How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
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How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
Hi all, I've been searching and speaking with doctors but haven't been able to get a straight answer!! So does anyone know how long it takes for your gut flora to be fully healed like before you took the antibiotics that gave us this infection? Also how long do the spores last in your body? Will your good flora ever destroy the cdiff bacteria?
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
Wow, these are great questions, and I have never gotten answers about any of these either. I believe all of us want to know even following successful treatment and the standard time window for risk of relapse - will I ever really be OK again? when can I tell myself I am 100% safe? It is a natural drive to try to be in a state of safety and security. And it is so frustrating that there is such mixed and contradictory information concerning an infection that is so prevalent.
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
As far as recovery goes, I think no one really knows how each individual will recover. We are dealing with different strains and also length of time person is on medications is most likely a factor. There may be a factor if one has worked in healthcare for a long time. I have had several GI's with no answers.
I do know I have been in healthcare a very long time, could not get rid of this, had severe vomiting with CDIFF(which is not common) and battled this over 1o months of treatment. Had several complications and my gut is not the same almost 3 years later. There are months I feel fine but if I eat something different.....IBS returns etc.
We have had people on here who treat for 10 days and are fine. There are many unknowns with this illness and as most of us have found very few experts.
NanciT
I do know I have been in healthcare a very long time, could not get rid of this, had severe vomiting with CDIFF(which is not common) and battled this over 1o months of treatment. Had several complications and my gut is not the same almost 3 years later. There are months I feel fine but if I eat something different.....IBS returns etc.
We have had people on here who treat for 10 days and are fine. There are many unknowns with this illness and as most of us have found very few experts.
NanciT
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
Yes, it varies from individual to individual. I just had a woman text me that she got c diff again after taking two antibiotic pills. She had not had c difficile since 2006. In my case, I tested negative for years and when I took antibiotics last year, I tested positive. I think the spores lie dormant more often than getting eradicated, but that is just my own experience and reading posts on here for years.
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
The flora may recover it's balance after 6 months , 1 year or longer ,and in some cases it may remain altered forever as some species are lost and can't be restored again. Even though you get a stool transfer those species may not be able to reimplant because the gut's condition doesn't create a proper environment for them to grow , so they can't survive and they remain lost forever. I think that is the reason why people are left with intolerances to some foods , because the bacteria that was there to help you digest those food is not present anymore.
But even though the flora remains unbalanced , some people actually get cured from Cdiff by developing antibodies , they can even take several courses of antibiotics (even high offenders) and not get sick with Cdiff again.
But even though the flora remains unbalanced , some people actually get cured from Cdiff by developing antibodies , they can even take several courses of antibiotics (even high offenders) and not get sick with Cdiff again.
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
Another vote for the "everyone is different" and "no one really knows" which I understand is frustrating and disappointing. I had a fairly mild case of c.diff but 7 months later still dealing with PI-IBS and my once iron stomach is anything but as almost anything can cause it to get upset. My GI said it can take 6 months to a year to recover and that some people never go back to their pre-c.diff GI system.
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
I also agree that there are no concrete answers to these really great questions. The one thing that I hate about c-diff (well there are many things I hate about c-diff) is that there really are no black and white answers. You literally just have to take one day at a time and see what happens. You are constantly guessing, is it gone? Am I cured? Is my gut bacteria in balance? This is why it causes so many of us terrible panic/anxiety.
For me, if I had to answer this question based on my own experience, I think c-diff has altered my gut forever. Although I haven't had c-diff since the end of 2014, I still am experiencing after effects of it. For one, my BMs changed from prior to c-diff. I have a new normal now. I never had any gut issues prior to c-diff, and now I still experience bouts of IBS. If I'm nervous about anything, my IBS kicks in. That was never the case prior to c-diff. Overall, my gut is just different. Now if I time stamp some milestones for me, it would be this. 3-4 months of battling the active infection. Saw big improvement in 6 months where the good days started to outweigh the bad days for the most part. It took me 8 months to have just 1-2 BMs per day. Bouts of IBS started to taper down after 2 years. Now bouts of IBS sporadic and brought on by nerves.
For me, if I had to answer this question based on my own experience, I think c-diff has altered my gut forever. Although I haven't had c-diff since the end of 2014, I still am experiencing after effects of it. For one, my BMs changed from prior to c-diff. I have a new normal now. I never had any gut issues prior to c-diff, and now I still experience bouts of IBS. If I'm nervous about anything, my IBS kicks in. That was never the case prior to c-diff. Overall, my gut is just different. Now if I time stamp some milestones for me, it would be this. 3-4 months of battling the active infection. Saw big improvement in 6 months where the good days started to outweigh the bad days for the most part. It took me 8 months to have just 1-2 BMs per day. Bouts of IBS started to taper down after 2 years. Now bouts of IBS sporadic and brought on by nerves.
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
Also a vote for everyone is different :-/
The answers I have been given by 3 C. Diff experts has varied.
Adult top C. diff ID: you may never truly be rid of the spores, the spores may be lurking in niches within your intestines forever, you can never truly take an antibiotic with 100% safety.
Ped Infectious ID top pediatric hospital: if my daughter has to take an antibiotic in the next 2 years (under her supervision) she will also prescribe vancomycin. If she takes an antibiotic 2 years out of recovery we will see what happens without vanco. (Hoping she never has to take an antibiotic ever again, obviously.)
Ped GI (only Ped GI whom performs FMT in our area): C. diff is strange and differs for everyone, the spores may never truly be gone. We are still learning about gut flora, the longer you go without an antibiotic the healthier and more diverse your gut flora has a chance to become.
The answers I have been given by 3 C. Diff experts has varied.
Adult top C. diff ID: you may never truly be rid of the spores, the spores may be lurking in niches within your intestines forever, you can never truly take an antibiotic with 100% safety.
Ped Infectious ID top pediatric hospital: if my daughter has to take an antibiotic in the next 2 years (under her supervision) she will also prescribe vancomycin. If she takes an antibiotic 2 years out of recovery we will see what happens without vanco. (Hoping she never has to take an antibiotic ever again, obviously.)
Ped GI (only Ped GI whom performs FMT in our area): C. diff is strange and differs for everyone, the spores may never truly be gone. We are still learning about gut flora, the longer you go without an antibiotic the healthier and more diverse your gut flora has a chance to become.
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
4 1/2 yrs post c diff I finally am over severe PI IBS with the help of xifaxan but still have some food intolerances. I have had IBS prior to c diff but this was different and severe. The jury is still out whether the xifaxan is a permanent fix but it has been over 6 months. According to my GI, research is inconclusive about true gut recovery timeframes because it was only studied for a finite number of years, or at least that was as of 4 years ago.
So yes, it is individual and we should continue to share our stories for the best information to date until there is more conclusive data.
So yes, it is individual and we should continue to share our stories for the best information to date until there is more conclusive data.
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
Hi all, thanks for all the responses. Clearly know one really knows!! I'm not sure about all of you but I'm sick of worrying everytime I have smelly gas or a weird bowel movement.. best of luck to all of you but it's time for me to close this chapter of my life and move on always coming on here only makes me think about it.. we will never heal if you continue to dwell on it. So every soimez out...
food is medicine!!!!
food is medicine!!!!
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
Many of us are on here as a thank you for the support we received during our illness and to "pay it forward", but each must do what is best for them to help move on with their lives.
If you have not done so already (I have not checked), please consider posting in Success Stories to share your good news as encouragement to others, then best of luck to you.
Rita
If you have not done so already (I have not checked), please consider posting in Success Stories to share your good news as encouragement to others, then best of luck to you.
Rita
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Re: How long till your gut flora is back to normal?
This is a great topic...questions we all ask and search long and hard for the answers...The problem with these questions is that no one really knows the answers yet. The medical community is just beginning to advance far enough to begin to see what lives in our guts and what is going on. The studies are few and new...What we rely on currently is mostly based on theory and conjecture.
1) Healing the gut flora... It is estimated that at two years, it will be as good as it's probably going to get. This is about how long it takes a newborn baby to establish good microbiota...(Just one dose of an antibiotic in your life will change your flora FOREVER. However, the gut flora is ALWAYS changing anyway. If you move to a new part of the country, the composition in your gut is going to change as well.) Still, this does not account for what state the gut flora was in before the infection, how much damage was done during infection and treatment, or how much damage was done to the tissues during the infection either. Healing time could be longer for some--rougher for some--and the outcomes in the end can vary greatly. Sorry.
2) In studies (look it up--I'm going by memory here) they've been able to germinate (wake up) a C Diff spore after two years in a controlled environment. This may or may not translate to your gut however. They don't know if the lifespan of the spore would be longer or shorter in the gut's environment.
3) It's possible...if the right "guys" are in there.
1) Healing the gut flora... It is estimated that at two years, it will be as good as it's probably going to get. This is about how long it takes a newborn baby to establish good microbiota...(Just one dose of an antibiotic in your life will change your flora FOREVER. However, the gut flora is ALWAYS changing anyway. If you move to a new part of the country, the composition in your gut is going to change as well.) Still, this does not account for what state the gut flora was in before the infection, how much damage was done during infection and treatment, or how much damage was done to the tissues during the infection either. Healing time could be longer for some--rougher for some--and the outcomes in the end can vary greatly. Sorry.
2) In studies (look it up--I'm going by memory here) they've been able to germinate (wake up) a C Diff spore after two years in a controlled environment. This may or may not translate to your gut however. They don't know if the lifespan of the spore would be longer or shorter in the gut's environment.
3) It's possible...if the right "guys" are in there.
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