Haven't tested positive yet, and scared to wait it out.

[JohnB]

Sorry for all the questions. I have more...

What is considered "cured" or "OK"? Where is the point where you don't have to go back on meds? I've now been off Flagyl a week. The first few days after, I started to feel worse again, but now the symptoms are slowly getting better. Watery D is much less common, not feeling any nausea, hardly any cramps/pain, but still loose stools and the smell is there, but no mucus. I noticed an immediate improvement in my symptoms since I started eating yogurt over the weekend, so I've been eating 3 or 4 of them a day now. Overall I'm still feeling better in terms of symptoms than before and at the beginning of the Flagyl. Reading other posts I think my case has been pretty mild compared to others here. I'm trying to hold off on another culture as long as I can, and now I seem to be improving on my own with just yogurt and probiotics. Do you think I'm at the point where I no longer need the meds? Is there a point where they do more harm than good?

[JohnB]

By the way I don't mean to go over the line into medical advice. I'm just trying to get an idea of what others here felt like when they were at the point of no longer needing further antibiotics.

[raj138]

From what I read the majority of people relapse within 2 weeks after finishing antibiotics (something like 85-90%), the rest can relapse within the next 3 months. You will have good days and bad days which duirng recovery which in my opionion is your body normalizing and responding to the composition of bacteria in your gut (good and bad).

[falco22]

relapsing, remember its not the majority that relapse. Its IF YOU ARE GOING to relapse it would be most likely be about 2 weeks after meds. And usually if you are gonna relapse it would usually be in the 3 month period after meds. KEEP IN MIND MOST PEOPLE are cured after 1 or 2 rounds of antibiotics. Hey are you taking any probiotics? research shows Florastor is good to take while taking antibiotics. Good luck Stay on your meds until they are all finished. FOLLOW DOCS ORDERS.

[Nancy1]

JohnB,
If I am understanding your question correctly, you want to know about how long to continue taking probiotics, yes? I took probiotics for about 6 months after I recovered, and I tapered off of them slowly. But I had had cdiff for 8 months and I was very scared to stop probiotics, even though I wasn't sure how much they helped. It is up to you, of course. I don't know about their doing more harm than good.

I still eat yogurt with active cultures or drink kefir about once a day, since these are healthy snacks, and I've been cdiff-free for about 2 1/2 years. My doc recently told me to use VSL #3 for my post-cdiff problem with my innards, which is that I get D easily. I think it might be helping.

[klt03301]

Hi John. As far as the probiotics are concerned, I still take 2 a day, eat yogurt daily (sometimes 2 or 3) and have Kefir 2-3x a week. I've been off meds since 4/08. I don't think I'll ever stop taking probiotics. I've never had the best digestive system anyway, so I want to continue with those.

It sounds as if you're doing great so far and I hope this continues for you!

Wishing you the best,

Karen

[JohnB]

I'm sorry, I guess I was misunderstood. I'm wondering at what point should I no longer seek (antibiotic) treatment for it? At what point is OK to let your body fight it off alone (with the help of probiotics)? I'm still having symptoms but not as bad as before the Flagyl. However I'm still having D with mucus and on the other hand didn't have the mucus before the Flagyl.

[Nancy1]

The 3-day rule in the FAQ section gives you a good idea about when you need antibiotics again. In my case, I definitely knew when I was having a relapse, because the D would kick in really hard. In your case, if your symptoms aren't too bad, you might consider waiting. FYI, I had mucus for about 6 months after recovering, and I never had it before cdiff.