Positive for toxins/PCR but no D?

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lilkitty
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Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:10 pm

Positive for toxins/PCR but no D?

Postby lilkitty » Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:54 am

I’m not planning to treat as I don’t have symptoms and have a bottle of dificid just in case. I just wanted to know how common it was to be positive for toxins and not have symptoms and whether or not this is concerning/if I should not see people at all? My doctor doesn’t want to retest though unless I’m symptomatic.

roy
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Re: Positive for toxins/PCR but no D?

Postby roy » Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:07 pm

If 100 people who had never heard of c.diff were tested 5 would test positive.
Probably none would need treating.

PCR detects the GENE that the toxin producing variant of c.diff posesses, it does not detect or look for the actual toxin.

Even if they go on to do an EIA test that detects the actual toxin the Dr should know that if theres no typical symptoms NO treatment is needed.

C.diff is the name of the bacteria, c.diff colitis is the name of the disease.
If theres no colitis theres no disease because your body is not responding to the toxin.

NS789
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Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:14 pm

Re: Positive for toxins/PCR but no D?

Postby NS789 » Mon Apr 05, 2021 5:46 pm

If it's any comfort lilkitty, I was positive for toxins recently too but because I wasn't having any symptoms, my Infectious Diseases specialist advised me not to treat. That was 5 months ago and I'm still symptom free. I'm really glad I didn't hit my system with more antibiotics.

PCR tests are so sensitive they can even detect dead C diff bacteria in your body. My ID specialist told me never to worry about test results, just symptoms.
32 y/o female. Got C. diff in Feb. 2020. Prescribed Flagyl (10 days), then Flagyl again (4 days), then Vanco (10 days), then Dificid (10 days), then Dificid again (10 days), then a Vanco taper (5 wks), then a Dificid taper (2 mths) and finally recovered.

beth22
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Re: Positive for toxins/PCR but no D?

Postby beth22 » Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:38 pm

I was positive on PCR for over two years and did not treat. I did not have D, except at the beginning, which is why I tested. By the time the test came back, the D was gone and it did not come back. Doctor said not to treat and my later tests were followed up by EIA and those were negative, meaning there was not active c difficile. The PCR picks up the gene only.


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