How to deal with PI - IBS

[Lissaucd]

Hi there!

My old doctor who I just love is helping me. He ran a bunch of blood work and everything came back normal. (White blood, complete panel, checked for inflammation etc) He refuses to test me for c diff. He works in a convalescent home now and sees C diff very often and treats many.

One day I will have solid, the next I will have loose. He said if it was c diff, it would be watery D Ans no solid stools in between.

I wanted to ask how you all deal with IBS. Last night, I work up with D in the middle of the night. This morning was the same. I did have a hamburger- which I have had 3 times now with no problem. But I did have more fries. Im trying to go back to living a normal life bc you all know I have had a very hard time. My doc told me to eat- especially bc I have lost soo much weight. Bland diet was not helping me keep any weight on. I was 120 now I’m 88 pounds. (Crying as I write this!) last pill I took on dificid was august 16!!! So long ago

How do you keep yourself from automatically thinking it’s c diff when you have D?

[NanciT]

I know I have written this before, for some it is a really easy recovery, other's it takes time. I was on Dificid for MONTHS because the taper was the only thing that works for me. As a result, I had Post IBS for a long time. It's been 13 months since my last dose. I feel I am back to my "new normal" which means if I eat something that I usually do not eat, I get D. Sometimes it lasts a few days.

The stress and worry is not good for the gut either, if you eat something or maybe a bit more of something and get D, it can happen. It took me many months to understand this because I have been on the site for a long time and read so many recover and got back to eating "normal".

It really is different for everyone. My GI told me" Eat normal" back in 2015 after a year with CDIFF. I knew he had never had this, unless one does its hard to understand recovery is not easy sometimes.

Allow yourself the time, take the pressure off and know your gut will heal and in time you will be back....but I call it a new normal.

Take care

NanciT

[Lissaucd]

Thank you nanci! I’m sorry you had to be on meds that long. But I’m happy to hear it worked. I just need to accept everything- that I don’t know how I got it, my stomach is recovering and most importantly when I get D it doesn’t mean I have c diff again. The last one is the hard one for me. I wish they had a more reliable test. That way I could know for sure if it’s gone bc this IBS can send you the wrong message that it’s back! I’m glad my docs did all important blood tests. Made me feel a little better.

[Ril]

I too had PI IBS for a very long time although I did not have a terribly difficult recovery from the c diff infection.It depends upon your gut in some cases. It can wreak havoc on your mind and emotions but as NanciT said, try to stay calm as the anxiety itself can cause more d. I did have to watch my diet for a very long time because many foods irritated my gut. I also found frequent small meals worked better than large meals.

Good luck in your recovery. It just may take more time.
Rita

[georgina]

When you are a long time Cdiff fighter and you had to deal with MANY relapses you can feel the difference between IBS flares and CDiff , or you know in advance that when you indulge in something tasty you will pay for it the next hours or the next day . IBS can be controlled with meds , binding agents , pepto bismol etc so you can get trough it easier , but when you adventure too much with food nothing helps , so try to eat everything in moderation and not too often.

[poppy86]

I had cdiff almost 2 years ago now and still have pi-ibs. Most days I have normal BMs at this point, but a couple days a week are very unpleasant with urgent D, gas, and stomach pain. How much and how fast I eat play a role, along with eating too much junk food and being very stressed.

I also lost 25 pounds in my cdiff recovery but have now actually gained it all back. Once I returned to my regular diet and tried not to focus on the ups and downs of ibs, I started to gain the weight back. It took about a year to regain the weight, but I admit I eat a lot of junk food lately (which doesn't help my ibs symptoms at all).