Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

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ColeB
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Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Wed Jan 01, 2020 9:18 am

I will try and keep this short and to the point via key milestones

28 year old male
Commodity trader
Very active workout
Religiously watch diet and macros

1.5 months ago I developed a chest cough that eventually went to sinuses. I have a two month old so was worried about passing it to her. Dr thought it was bacterial due to length thus gave me augmentin 10 days. That did nothing so gave me omnicef

Day 4 omnicef developed liquid diarrhea
Day 9 omnicef I went 16 times diarrhea
Once I stopped, I had 5 times diarrhea
I started taking S Boulardii due to research and that amazingly wiped diarrhea to 1x day then a formed stool.
I’ve had ZERO fever or other symptoms

Here’s where I’m different- each stool has a SUBSTANTIAL amount of mucous. It looks like jelly. This tells me my body is fighting something. I stopped the probiotics and sure enough diarrhea came back HOWEVER it wasn’t liquid.. really just a lot of mucus and very small volume. Once starting back on probiotic S Boulardii it went down to one.

Worried I’m treating symptoms and not underlying issue I requested stool sample and personally asked lab tech to push it through (due to it not being liquid)

Next day Dr said it was double verified I have C Dif. The day he told me that (yesterday) I worked out for 55 min doing squats deadlifts etc. I have no other symptoms accept heavy mucus in stool and also this occasional dull ache that I can only describe as coming from my rectum.

Here’s where I’m at a crossroads- he gave me 10 days vancomycin. After heavy research online I’ve learned 20% or so people recover from cdif naturally before antibiotics and that adding vanco can actually increase odds of relapse. Fact I’m not debilitated also leads me to think my body was and is beating it however the heavy mucus makes me believe I have a serious infection and the Florastor is just masking the diarrhea

I plan on getting a second opinion today but curious If anyone can relate?

I took 4 vancomycin so far with zero side effects; also took S Boulardii this am and plan to go workout. Just had a bowel movement that I would say was 80% formed. Otherwise I feel great

ColeB
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Wed Jan 01, 2020 9:22 am

I will also add I’m only going 1x a day but I can tell I’m not normal due to mucus and also dull aches comjng from my rectum area. A lot of times I have a strong urge to have a bowel movement and only a microscopic amount of mucus and maybe a few deer dropping amount of actual stool comes out. I get that’s a weird description but it’s the truth

ColeB
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Wed Jan 01, 2020 9:26 am

Sorry I keep thinking of more— additionally I am constantly touching my wife and 2 month old with ZERO recommended cleaning techniques- chlorox bathroom, double washing garments separately; in addition we have had 7 relatives in town sharing my bathroom and no one is symptomatic. I’ve read that your level of contagiousness is correlated to your symptoms thus since I’m not having diarrhea perhaps I’m marginally contagious.. said another way if I was very contagious I figured at least one of my family members would have gotten it (based on how this stuff seems to infect people by just reading about it)

This also makes me think treating it with vanco may be unnecessary?

roy
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby roy » Wed Jan 01, 2020 3:00 pm

First treatment for c.diff is stopping the offending antibiotic, you did that and symptoms mostly resolved!
You would still test positive and that's normal.
If symptoms resolve theres no more treatment needed, just a little more time to heal.
Theres a VERY high probability you caught it from your baby! 75% of them carry it and thats normal as well, NO treatment needed.
Your not a risk to others, its NOT highly contagious unless others are on antibiotics that have damaged their gut flora.
Some might say that once you start vanco or any other antibiotic you must finish the course.
Personally I would not continue treating.

beth22
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby beth22 » Wed Jan 01, 2020 8:06 pm

My symptoms were similar to yours and my doctor at the time pushed the vancomycin. I took it and in hindsight, I wish I hadn't. I had relapse after relapse and wound up getting several FMT treatments. The year before, I am certain I had it as well, but did not know it. It resolved on its own when I started eating a lot of yogurt. Then a year later, after antibiotics, it resurfaced. I still believe it would have resolved again had I not taken the vanco. I guess I will never know for sure.

ColeB
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:02 pm

@roy Dangit... darn family practice dr’s... I wish I would have never started!!! But because I did I’m finishing as I know it’s never good to end antibiotics early

That said, if I stopped Florastor in past then diarrhea came back ~5 times a day. Makes me wonder if I was just absorbing water with the yeast and in fact infected. They and I have a ton of mucus in stools.

@beth your post makes me worry I’m making wrong decision but I’ve decided to take them and will continue my 1.5G S Boulardii a day spaced out and my 90bill probiotic 15strand. I also eat two Greek yogurts daily and now drinking kombucha

Ril
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby Ril » Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:37 pm

It’s not good to end antibiotics early when prescribed for a legitimate infection because it takes the full course to treat the infection, not just until you feel better. This is not the case here....
Your body was fighting off the c diff if in fact you were even positive for toxins and not just for the presence of c diff / c diff DNA.
Mucous itself is not a sign of c diff infection. It signals inflammation in the intestines.

Find yourself a good GI dr for follow up.
Good luck
Rita

beth22
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby beth22 » Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:55 am

Once you start vanco, I agree that it is best to continue. If you get symptoms back after you stop, make sure it is c diff and not just PI-IBS, which is also possible. I would also get a second opinion from a GI or see an infectious disease doctor.

ColeB
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Thu Jan 02, 2020 7:08 am

Thanks guys. Trying to get into doc this am.

I was just reading on a government site that vanco has lifelong altering effects on micro makeup of gut hence the relapse increase

roy
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby roy » Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:22 pm


ColeB
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Fri Jan 03, 2020 7:37 am

Couldn’t get into specialist for several weeks so I’m continuing with the vanco and s Boulardii and probiotic regiment

Question- has anyone had canker sores on vanco/ probiotics? I developed a bad one and feel two more coming on

ColeB
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Fri Jan 03, 2020 7:40 am

PS I have three friends who are Dr’s- one is a trauma surgeon and two are family practice- they were all mind blown I tested positive for cdif with no diarrhea Which makes me think I’m a carrier and shouldn’t have been treated ugh!!!

Still continuing vanco as stopping has more downside if I’m actually infected

roy
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby roy » Fri Jan 03, 2020 8:10 am

IF antibiotics are prescribed because of a misdiagnosis then theres no need to continue taking them.
You have to assess the risks and do what suits you.

speg
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby speg » Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:43 pm

I had large amounts of pink to bloody'ish looking and then eventually clear/opaque mucus for weeks following initial Vanco. therapy for cdiff.

I most likely caught it giving birth to my son/IV anbx during labor & then having to stay in the NICU with him. As mentioned babies tend to be carriers (and my FNP/Ped. have assured me it is rarely a problem symptomatically for them. They will lose the infection most likely when their gut matures down the line and in the mean time intestines aren't mature enough to sustain the damage that adult guts do resulting in our symptomatic infection). I was home for nearly a month with my infection, not aware of what was going on (symptoms were written off as postpartum at first nothing seemed too urgent- then as you described suddenly it was 10-15 times a day relentless urgency and we knew something was up). Breast feeding so baby was LITERALLY on me all the time. My husband slept in same bed, did our laundry together (no bleach just detergent) and helped me into the shower even a couple times. My stepmom/bestfriend and husband also changed the baby, slept/used restrooms/ate in the same hospital where I likely picked this up. They are all apparently fine, and husband doesn't appear to have any more issues in the bathroom than he did before (he does have preexisting IBS diagnosed years ago with several other inflammatory issues so there is no real normal for him - but certainly no 15x's a day D).

Back to the mucus. I spoke with my FNP and she reached out to a GI consult (and provided photos I took of the bouts of mucus) along with daily descriptions of stool habits. The GI we spoke to said, "you seem to be having a lot of inflamation/reaction going on in there" ... der (haha). Anyway FNP the practice Doc and myself decided with the GI's input that we should wait out treatment for some very specific events: 1. return of true watery D 3 days in a row 2. Fever of any nature 3. any abdominal pain associated with true red bloody mucus (tender to the touch/movement or pain due to straining/stooling) since at this point I was quite a few weeks postpartum and hadn't had any real pain throughout the infection. I was scared and several folks here reminded me that my colon had just endured labor of a child along with infection of a major bowel disease & constant straining for weeks. Reassured I persisted without treatment. I am a little over 11 weeks post my last day of treatment and for almost 2 weeks now I've had as normal bathroom weeks as I've had in a long time. No mucus, 1-2x's day formed stools, no urgency. What do I have: anal fissure/bleeding internal hemorrhoid --weeee, but not uncommon given the trauma that regions been under.

-Florastor during treatment &a couple weeks post - but I weaned my way off of them as they ended up giving me some constipation (helloooo fissure). Haven't had any in weeks.
-Bland'ish diet during and for a couple weeks post treatment (rice crispies, chicken, gluten free toast, lactose free milk). Back to eating what I want and for the most part ok - some times my belly makes noises it never used to, but it ends there.

How I get my probiotics now:
-Lifeway's Keifer milk (a couple ounces most days I mix it in with my oatmeal at night for overnight oats)

Dr's recommendations to me:

Fiber for the rectal issues (I'v been taking a fiber pill but it gives me the bloats, so I much prefer sweetpoatoes/squash/pumpkin for quick fixes + tons of water).

ColeB
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Re: Odd C diff story, no constant diarrhea

Postby ColeB » Sat Jan 04, 2020 8:01 am

@speg so are you saying your mucus lead you to treatment with vanco or was a result/side effect?

I will say my mucus has been near zero with being on vanco and I’ve had most consistent movements in a month so it does seem to be doing something right


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