Any Special Diet when you have CDiff???????????

[terribooth]

Hi,
My name is Terri and I am new on this post. I was diagnosed with CDiff after using 3 different antibiotics, Zythromiacin, Clemdamyacin and Augmentin for an sinus/
ear infection.

I started to get terrible diarhea, fevers of 102 to 103. Had this for about 3 weeks, thought I had a virus or the flu. Went to doctor, did tests and results were CDiff. Doc gave me Flagyl, 250 mg 3 times a day for 7 days. 1 day after off meds, fever back, 103 degrees. Saw Doc gave me 500 mg 3 times a day for 10 days. After that still diarrhea, Doc called
contact at Infectious Disease Center. Had stool samples redone and CDiff still present. I am now on Vanco 4 times a day for 14 days and also Rifampin 300 mg 1 time a day for 14 days. Seem to be a little better Diarhea better. Abdomen is tender and sore. I feel
bloated and my stomach area is hard!

What I want to know is, is there a special diet I am supposed to be on too?? Everyone is a little unspecific. Doc is not specific at all. Guys at the Health Food store, said go on a Diarhea Diet or a Yeast/Gluten Free Diet.
Help!! Not sure what to do!!

Am taking 4 different probiotics, put the bad guys in and 2 hours later good guys (probiotics). I am taking Primal Defense, Actiflofa, Culturelle and Jarro Sachromyces. Probably and 200-250 billion a day throughout the day.

I want to get rid of this!!! This is my third time around. I want to everything right and everything I can to get this over with. WHAT WORKS????????????

Do you have any suggestions. Any help is appreciated.


Thanks

Terri

[abby]

Often the BRAT diet is recommended: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (white bread; be careful of fiber at this point). My doctors also recommended chicken broth and later on, grilled chicken. After things settle down, it often helps to add things gradually to your diet so you can eliminate foods that cause distress. It can take a while (many months in my case) to get back to a full diet, and many are left with lactose intolerance or problems with salads. It's very individual, so it's best to add one food item at a time.

abby

[cindym]

Outside of grease, heavy spice or carbonated beverages it is better to eat a normal diet in most cases as it helps the good bacteria to re-build more quickly.....OR SO I AM TOLD. Basically, you eat what you can tolerate. If you are tolerating all those probiotics you have one strong stomach!

[carrie]

I agree with Cindy to try and incorporate as much as you can but make sure you leave off the spices and grease and cooking all your fruits and veggies will help ease the digestive system. I steamed and pureed my fruits and added them with oatmeal. I could not tolerate any dairy so I added rice milk to soups and smoothies to get my calcium as I don't really like the taste alone. I took probiotics instead of eating yougart. I ate homemade soup every day and shredded all my veggies before adding them to a veggie or chicken stock. I actually cut out banana's(although most rely on them as a staple throughout the c-diff battle) as they are so full of starch and sugar I decided they would feed the bad bacteria. It is really trial and error but I cut out as much sugar foods as possible. I went low sugar fruits and used apples for sweetness in baking.
I'm a bit of an extremist when it comes to my food choices, not sure if it ever made a difference but I couldn't see cutting out all of the good stuff so I modified it to make it easier on my digestive system. I couldn't tolerate whole grains but I was able to use brown rice and only a bit of white in my soups and my body seemed to tolerate it prepared that way. I still struggle withj many foods 7 months out but it is getting way better. I believe all the probiotics and Sachromyces yeast were certainly benefical in my case. GET YOURSELF BETTER! Docs were never able to give me any dietary feedback, I finally went to a nutritionalist and followed some of the reccommendations of a diet for Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS) and that seemed to help. I can't wait to try a salad again some day soon but for now I'm still just taking it one day at a time. Hang in there you will get through this.

[cindym]

Forgot to mention salad is one of my main NO NO's. Veggies really are not that great for me and I am limited in the amount I can eat. Absolutely no raw veggies!

[terribooth]

Hi All-

Thanks for replying to my post. When can you eat normal foods again??
or do you ever?? Do you still do no sugar at all, no alcohol-wine, etc. or at some point is that ok again, too?? When did you notice your body was ok to add foods back, at what point after you tested negative??

I am almost done with my 3rd treatment, Vanco and Ramfpin, (the 1st 2 doses of 250mg then 500 mg of Flagyl I still had and have tested positive twice now). I feel a lot better than on Flagyl and will finish the medicine in two days. When do you recheck if your Cdiff is gone-negative test results?? Is there a protocol, after you finish the meds (bad guys) and are still taking the high doses or probiotics (good guys). You need to recheck right away or wait a certain number of days before you retest.

If you test negative, are you pretty safe to asume that it is all gone or do you retest every month or two to make sure? I read somewhere that
you need to retest 3 times to make sure gone?? Is that right??

Please let me know. Thanks to you for replying to me. There is no one
for me to really discuss this with that knows what I am going through, so it helps to have people to talk to!!

THanks :-)

Terri

[WOWOWOW]

My opinion is eat anything you can handle and a little of what you can't. I only began to feel better when I introduced new foods.I still have IBS moments but with time that too is improving.I think the fear of diff returning made my recovery long. All the symptoms come and go but as most of us know the three day rule. And honestly after relapsing a couple times it was clear to me when it was the real deal. I wish you all the best and speedy recovery.

[Bobbie]

Terri,
Welcome to the site. Read the first forum ALL USERS READ THIS FIRST & its subtopics – especially the announcements: PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST and GUIDELINES FOR POSTING TO OUR DISCUSSION BOARDS. They will guide you in using the site & answer some of the most frequent questions. Read Dr. Borody’s & Dr. McDonald’s articles and some of the topics in FAQ – especially Hygiene, Nutrition, & Testing.

Since antibiotics contributed to your C. diff., be careful about taking them again. (See FAQ-Antibiotics.) Some people can tolerate them without a problem; some develop C. diff. again. (See Dr. Borody’s article.)

Terri,
I deleted one of your posts as you had "double posted." Pls. read rules re. posting.

Many people do get retested if their symptoms reappear. Some do not (really no reason to do so). If you are retested, best to wait 10 to 15 days off Vanco. or Flagyl. You will know yourself if your C. diff. reoccurs. See FAQ-C. diff. Tests.

As the others said, diet is very individual. See FAQ-Nutrition. Many docs. have you start on BRAT diet (explained earlier) & then add foods one at a time. Some cannot tolerate dairy producs -- with the possible exception of yogurt. Again, this is individual. Excess sugar is another "no no" as it seems to "feed" the C. diff. bacteria.

Do eat as much as you can to keep your strength up. You might try a supplemental drink such as Ensure or Boast.

I'm sorry you don't have anyone to share your problems with -- I had little support, too, & it's a lonely feeling. We are here for you & understand what you are going through. Hang in there. It sounds as though you are doing well. Keep it up! Let's hope the 3rd time will be your lucky one!