Advice after doctors appointment

[ChrisD]

Haven't posted in a few weeks. Had a follow up with my doctor this morning to discuss what I need to do moving forward. I finished DIficid about 3 weeks ago and things have not been great but not as bad as before. I still have horrible bloating and gas pain. Soft stools with urgency, especially after meal. (Always feel like I need to go even when I don't) I started taking 2 packets a day of Questran a little more than a week ago and it does seem to make a slight difference in my movements. I am still having some urgency but not as bad as before. (I will take small improvements over not improving). My GI doctor wants me to go for a SIBO breath test in a few weeks to see if I have it, unfortunately I cant have the test until January 3rd. Also, he gave me another stool test kit just in case I feel like I am going south again. Should I hold the test and wait a few weeks to take it, or should I take it now for peace of mind? ALSO, if I have SIBO, I guess I will need to take antibiotics again. COuld taking the antibiotics make the CDIFF worse? Should I take Vanco or DIficid while taking the meds for SIBO?

Happy Holiday Everyone!!!

Chris

[NanciT]

Hi chrisD

There are several on the site who were tested for SIBO, some positive so hopefully they will respond. Good to hear you started the questran, I know there are also several on the site it helped a great deal.

As far as testing for CDIFF, I did not. I was on Dificid for months and unfortunately had post IBS symptoms for a very long time. I did test once when I had D for 4 days and it was only because of the D. It was negative.
The toughest part for me was having the Post IBS and also many food intolerances. I still do not eat beef and it's been 5 years. I also cannot tolerate any alcohol. Time is what helped me. Everyone has a different experience, some go right back to normal eating and feel fine. I am sure there are different strains and I had a tough one. I have been in healthcare all of my life so that is how I justify in my mind the relapses, long treatment time and recovery.
Hopefully some with the SIBO experiences will see this and respond

Take Care

NanciT

[Ril]

My dr did not have me test for SIBO but gave me xifaxan, which treats (PI) IBS, which I definitely had, as well as SIBO, and worked for me for 1 year. I had taken questran, then Enteragam at which time I switched to the xifaxan until it stopped working. The second course of xifaxan works for some people but did not work for me again.

[beth22]

My breath test for SIBO was off the chart and one of the highest the doctor had seen. I treated with Xifaxan and I did not relapse with c diff from it. Xifaxan also helps many strains of c difficile. It used to be given as a chaser to vanco.

[georgina]

I too have taken several courses of Xifaxin that gave me relief of symptoms each time and never relapsed with Cdiff.

[ChrisD]

Thanks for the replies..feel like I am just bouncing from one thing to another. QUestran so far has made a very small improvment, but just today I have been running to the bathroom right after eating. Been 6 months of this and still not feeling back to mormal. I know it can take awhile but I am getting more and more discouraged that I will never be ok again. For those that responded, why did it take so many times on the antibiotics for it to cure the SIBO?

[beth22]

For me it didn't take a lot of courses of antibiotics. Vanco messed up my microbiome for sure. When I tested for SIBO, I tested at 150% (off the chart). Anything above 40 I think is considered positive for SIBO, although it may be 20, I don't remember. After the one course of Xifaxan, my breath test was at 50%. Still positive, but much, much better. I followed the dietary recommendations for the most part that the SIBO specialist gave me. He also recommended curcumin, but I only took it a couple of times, so I don't know if it did anything. But, unfortunately, I did get c diff again after that treatment because I took Cipro for another infection and had to start all over again.