When Should I See An Infectious Disease Specialist?
Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 4:34 pm
The last line of the 3rd post of this thread ("Rules of Posting, Standard Introduction, Testing, Passwords")...
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12840
...says...
"Yes, you can be +ve for CDI with formed stool. Generally such patients have cramping or gas."
...which causes me to wonder in the back of my mind if I have some sort of low grade lingering infection. I was treated with Flagyl in November of 2017 (which at the time of writing this is 1.5 years ago) and have had a mild lower left side discomfort and flatulence that has waxed and waned this whole time. During the "flare ups" I'm more likely to have symptoms that are known to be associated with colon infection/inflammation like increased number of BMs per day (up from 1-occasionally-2 to 2-occasionally-3), feeling of incomplete bowel evacuation, and elevated mucus production (though only semi-common and generally not excessive more than once every 6 to 8 months).
So, without full blown "D", having BMs less than 3 times per day, and no fever or other syptoms of being sick, I feel stuck. Both my GP and GI doctors were initially uncertain, but gave me lab orders for C Diff testing in the event it "came back"; I've been in this cycle so long the lab orders would have to be re-written at this point. I occasionally search this forum for others with the same issue and finally stumbled upon the quote above which is noted to have come from a C Diff expert. After an obsessive amount of research online for concurrent answers from reputable sources, I'm wondering if this is a result of the Flagyl causing long term damage to my gut microbiome making me susceptible to digestive upsets from other causes and toxins produced from any C Diff spores that had been laying dormant.
This brings me to an Infectious Disease Specialist. The initial GP did blood work then sent me to a GI doc, which resulted in a Colonoscopy, biopsy, and stool culture. That ruled out other potential conditions and I was treated for C Diff, which I responded well to... at first. At this point, if all signs point to this being a side effect of infection, would it make sense to find an Infectious Disease Specialist and follow up? As far as I've read, on this forum and elsewhere, I don't sound like I meet the typical criteria of a relapse *or* reinfection; though several people have talked about "not being the same since". Not sure where to go with this from here. Thoughts?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12840
...says...
"Yes, you can be +ve for CDI with formed stool. Generally such patients have cramping or gas."
...which causes me to wonder in the back of my mind if I have some sort of low grade lingering infection. I was treated with Flagyl in November of 2017 (which at the time of writing this is 1.5 years ago) and have had a mild lower left side discomfort and flatulence that has waxed and waned this whole time. During the "flare ups" I'm more likely to have symptoms that are known to be associated with colon infection/inflammation like increased number of BMs per day (up from 1-occasionally-2 to 2-occasionally-3), feeling of incomplete bowel evacuation, and elevated mucus production (though only semi-common and generally not excessive more than once every 6 to 8 months).
So, without full blown "D", having BMs less than 3 times per day, and no fever or other syptoms of being sick, I feel stuck. Both my GP and GI doctors were initially uncertain, but gave me lab orders for C Diff testing in the event it "came back"; I've been in this cycle so long the lab orders would have to be re-written at this point. I occasionally search this forum for others with the same issue and finally stumbled upon the quote above which is noted to have come from a C Diff expert. After an obsessive amount of research online for concurrent answers from reputable sources, I'm wondering if this is a result of the Flagyl causing long term damage to my gut microbiome making me susceptible to digestive upsets from other causes and toxins produced from any C Diff spores that had been laying dormant.
This brings me to an Infectious Disease Specialist. The initial GP did blood work then sent me to a GI doc, which resulted in a Colonoscopy, biopsy, and stool culture. That ruled out other potential conditions and I was treated for C Diff, which I responded well to... at first. At this point, if all signs point to this being a side effect of infection, would it make sense to find an Infectious Disease Specialist and follow up? As far as I've read, on this forum and elsewhere, I don't sound like I meet the typical criteria of a relapse *or* reinfection; though several people have talked about "not being the same since". Not sure where to go with this from here. Thoughts?