Round 4 of Medication :-( advice please

[Ashley86]

Hi All, my name is Ashley and I am new to this group, on January 5, 2016 I gave birth to a beautiful healthy boy, 2 weeks post partum I got Mastitis ( clogged breast duct) from breastfeeding for those who aren't familiar, they put me on an antibiotic, took it for a week and a few days after the last dose diarrhea started. Called my doctor after a few days of awful pains and the never ending visits to the bathroom which put me in the ER. So here we are today March 29th, I was first put on 10 days on flagyl, relapsed a few days later and went through 14 days of flagyl, relapsed again a few days later then I was put on vanco and come nasty stuff I had to drink 2 X a day which I forget and now here we are again w/ C Diff for a 4th time back on Vanco ( tapering me off for 6 weeks) and xifaxan 2 x a day. Oh and back on probiotics twice a day. Ok so here are some of my questions for you all. Number 1, I never ever took a probiotic but as soon as I gave birth they put me on one, do you think that could have started this disaster or antagonized my antibiotic for mastitis which is supposedly what put me in this situation. Secondly, how is it normal for our bodies to be on these antibiotics straight? I mean I think in the last 3 months maybe 10 days an antibiotic was not in my system. Thirdly, why do I keep getting this devil? I mean do we think its just still manifesting in our gut? Or am I touching a spore that is living on a surface and picking it right up? I want to say it is still in me because A, I carry a bottle of bleach around with me and B, I am breastfeeding so wouldn't my baby or husband have gotten it if it was on a surface? I could write and write and write for hours on this, but lets start with this. I am only 30 years old and would have considered myself a healthy person before all of this, any others around my age? This devil has been brutal but try and having a newborn bay on top of it, I feel like a defeated mother. Oh one other question, so on November 19th, I was 27 weeks pregnant I was also admitted to the hospital for severe dehydration and awful gastrointestinal bug which I was tested for a bunch of bad bugs ( like C -Diff) but it all came back negative, could that have been the beginning of something or do you think that was just coincidence and had nothing to do with me getting the C - Diff in January? Thanks!

[NanciT]

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Hello Ashley, this is our standard welcome letter

I am so sorry you are going through this especially with a new baby. We have had many new Mom's on the site so I hope one will see this and jump in.
It sounds like the CDIFF treatment you are on is typical, and yes during CDIFF some of us are on these medications for months. I was treated with Flagyl, Vanco and DIficid for a total of 10 months. Everyone is different but I have been seeing the Combo of Vanco and Xifaxan most recently so hopefully this will be it for you! Once this is completed, we usually do not test for 10-14 days and that is only if watery Diarrhea returns. Do you see a GI? Some will have their own protocol and other's do not test at all unless the Diarrhea returns for more than 3 days.
We have all ages on this board so CDIFF is all over the place. If you have been cleaning with Bleach than most likely you are not reinfecting yourself. It can be a very difficult thing to get rid of and can take some time.
I was not clear why they put you on a probiotic after having the baby but we are seeing some physicians adding probiotics when giving antibiotics.
Hopefully your current treatment will take care of this and you can start enjoying your new baby. Sadly, we have had alot of new Mom's on this site.
Take are and feel better soon
NanciT

[Ashley86]

Hi Nanci,
Thank you for the quick response, I really appreciate it. Yes lets hope for the best! It is great to have a forum like this for all of us, it makes it a bit easier knowing we have people to talk to :-)

[Ashley86]

Nanci,

To answer your questions, I do not see a GI I see an Infectious Disease Specialist, and yes on Monday when I went back in, she did test my stool again which by just looking at it anyways she could tell C-DIFF was still presence. So here is to 6 weeks! Fingers crossed!

[georgina]

Hi Ashley
Sorry your are dealing with Cdiff.It must be hard to deal with this and trying to take care of your newborn.I don't want to scare you but try to be careful when you are caring for your baby , try to wear gloves when you are changing his diapers and wash your hands very well because most babies carry CDiff in their gut without having any symptomes , and it can reinfect you.You said you are dealing with relapsing Cdiff and it's the 4-th time you relapsed , if i were you i would be discussing with my doctor about a long course of Dificid or FMT.Ask about taking some probiotics , they help to bulk up your stool ,i have found saccharomyces boulardii to be most helpful.Take care of yourself!

[Ashley86]

Georgina, thanks for caring. That is a great point, I do change the babies diapers and wash my hands regularly but maybe diapers could help, this supplement you are talking about would I take that with a probiotic as well?

[Lisa33]

So sorry that you are going through c-diff as a new mom. As Nancy said, there are several new moms on this site, who actually got c-diff exactly the same way that you did. They were treated for mastitis with an antibiotic. That coupled with a recent hospital stay is the perfect recipe for picking up a c-diff spore and getting an active infection. I have never heard of a probiotic causing c-diff, but they actually aid in warding off c-diff by replenishing your good gut bacteria. Probiotics should be taken while taking antibiotics, but more importantly, after finishing antibiotics as that is when your gut is depleted of good bacteria and is the perfect breeding ground for c-diff bacteria. Your story is not uncommon, so know that you are not alone. Many of us were perfectly healthy before c-diff, and were backhanded by this terrible illness that put our lives in a tailspin. But know that even the stubborn of cases are cured. As Georgina said, if the vanco taper fails, Dificid or discussions of an FMT would be the next treatment steps. Dificid has cured many on this board after vanco tapers have failed. I also agree with Georgina, in taking care when changing diapers by using gloves, etc. Saccharomyces Boulardii is a yeast probiotic. Florastor is sacch. boulardii that many of us take. I took and still take VSL-3 and Florastor. If you are on meds, any live bacteria probiotic should be spaced apart as the meds will kill it off. Yeast probiotics are not killed off by meds.

I know as a new mom this is really a tough time. My daughter was 3 when I had c-diff, and it was extremely hard. The only thing that you can do is take care of yourself and get better. You will get through this.

Lisa

[Ashley86]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for the response. :-) Sorry if I miscommunicated, I got mastitis after I was in the hospital from giving birth, it didn't put me in the hospital, the hospital visit came after I finished the mastitis antibiotic. My bad, anyways great advice I have one more question, so you are saying don't take the probiotic when I take my morning and evening medicine? Right now I take my vanco at 6 am, I was taking the probiotic and xifaxin or whatever it is called lol at like 830 am, so take the probiotic maybe later than around 1030? And then take it at night before or after I take my evening probiotics? my infectious disease doctor now has me taking 1 at night and 1 in the morning.

[NikaNik]

Hi, Ashley!

Congratulations on your little boy - how exciting! But so very sorry you're dealing with c diff. So unfair. But you'll be okay - believe it! : )

I think what Lisa is saying is that it's possible you may have ingested a c diff spore while in the hospital giving birth (without knowing/no symptoms). Then, later, when you were given an antibiotic is what made the c diff turn active (because the good flora that kept c diff in check was wiped out). Antibiotics themselves don't cause c diff bacteria to be present in the gut (it must be ingested from somewhere and the toxic form is most often found on surfaces in hospitals, nursing homes and doctor's offices which can then get in the mouth if that surface is touched by someone who then touches their mouth to eat etc.).

As for the probiotics - I've always heard to space them in between medication dosages by a couple of hours.

You've found a great place for support. Hope you feel much better very soon!

Blessings,
Nikki

[Ashley86]

Thank you Nikki :)

That all makes sense everything you said. Ugh it is such a crazy bug, I can not thank you enough for adding some information.

Best to you as well!

[Lisa33]

I was also told to space the live bacteria probiotics out at least 2 hours from taking meds.

[Ashley86]

Lisa, ok sounds good I will take my meds at 6 am, probiotics around 830am and 830pm ... I am only on day four of vanco 4x ...
Thanks :-)