged them to leave, rather than killed them. I have no idea. But it did work. My energy slowly came back. The itching stopped. I could fart without a panic attack.

I am on my second month of using the product now, and my energy is almost completely back to normal. My test was imagining myself climbing Victoria hill in Auckland with a fully loaded bike and trailer. For weeks that image gave rise to dread. Now I am neutral. When I look forward to the challenge of it, I will know I am completely healed.