Negative test 9 days post-Rifaximin
Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:56 am
I’m a new member, and I’ve read the rules, etc. I’m female, 57 yrs old.
I have had a lot of trouble with dysbiosis/diarrhea over the last decade. I tested positive for SIBO, and used herbal-based antimicrobials to resolve the D, but relapsed repeatedly. 2018 was an especially bad year, and those herbal treatments quit working altogether.
In December, I did an Organic Acids test, which provides various markers — the marker for 4-Cresol (a byproduct of C diff) was elevated. I was having watery diarrhea several times a day (w/ strange smell & yellowish) — so my primary care doc and I agreed that the test result & symptoms were a strong indicator that I was dealing with C-diff. Also, S boulardii had been very helpful for me, and that seemed to be another indicator.
I had been planning to take Rifaxamin (commonly used for SIBO) — for the SIBO anyway. So I took a 14-day course of Rifaximin with some tapering/pulsing at the end, and it cleared the watery D in about 10 days. I felt so much better than I had in a long time. But about 4-5 days after the taper, the diarrhea returned.
In learning more about C-diff, I realized I really should be working with a GI doc, but I also knew they probably would not recognize the 4-Cresol marker as valid. I anticipated that a GI would want a more recognized C-diff test — and my primary doc had given me a lab slip for CD antigen/toxin testing.
The watery diarrhea after the Rifaximin was escalating quickly to many times a day, and I was getting quite concerned. I waited as long as I felt I could tolerate before running that antigen & toxin test — 9 days post-antibiotic.
The result was negative. Now I don’t know what to think. I did go back on the Rifaximin though, because that did resolve the D before.
Here’s my question: Might this negative test strongly indicate that I am not dealing with CD….or is there a possibility that I do have it? Could this be a false negative after the antibiotic? Could CD be causing all this D, without yet producing enough toxins / antigens (post-antibiotic), for the test to detect?
I have had a lot of trouble with dysbiosis/diarrhea over the last decade. I tested positive for SIBO, and used herbal-based antimicrobials to resolve the D, but relapsed repeatedly. 2018 was an especially bad year, and those herbal treatments quit working altogether.
In December, I did an Organic Acids test, which provides various markers — the marker for 4-Cresol (a byproduct of C diff) was elevated. I was having watery diarrhea several times a day (w/ strange smell & yellowish) — so my primary care doc and I agreed that the test result & symptoms were a strong indicator that I was dealing with C-diff. Also, S boulardii had been very helpful for me, and that seemed to be another indicator.
I had been planning to take Rifaxamin (commonly used for SIBO) — for the SIBO anyway. So I took a 14-day course of Rifaximin with some tapering/pulsing at the end, and it cleared the watery D in about 10 days. I felt so much better than I had in a long time. But about 4-5 days after the taper, the diarrhea returned.
In learning more about C-diff, I realized I really should be working with a GI doc, but I also knew they probably would not recognize the 4-Cresol marker as valid. I anticipated that a GI would want a more recognized C-diff test — and my primary doc had given me a lab slip for CD antigen/toxin testing.
The watery diarrhea after the Rifaximin was escalating quickly to many times a day, and I was getting quite concerned. I waited as long as I felt I could tolerate before running that antigen & toxin test — 9 days post-antibiotic.
The result was negative. Now I don’t know what to think. I did go back on the Rifaximin though, because that did resolve the D before.
Here’s my question: Might this negative test strongly indicate that I am not dealing with CD….or is there a possibility that I do have it? Could this be a false negative after the antibiotic? Could CD be causing all this D, without yet producing enough toxins / antigens (post-antibiotic), for the test to detect?