cdiffdiscuss.org

I have Ehlers-Danlos type 3 syndrome which causes SIBO, therefore I have only been treated for my diarrhoeal episodes (explosive type 7s up to 7 per hour) with Metronidazole which would terminate the diarrhoea after one dose, each time, until recurrence number 7. The recurrences were preceded either by use of proton pump inhibitors or antibiotics including topical Clindamycin; each recurrence meant further restriction of foodstuffs, ingestion of which would cause D;
I finally got brave and asked for C diff testing this time around; I had a culture which came back as negative for C difficile; I am still awaiting the culture/toxin results on the three remaining samples.
My question is, if the culture is negative for C diff, does that mean they won't test for toxin presence?...a bit confused...
I also upped my S Boulardii to 30 bil per day (1.5g or 6 capsules) with this episode, as I want to avoid antibiotics until the results back...is this wise?

Testing for c difficile is not usually done with a culture, but through PCR or EIA testing, and yes testing for toxins. Maybe the culture was for other pathogens? Were you on Flagyl when you tested? If not, how long had you been off? Test results are often not reliable if done too soon after finishing meds.

Not been on antibiotics for months. I'm abroad at present so I can only do the tests they have here. Back in the UK they test for toxin; maybe here they see if cdiff is present first (regardless whether you're a carrier or ill with it) and if there's c diff present in the stool, they progress to toxin analysis

Well, see what the other samples show. If they are all negative, ask if they tested for anything else besides c difficile. I had a campylobacter infection that presented with very similar symptoms to c difficile. If you have SIBO, nothing usually shows on stool tests.