to Bobbie...

[Beverly]

Thanks for asking about me....moved in February to Natchez,MS and my daughter and grandkids (who live here too) keep me busy!

I am doing well. I have lowered my dose of Vancocin down to 2/day and increased probiotics with no side effects. As you probably remember, I've been on Vancocin(3/day) since June last year when I had that colonoscopy and was diagnosed with pmc. (for those of you who don't know me....I've been suffering with cdiff since September 2003...tried numerous times to pulse, taper, get off it somehow, but always relapsed). I was diagnosed with lyme disease in May of this year and had to take Doxycycline for three weeks which set me back some. I had a hard time going down off the Vancocin afterwards without that crampy- ness and diarreha we all know. It has taken awhile, but was able to go down to 2/day a month ago. My current doctor (I've been thru five) is afraid for me to go off Vancocin completely ....he is the one who did the colonoscopy and from the pictures we got it looked awful....he thinks I should stay on Vanco until a new treatment comes available. I don't like being on it, and so I have (on my own) gone down from the 3/day he wants me on, to 2/day.
From here I will go down to 1/day and increase probiotics. I did this once and got off for 47 days and then relapsed....time will tell....

I am feeling great....been exercising and even took a yoga class this morning! I am taking something called Juice Plus and I feel like I have more energy....also take 1 of each of these daily: FloraQ, Florastor, and Culturelle. I only added one every month so I could tell if I had cramping, etc it was cdiff or probiotic..... in the past I have had cramping, bloating, etc from different probiotics I would take.

Thanks to you and all the help from this board, I feel like I'm making a difference in the world. My soap box speech is on cdiff and the dangers of antibiotics. Who knows whose life I might have saved just telling them about it!!! You never know.....

[Bobbie]

Beverly
Glad you are doing better. Don't give up hope: lots of interest in C. diff. -- finally - because of the escalating cases. Lots of interest means new treatments & $$$ for pharm. companies but hope for us.

I had C. diff. for 4 yrs. & probably would still have it except for Dr. Allen's "broth" -- which failed the lst time. Got C. diff. again 2 yrs. later (Levaquin for pneumonia) & the broth worked the lst time. Know I'm a candidate for C. diff. again next time I have to take an antibiotic, & I am suspectible to pneumonia even tho. I've had pneumonia vaccine several X. We all are candidate for another bout. It's like walking on eyeshells!

Thx. for the thx. Keep "spreading the word" that antibiotics aren't always necessary & can sometimes have horrible side effects.

Glad you are near your daughter & grandkids.