Mucus and Pain

[Lana]

When I am not on medication, after "going" several times in a row, my GI tract seems empty, but I still get the urge to go and all it is is lot of mucus. Ok, maybe not a big deal, but after this my, er, rectal area, is very painful! I don't recall anyone else mentioning this, but this is a big deal to me. Does anyone else have this pain? How do you deal with it? (At one point a doctor said I had hemorrhoids and prescribed sitz baths and Anusol, but a later doctor refuted that and said I just have pain from "going" so much.)

[Sheila1]

Hi Lana,

This was very common with me when in the throes of CDiff - to the point I thought I was going to have to buy a donut to sit on! It felt like my anus was turning inside-out (not to mention the irritation of wiping so much).

As the medicine began to work and I 'went' less often it got better, as I'm sure yours will to. As long as you aren't passing an excessive amount of blood, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Sheila

[cindym]

Lana- I found that keeping preparation H suppositories and using them after bm's helped tremendously to stop the pain.

[Bobbie]

Lana,
Mucus is a sign of irritation. Try Desitan oitment if the Prep. H does't work for you if the area in only irritated.

I read your case history & am so sorry about the loss of your baby. I lost 2 babies within a short time (miscarriage at 12 wks. & premature birth at 6 and l/2 mo.), & altho. it was many years ago, it still hurts. I am sure you will have other children, but it doesn't diminish the loss of this one. Many women have miscarriages & go on to carry full term. I finally did altho. it was a high risk pregnancy & the doc. told me I'd never carry. As we know, docs. aren't always right! I hope others in this situation respond to this. We've had a number of women post who had C. diff. while pregnant & still carried so perhaps there were other factors.

You've had a doubly horrible experience -- C. diff. & the loss of your child. I hope you have a good support system. You might try Compassionate Friends as I believe it includes women who miscarry. There was nothing like it when I went through the same thing, & a support group would have helped so much.

Again, my sympathy.

[Lana]

Thank you Sheila, Cindy, Bobbie for your quick responses! It really does help to be able to share and hear about others' experiences.

Bobbie, thank you for your kind words. This definitely has been the worst 3 months of my life, but I do have some really compassionate friends and family members who have helped. And yet, there's something about grief and illness which makes a person feel so alone at times, and this is what sends me to the internet. I appreciate your presence and continuous work for we who are plagued by c-diff.

[Bobbie]

Lana,
No one can understand what you are going through unless she/he has gone through it. "Walk a mile in my shoes" as the old saying goes.

Glad you have support.

[puremess]

Lana,
I don't mean to scare you but releasing mucus without stool was my symptom of c-diff. Based on this I was diagnosed with it. I would just have lots of mucus accompanied by pain. And now when I relapse this is the fist sign for me. I go to the bathroom thinking I need to have a bowel movement but what I have is just mucus. And then few hours or days later the big D hits. Also, what I've notice is when I am on the lower dose of vanco I release mucus without stool.This never happens when I am on 250 x 4 pills a day. Of course, everyone is different but you should still ask your doctor. And honestly I don't think it's the hemorrhoids. I've been dealing with this mucus stuff for nine month now. I never had mucus before this c-diff problem started. I hope it's just post c-diff colitis for you that will go away soon.

[Lana]

Puremess,
You're right, it was my second relapse causing the mucus. A 14 day round of Flagyl & a 14 day round of Vancomycin did not cure me. I have now been prescribed 60 Vancomycin pills to be taken over the next 6 weeks on a schedule that involves tapering. My doctor says there was a study of approximately 50 people using this method and NONE of them relapsed! I would like to read that study! I hope it works.

[puremess]

Lana,
I am sorry that you relapsed again. This nasty bug is so depressing and especially reading about what it did to you, it makes me really mad.
60 pills doesn't sound like a lot. Before my last relapse I tapered for about 4 month and 8 days after stopping it I relapsed. That was very upseting. I am currently on a taparing method. Ths is my third month on it. I don't know how long I'll continue with the treatment probably another month or two for sure. Well hopefully 60 pills will cure you! Maybe it's your lucky number.

[Bobbie]

Lana & puremess,
Pulsing has worked for several people on this site including Lauren & Nancy. Might mention it to your docs. See FAQ-Pulsing.

[dalamy]

I took Flagyl for a week - relapsed. I realapsed again after tapering Vancomycin over 3 months. I then had to take another 14 day course of Vancomycin - and that was my last course! I have been in remission since June 2005 and I have the epidemic strain - my sample was cultured by Dr. Cliff McDononald with the CDC and I was a match!

[Lana]

I'm glad you're in remission. That's good news!

What does it mean that you have the epidemic strain? It is more volatile than the usual one? Are you likely to stay in remission as long as you're not on medication? I hope so! How did you end up at the CDC? Isn't it in Georgia?

[dalamy]

I had C. diff. from 1/2005 to 6/2005. Around that time there was a particularly deadly strain in Canada - that's the strain I match. It is resistant to Flagyl - so only Vancomycin works.

I most probably have the spores and I'm just hoping my good bacteria keeps it under control. I fear taking an antibiotic because I'm afraid the C. diff. will take over again. So I don't know how long I can go without taking an antibiotic. I am prone to UTI's and sinus infections. So only time will tell. I had a scare in March 2006 with a sinus infection. I took one dose of Biaxin XL - 1,000 mg - and I ended up with diarrhea and a rash. I must be allergic to it. But of course, I thought it was C. diff. all over again. I seriouly had a mental breakdown as a result - C. diff. was the WORST - and I had anxiety and panic attacks in fear of getting that sick again.

I was contacted by the CDC through the form I filled out on this website - it might be in the FAQ or Professional section (I can't remember) - under Dr. Cliff McDonald. Warrren County (where I live here in Ohio) handled the 3 samples for me. They were sent to Georgia - I think it was Atlanta - and it took several months to get the results from the cultures. They informed me I matched the epidemic strain - the deadly one in Canada - and that it is resistant to Flagyl.

[Sheila1]

Lana, there are numerous news articles about a more virulent strain that was typed in late 2004 but didn't really start making the news until mid-2005, the new strain is titled NAP1/027. Before you read and panic, there are about 8 different strains, and not everyone has the new one. The new strain has been detected everywhere now, not just the UK.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=31068

The new strain causes more severe illness and pain, more relapses and is very resistant to all available meds. (not just Flagyl) Vanco seems to work for most so long as a person stays on it - dalamy appears to be a lucky one.

Dalamy had it when it was in the early stages of discovery and I'm imagine, when the new strain was being discovered, Dr. McDonald was testing to see how many people had it and/or how widespread it was, I don't know that he does the typing all the time.

This is the same strain that was found in the meat food (see Media). Until studies come out on that, I'm not too concerned of that aspect as I always cook things well-done and I wouldn't think the spores can survive that kind of heat. Hope the study shows that too!

Sheila

[Christina]

Just an FYI: I recently inquired about testing to see what strain I am carrying. The only two places it can be tested are at the CDC and /or through Dr. Gerding in Chicago.
I was also told that regardless of the strain it would not change the treatment plan or the course of treatment therefore, I decided not to go ahead as it really would be more of a hassle and doesn't matter anyway.
It would be interesting to find out just the same. But I don't need the added stress!