White seed like objects in stool

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.
mka
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White seed like objects in stool

Postby mka » Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:47 am

I'm new to this website and so appreciate all of the support and helpful advice that has been offered by other sufferers! So nice to know that you're not alone!

After suffering with D for 3 months I finally submitted a stool sample which confirmed C. Diff. I am a fairly healthy 42 year old and have absolutely no idea how I contracted it. I have been treated with 10 days of Flagyl followed by 2 weeks of Vancomycin which I just completed yesterday. Before taking any of the previously mentioned antibiotics I noticed that each stool (loose in consistency to D) contained multiple white seed like specks. They decreased somewhat during the course of the Vancomycin but never went away. Now that I have completed my course of the antibiotics I am concerned because the seed-like objects are still there (with continued loose, but not diarrhea, stools 4-5x/day). I am having no abdominal cramp, fever, or any other symptoms. Should I be concerned that the C Diff is still present OR could the seed-like objects possibly be spores simply exiting via stool? No idea if this is normal!! I would appreciate any and all advice! Thank you so very much in advance!!

NikaNik
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby NikaNik » Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:51 am

Hi, mka,

So sorry you had to find yourself here, but you've come to a great place for support. Had you been on any PPI's (acid reflux medications) or steroids before you came down with c diff? For some folks those things can set it off once they've ingested it, rather than antibiotics. Or had been in/around/visiting a hospital or medical environment where it can be ingested?

As for the white specs - I had that too! I actually made a post about it. I noticed it during treatment and during recovery (I also went multiple times in recovery and even now, two years later, most days are great but I occasionally have days like that from the post-infectious IBS). At the time I noticed the white specks, I was eating a lot of rice and also taking Florastor (a yeast-based probiotic) so I wondered if it was from either of those. Over time it went away. Some folks suggest getting an ova/parasite fecal test for certain things, but best to ask your doc.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery,
Nikki

OCmama
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby OCmama » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:24 pm

My daughter had relapsing C. diff for 6 months and also had the tiny white/seed/egg things in her stool. She tested negative for all ova and parasites. I have no idea what they were, I showed pictures to her gastro and ID, but never really got an answer.

mka
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby mka » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:40 pm

Y'all are the best!! Thank you so very much for your responses. It's a relief to feel like I am not the only one with this strange issue! Thank you also for the words of encouragement.

One question..has your daughter improved or has her C Diff resolved? What symptoms did she have of relapsing. Ive read that it can take weeks to months for stool to return to normal (with post-IBS symptoms) so how does one know if it's that versus relapse?! I am SO VERY SORRY that your daughter is going through or has gone through this. It's bad enough for an adult. Poor baby!!

Davidtm
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby Davidtm » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:20 pm

With the exclusion of ova and parasites from a stool test I would most certainly point to diet as the culprit. Before c diff a bm received nothing more than a brief glance if any glance at all. During c diff we spend too much time looking and analyzing it and seeing things that probably would have been seen years ago if we paid as much attention.
Rice, sesame seeds, grains, fruits, vegetable matter, and beans are not outside of the realm of possible to see normally. Even when processing an fmt sample the doctors remove all of the fibrous and Undigested food particles prior to infusion from healthy donors. Of course if its way too much of it id want a gi aware in case there was some malabsorption issue they could diagnose.
One of the hardest things to do during and after c diff is to stop looking beyond a passing glance if at all. Everyone when successfully treated seems to recover at a different rate.

mka
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby mka » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:57 pm

Thank you David! You are right..before all of this nonsense I simply wiped and flushed. It is ridiculous. Hopefully I can take your advise to heart and NOT LOOk for awhile. This process is just so frustrating since you don't know if your post-antibiotic symptoms are heing, IBs or re-infection. My family doesn't understand the frustration in this so I so appreciate your words of support.

Davidtm
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby Davidtm » Wed Jun 21, 2017 6:11 pm

It's been said a few times that it's not really something you can understand unless you've lived it or with it. Even then some family has a hard time understanding the physical and mental toll this takes on you. Not everyone is going to be able to but I know exactly what you mean and a lot of other good people here do too and understand the frustrations. I hope you can work up to that too and one day you will!

mka
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby mka » Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:04 pm

NikaNik - I had taken PPI's for a bit prior to my diagnosis so that might have been it. I was having stomach pains and though perhaps I had an ulcer. Not sure is I did and the the PPI caused the C Diff OR if it was just c Diff all along. No telling!

Thanks again for the support David. I sure appreciate it. Any idea on average how long most people continue to have abnormal stools after stopping vancomycin? Of course we are planning a summer trip in a week and a half and I am scared to death of relapsing during this time. Ugh. Thanks in advance for your help!!!

beth22
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby beth22 » Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:56 pm

It's probably food. I see them when I eat rice, chicken or turkey. I wouldn't worry about it. When they use donor stool for FMT, they have to strain it because it is full of food residue. That's normal.

mka
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby mka » Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:19 pm

Thanks Beth! That makes me feel better. Now I need to just stop looking and worrying! So appreciate your help!

OCmama
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby OCmama » Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:43 pm

Hi MKA!

My daughter's C. diff has resolved (knock on wood), she is almost 4 months off of her Vanco taper.

As for relapsing, both her ID and my ID gave the same advice, "if it's a C. diff relapse you will know it." The point being, C. diff isn't very subtle and it probably won't just go away and leave you alone. With My daughter's relapses she would go back to having mushy stools, and then the mucus and non-stop stooling would start. On her second relapse she also developed a fever of 105.3

Post-infectious IBS is very common following C. diff. It is so hard to let go and trust your body following an invasion by something as terrible as C. difficile. When I have off days, or a few off days of Post-infectious IBS I immediately start panicking that the C. diff is back. What I have found to be helpful is following the 3x per day for 3 days rule from this site, it lets me sit back and observe what's "happening" with as little panic or fear as possible.

Hang in there!!

amg
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby amg » Thu Jun 22, 2017 12:39 am

Hi mka. So sorry you're going through this. Early recovery is very anxiety-filled and it's hard not to worry about anything that seems out of normal. With my daughter, it helped us to identify relapses by looking for the constellation of symptoms that were typical for her during active c diff (everyone is different). Those included fatigue, more frequent mushy stools (took days to progress to real D), pale face, puffy abdomen, temperature instability (feeling warm alternating with little chills), M in stool. None of these by themselves are specific only to c diff, but for my daughter if she had all of these, we were 100 percent sure she was relapsing. Good luck and hang in there!

mka
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Re: White seed like objects in stool

Postby mka » Thu Jun 22, 2017 9:04 am

Thank you all so much for helping educate me and calm my nerves/fears. It is appreciated more than you know. I have only been off of Vancomycin for 2 days but my stool is MUCH looser now (near D) than it was when I was acutually on the antibiotic. Of course this has me concerned but I have no other significant C Diff symptoms. Sounds like I just need to be patient and see how this all plays out. My GI doc doesn't have me scheduled for a follow-up so I'm guessing in 2-3 weeks if things haven't gotten better I should make another appointment? I know tht my husband is so tired of hearing poop and C Diff talk. I appreciate the encouragement and advise more than you know!!


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