intolerance to foods

[Bobbie]

beth,
Sorry to hear about your problems. Have you contacted the doctor who did the infusion? Supposedly, it is the "end all" (pun included) treatment.

I had my last episode of active C. diff. in l999 & I still have IBS. It isn't as bad as it was, however.. Prior to C. diff., I never had GI problems -- had a "cast iron" stomach.

Since I am a walking timebomb to develop C. diff. again (I'm on a PPI & a preventative dose of Macrobid), I try to think about the infection as little as possible but know if I have to take another antibiotiic (& I'm prone to pneumonia) I'm probably history.

C. diff. hase affected so many lives -- yet many docs. still treat it as an unimportant "little disease" of only the old & ill even after many of us who were formerly healthy had a difficult time getting over it.

Try some of the hints listed in the previous posts. Afraid you are down to "trial and error." That is one of the horrors of C. diff. - you never know how you are going to feel. My mother has dementia another "changeable" disease) plus other problems. I'm tired of health problems although they've been part of my life for many years. I've read numerous articles about the importance of avoiding stress. I can't think of anything more stressful than chronic illness.

Keep trying, however, and do contact the doc. who performed the infusion.
Hope this new type of Ensure can help you. I gained back my weight with the regular Ensure & Ensure Plus, but it took a long time.

[beth22]

Thanks Bobbie. I'm sorry to hear of your many health problems too. I also had a cast iron stomach. I did contact the doctor who did the infusion and he said that he thinks it is post-infectious IBS and that it will eventually get better, but I am going to see a specialist for SIBO as that is the only thing that I tested positive for and am hoping that I might turn out to be one of the people whose IBS is caused by the bacterial overgrowth. My gastroenterologist thinks that I may have residual c diff left as well. I don't know. I read an article that interviewed Dr. Tom Louie up in Canada who does fecal infusions and he said that if you have a donor who is a blood relative that those people usually don't wind up with ibs symptoms. My donor was my husband. I don't want to go through another infusion - the prep with those harsh laxatives probably contributed to the problem. I will see what the SIBO specialist says and we're still waiting for the results of a capsule endoscopy where I had to swallow a camera. I guess they are looking for Crohn's - I don't know if that happens to people after c diff. I read it usually hits before age 35 and I am about 20 years past that, plus there is no one in my family who has this. I got sick from visiting my mom every day in hospital/nursing home.

If you get sick again, you could always go for the Ng infusion. It works for many people. I think I would do that rather than via colonoscopy again if my c diff relapses. I did not always test positive, even when I had the p. colitis, so it is possible that there is still residual c diff left I guess. Hopefully not. I plan to try the nutritional supplement that Sandy suggested - the berry drink and the probiotic that was recommended. I will also check out the website for the IBS diet, as I have no idea about the different types of fiber. Never had to worry about it before. Then I still have my stash of Questan.

Thanks for the support. The depression and frustration with all of this is probably the worst part. My mom has dementia also, so I can't talk to her and my husband tries to be understanding, but it is hard for him too as I am sure it is for most family members of people with c diff. My fear is that I will get too run down to keep working and in this economy that is also a reason for stress.

Beth

[TheVike]

please explain this WHOLE capsule endoscopy camera thingy thingy :) Thank you from beginning to end?!!?!

[beth22]

Basically, you swallow a big plastic type capsule - like a HUGE vitamin pill which has a camera that snaps color photos - two per second as it makes its way down your digestive system. It is programmed to do this for 8 hours and takes about 50,000 pictures. You wear a belt with a monitor attached to it and the camera sends the images to the monitor, which at the end of the 8 hours are downloaded onto a computer and the images are converted into a videotape which the doctor watches. It enables the doctor to see the insides of your small intestive, which in most people are 20+ feet long and are unable to be seen by either colonoscopy or upper GI endoscopy. It can detect tumors, Crohn's disease, and I'm not sure what else - maybe damage done by c diff in my case. Then eventually the capsule is evacuated in a bowel movement. This is not a good test for those who have trouble swallowing pills, or if anyone has any kind of intestinal obstruction.