So far so good...

We spend a lot of time talking about the bad news in this discussion group - here's the spot for the good news. If you've had c-diff and are now well, please tell us about it here.
bulldog16
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Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:57 am

So far so good...

Postby bulldog16 » Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:31 pm

I am posting my story here in hopes that it can help others in some way. I too am prone to countless chronic uti's so I have been very dependent on antibiotics for the past 10 years (specifically macrobid). It had gotten to the point where I was given a refillable prescription of macrobid to take a course of when a uti flared up. No doctor had ever mentioned the possibility of antibiotics leading to c.diff- I never heard of it before. I had been taking one acidophilus daily for general stomach support.

The last time I took macrobid (back in July), I finished the course and the next day had intense stomach pain and a few bouts with diarrhea. I also had a headache and chills so I figured I had eaten something odd over the weekend. The diarrhea intensified over the next few days (I had an appetite, so I would try to eat something bland but immediately my stomach would cramp up). For four days I was having mostly liquid stools (about 10/day) and I figured something else was happening other than food poisoning. On a whim I googled 'macrobid and diarrhea' and fortunately a link to c.diff popped up. At this point I called my GP's office and luckily they squeezed me in the next day. Fortunately my GP was familiar w/c.diff (another person had just shown symptoms the week prior), so she put me on flagyl (4/day) for 10 days. Within four days or so my symptoms started to show improvement, and when I went back for my follow up two weeks later my stomach was almost back to normal. What I neglected to realize was that flagyl will also disturb your ecology creating yeast overgrowth, so my next symptom was oral thrush which needed a week's worth of anti-fungal lozenges. Had I realized this was a possibility I would have eaten more yogurt/etc.

I also started taking both Saccromyces (2/day) and Dr. Ohhira's probiotics (2/day) as recommended by my complementry medical physician, which I believe have helped enormously to get my stomach back on track. I spent the last few weeks on vacation in Europe and was a bit worried that my symptoms would re-manifest, but I'm happy to say they did not. I am also eating yogurt 2/day and/or drinking Kefir (yum).

I learned a lot through this experience. My husband's sister (who is a physician) was skeptical that I would have c.diff as she had heard of it only affecting the elderly in hospital situations. Of course we know this is not the only case. I am very grateful that my doctor was able understand my situation and help me.

As for the uti problem, I have also experimented with natural remedies and find cranberry pills can be helpful as is D. mannose (only thing with this is that if you take too much you may get an upset tummy due to the natural sugars).

Best of health to those that are not feeling well. This board helped me a lot when I was researching this problem.

Bobbie
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Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 8:00 pm

Postby Bobbie » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:50 am

Bulldog,
Glad you are doing well. Usually Macrobid is a "safe" antibiotic, but last time I was on it, I developed diarrhea, too. (FAQ-Antibiotics.) Read FAQ-UTI's as some of the hints help altho. you probably know most of them. D. Mannose seems to be helpful altho. I still drink cranberry juice & take the pills as a preventative.

Please educate your SIL that C. diff. is NOT a disease confined to the elderly in hospitals. In fact, there are many atypical (young, otherwise healthy) cases now -- one reason for all the intererst in the diseasae after many years of disinterest.

Glad the site was helful. Our best to you.

bulldog16
New User
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:57 am

Postby bulldog16 » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:09 pm

Thanks for your message Bobbie, I appreciate it.


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