So scared it’s back

[ChrisD]

All-

I haven’t posted in quite a few months. I tested negative in January and slowly started to feel better. My doctor put me on Bentyl before meals and for the most part my symptoms and issues were going away. However the last 2 weeks things have slowly started to go down hill again. I’ve been having mushy stools and sometimes watery movements every day, usually following a meal. This morning for the first time since this started I was woken up by the stomach pains and had to run to the bathroom. After a light dinner tonight I went to bathroom 4 times and the pain was is unbearable that if it wasn’t for covid I would have went to the ER. I actually have a check up appointment with my doctor over telemedicine tomorrow. At this point I feel so broken and defeated over this. What should I do?

[beth22]

I would ask your doctor to order stool tests, not just for c difficile, but also do a culture for other pathogens. My GI usually runs all of them, even for ova and parasites. If something shows up, then you know. If nothing shows up, then you will have to check for other causes.

[georgina]

I do not wish to scare you but , some of our covid patients have presented themselves to the ER with WD/stomach pain , without any other symptoms . Do not just assume it's because of Cdiff , it might be something else. Good to hear you can get telemedicine check.

[NS789]

It's hard to say. So many things can cause stomach issues. It's good that you already have an appointment scheduled. Definitely bring it up with your doctor and mention your history of c diff. He/she may recommend that you do a stool test to be sure. In the meantime, try to be gentle on your stomach with what you eat and drink in case your system is just a little irritated.

[ChrisD]

So I asked my doctor about cdiff relapse, he said unlikely and also about Covid. He said that the patients they have seen with stomach issues generally have a temp as well which I don’t have. He wants me to up my IBS meds and call him a week (he gave me his cell number to text him). He also mentioned that back in December I took a SIBO test that my levels BEFORE drinking the sugar drink were at a high baseline and actually went down. At that time he didn’t want me to take any antibiotics because of the cdiff. But if upping the meds doesn’t calm it down we may try Rifamaxin but he is really cautious about giving me antibiotics. Just wanted to know what all of you think about taking Rifamaxin?

[georgina]

I think you wanted to write Rifaximine , and yes , it's a drug created for IBS/SIBO with i have found to be very effective .During my IBS years it was the only thing that settled down my worst flares and also helped me tolerate more foods. It's also used for Cdiff as a chaser to Vanco or Dificid , most Cdiff strains are sensitive to it , but we also had two or three posters in the past that complained that the drug triggered a relapse. However , me , Beth , Ril and others took it several times and had success with it.

[beth22]

I took it post c diff for SIBO and it helped me.

[Ril]

I took it post c diff twice for PI IBS and the first time it helped me for a full year.
I never had any problems with it.