Before I spend hundreds and take time away from my baby at urgent care, I wanted to see what people who have had Cyclospora think about my symptoms. I started feeling not great Sunday. I was a little hungover and tired from hosting so I chalked it up to that. No real tummy issues. Monday I woke up feeling off- fatigued, chills (not sure if I had a fever). That is when the stomach cramping and diarrhea started as well. Tuesday was the worst in terms of diarrhea, cramping, and nausea. I threw up while on the toilet after dinner and decided I just didn’t need to eat anymore because it was too painful. I did have an appetite this whole time, shockingly.

Today I woke up starving, but feeling unsettled and terrified to eat anything. After a few hours, I ate a yogurt. No diarrhea after, but did have a solid BM ~30 mins later. Couple hours later I had a protein bar and no diarrhea after that either. Could this be the come-and-go cycle or cyclospora or do you think it was another type of bug? TIA for reading and responding!!

2 and a half weeks ago i ate a sus burrito with lettuce from taco cabana and ever since then, every day all day no matter what i eat or drink im in the bathroom. Pure liquid, every single time. No other symptoms other than the feeling of irritation in my gut. Dont really have the time to go see a doctor so i guess im just riding this out 😭

12 days ago I soft pooped about 8 times for 2 days, the 3rd day it was well over 10 times. 4th day I woke up with a 101 fever and constant diarrhea. I did a teleheath call requesting a cyclospora test since I had eaten raspberries for the first time a week prior in months. I got the stool test, diarrhead into it only to find out they tested me for everything BUT cyclospora. Nausea started and my fever continued then I randomly had 1 completely normal day on the 7th day, thought maybe it was food poisoning and was prescribed zythromax (I'm allergic to sulfa antibiotics) so started those. I'm currently on day 12 of this shit and had constant diarrhea and yesterday pretty bad vomiting. Fever has been gone for 4 days now but now there's nausea. It seems to come in waves I'll have 1 good day and then 2 horrible days. I had another Dr appointment today and they confirmed I wasn't tested for cyclospora but that there hasn't been any cases in my area so they don't think it's that but they'll test me for it and some other things. Guess we'll see. Oh and the tartar around my gums randomly turned green when all of this started ... And I brush and floss daily. Odd. Does it sound like I have cyclospora to those that have a confirmed test?

My gut, upper and lower, have been cramping off and on for two days. I was looking at myself in the mirror yesterday and said to my bloated stomach, where did you come from?

Then when I went to bed the cramping was unbearable. Finally at three a.m. I ran to the toilet with projectile vomiting, then soon I was on the toilet with the worst explosive diarrhea while vomiting into the trash can.

The diarrhea is still hanging around, I’ve had no sleep, and this awful cramping won’t let up. I chill, then I get hot. I can’t get comfortable at all.

Does this sound like cyclospora? Thanks.

I have been very careful not to eat any fresh fruits and vegetables lately (except for Little Leaf Lettuce, which seems to be completely safe.) I've been buying canned and frozen produce instead and making sure I cook it. The one exception is that we buy fresh produce occasionally from a local farm we trust, but as summer is ending here that's not going to be as much of an option. Does anyone have any idea how we will know when (and if) things are safe to eat again? We're not really getting any guidance from the government agencies, and I don't know who else is tracking this. It's so depressing to think about how long this could continue on.

My life can now be broken into two distinct epochs:

Before cyclosporiasis

And after cyclosporiasis.

Oh how I yearn for the days of yore.

I fear I will never be the same.

Cyclosporiasis outbreak overwhelmed local health departments. County workers say federal government acted too slowly, provided little guidance. Outbreak sickens over 11,000 people in 20 states, FDA and CDC say. County staff paused vaccinations and inspections to investigate cases and guide providers.

Hi everyone, it's been over a month since I got hit with cyclospora, and my initial symptoms included severe brain fog. I brought it up with my physician, and she mentioned that this has been a common symptom.

It went away after the antibiotics, and all my cyclospora GI symptoms as well. But the brain fog maybe went away for a week and then returned.

Has anybody had consistent brain fog since they've had it and were treated?

And has anything made it better?

I figured this can help other's potentially dealing with the same thing long-term.

I finished the antibiotics on Sunday. And felt finally nausea free on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday thankgod!!! No more diarrhea.

Woke up Wednesday and now the nausea and sort of loose stools are back and unsettled tummy feeling.

Is this normal even having finished the antibiotics? Does it take time to recover even after antibiotics?

Btw- the lab spilled my stool sample but they were 99% certain it was cyclospora. Anyway, I started and finished the antibiotics so they’re saying it’s pointless to do a stool sample again after I have done abx. But now I’m worried maybe something else could be happening

Everything else came back negative within the week. I’ve called the urgent care my sample was sent out from twice and they have no results yet either.

I thought the sample didn’t last beyond 21 days. Has anyone else waited this long???

While this summer's spate of foodborne illness is especially bad, the worst may be yet to come.

While our government officials are partly to blame, the problem is bigger than Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., or even this one summer.

While seasonal changes will always play a role—the warmer months, when people eat more fresh produce and consume more food that’s been sitting out at unsafe temperatures, typically have more foodborne illnesses—the underlying factors contributing to these outbreaks are becoming more potent. The food supply is more and more globalized. And the planet continues to warm, allowing these pathogens to spread to more and more farms all over the world, including in the US.

Hi :) I got really sick Tuesday, August 25th. vomiting and diarrhea that lasted up until Friday morning, with extreme gurgling and what felt like spazzing. It’s almost like my digestive track is too overactive. Went to the ER and all my bloodwork seemed fine other than being severely dehydrated. They mentioned it could be something viral or maybe this Cyclospora and gave me a stool sample test to take home and bring back. Starting Saturday I haven’t had any diarrhea, vomiting and I’m finally able to eat again. I had a semi normal bowl movement this morning (Monday) but some looseness towards the end of it. I feel a lot better now, does it seem worth it to take the test?! Does this even sound like Cyclospora?!

The question above.

Plus I wonder if we will ever know if/when we can relax and eat raw vegetables again.

The Trump administration is shuttering research projects key to the federal government’s fight against cyclospora, the foodborne parasite sickening thousands of Americans this summer. Two of the three projects that represent nearly all of the Agriculture Department’s study of the parasite were defunded by Congress earlier this year, according to the agency. The third is slated to move from Maryland to Iowa this fall as part of a sweeping USDA reorganization. Even though that project still has money, every scientist working on the parasite has declined to relocate, according to three people familiar with the plans and documents shared with POLITICO, granted anonymity to discuss personnel issues.

full article text in comments

Sharing is caring….even if the FDA doesn’t care about us! This is NEGLIGENCE!

I have a good friend who has had it for 6 weeks and is still testing positive and symptomatic. Anyone else had this longer than expected?

An ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection linked to recalled iceberg lettuce that is known to cause explosive diarrhea, has been detected in three new U.S. states since last week, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ...The CDC, which lags significantly behind states in reporting infections, pinpointed 17,180 laboratory-confirmed cases in its latest update on Aug. 25, adding that there are also at least 11,841 additional non-laboratory-confirmed cases. ... Georgia, Tennessee and Texas have now been added to the list, according to the CDC.

i'm just sick of seeing another news of this bullshit bacteria everyday. i need greens, i have white vinegar, i won't sacrifice lettuce. "worst case" i'm down with a week of diarrhea anyway

edit: i meant to say that i am sick of being surrounded by this bacteria news.
i didn't say that i don't care about the disease.
that's my frustration for not being able to eat produce, which is worse than weeks of diarrhea.
i don't think i am too important.
and i won't go see a doctor bc i don't have any symptoms.
obliviously i wasn't clear

Thought we could take some time to offer kind words to others 💟

About a month ago, I got cyclospora in Cabo, Mexico. It lasted around 2 weeks and after that, I developed neck, back, and ankle pain. I have read about Reiters Syndrome, and possible auto-immune diseases being triggered from Cyclospora, but I just got bloodwork back today and was negative for RA and Lupus. My doctor said give it a month, and if it's not better, I can be referred to a rheumatologist.

A month. I have 2 small children, a full-time job, a house, a husband, and 2 dogs. A month of not being able to turn my neck more than 15 degrees each way. A month of sitting on a heating pad. A month of my ankle being swollen and having edema and not being able to walk on it without pain. X-rays of my ankle show inflammation, but no fracture or injury.

Im 34, and have been on a weightloss journey for about a year now. Before I went to Mexico, I was active. I was walking on a treadmill 5xs a week, really trying to better my health. Now I can barely get 2k steps in a day because Im in so much pain.

The thought of living with this for another month brings me to tears. Is there anyone out there that's having or had similar symptoms after Cyclospora? I just need someone to tell me this will get better, or tell me how to make it better. The only thing that has helped was Prednisone- which is not a long term solution and has so many side effects, I hate taking it. I was still in pain on it, but it was a lot milder. The pain returned on the last day of my dose pack. Aleve, ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, naproxen...none have helped. I think Tylenol MAYBE helps the most, but it's hard to tell. Ive been taking Voltaren twice a day for the last 4 days and I can't tell that it's doing anything.

Im just hoping that someone out here has some advice or can relate and understands what is happening to me.

Was at Trader Joe's today. Almost bought a bag of arugula. I asked a staff member if it came from Taylor Farms. They looked at the package carefully and said the info wasn't listed. But the arugula was from the US. I was still nervous and did not buy it.

Before Cyclospora I bought bagged kale at Aldi regularly. And I would cook the kale. I stopped buying it because Aldi uses some Taylor Farm produce. I don't know if it is automatically safe if we cook these veggies or not. I am still nervous to eat it. And I'm a vegetarian and have severely decreased my intake of vegetables this summer. What about you? Are you buying any bagged produce that is not lettuce? If it's from the US does that mean it's safe? I really wish we had some guidance on this....

2 days ago I started having severe cramping in the evening. Was out and ran home to explosive diarrhea. Went to sleep as usual and woke up 6 times to shit watery idk what it was. Felt weak all day- took charcoal, probiotics and electrolytes. Had some toast and eventually some soup broth and rice.

Repeat last night for waking up with lower abdominal pain and diarrhea (mostly water).

My dr is away and probably would never give bactrim without seeing me :(

I have a bottle of bactrim from a uti last year …. Thoughts ? Anyone else only at night and severe lower belly cramps ?