New to c-diff-need answers

[dcampo]

Hi, I'm new and have so many questions. I have been on med's for about 4 mos. now. Tried to go to 2 pills a day (Vanco) and had to go back to three. Wondering when I'll be able to go off and how long its going to take. I purchased some probotics saccharomyces boulardii, but when to start? Have been real careful with the hygiene, but need to know how far to go with this? Also what's the norm for kissing and sex? I keep asking the doctor questions, but then I find more to ask. I got this from too many antibotics ( for urinary tract infect., but here I am on some more. Seems ironic.

Thanks, Donna

[joy240]

First...this is transmitted via fecal-oral...meaning you get it on the hand and put it in the mouth...so handwashing is an absolute nessessity...sing that yanky doodle dandy song and that is how long your patties should be scrubbed for each time...if you have long fingernails...make sure that you dont forget them when washing....pick under them to clean out all the junk and then stroke them across the palm...they say that is an effective way of getting under the nail also...As far as sex... I'm assuming that you know...NO ANAL..of course...but with Cdiff that maybe painful anyway....I would just have your partner wash his hands as well....perhaps washing the smeckel area as well...you know so that when he pees in the middle of the night and forgets to wash his hands... Kissing should not be an issue...Also be aware that those alcohol rubs for the hands are NOT effective against this bug...I believe that i went to a medical supply store and purchased some type of wipe to clean the toilet seat and such...they have those wipes in the hospital as well...Anyway I am trying to make light of this even though it is a serious thing...I am not a doctor and nor do I claim to know everything....But I have gone through this several times even pregnant...and I used to be a nurse and know way more than I should....I have not practiced since my first run in with the infection because I researched and researched and found that I did not want my coworkers taking or making risks....the conditions that I worked in were at the least horrendous...regardless....Let me know if you have any other questions I will try to help with info or point you in the right direction
take care
joy
And by the way check with your GI about taking the probiotics with the Vanco...you may want to ask if yogurt is the better alternative....I drink those DANACTIVE yogurt drinks, cause I hate yogurt...also if he/she gives you the go ahead on either ask about timing as well they usually say dont eat the yogurt and take the vanco together

[Nancy1]

Donna,
Welcome to the group that no one wants to join. Check out Dr. Borody's article, and Dr. McDonald's article in the FAQ section under Articles by Experts. What Joy said is great; also see the FAQ section for more about hygiene, plus lots of other good helpful info.

The main thing with most probiotics is to space them as far apart from vanco as possible. However, with S boulardii this is not necessary, because it is a yeast and so vanco won't kill it. I took 4 probiotics through most of my cdiff and about 6 months after. I also ate yogurt with active cultures and drank kefir. Who knows if this helped or not, but I figured, can't hurt, might help.

I had cdiff for 8 months. What finally worked for me was pulsing. There are lots of other treatment ideas here. Good luck.

[dcampo]

To All that replied:
I will ask the doctor about spacing out the probotics. I am lactuoce intolerant, so is that a problem with the sacc. boullardi? I didn't think of it until now. I know they sell some products for people like me. I can't eat yogurt either--it makes me sick to my stomach. Also what is pulsing? I probably read somewhere but forgot. I'm going back to two pills a day in a couple of days so I want to get started on the probotics. Last time didn't work when I reduced to two vanco., and I'm a little scared I'll be sick again. According to your e-mail, I guess I can start the probotics today -- don't need to space out from vanco? Correct?

Thanks, Donna

[Bobbie]

Donna,
No, you DO need to space the probiotics as far from the Vanco. as possible.

Welcome to the site. Read the first forum ALL USERS READ THIS FIRST & its subtopics. They will guide you in using the site & answer some of the most frequent questions. Read Dr. Borody’s & Dr. McDonald’s articles and the areas in FAQ that interest you – especially FAQ-Hygiene, Nutrition, & Testing.

Be careful about taking antibiotics again. (See FAQ-Antibiotics.) You mentioned UTI's led to your case of C. diff. Macrobid usually works for the infections caused by E. coli. It is considered a "safe" antibiotic. Never accept any med. for a UTI w/o a culture unless your symptoms are severe -- blood, pain, etc. Also, see FAQ-UTI's.

I don't believe S. boulardii is a problem if you are lactose intolerant. Ask your doc. & check with a pharmacist. Also, call the manufacturer -- most have a toll free # in the patient insert. I am sure others will "weigh in" re. this question.

[Nancy1]

Donna,
I just checked my Florastor (S. boulardii) and it does contain lactose. Some pills do. I don't know if there are other boulardii forms that don't have lactose.

Look at the Treatments section for info about pulsing. Spores are not killed by vanco, so the idea is that you don't take vanco every day. This allows the cdiff spores to hatch on those days. Then you take vanco again and kill the growing forms. Repeat. Eventually all spores hatch and are killed.

About spacing probiotics: I took vanco 4/day. My doc didn't say I had to wake up at night to take it, so I took it about every 5 hours during the day. I took probiotics in the middle of that time, that is, about 2.5 hours after my last vanco and before my next one. Good luck.

[MaryT]

Donna, I am also lactose intolerant and that was one of the reasons I did not try Florastor...the manufacturer told me there were only trace amounts, but I am hyper sensitive to the 'hidden' lactose in prescriptions, OTC medicines, etc. so I didn't chance it. There is a Jarrow brand of s. broullardi but I don't know if he's as effective. I didn't try that either because I am gluten intolerant as well and I vaguely recall there was something in that brand that made me think it contained gluten. You could check out the s. broullardi on the www.jarrow.com.

Mary