The signs it never went away...

Since c-diff is a disease of the "lower half", so to speak, we find that many of our members cannot refrain from discussing what comes out the bottom end. If you must do it, please do it here.
rei099
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The signs it never went away...

Postby rei099 » Wed May 25, 2016 5:49 pm

I finished my first round of Vanco three days ago. After I finished, I continued to have the same tender ache in the same spot around my left colon. There was no d. while on Vanco, but I had thin, pencil-like stools with a strange, chemical-smell that had a loose, powdery appearance and ranged from dark brown to light brown. And now, day three, this continues. I have used the bathroom 3 times today, so far, with stools like this. The tenderness is not severe (it never was...) but it never goes away. Because of the smell, the thin stools and the frequency of them, do you think this could mean I still have c diff? I'm also very tired and sleeping way more than normal, and overall I am exhausted just doing simple tasks. Was this a normal part your process right after the medicine ended? I go back to my doctor next week, and then I'll test and know for sure, but until then, I wondered if others here thought it sounded like I never got rid of c diff in the first place.

Lisa33
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby Lisa33 » Wed May 25, 2016 9:20 pm

I had pencil thin stools and extreme fatigue for quite some time in early recovery. Are you taking Florastor (sacchromyces boulardii) as I do think that helped to bulk up my stools some. It takes some time for your gut and colon to heal after finishing meds. What you are describing sounds like normal recovery to me. As long as you aren't having the frequent watery D (more than 3 times per day) with the urgency to go, you are most likely in recovery. Fatigue and a flu-like feeling plagued me for a couple of months after c-diff. Based on a recommendation of my doctor, I went gluten free. That seemed to really boost my overall immune system and GI health. I stayed gluten free for quite some time. Recovery is a very individual thing though and I can only share what helped me. It is also a good idea to get a complete blood work up to check for any deficiencies, as an infection like c-diff can leave you with them. I was lucky to only be deficient in Vitamin D, so I added that supplement. Deficiencies can add to symptoms like fatigue.

I wish you continued improvement and hopefully c-diff is in the past now!
Lisa

Acres
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby Acres » Wed May 25, 2016 11:14 pm

My last dose of Dificid was 3/13/16. I still become tired easily and still get thin stools (I have pi-ibs right now and my stools went from almost normal prior to this episode, back to thin, muddy etc...)
My trips to the bathroom vary from 1 to 5 times a day...
It seems to be a long road to recovery....
Scott

margi18
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby margi18 » Thu May 26, 2016 9:30 am

On flagyl, I felt exhausted, and had the same thin, smelly BM as you describe. It was a few days before I started seeing more "normal" stool - although there seems to be no normal with this illness. Your colon and your body as a whole have just been through the ringer so I'm not surprised you're still tired and sore. I get some cramping too, especially in the spot that hurt the worst when I had active c diff. It sounds like your body is just worn out from fighting this infection, but it couldn't hurt to call your doctor and describe your symptoms for piece of mind and recommendations on what to do next if you aren't seeing him or her until later in the week.

I hope you feel better.

rei099
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby rei099 » Mon May 30, 2016 9:23 am

I ended up going to the ER, because of B and M. This morning I have been having d. Like every 10 minutes. It's not even that watery... More like one step up from that. All I've been able to eat for three days is boost. I was given the script for vanco and told to fill it if things get worse, but now I'm not sure if I shoulf fill it or not. The B appeared only once, yesterday, and now I'm just at no appetite, low grade fever and constant d.

roy
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby roy » Mon May 30, 2016 9:26 am

Sorry but that sounds like a typical relapse.
You should follow your Drs advice and treat it.

Ril
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby Ril » Mon May 30, 2016 3:23 pm

I agree with Roy.
Blood is not necessary.
If you are in the bathroom constantly, now have d, cannot eat and have a low grade fever you should treat it as a relapse as your dr indicated.
Hope you feel better soon.
Rita

Lisa33
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby Lisa33 » Mon May 30, 2016 10:07 pm

I also agree with Roy and Rita, and would treat. So sorry that you are relapsing. I would also talk to your GI about doing a vanco taper since you relapsed once already on the vanco. Hope you feel better soon.

georgina
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby georgina » Mon May 30, 2016 10:43 pm

Agree with everybody here , this is a classic relapse.You can discuss Dificid with your doctor , it was the maigic bullet for many here on the site when vanco was failing , athough some people needed more then a 10 days course to be cured.

rei099
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby rei099 » Tue May 31, 2016 8:59 am

Just an update.... After like 30 water BM yesterday, no blood, I took a Vanco prescribed in the ER the previous night. I was originally told, "take if things get worse." After I took it, within 2 hours, I stopped the bathroom, had an appetite and my stomach stopped roiling. This morning, I'm going to my PCP to discuss and ask for a GI. This is my second corse of antibiotics... Both Vanco. The alleged relapse, which was about four days building, 2 days of watery d., was worse than the first episode. Has anyone had their second bout seem harder/more trying? Should I talk to her about a Vanco taper? The ER said a taper was 50 miles away, as if to infer that was way in the future for me. The doctor also said he was no GI specialist and said not to waste money on probiotics, and regarding the probiotics, I can't agree... Anyway, I'm pretty sure two times on Vanco is no small undertaking, and I wouldn't want a third relapse.

georgina
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby georgina » Tue May 31, 2016 11:57 am

You most likely will relapse again if the doctor won't taper vanco for you. Make appointment with a GI or ID doctor and see what he recommends.

Lisa33
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby Lisa33 » Tue May 31, 2016 12:54 pm

I agree with Georgina. I would do a vanco taper this time around for sure, since you are already on the vanco. Dificid would be my next step plan if God forbid you relapse again after the taper. Hopefully that will not be the case. You need a GI or ID doctor who knows how to handle c-diff. Some people may agree with the doctor about probiotics, but I don't. I feel like they do help in healing your gut and boosting up the good gut flora. I felt that there was no harm in taking them if I was able to tolerate them ok. I have been taking them ever since my bout with c-diff over 17 months ago. At the very least, they can help with PI-IBS and colitis. My GI recommended taking 2-VSL 3s daily with active c-diff. I went to 1-VSL 3 and 1-Florastor in recovery. However, if you take a live bacteria probiotic with c-diff meds, you have to space them apart as the meds will kill them off. Yeast probiotics, such as sacchromyces boulardii (Florastor) are not killed off my meds.

rei099
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby rei099 » Tue May 31, 2016 3:25 pm

I can't thank you all enough for the help and feedback. I have no idea how I honestly got this the first time, and certainly not the second. The first time, I had done nothing except eat except fresh-prepared sushi and was out and about, and after a week of weird pain, I went on Cipro for two days and the systems got worse. The weird thing is, the pain I had before the Cipro seemed to be c diff. Before any of this, I never had a sickness in my life. I'm athletic and in-shape, I see a naturopath and eat a whole foods diet, excluding gluten, I already took probiotics and ate very little sugar. With the relapse, I already have a clean home that I wiped down with Clorox wipes, all handles, used antibacterial soap washing my hands under hot for long enough, and washed all my towels/under-garments in hot bleach-diluted water. I was taking Florastor, drinking bone-broth and eating fine. One day, I was in recovery, a little anxious of having a relapse, but def not in one, and the next day, it just came out of nowhere.
This is the hardest part for me. Obviously no one deserves to get sick, but I really was playing by the rules with my body and got this twice in some weird way. It leaves me confused and worried that it's not going to resolve. If I knew how to resolve it, I would feel more at peace about having it. I haven't been on an anti-biotic since I was twelve, and that was twenty years ago. How much is Vanco going to tear my body down after this? I am going to my naturopath to make sure I eat properly for this, but how does someone Healthy, already taking Florastor and probiotics continue with this?
This is a little like a rant, but I'm keeping it on this thread because I want to ask more questions related to what was said above. The main one, being, could the Vanco just have been killing this and not gotten it all, and so my body couldn't finish fighting it? I asked my doctor this, and she doesn't know the answer. Maybe someone has some insight, or even just pure speculation will be nice :)
And what if I can't find someone to give me a Vanco taper? Do you think I should keep looking, because it's that commong to taper? That's my big fear, because it seems to have overwhelming success. Obviously a GI doctor knows best, but I haven't been under the care of one, so I worry that he will just try this round and then another, and be one of those closed-minded types.

roy
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby roy » Tue May 31, 2016 4:22 pm

C.diff is inteligent.
When it comes under attack by vanco it wants to survive so builds itself a coat of armour and becomes a spore.
MOST of it dies before it can do this.
It then either passes out of body as a spore in the hope of infecting a new victim or waits around for the vanco attack to be over.
When it senses it's safe it springs back to life.
It then vegetates and can multiply.
It's now a race between the c.diff and the good flora to repopulate the space that the vanco created in your gut
If your good flora wins it destroys the c.diff.
The taper pulse method fools c.diff into thinking it's safe and it "hatches" but then it's hit with another dose of meds that kill it.
Do this over a number of weeks and the spores are eradicated to the point where natural immunity can overcome any that remain.

Sound like you had food poisoning from sushi but the 2 days of cipro damaged your gut flora and allowed c.diff to take over.
That's very common on here!
Sorry to say but it's yet another case of a Dr prescribing cipro for an illness that would probably have resolved in a day or two without treatment.

Ril
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Re: The signs it never went away...

Postby Ril » Tue May 31, 2016 5:55 pm

As usual Roy puts things in great words!
I think the most important thing now is for you to get in to see a GI or ID dr who knows about c diff and will treat you properly. Not all Internists or family drs know the fine points of treating c diff as you have found. Tapers and pulsing Vanco or prescribing difficid, and the use of probiotics, is something good GI and ID docs are more familiar with and after what you have been through without a doubt that would be my next step if I were you. You certainly can get well but need the best treatment. They shouldn't want to start all over if they are any good- they will know better.
Rita


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