Cdiff or IBS?

[pam2738]

I am wondering how many of us who think we have IBS post-Cdiff really have mild Cdiff remaining. Of whether it takes a long long time to get the bowel back to normal.

I took my last Vanco in June of 2007. For the life of me, I can't remember what my lower GI health was at the time, but over the past number of months or so, maybe 6, I have not been happy with that region of my system. It seems to vary day to day. I do not have some of the symptoms of IBS such as pain or bloating but I do have loose stools most of the time & worse than that some of the time. I did at one point have myself tested but results came back negative. Which may or may not be true, since there are so many false negatives with Cdiff.

Since so many people are said to have IBS after Cdiff, I am guessing that some of those cases of IBS are not IBS at all, but rather continuing mild Cdiff or recurring mild Cdiff. Both of which are theoretically kept in so so check by the good bacteria & flora that have been fostered by probiotics & the regaining of some degree of health by the lower GI tract.

Thoughts?

Pam

[nsewell]

I agree. I have been doing pretty good for the last couple years with some bouts of ibs around that time of the month. Now for the last 4 weeks I have had severe cramps and mess up stools then some days normal then messed up again. I am trying to decide if I want to do a cdiff test cause I always had false negatives. I know something is going on and if its IBS dont understand why all of s sudden it would get this bad. I even took xanax for the cramps and it didnt work..

[Suezer]

The reason I agree, is that "most" people are fine on the meds. Coming off, even if "so called" cured of C Diff-they get issues again,eventually, and have it named IBS which is basically a diagnosis that covers various broad symptoms that have no "known" cause.

Its going to be hard to convince me that after 20 years of virtually no D, that after being cured of C Diff (if it ever happens for me) I will have to live with D and cramping,or pain that has nothing to do with C Diff.

I also have wondered if they can test a persons stool to determine if gut flora is regenerated, or at least to be able to tell if there is at least some balance.

[klt03301]

Well, I'm going to have to agree, also. I had IBS prior to C-Diff and the IBS I now have is very different from my previous IBS symptoms. My doc said the reason it's different is because the bacteria changed. I have periods of feeling well and periods of feeling unwell. I don't know that my intestines will ever be the same. My Mom has had C-Diff several times, with the first being in 2002. She says she's never been the same, but, she eats whatever she wants except for lettuce. All I know is that I have weird symptoms that I never had prior to C-Diff and I've only had one positive test. My doc said it's possile to have raging c-diff infection and test negative and also have mild and test negative.

I've asked myself the same question you have many times over and I don't know if I'll ever know the answer.

Suezer: yes, you can have your stool tested to see the population of bacteria:

check out my post earlier last year:

http://cdiffsupport.com/phpBB/viewtopic ... a&start=15

[klt03301]

Hi Roy,

I didn't meet a fisherman, but I did get rid of those little suckers :-)

Yep, I was at a pretty dark place for a while, and I have to say that you are the person here who kept me the most grounded. Everyone else was a tremendous help, too, but if I needed some "straight talk", you gave it to me :-) Thank you so much.

Having the full stool test/examination was helpful only in giving me my sIga count, finding the roundworms, and showing my cortisol levels. The cortisol findings let me know I was way too stressed and I needed to clam down, and that there's a huge connection between the brain and the gut. When I gave a copy of the test results to my GI to review, he looked at it briefly and said, "this is not something to worry about". The other findings scared me, so I'd caution anyone who has it done to not get freaked out by the bacterial pathogens they may see.

I feel I have come a long way, but only with the help of everyone here and I hope to give back what was given to me :-) I still have my moments, but I'm thankful every day because I know with the bad comes the good and the occurs so much more often than the bad!

Take care,

Karen

[MaryT]

I have what I refer to as post cdiff IBS. My doctor however thinks it is still a bacteria related issue. He says he thinks that some patients who have cdiff and have continual problems after have what he calls a 'low level' cdiff infection still. But...he says he has no way of proving that and wishes he could go into some research related to the theory. He also believes that some people who have motility issues end up with the SIBO thing...even though the breath tests might come back negative. It's discouraging to not be able to have a definitive answer.

[paulah]

5 years post cdiff and I still have IBS/gut issues. Last year for about 2 weeks I was running to the washroom more and thought, well, my IBS is getting worse. What it was, I had started taking Zyrtec for my sinus. Dr says that my guts are sensitive, the antihistimine was affecting not only my sinus but also my guts. sure enough, about 2 weeks after stopping the meds, my guts returned to my "normal" state. I realized after that how much meds and food affect the guts.

[MaryT]

I agree that meds, even OTC, can be a problem. I have discovered that mannitol and sorbitol are an issue for me...and they are in so many things. I am also lactose intolerant and a lot of meds us lactose for a binding agent. I find it ironic that a popular lactase product contains mannitol...which has a side effect of diarrhea! I finally figured out why the lactase product made me worse instead of better!

[nsewell]

YEs decongestions mess me up and did you know cough drops work as laxatives?.. I get real gassy and have looser and more frequent trips to the bathroom.. My sister worked in the GI department here and actually told me that one..