ibs-d or c diff again

[Jimmy34]

Have a follow up today. Woke up in the night with stomach pains. And had 2 D bm this morning. Not watery. But not solid like the one yesterday morning. Will ask about the enteragram today as well.

[amyc]

Hopefully your doc will order a C diff test to put your mind at ease.

[Jimmy34]

They took 2 stool samples. So should know something in a few days. My doctor still believes it's a really bad case of ibs or ibs-d. I asked about the enteragram. And she said it's kind of like floraster. She wanted me to try this drug called Viberzi. She gave me some samples of it to see if it works for me. Just hoping it's not c diff again. And not something worse than ibs.

[Ril]

I don't want to contradict your dr but Enteragam is different than Florastor. Florastor is a yeast probiotic. Probiotics help populate the gut with good flora. Enteragam is a medical food used in the treatment of IBS-D. It also is now used to bind with the toxins in people who have had c diff. It is to firm up and regulate the stool. Viberzi is a fairly new medication for the treatment of IBS-D. I assume your dr explained about it to you.
So although they are different your dr might think one is better for you than the other. I took Enteragam for 11 months and it worked for me. I have not tried viberzi.

Rita

[amyc]

Viberzi is probably expensive since it is brand new. I take an old cholesterol lowering medication called colestipol. 1 gram tablets, so it's like swallowing horse pills, but they work great for IBS d. They are also very cheap and have no side effects. My doctor prescribed three tablets twice a day but said to work my way down to the dose that I was comfortable with. Now I take two tablets a day and am doing great.

[Jimmy34]

When you had ibs-d. How many times a day did you have to go? And for how long? How many days in a row did it last? I just woke up and had watery bm again. So it got better for about a day. And gradually got worse. Ia this a normal thing for ibs-d? I haven't started the viberzi yet. And she did explain it a bit. But not in alot of detail. Just said it is not an antibiotic. And that it helps stop ins-d. Also would it mask c-diff? Or would the c-diff be non responsive to it? I don't want to mask the problem. I want to get rid of it.

[georgina]

See CDI the three day rule. If you are having D more then three times/day , for three days in a row then it's time to call your doctor. If things are getting ugly , and you start having frequent bouts of D during day/night then you do not have to wait three days to get tested , and you should definitely ask your doctor to test you sooner. This time ask for a stool test as well (PCR if possible) , not only bloodwork!!

[Jimmy34]

I got stool samples done yesterday. Only thing I worry about is that they were not watery. Not solid either. But some on here say they won't test unless they are watery bm. Also does the enteragram need to be refrigerated?

[Cm1619]

I hope it is just ibs-d for you Jimmy. Did you have ibs before c diff? I did so my doctor told me my ibs-d is going to be even worse because of c diff. The 3 day rule never applied to me but seems to for most. I had a bout of ibs-d for almost 3 straight weeks just last month. I am 3 months post c diff. I had about a day a week where I would have normal stool. Otherwise I was going up to 6 times a day but it was NEVER watery D, painful, and had no B or M. When I had c diff it wasn't water either but I had a fever, general feeling of illness, mucous and lots of pain. I've been retested so many times thinking it was back but my GI told me I just have terrible ibs-d. I was given a medication to slow the digestive tract but it makes me drowsy. I want to ask about the other meds posters are suggesting if I get the ibs again. Right now, things are better for me because my anxiety has been lower. I'm finally going once a day. Anxiety and my ibs go hand in hand. Worrying about relapse always makes it worse for me. I hope you get that negative result soon and maybe that will help with the symptoms!

[beth22]

EnteraGam is a packet that contains a powder that you mix with water and drink. It does not need to be refrigerated. I have heard of Viberzi. It is for IBD, I believe. Not sure if it is used for IBS. I would wait to see what your test results show and if you have the EnteraGam, try that first.

[amyc]

Viberzi is for IBS d, it's all over the TV in commercials. It's a new drug, and since they are paying for commercials probably expensive lol. Enteragam is also probably expensive, since it's new. Colestipol doesn't work for everybody, but it's been a godsend for me, and my copayment is $4 for a 3 month supply. Viberzi was more effective than placebo in trials but didn't achieve over 50% success rate. I don't like that it carries a warning that it increases your risk of developing pancreatitis. Here is a table showing how it compared to placebo (PBO) in trials:

http://www.rxlist.com/htmlchunks/rxlist_tablepopup.html

Hopefully your tests come back negative and things calm down for you. Viberzi might be great for you, so I am not trying to sound super negative. I am personally just a fan of cheap meds if they work :).

[Jimmy34]

I Don't believe I had ibs before c diff. Nothing ever like ive had since c diff anyway. My symptoms are all over the place now. But the last 2 days mornings are the worst. Gassy and bm is mostly watery D. I will probably make an appointment with my GI no matter what the test results are. It's been a week with these symptoms. Last night i felt ok. And ate a turkey sandwich with Ltm. Some slight stomach gurgles and pain. But nothing out of the norm for me since c diff. So who knows whats going on in there. I definitely don't have the appetite I had before this hit me last thursday night. So that may be the reason for the feeling weak and fatigued. Lab results will hopefully be back today. My anxiety is through the roof. Especially when I wake up and my stomach begins to act up for the last week. Most bm have been earlier in the day as well.

[amyc]

I really think you got a virus that made you so acutely sick last week, and post C diff recovering from viruses like that will just take more time. It sounds like you are gradually getting better hopefully? A negative C diff test will help to put your mind at ease, so hopefully you will get that result today.

[Jimmy34]

Got the test results back. Negative for both A and B types of cdiff. I also got my doctor to perscribe me some enteragram. So I will be picking that up today. I just don't trust the Viberzi. To many possible side effects. Plus if it only works for about 50% of the clinical trials? Than the reward does not out way the risks. So I will try the enteragram first. And see if it helps with my ibs or ibs-d. Still having D movements. But only going once to maybe twice a day the last few days. And wasn't watery this morning. Is it ok to continue the florastor and vsl3 with the enteragram? Has anyone tried that combination?

[Ril]

I took Enteragam for 11 months until last week and continued probiotics the entire time. I was 2 1/2 yrs post c diff when I started it and I had severe flare up of IBS-D that my GI dr says he believes is still from c diff. I had tried the
colestipol after c diff but had a bad reaction. Enteragam worked very well but I had to play with the dosage and also be patient. They say it should start working by 4 weeks the longest and it took about 6 weeks in my case.

Once you know it is not a relapse you can hopefully calm down a bit. Recovery is a lot tougher than most people expect. You still have to watch what you eat.
But you are getting better.
Rita