When to know when you have C diff again?

[georgina]

Your case doesn't sound like a typical Cdiff case . Usually CDiff presents itself with multiple bouts of D accompanied by other symptoms like : pain , fever etc but the classic symptoms remains the D. You said you just had extreme pain that during the Vanco course hasn't subsided , so maybe your doctor should start wondering if it's really Cdiff you are dealing with here. You should ask to be investigated more because it sound like something else is the cause of your pain.

[roy]

I agree with Georgina.
C.diff is a naturally occouring bug that can be part of the normal gut flora.
It is still picked up by PCR tests and some Drs automatically blame it for all sorts of symptoms.
To diagnose c.diff the test has to match your symptoms and yours do not indicate c.diff as a disease.
C.diff is only a disease if it overgrown and causes loose watery stools.
If your symptoms continue and are severe don't let the Drs fob you off with a dubious diagnosis.
Insist they look for any other possible problems

[Shaun3k]

I am also glad I found this forum. It is extremely helpful. Sorry about what you are going through Kalani. Try to keep your head up. I haven't had it so I don't know what you are going through personally but I know how much it has made my Mom miserable. I feel for anyone that has this.

As for my mom she still seems to be doing well as of now. Other than going to the bathroom about 3 times in a day. Not sure if that is abnormal but she said her stool's are coming out normal. She does feel a need to go after eating sometimes. She still seems to be eating well. She actually seems more hungry than before she had C diff. Still no stomach pain or cramps.

[georgina]

Having three BM per day is normal for most people ,and formed is great! It seems like your mom is responding well to treatment , wishing her continuous improvement.

[beth22]

When I was on the vanco for my c difficile, I went much more often than normal. That slowed down when I got off the meds until I relapsed. 3 times a day is ok and she is not having D, so that is the best thing.

[Shaun3k]

So my mom is having diarrhea again today. It has been about 6 days since my mom finished her 10 days of Metronidazole antibiotic. Since she got home from the hospital on March 10th she has gone to the bathroom after eating most meals, but hasn't had any pain or fever. And her stools have been normal so it wasn't really diarrhea. She says she still has no pain or fever, but she has been to the bathroom multiple times since the morning. She says this last time she went she had some mucus. She also said her stools aren't solid but not as watery as when she had the c diff.

The thing is though I am not 100% sure she doesn't have Ulcerative colitis. During her stay in the hospital we overheard the nurse telling her she has it (along with the c diff). And supposedly she got some paper work about it, but I never saw the paper work. However the Doctor that released her and was trying to kick her out told us that she doesn't have it that she just had colitis. Not sure how that changed, but from what I understand Ulcerative colitis has similar symptoms to c diff so it is tough to know what would be causing her symptoms if she indeed has Ulcerative colitis. Her discharge papers just says acute colitis.

Not sure how long it takes for acute colitis to go away or if it was suppose to already go away with the c diff but she hasn't been having the best diet. When she first got home from the hospital she would eat less stuff and more broth soup. After a few days out of the hospital she has been eating more or less anything she wants. If she still has colitis I know that can also cause diarrhea.

Hopefully she doesn't have c diff again. She has an appointment with I believe some specialist on Tuesday. Who may schedule a colonoscopy which they couldn't do in the hospital because her colon was inflamed.

[amyc]

If her D has come back she should be seen ASAP. 6 days after finishing the metro sounds like a relapse. Ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune disorder, so I would guess the nurse just made a mistake. Colitis is a general term for inflammation of the colon. C diff disease is called C diff colitis.

[Shaun3k]

Thanks for the reply. So do you think I should try to get her to got to her Doctor tomorrow? I am not sure if they can see her tomorrow, but maybe they can. She does have the appointment with the specialist on Tuesday, but I am not 100% sure what they are going to test her for. Or if they check for c diff. As of now she doesn't have an appointment with her normal doctor scheduled.

Also if she does have a relapse 6 days after the antibiotic does that mean she was reinfected from stuff in the house?

[amyc]

I would call the doctor who is treating her for C diff first thing in the morning. A relapse that happens within a month of finishing treatment is usually considered an indication that the initial infection wasn't cleared by the antibiotic, not an indication of reinfection.

Many (or most) doctors treat a quick relapse like this without requiring another test, and will just call another prescription in to the pharmacy, especially for an elderly person who might have difficulty making it to the office. You could even call the doctor's answering service tonight to talk to the on call physician to see if they will take care of it.

[georgina]

At this point your mom can experience what we call PI-IBS or a Cdiff relapse with more milder symptoms. You have to call the doctor and explain the symptoms.
Relapses don't happen because you get reinfected from stuff around the house , it happens because spores left inside the guts re-germinate when they no longer feel the antibiotic threat .

[Lisa33]

It is so hard to tell if your mom is having a relapse or just post infectious IBS. For me, I thought I was relapsing several times. However, a distinct difference for me was that I would go multiple times in the morning which were loose to even D. But, then I would be ok for the most part for the rest of the day. I felt pretty good, except for the mornings, where I would literally wake up and have to go right to the bathroom. I experienced terrible nausea in the morning as well. I did retest two weeks after finishing vanco, as I thought I was relapsing. My GI actually had called in the vanco prescription, but something told me to not start it until I got the results. I was glad that I held off because I tested negative. The real healing takes place after you are off meds. Mucus is not uncommon with IBS as well. I would see what the doctor says. The correct protocol is to treat based on symptoms alone, but sometimes those symptoms are not clear cut, so a retest may be beneficial. That is my opinion based on my experience. I did relapse after Flagyl two weeks after finishing it, so she is within the prime relapse time. I also would discuss a Vanco taper or Dificid as the next round of treatment if needed. In my opinion, probiotics were a big part of my recovery in warding off the c-diff.

[Shaun3k]

Thanks Lisa. She has only gone to the bathroom once since like 3 or 4 pm yesterday and it was this morning. I believe it was watery.

Unfortunately she didn't go to the doctor today even though I kept telling her to. And she hasn't really been eating yogurt like I've told her she should. Yes you might have guessed it she can be stubborn at times. Hopefully she calls her Doctor here pretty soon and doesn't just wait to see the specialist tomorrow.

I believe the specialist she is seeing tomorrow is a GI? I am not sure she has told me he/she was a specialist for this. This will be the first time she has ever seen the specialist. She usually just talks to her primary Doctor about this. I told her she should be trying to get the specialist's number so that she can be talking to him more. I am not sure if her primary Doctor really knows what is going on. She is the one that told her that they didn't have the antibiotic that the hospital prescribed and that they would never have it which is why they gave her Metronidazole instead. Which makes me worry what antibiotic they would give her for a relapse. I am still not sure why they couldn't just give her a prescription to the antibiotic they were giving her in the hospital where she can pick it up somewhere. I believe her medicaid would cover it since it seems it did when they were giving it to her in the hospital. If not at least give us the option of partly paying for it.

Edit: Update. She called her Doctor and they told her not to eat solid foods and more liquids. Said that it is also possible her Ulcer can be causing this. Said go to the ER if it doesn't get better. As of now she has a appointment early tomorrow before she sees the specialist so they can run tests. They said her last test came out fine but I don't think that really matters as she may have still been on antibiotics her last test or just coming off of them.

[roy]

If it's only once theres probably not much to worry about.

[Shaun3k]

So they prescribed my mom 10 days of Vancomycin and another 10 days of Metronidazole. The specialist told her she wasn't suppose to be off the original treatment of Metronidazole after 10 days, but that was what they prescribed her. At this point it has been over a week since she was off.

I asked if they told her if she has C Diff again and she said no that the antibiotic was for her colitis. Which doesn't sound right to me. Aren't those antibiotics for C Diff? My mom might just be confused. They ran tests yesterday and today they sent her antibiotics to the house.

Well anyways she has already started taking the antibiotics. Her diarrhea didn't seem bad from what she was told me but I am not 100% sure how truthful she was being about it. At least from what I saw she wasn't running to the bathroom constantly.

Also usually I tend to remind her to take her antibiotic. So now the schedule is again for the metronidazole is 4pm, 12am and 8am. The Vacomycin seems more of a chore. As of now her schedule would be 2pm, 8pm, 2am and 8am. Obviously the 2am is the toughest time. Do you know if it is a big deal if she took it at 1am and then the next one at 8am? It would probably be easier on her. How strict is the every 6 hours?

[amyc]

Colitis is the general term for inflamed colon. If they sent vanco and flagyl her C diff test must have been positive. She is either confused or really doesn't want to talk about her colon with you. Or she is quite ill but doesn't want to talk about it because you are scared for her. Or her doctor didn't explain it very well.

Anyway, her doctor sent her the meds. It sounds like she is following their treatment plan, which is good. Sometimes stubborn old folks refuse to follow doctors' orders, and it drives all parties nuts! Try to relax a bit, and let her handle it with her doctor.