I am a 64 year old female and was confirmed c diff April 30 2016 from taking amoxicillin for infection. I was given flagly which did not work, than vanco for 10 days worked relapse after 2 days. I had feces transplant twice, but didn't work now on vanco again this time diarrhea is gone I am on my 3rd week but did have 1 water stool but than solid again. Waiting to do test.
Here is my tapered plan.
Weeks 1-2 Vancomycin 125 mg every 6 hrs along with 4 ounces of kefir every 8 hrs
Weeks 3-4 375 mg of vancomycin once every 72 hrs (3 days) along with 4 ounces of Kefir every 8 hrs
Weeks 5-6 250 mg of vancomycin once every 72 hrs(3 days) along with 4 ounces of Kefir every 8 hrs
Weeks 7-8 125 mg of vancomycin once every 72 hrs(3 days) along with 4 ounces of Kefir every 8 hrs
Weeks 9-15 4 ounces of Kefir every 8 hrs - no vancomycin
I have lost over 50 lbs and need to put some weight back on but am limited to how much I can eat with out stomach pain. I am afraid to try ensure because of milk product any suggests. Right now I am on apple sauce, toast, soup, crackers, eggs. Thank you for your time
Taper treatment
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Re: Taper treatment
Welcome to the site and please read the first forum about posting. So sorry that you are still dealing with this. I tried vanco tapers too and had more than one FMT. What type of FMT did you do - upper, enemas, or colonoscopy? Sometimes it takes more than one and it also depends on the donor's stool. Not all people have enough beneficial bacteria I guess. I used my husband the first two times, but my daughter after.
There are also some clinical trials for which you might be eligible. SER-109 is going to start a Phase 3 trial this year.
For some people kefir gives D and cramping. Perhaps it is giving you symptoms as well. I would not be able to drink as much kefir as you are without getting D, for example.
There is a product called EnteraGam that has helped some posters. A few are on it at the same time as vancomycin. Ask your doctor about it.
As far as food, I did well with meats - chicken and turkey are usually tolerated well (baked). Baked potato and rice. I was able to eat beef, but I know many are not. I don't do well with eggs though. Baked or broiled fish is easier to digest as well.
There are also some clinical trials for which you might be eligible. SER-109 is going to start a Phase 3 trial this year.
For some people kefir gives D and cramping. Perhaps it is giving you symptoms as well. I would not be able to drink as much kefir as you are without getting D, for example.
There is a product called EnteraGam that has helped some posters. A few are on it at the same time as vancomycin. Ask your doctor about it.
As far as food, I did well with meats - chicken and turkey are usually tolerated well (baked). Baked potato and rice. I was able to eat beef, but I know many are not. I don't do well with eggs though. Baked or broiled fish is easier to digest as well.
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Re: Taper treatment
thanks beth for input
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Re: Taper treatment
I am not a physician but this taper seems to be reducing the amount of vancomycin more quickly than most tapers. If this taper fails for you, there is still dificid to try, but hopefully the taper will work.
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Re: Taper treatment
I don't think you listed the taper doses correctly
If you correctly state that your going from 4 doses a day to one dose every 3 days you might have problems.
That's not a taper it's classed as pulse dosing.
I have not heard of that type of pulse without doing a taper to 3 a day 2 a day then 1 a day first.
If you take kefir at the same time as vanco most of it will be killed, only the yeast in it will survive.
It's recomended that probiotics including kefir are taken between vanco doses to give them a chance to survive
If you correctly state that your going from 4 doses a day to one dose every 3 days you might have problems.
That's not a taper it's classed as pulse dosing.
I have not heard of that type of pulse without doing a taper to 3 a day 2 a day then 1 a day first.
If you take kefir at the same time as vanco most of it will be killed, only the yeast in it will survive.
It's recomended that probiotics including kefir are taken between vanco doses to give them a chance to survive
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Re: Taper treatment
so far seems to be working hope the dr knows what he is doing I am on my 4 week not sure what this is called. But this is how the dr send me info to take meds
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Re: Taper treatment
See CDI - Pulse Dosing. It helped several on our site including several moderators.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=659#p4770
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=659#p4770
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Re: Taper treatment
Agree with ResearchGrandma , a Dificid taper and pulse is the most effective treatment for Cdiff in my opinion , it has been a magic bullet for many people here on this site. Dificid is engineered to target only clostridia , so it leaves the good flora untouched and , unlike Vanco , it stops the sporing process , so if Vanco fails you again (hopefully not) you can discuss with your doctor a long course of Dificid. What kind of FMT you had done: naso-gastric, colonoscopy? For some people it takes more then one FMT to solve their infection , although they are left with IBS. You can search Skizamii' s posts , he had success with the 4-th FMT.
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Re: Taper treatment
For FMT I had colonoscopy and upper. I do have Dificid on hand also talked with doctor about another transplant.
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Re: Taper treatment
I want to mention this drink that is dairy free called Orgain Vegan Nutritional Shake, High Protein. It it dairy free, soy free and gluten free. It comes in sweet vanilla bean and chocolate. I have been living off of the for months. You can add them to your diet such as broiled chicken and rice or whatever you can tolerate and digest. This Is easy to digest. You can buy at at Vitamin Shoppe, but I ordered mine off of Amazon. Look it up on Amazon and read about it. It has been a lifesaver for me because some days I could not tolerate food.
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Re: Taper treatment
I have been on pulse for 4 weeks, solid stools than diarrhea. But than back to no bm. Is this normal 2 test both negative
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Re: Taper treatment
I am not sure of your question - are you asking if it's normal to have tested negative while being on a pulse for 4 weeks? If that's the question, then you shouldn't be testing at all. You most likely will test negative while still on meds. If a doctor insists on retesting, it should be at least 2 weeks after finishing meds. But, doctors aren't supposed to test for a cure, but rather go by symptoms alone. Otherwise, they may be over-treating.
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Re: Taper treatment
The negative tests are good news because they show that your C diff isn't active in the middle of your pulse, in my opinion. And an occasional bout of D during recovery isn't unusual. My doctors told me post infectious IBS can cause an occasional bad day, but if that bad day is followed by several good days it's not likely to be a relapse. Hopefully this pulse treatment will work for you. Sorry to hear the FMT failed.
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Re: Taper treatment
I am on my 6th week for this pulse so far so good...keep me in your prayers please will keep you posted
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Re: Taper treatment
Glad you are doing well on your taper and pulse of Vanco , hopefully this will do the trick , you had enough of Cdiff! Prayers all goes well.
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