Really scared, first relapse..

[phir91]

Hello,

Looking for some support! Really scared... I am a 29 year old female. Had surgery for an anal fissure and afterwards was given an unecessary amount of co-amoxiclav. Fast forward a few weeks and I had all the classic symptoms D,M and blood. Going to the toilet with cramps several times a day. Went to the doctors and got a test done.. came back c diff positive with toxins..

Was prescribed flagyl... did ok on this 10 days worth.. afterwards symptoms reappeared even worse than before within about 3 days... I have now been given vanco 14 days x 125... taking probiotics too. I am absolutely terrified this isn’t going to tick it. My gut has taken such a battering and I’m so scared it’s not going to go away and I’m going to have to have treatment after treatment or even die! I have lost so much weight it’s terrifying.

Has anyone had successful with a course of vanco after a failed flagyl! This is all hell.

Thank you.. nice to hear others experiences on this site.

[D1dad]

Your case sounds similar to mine except I was prescribed flagyl for an additional 7 days instead of vanco, wish I would have got vanco though. I kicked it with the additional script and I was 45 at the time. Your young and will beat this. It’s easy for me to say now but don’t freak out. This goes away, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Unfortunately beating this isn’t like strep or a sinus infection, where you take the meds, feel better and then your done. It’s baby steps and small victories. If your not best friends with the toilet then your healing, so except that things won’t be right for awhile and mentally try to prepare for that.

[phir91]

Thank you. Reading this almost made me cry... it’s so nice to hear from someone who has beat it! I just really hope this works. I think when I first heard I got it, I was a bit naive and didn’t realise what a superbug it is. You are right.. baby steps and hopefully I will get there! Can’t believe you did more flagyl and got through it.. it’s a nasty drug to take for 1 course let alone more!!

[D1dad]

I’d rather give myself a haircut with a pair of tweezers than take flagyl again. The stuff was made by an evil chemist! My heart rate was 150 the whole time and it destroyed my flora so bad it took weeks to recover the additional damage it did. Your gonna recover, I promise. It just takes time. My daughters best friend had it when she was 18 (found out later) and she was back to normal in no time, no dietary issues and has taken an antibiotic since with no effects.

[Ali-Mar]

I am also new to this, it is my frist time contracting C-Diff. I am male 54. I got sick on Feb 5 and I was diagnosed on March 3. It is kind of ironic that when the doctor called me on March 3 and told me we know why you are sick , it is because you have C-Diff, I was very excited, thinking I am so glad finally after 5 weeks now I know why I have D, not knowing how bad C-Diff was, never heard of it until that day. I started Flagyl 500 mg, 3 times per day.. It was not helping so on the 8th day Dr switched me to Vanco 125 mg 4X day for 10 days.. After the 7th day on Vanco I started seeing improvement, no more mucus which was a huge relief... I have been off of Vanco for 17 days now (since March 20). Counting the days and keeping my fingers crossed, it is terrifying knowing that 1 out of 5 can relapse any day. I still have many gut issue, but I was told it is PI-IBS. I read somewhere most relapse are 1-8 weeks after completing the treatment, I am counting the days to get to 8 weeks.. god help us all to get though this.

That said, I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel, if Vanco didn’t work there is Difcid and after that there is FMT.. FMT it very promising and has a very high success rate, over 90% I think

[roy]

C.diff can be a very mild disease so dont take notice of all the scare stories on the internet.
What you read is mostly about people that are sick and in hospital when they catch it.
Ali, yours is mild, your probably cured.
Same as a half million other US citizens will be this year alone!

[Ali-Mar]

That is very comforting to hear it from you Roy, thank you, I am hoping that is the case, but planing for worst in case of a relapse . Will do a colonoscopy after the COVID 19 calms down, to see if there is any underlying issue. Because we don’t now why I got the C-Diff , I haven’t had an oral antibiotic since 2016. However, I had an injection of Arestin ( Mimocyline 50 mg) a localized antibiotic in my gum after a deep cleaning, it is extend release , it release over two weeks, 20 days before my C-Diff symptoms started, but not sure if that is the case since it is localized

[Caligirl]

I’m so sorry that you’re going through this.
I was 27 and 9 months pregnant when I got c diff. My case was HORRIBLE, uncontrollable D every 60-90 seconds, I was so dehydrated it put me into labor. I couldn’t even make it the 8 minute drive to the hospital without having to stop because of the D. My OB was amazing (for so many reasons, it was a crappy pregnancy) and talked to her GI friend to figure out how to treat me. She prescribed 10 days of Flagyl. It was the worst but seemed to work. But I relapsed shortly after and she got me in to see a GI who prescribed 14 days of Vanco and had me take Florastor twice a day. After a couple of days I started to feel better and didn’t have any side effects at all, unlike flagyl. About a week after finishing the Vanco, I started having mild symptoms again. I knew it was returning for sure. The way that my bowels just completely purged with multiple large BMs and then the D started, but I wasn’t in pain. I called the GI and he ordered the test. A few days later the test came back positive, but my symptoms were extremely mild and only lasted 1 day! I went against the GI’s orders and decided not to take the vanco. That was 14 months ago and I haven’t had any issues since! This can be a complicated road, but give your body some time and take it easy on your gut (bland foods that are easy to digest) and I promise you will be fine. I remember bawling so many times thinking I would die, I would give it to my baby, or a million other horrible outcomes. I sat on my couch crying to my husband that I couldn’t believe that I was 27 and got a disease that would be a life long issue. But honestly it’s only been a year and C Diff isn’t a part of my life anymore. I don’t take antibiotics and I get on here occasionally to try to encourage people, but that’s the extent of it. Oh and I clean my bathrooms with bleach now instead of Lysol lol. You will be okay, I promise!! Just try your best to keep your spirits up and be honest with friends and family about how you’re doing.

[phir91]

Thank you all for replying! It’s nice to hear a second round of medication was enough to tackle it for some!! Just a really horrible illness! I will keep you all posted with how I get on. Starting to feel better on Vanco and have 10 days left! Let’s hope it sticks once I come off the meds!!!

[D1dad]

That’s where I’m at caligirl and had an awful case as well. Literally going 30 plus times a day until something ruptured inside causing what I would call, massive blood loss. I drove to the ER in the wee hours of the morning. 2 rounds of flagyl, a year later and life is normal. Spicy foods, big glasses of whole milk, no dietary issues at all. The first few months I was like everyone else, constant fear of relapse and using a magnified glass to look in the crapper. Ok maybe not that neurotic but pretty close. If nothing else I learned that you don’t need antibiotics for every sniffle and believe me I was like that. 1 year and not a single dose! I do fear the day that comes though.

[phir91]

“I was like everyone else, constant fear of relapse and using a magnified glass to look in the crapper” - this did make chuckle!.... oh I hope I can join you both soon in putting this in the past. Although the fear will always slightly be there with antibiotics.

[Caligirl]

Yes I do have a fear of antibiotics still, and honestly I probably will for a very very long time. My suggestion would be to find a primary care physician that tries antibiotic free treatment for the most part. I love my new dr. She isn’t completely against antibiotics, but she does think that they are wildly over prescribed and should only be used when necessary, AND she tries to find narrow spectrum antibiotics when possible. It has made me feel more comfortable knowing that if I have to go to the doctor, she understands my situation and will care for me in ways that I think are best for me.

[Ril]

Hello Phir91 and welcome to the site. Please read the first forum on rules for posting. There is a lot of good information on the site, especially in the CDI section.
I still am amazed at how many drs are prescribing Flagyl. It often works but is no longer indicated as first line treatment for c diff. Hopefully the vancomycin will cure you once and for all. 80% of people are cured with the first or second course of treatment. There is no reason to think you won’t be among that group. You are young and healthy. I was one of those and have been c diff free for over 7 years.

Best of luck to you.
Rita

[phir91]

Just to update... im on day 11 of the 14 day vanco course.., woke up this morning with one bout of water day D which is a bit strange? Is this normal whilst still on Vanco? Stools have been normal up until this point...

[Ali-Mar]

Phir sorry to hear that, hopefully is just something you ate - I am 24 days post Vanco and still have PI-IBS, I had severe cramps and discomfort that woke me at 2:00 AM last night and had a bout of mixd mushy /watery D then and had two morE BM since. I am hoping it is the PI-IBS, will go by the 3 days rule, and watch if it happens again next two days..