Diagnosed with c diff. today

[momtothree]

I have a question about the antibiotic Flagyl. How effective is it in comparasion to some of the others I have seen on the posts? Is c diff. something that can be cured w/o antibiotics and just with probiotics or not? Is there a certain type of probiotic that I should be taking? I am taking Jarrodophilis right now it is a powder form and is refridgerated. Is there a certain diet that I should be on? How common is it to take the Flagyl with no re-occurence of c diff. I know I have lots of questions. When the nurse told me today this was what I had I asked all the questions I could think of at the time and now I have more and the office is closed.

Thanks for any input

[Sheila1]

Hi momtothree,

Sorry you had to join us...but you came to the right place for information and support!

Dr. McDonald's article answers most of your questions - Dr. Clifford McDonald's Article

and Dr. Borody's article (on the main index) has alot of information too.

Most doctors don't mention how critical hygiene is, important to prevent re-infecting yourself as well as others, so be sure to read the section on Hygiene in FAQ.

Flagyl is still the first-line treatment and studies are still saying 70-80% are 'cured' with one or 2 rounds of medicine. Host response (your own immune system) has alot to do with it too, I think that's also briefly talked about in those articles and this one, by Dr. Fordtran: Dr. Fordtran, Baylor Univ. Article

Some people eat what they want and others went on the BRAT diet for awhile. I just did "bland" diet when I was real sick and did pretty good. I did eat lots of yogurt to offset the bland though after I got my appetite back.

CDiff is very individual, everyone reacts differently - it's part of what makes this disease so frustrating for doctors as well as patients. It's trial and error.

But, again, most are still 'cured' pretty rapidly. I hope you're in that group!

[greystreet41]

flagyl seemed to help me, but it was really rough on the stomach. I had to choke down food to lessen the side effects. good luck.

[Nancy1]

momtothree,
It is very rare for cdiff to be cured with just probiotics. Some of us feel that probiotics help, and others have problems with them, or feel they don't make any difference. I took Culturelle, Floraster, acidophilus, and Primadophilus reuteri. The only one that I can say for sure made a difference was reuteri. It gave me my appetite back, and I finally started to gain back the 27 pounds I lost to cdiff. Good luck.