Case History: ppp67 ... almost 2 years later

[ppp67]

Just want to say I love this board. I still come here even though I haven't posted in a very long time and have been CDIFF free for almost two years.
But I'd like to update some things and contribute some things that may help others.

I'm 48.
I contracted C-diff two years ago after 10 days of keflix, then 10 more days of clindamycin. (Don't try this at home!)
As is often the case, it was a misdiagnosis. Antibiotics should never have been prescribed.
After 7 days, D was getting worse and I eventually dropped by emergency and got tested.
They prescribed flagyl (10 days). Relapsed 5 days later (but not as bad). Retested, then took vanco (15 days).
I bet if I waited longer than 5 days, it would have become worse, but I was not taking a chance.
As well, I ate a BRAT diet, took probiotics + florastor + yogurt + kefir. Honestly, never heard of kefir before I had CDIFF.

20 days later, I was slowly adding foods back.
I thought I was relapsing again even though the test from 3 days previous was negative.
So I rushed to emergency again. It really hurt. But it wasn't CDIFF. The test again was negative and I felt better a few days later.
It was the slow healing process. I probably should not have eaten the spicy Thai food.

So that is the end of my recorded medical treatment for CDIFF.
I haven't reported anything in almost two years. I guess that means my name goes on the list of those who "100% recover after 1 or 2 rounds of treatment".
We all know the truth though. There are lasting effects in everyone.
But don't feel discouraged. You can get better, and will.
With me, I had anal fissures, and soft stool for months (years even). At the time I really wanted everything firm again, just like pre-CDIFF. But the body probably knows better. Softer stool was less forceful and allowed things to heal. So it was a blessing.

I later talked to the doctor about this (months later) and he suggested cutting out probiotics (pills) cold-turkey and see what happens. I still ate yogurt and the occasional kefir.
I cut them out. And I felt sick. For weeks I felt "wrong" and my stools were still soft. But it was ok. And I eventually felt better.
Sorry, I realize I could say soooo much more but I will keep this post short(er).
One thing to say though. I was never that clean BUT I started washing my hands often, especially before eating or handling cutlery.
I never went nuts bleaching everything. But clean hands (soap and water, not cleansing gel) is essential.

So what have I learned through my CDIFF recovery?
Well, the gut flora is the whole key to this. When it's destroyed (antibiotics), CDIFF has a chance to take root and grow. (Especially if you eat SUGAR.)
Treating with antibiotics is not enough because you need to replenish the gut flora. But probiotics are not enough. You need to eat the right food too. You can think of probiotics as seeds. You need to plant them in good soil if you expect them to take root. Believe me, bacteria can grow and multiply real fast. Eat healthy, lots of fibre and APPLES!!!!
Sugar is bad. I took the BRAT diet too far and cut out most fruit. When I added APPLES back, it helped SO much. It's a pre-biotic, contains fibre, and allows good bacteria to multiply .

Once you have good bacteria in your gut, keep feeding it well. Too much coffee or booze can clear things out. Be extra careful of antibiotics too. Once you have a good garden growing, you don't need to keep replanting. In fact, you probably want to have a much greater diversity of flora than provided in over-the-counter probiotics. It's SO important to eat the right food to let the good flora take root and grow. Trying eating a wider variety of healthy foods. The wrong food will promote CDIFF, but healthy is always good. Today, I even have pretty solid stools, though it can softer depending on what I eat. It's normal, even years later, to be different

So how does CDIFF cause allergies?
Well, it doesn't, not directly. Ok, it does.
CDIFF is really bad stuff. So bad your body constantly tries to flush it out. Flush everything out. Because CDIFF is creating poisons that wound you inside. The sooner it's treated, the better. It will cause damage and create holes in your colon. And that is the problem. Even after antibiotic treatment, your colon needs more time to heal. It's really important to treat CDIFF early to keep the damage to a minimum. With the damaged colon, anything you eat has a chance to skip the regular digestion route, slip though these holes and come in direct contact with your blood stream. And this can trigger an allergic response. I think that's why we need to treat CDIFF early, and why you would eat a BRAT diet at first. You cannot develop an allergy to something if you are not exposed to it. (Maybe I'm wrong about this, so I wouldn't mind if someone corrects me).

I never had a FMT so I cannot comment. But I understand why it's so successful.
If you are banged up enough, CDIFF will hide inside your colon, even with continuing antibiotic treatments. Your gut flora never gets a chance to recover.
Besides, won't continual antibiotic use lead to antibiotic resistance?
The best defense to CDIFF is a keeping a stong gut flora. And a FMT is an attempt to instantly replenish it. Just make sure you eat right (and not the bad stuff) and let it grow.
CDIFF spores will still be hiding but they won't be able to complete.

If I were to do this over again, I would
* don't take antibiotics lightly
* get examined and tested sooner when I start having D
* if treated with antibiotics, take FLORASTOR and other probiotics along with your antibiotic
* avoid refined sugar and coffee, booze and anything that can be hard on your stomach, both during treatment and after. No beer and pizza (cooked cheese is hard to digest).
* eat plain yogurt, kefir, museli, bananas, apples, etc. Slowly add foods back if you feel good.

Better stop here.
I want to talk about babies and doggies but maybe I get to that another day.

[roy]

I moved this post to success stories so you can get replies
Congrats on getting well
Your correct about alergies, you cant be alergic to something unless you have been in contact with it before and your body has produced antibodies against it
your wrong about holes in the colon though
Thats an extreamly serious and life threatening complication of any colon disease and usually results in the surgical removal of your colon in an attempt to save your life.
Probiotics are not the natural gut flora they are only temporary residents that are passed in a few days
New natural flora is obtained from the environment and the unprocessed food you eat.
Eating healthy has made you well

[seekingcure]

Thank you so much for coming back to post your success story and share the things that worked for you. I believe your reference to "holes in your colon" is your way of describing "leaky gut syndrome." (Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I think you mean.) For those who are interested in learning more about it, here's a link to information about this condition:

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorder ... t-syndrome

You have shared some great advice. I would love to hear what you have to say about babies and doggies. Glad to hear you are doing so well. Check in every so often and let us know how things are going for you.