First recurrence and many questions

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deb30
New User
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2023 7:04 pm

First recurrence and many questions

Postby deb30 » Mon Jan 09, 2023 4:41 pm

Hi all and I'll try to keep it as brief as possible. I contracted C Diff after my surgeon put me on Cipro and Flagyl for 10 days before an anal fistulotomy (I know, yuck, but it happens to the best of us) at the beginning of November, then gave me a big hit of Clindamycin during the surgery, followed by another 5 days of Cipro/Flagyl. I had C Diff symptoms several days into the pre-surgery round of antibiotics and asked my surgeon 2x about this being C Diff. He said that if my diarrhea wasn't watery and bright yellow, I didn't have it. Right. I know now I did have it. Well, things got progressively worse after surgery until I ended up in the hospital the second week of December with a positive C Diff culture. I received IV fluids and they started a 10 day cycle of Vancomycin 125 mgs 4x a day. Oh, they also found a small blood clot in my calf at the same time, probably a result of surgery, so lucky me.

I was released 3 1/2 days later and the vanco firmed things up by day 4. About 2 weeks and a few days after ending vanco on 12/19, the symptoms returned-- gassy, fluffy stools 6-7x a day. Mild gassy pain in abdomen. I called my GP Saturday afternoon (day 2 of symptoms) and he prescribed 21 days of vanco 125 mgs 4x a day. Today is Monday, so I'm hoping things firm up tomorrow or Wednesday. I did not call the ID doctor that saw me in the hospital because he and his associated barely entered my hospital room (probably due to the "Sign of Shame/Abandon all Hope Ye Who Enter Here"), stood as far away from me as he could and when I told him I already had IBS-D, he said "well then all bets are off."

Questions:
1. Is this 21 day course of vanco usual for 1st recurrence? Shouldn't I be on a pulsed/taper? Fidaximycin?
2. What the heck do I eat? Dr. Google says avoid sugar, gluten, dairy, raw fruits/veggies... so meat and rice????
3. I started taking Florastor halfway through the 1st vanco round, along with drinking about 1.5 cups of kefir every day. Is this supposed to help?
4. Once I'm done with the 3 month Eliquis blood thinner for the blood clot, I'll be able to go back on my oral Diclofenac for arthritis-- which is like a miracle drug for me and keeps me active and volunteering and taking care of my elderly parents. But I have to take a Pepcid with it in the morning. I'm seeing that antacids can contribute to C Diff returning? Even OTC Pepcid once a day?

I'm an otherwise healthy 64 yr old woman-- take meds for hypothyroidism, hypertension and arthritis-- although that one is on hold now due to the blood clot resolving itself. I feel so utterly hopeless right now, like this will never go away and I'll never be normal again. I'm so anxious and depressed and I know I'm bringing everyone else around me down too. I need hope and reassurance, I guess.
Dx Dec. '22 after having symptoms from a combination of Flagyl and Cipro for 2 weeks pre-surgery and IV Clindamycin during surgery. Vancomycin for 10 days, relapse 11 days later. Vancomycin long taper from beginning of Jan. '23 to May 1, '23.

Lissaucd
Regular Contributor
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2021 10:57 am

Re: First recurrence and many questions

Postby Lissaucd » Tue Jan 31, 2023 1:33 am

Hi there! I’m so sorry to hear what you are going through. I understand how you feel. First, in my experience your stools are not going to be normal for a long time. They will be all over the place- your gut has to have time to rebuild the healthy bacteria! This will take time. As to diet, I was told to eat what your body can handle. For the longest time I ate bland. It made me more depressed and obsessive with this whole c diff issue. I wish I would have simply listened to my body and ate what agreed with me. I do recommend staying away from sugar for a bit! Florastor is a great probiotic that has helped many with c diff. For me, I found out the hard way that probiotics made my stomach and bowels even worse! I stick to natural probiotics- sauerkraut is my go to!

My specialist is Neil Stollman in Oakland California. I can’t say enough good things about him. My insurance didn’t cover him but I paid out of pocket to have a video appointment. Best thing I did when dealing with this c diff journey. It does get better, it takes time. Please look at my prior posts! I was bad. I need reassurance constantly. I was down to 86 pounds. I ended up going on lexapro and it had been the best thing for my anxiety. Also, I know how hard it is caring for the elderly. I watched and helped my mom take care of my grandmother after my grandfather passed. Message me any time, I hope this helped a little.


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