Any other athletes with cdiff?

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PB&Jelly
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Re: Any other athletes with cdiff?

Postby PB&Jelly » Sun Aug 27, 2017 11:29 am

Plus, I have already been to the bathroom six times this morning. Lyme's affected my running pace earlier this year so I know what that feels like but this is something completely different. She was worried I might have chronic fatigue from Lyme's but ruled that out based on how I responded to meds and luckily I didn't start treatment at the same time. And I have yet to find words to describe the emotional toll this disease leaves in it's wake.

OCmama
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Re: Any other athletes with cdiff?

Postby OCmama » Sun Aug 27, 2017 11:41 am

Are you having any other symptoms along with the diarrhea? I had a very severe reaction to the vancomycin. If I were in your shoes I would call your doctor and try to get the ball rolling to switch to Dificid.

You WILL get better! You will be back out there running marathons. And this will be a distant memory. Hang in there!

amg
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Re: Any other athletes with cdiff?

Postby amg » Sun Aug 27, 2017 12:47 pm

Hi PB&Jelly,

So sorry you've been ill.

SO you never had diarrhea until you started Vanco? What were your c diff symptoms besides fatigue that caused your doctor to prescribe 2 rounds of Flagyl and then Vanco? The key symptoms for clinical diagnosis of c diff requiring treatment are gastrointenstinal - most commonly diarrhea, with rare folks getting constipation but still having multiple other GI symptoms. Some people carry c diff in their gut without any symptoms, and their good bacteria are able to keep it in check. It's when they take antibiotics that damage their good bacteria that the c diff finds an opportunity to overgrow and cause problems. Even Flagyl and Vanco can be culprits here, because they both harm a fair amount of good bacteria.

With regards to your diet - Sprite Zero diet soda has aspartame, and artificial sweeteners can do a number on the gut including gas and diarrhea in some individuals. Gatorade, depending on the type, can also contain artificial sweeteners. Peanut butter has been noted by some here as an easy to tolerate food during c diff, and by others as a difficult to tolerate food. Maybe the fat content is a little high for some folks to manage during this disease. Also, the oatmeal is another food that can cause gas and looser stools in some people.

Anyway, there come some times in people's lives where rest is key to recovery. This might be that time for you. I hope you feel better fast.

PB&Jelly
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Re: Any other athletes with cdiff?

Postby PB&Jelly » Sun Aug 27, 2017 2:26 pm

Wow, I wasn't expecting this type of response, suppport and helpful advice!!! So I should have been more clear with diarrhea. Once I started taking amoxy for Strep my stools changed to a not solid/not diarrhea but it's remained watery like that pretty much since it started. I had a fever of 102 with Strep and my white blood cells were through the roof and they did come back down but not to the level my doctor is happy with. And I still run a mild fever with fatigue, abdominal pain (sometimes it can be gut wrenching), nausea and I constantly drink either Adult electrolytes or Pedialyte (prefer the former) to ward off the dehydration. As for Gatorade, I used to drink G2 but switched to the sugary kind as to avoid the artificial sweetener. Guess I need to give up Sprite Zero which is a good idea! After finishing the dioxcycline my cognitive skills got better and after the last full blood panel my doc said Lyme's is coming out exactly where she is expecting it to be. She knew that the final thing to get rid of was c diff since she is almost positive I picked up from taking amoxy or catching it at urgent care. My fatigue was unresponsive to dioxy and when the c diff results she came in she immediately put me on flagly and I noticed a change almost immediately. Naively I thought I would be back to normal after the first round of flagyl but that ignorance is long gone. Once I stopped taking flagyl after the first round my paralyzing fatigue came back where I couldn't function so she put me on another round. Then I had a follow up during my second round of flagyl and she wasn't happy with my condition so she went ahead and put me on vanco to get more aggressive. My doc is in contact with an infectious disease specialists getting advice for care as well. Pretty sure the next step will be Dificid unless this round of vanco works...going to call on Monday. Thanks for all the advice and support!!! Giving up prunes and Sprite zero for now.

amg
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Re: Any other athletes with cdiff?

Postby amg » Sun Aug 27, 2017 4:42 pm

That makes much more sense.

Something to think about - you have now, unfortunately, entered the multiple recurrence type of c diff. The problem with that (beyond the many obvious problems with that!) is the more people relapse, the greater the likelihood of another relapse. So I would recommend you speak with your doctor, if this should happen again, about not only a Dificid course, but a Dificid TAPER after the regular course. The reasons you can give her include the following:

You've been on multiple antibiotics for an extended period of time, which of course has most likely greatly damaged your good gut bacteria.
You're having diarrhea ON Vanco, which doesn't sound like a good response.
Your gut needs time to repopulate the good bacteria, hence why a taper is helpful.

Dificid targets almost exclusively the c diff, sparing your good flora. And it seems to have a suppressive effect on the c diff spores. See the following research:

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... _gut_model

And for evidence of the experience of Dr. Stuart Johnson, a c diff expert who has been creative at finding ways to treat relapsing c diff, see the following:
https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/d ... r-Patients

If I were you, I would bring those two papers into my next office visit when you ask what to do next. Or, as I did when my daughter was relapsing multiple times, email these to your doctor so she can see them while she is deciding what to do next.
My daughter (a high school athlete) relapsed 4 times -- 2 after Flagyl and 2 after Vanco, and it was ultimately the Dificid taper that has kept her c diff free for almost 10 months and counting. *knocks wood* She was not showing a great response to the second try at Vanco (which was to be a taper) when I pushed for the Dificid.
Good luck to you!
Last edited by amg on Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

PB&Jelly
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Re: Any other athletes with cdiff?

Postby PB&Jelly » Sun Aug 27, 2017 11:17 pm

Thank you AMG! Will be following this to a tee!
Warm regards,
Ben

Bobbie
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Re: Any other athletes with cdiff?

Postby Bobbie » Wed Aug 30, 2017 1:48 am

Welcome, PBand Jelly,

The others gave u great advice. There is some tapering info in CDI and it can apply to Dificid as well as Vanco. Tapering helped several on the site including two moderators.

Your wife sounds like a "keeper."

Hang in there, Best of luck.


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