Recurrence ?

[SDMom]

I finished a 14 day round of Flagyl on Monday. 4 days later (today, Friday) I've had diarrhea 5 times. Do I need to be tested again or at what point should I be concerned? I haven't had any diarrhea since around day 5 of being on Flagyl so of course I'm freaking out that it is back :(

36yr old female, c diff from antibiotics

[beth22]

Hi SDMom and welcome to the site. Please read the first forum for more information. It is not unusual to relapse with c difficile, but it may be too early to get an accurate test. I would call your doctor and report your symptoms. If you get worse on the weekend, go to Urgent Care or an ER. Often one round of Flagyl is not enough to get rid of the c difficile.

[georgina]

Agree with Beth , testing too early can give you false results , the correct protocol is to treat based on symptoms alone.At this point you should keep a close eye on your symptoms , if you start having a classic relapse , with several bouts of D , pain , fever , you should go straigh to your doctor and jump on meds bbut if your symptoms tend to subside you should hold back on treatment as it can be IBS .See CDI-IBS and the three day rule! Have you tried a probiotic?
If you will need to treat again try to push for Vanco or Dificid instead of taking another round of Flagyl.

[SDMom]

I am on probiotics. I will see if it gets better in the next day, but so far 2 days of diarrhea. No fever, but never had one originally either. They admitted me to the hospital for abdominal pain and only discovered I had c Diff while they were doing a 24hr urine collection. They where catching everything I put out and after 3 watery BMs, the hospital protocol is to test for C Diff.

[roy]

Sorry to say it but that does sound like a relapse.
If it continues your Dr should not wait for test results and should treat right away.
If flagyl has failed the next treatment is vancomycin for 14 days.
Don't wait too long before you seek a Drs advice.

[SDMom]

Call GI Dr today because today was day 4 of D and they want stool sample, they are not just treating the D. Hopefully will have more answers in the next day or two, but isn't it too close and I will test positive regardless? Seems like a waste, but doing what they ask.

[amyc]

No, you are not guaranteed to test positive right after finishing your medication. I would worry more about a false negative that close to meds, meaning the meds killed the bacteria so there aren't enough left to give a result. I'm sorry the GI isn't just treating you based on symptoms, because that really does sound like a relapse.

[georgina]

Four days of D sounds like a relapse , your doctor should start treating , waiting a positive test result with full blown Cdiff is dangerous. Go to ER or look for another GI or infectious disease doctor.

[SDMom]

So they tested my stool and it was negative for c Diff but positive for 2 different strains of E. coli. What the heck?!! I got diarrhea after eating at a Diner on Friday, so wondering if I'm more susceptible to getting that now?

[amyc]

Wow. Sorry to hear that. I wouldn't eat at that diner ever again. I'd call the health department and file a report on the place.

[roy]

E.coli is a normal gut bug and everyone has it in their gut.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flo ... omposition

http://textbookofbacteriology.net/normalflora_3.html

[SDMom]

Roy: I realize that, just as we all have c Diff. I have 2 different strains that cause diarrhea and are not in normal range. Like c Diff, dehydration is a risk and it can cause other problems.

Dr office called and just rest, fluids for the E. coli. Also hoping negative c Diff was not false since I just got off of antibiotics. I have a colonoscopy next week as well, so time will tell.

[amyc]

Do they still want you to do the scope? They don't culture for garden variety E. coli because everybody has that. The bad E. coli can cause some nasty complications, so I assume your doctor told you to watch your urine volume?