How long is "Recovery"?

Please limit your post to questions only. You can ask multiple questions in the post. (One post per person per day about yourself. See exception in General C. diff.Discussion.)
brandine
Regular User
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:59 am

How long is "Recovery"?

Postby brandine » Sat Jul 27, 2019 10:01 am

Hello,

I am a new poster on this site and frequent reader.
44-year-old female who contracted c-diff after antibiotics were taken post-surgery for perforated appendix.
I'm now 2 months post-completion of a 10-day vanco treatment,
and there have been ups and downs along the way, including false alarms for relapse.

I see a lot of use of the word "recovery" on this site, and I searched for ideas on how this period of time could be measured but couldn't really find anything... I'm sure it's out there somewhere, mixed into various discussion posts.

I know that it's different for everyone, but when suggestions are made like not to eat a certain food "during recovery," are there any usable time frames for this? If not, or it's just too varying, I understand. But I wanted to ask if anyone had suggestions.

Thank-you! --Brandy

roy
Administrator
Posts: 4193
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 1:05 am

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby roy » Sat Jul 27, 2019 10:30 am

For most people (who never even look up c.diff) it's nothing but an inconveniance, the same as any other passing gut bug.
Just like any other disease a few get lingering problems.
2 months out your well into recovery but the initial antibiotics and then the actual c.diff treatment damaged your gut flora and that can take a long time to rebuild to normal.
When we are born our guts are sterile, by the time we are 2yo our gut flora reaches about 90% of an adults flora.
Antibiotics destroyed that so some "experts" say it can take another 2 years to rebuild.

NanciT
Long Time Contributor
Posts: 3035
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2014 12:01 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby NanciT » Sat Jul 27, 2019 2:14 pm

As Roy has mentioned, it's a matter of the gut getting back to "normal" flora. I think if you have been on several rounds of treatment as I have it can take a longer time. I was treated for a year and it has been a slow process.

We have many who do one round and some get back to their regular diet. Its individual. I also found I could not tolerate certain foods, it takes time and it's best to add slowly if you are dealing with nausea or other symptoms.

Take Care

NanciT

D1dad
Regular Contributor
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 8:34 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby D1dad » Sat Jul 27, 2019 3:16 pm

I guess I’m about 4 months out and for the most part can tolerate almost everything as before. Certain probiotics and nsaids upset my stomach and bloat it. I was lucky I guess, 17 days of flagyl beat it, so maybe not having relapses didn’t give me many intolerances. Last night supper was Italian sausages and beer so I’d say I’m one of the lucky ones. I did eat a probiotic bar from the grocery earlier and it made my stomach gurgle though. I’m 46 btw. My biggest fear is stopping taking probiotics and what would happen.

Ril
Long Time Contributor
Posts: 1837
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:45 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby Ril » Sun Jul 28, 2019 12:11 am

Same answer as NanciT
It’s very individual
I was lucky in that I was treated fairly quickly but yet had a long recovery so that would seem to make no sense yet it happened. My GI told me studies at that time-6 years ago- were not conclusive as to how long it could take for gut flora to return to normal. I still have problems with PI IBS but the rest of the issues resolved within the first year. And yet, some other people are fine much sooner.
Take it one day at a time. Best of luck to you.

amg
Regular Contributor
Posts: 275
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 3:16 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby amg » Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:53 pm

Yes, it's very individual and depends on many factors - your gut history, meds you're taking and took, your c. diff course, etc.

My teenage daughter had c diff after an appendectomy, and theoretically, the loss of the appendix can make it harder to repopulate the gut with healthy flora (some scientists think that is what the appendix is for). She had multiple relapses. She is 2.5 years from her last c diff infection, and she STILL is experimenting with adding foods she could not tolerate for a long time. She also has IBS around her menstruation that she didn't have before c diff. But she is still heading in the right direction and feels very strong and healthy.

Good luck!

brandine
Regular User
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:59 am

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby brandine » Wed Jul 31, 2019 6:14 pm

Thank-you for all of the thoughtful answers. Ril, D1dad, amg, NanciT, and roy.

amg,
Thank-you for sharing your daughter's story.
I'd be interested in knowing if she found anything particularly helpful along the way, such as a nutritionist, probiotics, etc.
I'm especially having trouble with any fruits or vegetables, which I miss terribly. And all fiber-foods, whole grains, etc.
I stopped eating most dairy, though I'm not really sure if I'm intolerant or not.
It's always difficult to know, too, if symptoms are the result of eating or just the result of general recovery.
At the moment I'm eating such a limited diet that it's starting to bum me out, and I worry that I'm doing this more out of fear than out of necessity.
But it seems like whenever I take a risk, I get D. or other unpleasant symptoms.

Overall, I worry about nutritional deficiencies or not eating enough foods that will help to restore my gut flora.

I really long for the days when I could eat whatever the heck I wanted, including plenty of coffee and chocolate, and spicy foods. :)

amg
Regular Contributor
Posts: 275
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 3:16 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby amg » Wed Jul 31, 2019 6:52 pm

She was only 14 when this started, so we've sort of worked as a team trying various things to help her stomach feel "normal" again. And this included seeing a therapist for her anxiety. People with tough cases of c diff can definitely have a post-traumatic stress sort of response for a lot of reasons that we are all familiar with. And the gut produces a significant percentage of our neurotransmitters, so if we don't have gut health, we can develop anxiety and depression as a chemical response to the inability to produce those. The gut-brain connection is physiologically real. She didn't develop depression, but for a time she had severe anxiety about her stomach/health.

She was able to identify certain foods that were bad for her - watermelon, nuts (unfortunately), lettuce, fibrous veggies. She could tolerate peas, cooked squash and cooked spinach pretty early on. She switched to lactose free milk. We realized that products with stabilizing gums like guar gum and xantham gum etc (lots of ice creams have these, and so do a lot of coconut milks) bothered her a lot. She could tolerate strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries after a while. But there was a time she only ate bananas, apples, and pears for fruit. And her diet was really bland and lacking in much fiber for a while. I think this went on for longer than necessary due to fear. Grains never bothered her.

She never took probiotics, but she drank a lot of kefir early on, and she ate Bubbies pickles and drank shot glasses of the pickle juice. That brand is fermented and has a lot of natural probiotics in it. These two things did seem to help. She could tell on the days she didn't eat those.

She carried Pepto Bismol tabs with her in the early months of recovery and these seemed helpful. She no longer needs them.

We tried Claritin for a while, thinking maybe it could help if she had leaky gut. That also seemed to help a little. She no longer takes that.

Her diet is pretty much normal now with the exception of lettuce.
It seems everyone is so different with food tolerances and how quickly they can return to certain foods. Keep trying and try to be positive. You will heal further!

brandine
Regular User
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:59 am

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby brandine » Thu Aug 01, 2019 1:30 pm

Thank-you, amg. These details are very helpful. I'm glad to hear that your daughter is feeling strong and healthy!

Rusty S
Regular User
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:23 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby Rusty S » Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:52 am

I'll cosign what Roy said above: It's honestly ~2 years as far as what I've read, too. Most of the flora will come back in the first 20% of your recovery time, then the remainder takes the other 80%. Let's put it this way: I'm 22 months into recovery right now and am finally largely free of the waves of GI symptoms. At the 12-18 month mark, I was still having periodic bouts of "relapse scares" that resolved within a couple of days. It's a very slow, annoying return to normalcy.

Bobbie
Administrator
Posts: 12688
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 8:00 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby Bobbie » Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:35 pm

RustyS,
Sounds as tho u are "almost there." Congrats and enjoy.

brandine
Regular User
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:59 am

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby brandine » Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:36 pm

Thank-you for sharing your experience, Rusty. Have you found that you needed to limit your diet during that time? Are you gluten free or dairy free or able to eat veg/fruits? I've been limiting my diet since my last bout of D. in July because I've been scared of causing symptoms. I'm so curious about how others have managed eating during recovery. Thank-you!

Rusty S
Regular User
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:23 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby Rusty S » Tue Aug 27, 2019 10:48 am

Not really, but the caveat there is 1) I'd already made the connection between sugar and "dumping syndrome" before C Diff, so I was aware that caused D for me, regardless; and 2) I'd already been using almond milk for cereal/cooking since it has a much longer shelf life than regular milk, so I can't comment on dairy with as much detail as others may. The one thing I *did* notice was that things that previously upset my GI tract were amplified; like a heightened sensitivity. For example, too many Sour Patch Kids previously made my discomfort a 5 out of 10. During the depths of recovery, I ate overate a bunch of them and was scared I was having a C Diff relapse for the next 3 days! The way your body digests food might change some during recovery, though, that's what I understand. The flora that breaks down food is altered by the treatment of C Diff, unfortunately. I'm no physician, but I'm under the impression a diverse diet helps with the diversity of the healthy bacteria in your colon, so I intentionally try to mix it up; typically with good results. Just... can't do large amounts of sugar. Then again, I suppose that's a good problem to have. ;) Maybe I'm just a lucky one, but dairy and gluten are common complaints I've seen on this forum over the years. I personally got tested for food intolerances as a result, just to rule out what may or may not be causing problems.

Bobbie
Administrator
Posts: 12688
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 8:00 pm

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby Bobbie » Tue Aug 27, 2019 1:12 pm

Rusty,

Good observations. We usually warn posters about excess sugar and dairy products.

Keep posting,

brandine
Regular User
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:59 am

Re: How long is "Recovery"?

Postby brandine » Tue Aug 27, 2019 7:12 pm

Thank-you, Rusty. This is helpful!


Return to “Questions about Clostridium difficile”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: kar98421 and 24 guests