need your input

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lmanders
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Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:03 pm

need your input

Postby lmanders » Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:29 pm

I began my c.diff experience back on February 8th, 2007. After taking Clindamyacin for a root canal I began with abdominal cramps, mucus with blood but very little diarrhea. I have diverticulosis so thought it had something to do with that never gave the Clindamyacin a thought. I tried a bland diet for about 3 weeks and it seemed to be getting somewhat better but would have flare ups with the cramps and mucus and blood. I went to my Doctor and did a test for c.diff and it came back positive. I took Flagyl and while I was on it seemed to do better. I didn't realize that after I took the Flagyl I still would not be back to normal. I went to see an infectious disease Doctor and he said that it will take time for my colon to get back to normal. I have figured out that I cannot have caffeine at all not even herb tea without causing a flare up. I thought I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted as long as I didn't have caffeine but the other night for dinner had fried chicken wings along with cheese potato chips and saurkraut with dumplings. Shortly after consuming the meal I got a sort of cramping but never had D but still felt kind of crampy the rest of the night. The same thing has happened a few times when I had caffeine but the cramping would be much worse. The next day I have a sort of muscle cramping in my abdomen around my hysterectomy incision (from 1996), sometimes in my ribs and my lower back. I guess I realize now that I really need to watch carefully what I eat. I am guessing that all of this is because gut flora is not back to normal yet but can any one tell me as a general rule if they've had the type of symptoms that I have how long it took for things to be back to normal. I have read that people take the Vancomycin and after taking that they are ok and I wondered if I would take that perhaps in a pulsed dose that my gut flora would be back to normal. My Doctor had said that because my symptoms are mild and it seems that I am getting better that he would not recommend Vanco or Flagyl and just try and get through this on my own. I go to a very reputable clinic but I really don't know how many people he has seen with c.diff to be able to give me knowledgeable opinion. It really helps me to see all of the experiences that people have had with this and would like to know if this is normal. I really didn't see anyone with the type of symptoms that I have. Help !!!

puremess
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Postby puremess » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:54 pm

I had the symptoms you are describing . I didn't have diarrhea just mucus mixed with blood. After one round of flagyl five days later the mucus came back with blood. I had to take flagyl again. But that didn't help me either. Anyway, what your doctor is hoping for is since your symptoms are mild maybe your immune system can fight it without antiboitics. However, if your symptoms persist or worsen please contact your doctor so you can be treated before getting too ill. Hipefully you'll be able to fight it without meds!

Nancy1
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Postby Nancy1 » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:42 pm

lmanders,
Welcome to the group that no one wants to join. Actually, I hope that you are done with cdiff so you won't need to be a long-term member of this group! I think it is a good sign that your symptoms are mild now. About 80% of people are cured after 1-2 rounds of Flagyl or vanco. Good luck.

I was told early on, no coffee. I'm not sure if that was because of the caffeine. After I got off of the BRAT diet, I was also told to limit greasy foods, spicy foods, alcohol, and dairy. What agrees with one person may not agree with another.

It definitely takes a while to heal after cdiff. I think the time is individual (as with so much else about cdiff), and I believe that it depends somewhat on how long a person had cdiff. I had cdiff for 8 months. Now it has been over 9 months since I last took vanco, and my gut is still not back to normal. I used to take Vitamin C to fight colds, with no problems, but now it gives me D big time.

Bobbie
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Postby Bobbie » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:10 am

Imlanders,
As Nancy said, "Welcome to the group no one wants to join."Read the first forum ALL USERS READ THIS FIRST & its subtopics. They will guide you in using the site & answer some of the most frequent questions. Read Dr. Borody’s & Dr. McDonald’s articles and the areas in FAQ that interest you – especially FAQ-Hygiene, Nutrition, & Testing.

Clindamycin can be "bad stuff." See FAQ-Antibiotics. It was the lst antibiotic implicated in C. diff.

Diet is different for everyone. Some can't tolerate dairy products or excess sugar. Afraid it is "trial & error." As Nancy said, everyone heals differently, & you can add more foods back as you progress.

Good luck.

diane
Long Time Contributor
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Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:50 am

Postby diane » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:53 am

Nancy1,
try childrens chewable vitamins.. I get the x tra c and so far so good.. I couldn't tolerate the womens one a day but these are ok.

Sheila1
Long Time Contributor
Posts: 468
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:04 pm

Postby Sheila1 » Thu Apr 05, 2007 6:05 am

lmanders,

I was very similar to your symptoms when I finally started healing. I ended up having to stay on a very bland diet for about 45 days or so and that helped alot. I was also put on Questran which helped the last stages immensely.

Only time off of all antibiotics will allow your natural flora to reproduce to an effective level (even vanco kills some of it, it just also kills cdiff). I continued on the Questran (helped with the remaining cramping and d.) and ate yogurt twice a day for about 45 more days, plus took FloraQ probiotic twice a day. Now i just eat yogurt every day.

It is best to not take vanco or Flagyl if your system is overcoming the bacteria on it's own - for the reasons above.

Sounds like you are on the mend - and that's great!
~Sheila

lmanders
New User
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:03 pm

Thank you Thank you Thank you !!!

Postby lmanders » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:55 am

I just wanted to say "Thank you " to all of you that responded to my email. I don't know what I would've done had I not found this support group. I really wasn't given any guidance from either of the Doctor's that I saw and this has been really scary for me. Today is a better day - it really feels like something was injured and it is healing. I know that I really can control this if I am very careful about what I eat. My son and daughter in law are both chiropractors and have me on probiotics and also suggested a naturopath if there are any lingering problems. I just want my life back so that I can go out to dinner and not worry that something I eat will stir this up again. After reading all of the posts I realize that it has only been 2 months and I have seen a marked improvement. Anway I thank God for this support group !!!


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