C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

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georgina
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby georgina » Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:36 am

Good to hear you are doing well and things have firmed up.Do expect bumps in the road when you are in recovery.

Bobbie
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Bobbie » Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:48 am

Don't just post when you need reassurance - post to reassure others.

Cramped
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Cramped » Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:59 am

Bobbie wrote:
> Don't just post when you need reassurance - post to reassure others.

I'll try but I'm not much of an expert on C Diff aside from being worried about having it!

beth22
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby beth22 » Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:25 pm

Posting that you have seen improvement is a way of reassuring others. Thanks for doing that.

Cramped
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Cramped » Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:06 am

So I'm back on antibiotics. But not for C Diff. I have tonsillitis again. I just had it in November. It's the same story - high fever and swollen tonsils, not much else. Thanks to this site, I was able to present the list of high risk/low risk antibiotics to the doctor. So I'm on Zithromax, which is middle of the road. She said not to worry. C Diff is an annoyance, but they know how to treat it (this from the place that gave me Flagyl THREE times).

But here is something I want to run by you all. A couple of weeks before the tonsillitis my tongue started getting an orange coating. No, I didn't eat anything orange. I'd scrape it off at night and use mouth wash but 48 hours later it returned. And it isn't going away. Something is going on.

I read as much as I could online and found many other sufferers but very few answers. One common factor seemed to be heavy antibiotic use. So I'm wondering if anyone here has every heard of or experienced this. Are the PH levels out of whack in my mouth and letting weird stuff grow on me???? And is it growing elsewhere in places I can't see??!?

Thanks for listening!

Lisa33
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Lisa33 » Wed Feb 24, 2016 12:10 pm

So sorry you are sick. I have never heard of the orange tongue, so I can't offer any advice there. However, I just wanted to ask if your throat culture indeed came back positive for a bacteria. I ask because I recently just got over terrible tonsillitis. I had white pus pockets all over my tonsils and a huge one down my throat. I ran a fever for 5 days. I felt terrible and couldn't get out of bed. I was convinced it was bacterial, and like you was preparing to take a z-pac. It turned out that my culture came back negative and it was all viral. Tonsillitis can indeed be viral, so I hope you were cultured first. I just don't want you to take an antibiotic unnecessarily which can put you at risk for c-diff again. I will never take an antibiotic without a positive culture since c-diff.

Hope you feel better soon,
Lisa

Cramped
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Cramped » Wed Feb 24, 2016 1:03 pm

They gave me a strep test and it came up negative. I had no other symptoms. No cold. No cough. No congestion. Just tonsils the size of golf balls with white stuff in all the pockets. Maybe the orange stuff is making the tonsils mad!

It would be nice if the antibiotic also killed was kept growing on my tongue but I see no improvement so far (only day 3 of med). I suspect my acidity is thrown off or something. I used to have halitosis more often than I do these days.

I read online about someone who used someone else's dirty toothbrush to restore the proper bacterial balance in their mouth. That sounds kinda nutty. No nuttier than taking poop pills to cure C Diff, I suppose. :)

Lisa33
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Lisa33 » Wed Feb 24, 2016 1:28 pm

My strep came back negative also, but they took a sample to be cultured. I was exactly the same - no congestion or cold symptoms. Just huge tonsils and pus pockets, fever, headache, swollen glands and fatigue. It was all viral. I wouldn't just take the antibiotic unless you get a positive culture. That is just my opinion and exactly what I just did a couple of weeks ago.

And, OMG I don't think I could ever use someone else's dirty toothbrush. I gag just thinking about it. I used my husband's once by accident, and I wanted to vomit! LOL

roy
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby roy » Wed Feb 24, 2016 2:09 pm

We cant answer everything or research for you, but if you type in orange furry tongue into google it gives dozens of results!

I am with the others on not treating such mild throat problems with antibiotics, potential harm could far outweigh the benifits.

Bobbie
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Bobbie » Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:03 pm

If your strep culture was negative - and you had the longer (more accurate one) i would wait on the antibiotic but, of course, check with your doctor. Ask him/her about your orange tongue.

80 per cent of sore throats are viral. See CDI - Infections.

Cramped
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Cramped » Wed Feb 24, 2016 4:35 pm

The doctor wasn't that interested in the orange tongue. Said it's "probably just some sort of bacteria". All well and good but after almost three weeks of it it certainly seems like it's something abnormal, and with a recent history of heavy antibiotic use and C Diff I wish they'd show a little more concern. What if I have the oral equivalent of C Diff?!?

I have done a lot of reading online about it but find very little in the form of accepted forms of treatment. I don't mean to come on here and waste your time asking questions that aren't related to C Diff, but what if this is? What if my good bacteria is so messed up I have all sorts of weird things going on? I just wanted to put it out there in case it was some rare C Diff sufferer side-effect that someone had heard of.

Thanks :)

beth22
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby beth22 » Thu Feb 25, 2016 1:20 am

I had a white tongue after taking vanco for c diff, but it wasn't yeast. The doctors told me it was the imbalance of the gut bacteria - dysbiosis that produced it. I tested positive for SIBO at the time. I guess the tongue can manifest what is going on in the small intestine, etc. I don't know if this is correct, but that is what my ID and GI both told me. It was never orange though.

Cramped
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Cramped » Wed Apr 06, 2016 11:56 am

A few weeks ago I got a prescription mouth wash for orange tongue. It cleared right up. Then my tongue started turning black. I thought maybe I was going too far in the other direction so I stopped using the mouthwash for a week. Looked pretty good after that....but then the orange started creeping back. i go back to the ENT next week. I don't think they are going to find an answer for this. I think they are looking in the wrong place.

Since Sunday I've been experiencing some feelings of inflammation in my stomach. It's either C Diff letting me know it's not gone or I ate too much cheese this weekend. I'm hesitant to go back to the doctor. I hope it will pass. But the combination of discomfort and orange tongue makes me think there is something seriously wrong going on inside me.

roy
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby roy » Wed Apr 06, 2016 4:25 pm

Your describing an infection in your mouth/gums, either bacteria or yeast.
That can cause stomach upset as well.
I bet you spit blood when you brush your teeth!
If so see a decent dentist.

Ril
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Re: C Diff Recurrence...I can't beat it! Help!

Postby Ril » Sun Apr 10, 2016 11:10 am

If your dr seems a bit too unconcerned about your complaints you might want to think about finding a new doctor. That of course, is just my opinion and something something I would consider. But your PCP is supposed to be the one who coordinates your holistic care and not just says "don't worry about it". If they don't know they should find out or refer you to someone who can treat appropriately, whether it be c diff or an oral problem. And I also, would never take an antibiotic without a culture. So many cold type infections are viral. That is a fact and that has been how I have handled my own care and my drs have respected my concerns.
I'm with Roy. See a dentist about your tongue.


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