New user, question about Vancomycin

[rmm26]

Hello, I'm a 40 year old male recently diagnosed with C Diff. I believe it came on due to taking Ciprofloxican about a month ago. I'm on day 9 out of 10 taking Vancomycin. My appetite is back, however the diarrhea with the unusual smell is still happening (usually 2-3 times a day). I'm no longer getting the "floaty" stools, but I still notice that smell that I've read is unique to C Diff.

Should I be concerned that I'm still having the "smelly" diarrhea this far into the antibiotic treatment? I've read a lot of user stories about the diarrhea stopping while taking Vanco, but has anyone experienced it continuing until after the Vanco treatment is over?

Thanks-Ryan

[georgina]

Welcome to the site .
Some people do well while on Vanco the frequency returns to normal and the D resolves , others patients can still experience looser stools and that is because Vanco is a antibiotic that can still mess up you gut flora, or it can be due to the diet you are eating , or maybe the dosage is too low and needs to be revised. If you are not keeping a bland diet , you should start doing that. The smell is not concerning , the only concerning fact is that you are still having D on the 9-th day of treatment. Are you taking any probiotics?

[rmm26]

Yes currently taking Florastor at the recommendation of the GI I met with. 2 capsules each morning, and eating yogurt. I'm wondering if I should cutout the Florastor just to see if it makes a difference, and just do the yogurt. Probably more of a fit for the "TMI" section, but the D is different than it was before I started the Vanco. I just haven't had a solid BM yet. I was mainly concerned that the continued "smell" was a sign that the Vanco wasn't being effective in eliminating the C Diff.

[georgina]

I think you may want to start eliminating for a day or two the yogurt,just to see if you are intolerant to it . Even if you may be tolerant to lactose your gut can still react to casein which is highly inflammatory . For me it's been 4 years since i cannot eat a spoonful of yogurt or kefir without having more frequency , looser stools , gas and rumbling. After i recovered from Cdiff and all my other medical issues i was able to tolerate almost all foods (vegetables,beans,cabbage , fruits etc) , but yogurt , cream , cream cheese , sugary treats,alcohol and leafy greens still remain a problem.

[Ril]

If the yogurt turns out not to be the culprit you might want to split up the Florastor into 1 in the morning and 1 at night, and seeing how that feels. There are some people who have problems tolerating probiotics.

[Bobbie]

Rmm66,
Another welcome to the site. Pls read the first forum about the history of the site and the rules of posting on it.

Best wishes, Keeep posting.

[rmm26]

Thank you for all the responses. After reading through some of the threads on this board, I'm definitely less concerned about the smell. It seems that's fairly common for some people even after treatment. I'm also getting some of the UTI symptoms that people have mentioned after Vanco. They are minor so hoping probiotics and a little cranberry juice will resolve it.

One thing that I have noticed in the last week or so is chills. They seem to hit once a day where I just feel like I can't warm up. No fever, in fact my body temp was 96.8 when I checked it during one of these spells. Did anyone else experience this? Thought it was maybe a side effect of the Vanco but I've been off of that for 2 full days now. Other than the loose stools and occasional chills I feel pretty decent for the most part.

[serpe]

Hi rmm26,

I have experienced the chills both while on Vanco and off Vanco. At times, I have also felt the chills accompanied by flu like symptoms (backache, headache, nausea, etc.) Usually, these symptoms occur once a day in the late afternoon (not sure why).

[rmm26]

Hi serpe-
Yes that is odd. I'm not getting the other symptoms you mentioned, just the chills.

What's interesting is that I wasn't experiencing any chills when I had the C Diff for about a week prior to it being diagnosed. I've been off the Vanco for almost 4 full days now so that is not likely what caused it.

I'm starting to think that the Florastor might be the culprit. The first 2-3 days I was on Vanco I didn't notice any chills. It was only after I was taking the Florastor along with the Vanco did I notice them. Now it's just Florastor 2 capsules in the morning. I'm considering stopping the Florastor for a few days and see if it stops, and just eat the yogurt. My concern is stopping the Florastor will give the C Diff more of an opportunity to come back.

Has anyone had issues with Florastor? My GI recommended this so I'm hesitant to stop, but eliminating that for a while would tell me if that's what my issue is.

[beth22]

I got looser stools and tons of gas with Florastor and it also gave me a rash. Out of all the probiotics I tries, it was the worst for me. I don't do that well with most, but I found one (VSL#3) that I can tolerate in small amounts. You may be sensitive to yeast, as Florastor is a yeast based probiotic. I think it is probably wise to stop for a few days and see if that helps. You can also try kefir.

[rmm26]

I stopped the Florastor for a couple days but still noticed the occasional chills episodes/inability to warm up. I also had a couple bouts of more watery D when I stopped which concerned me, so I started taking it again. I have an appointment for blood work tomorrow to rule out any other issues.
I am actually beginning to have more formed stools (Bristol 4) which is encouraging, however they still have a strange smell to them.
If I wasn't having these chills I would actually feel pretty good about the direction of things. It's so frustrating not knowing if they are caused by the after effects of the Vanco, the Florastor, or just related to IBS like symptoms brought on by the infection. What's weird is I have had no signs of a fever, just the chills 1-2 times a day. Has anyone else experienced this symptom in recovery?

[MarieTh3]

I’m on day 4 of Vanco and noticed the cdiff smell back today but have a more formed stool (type 5 Bristol) than what I’ve been experiencing pre-Vanco. Should I assume I need a higher dose of Vanco? I’m currently on 125mg.

[roy]

125 is actualy 10 times the strength needed to kill most c.diff, stronger is not better.
The least amount to do the job is best.

What you describe is exactly what is expected and all good.
Dont stress about "the smell" it means nothing.

[MarieTh3]

Thank you Roy. *high five*

[Zay]

If it helps, the last ER doctor I saw who gave me Flagyl/Vanco combo told me to eat a banana at every meal because it helps bind things. He also told me to eat brown rice and plain oatmeal and to keep up with my water intake. Apparently it helps firm things up and keeps it moving. Plus, he said to stay on Florastor but try to get more probiotics from food to help avoid diarrhea from the meds because antibiotics are notorious for causing poo problems...as we all know.