Last day of Vanco, worried

Treatments, possible treatments, unsubstantiated/unproven treatments. Consult your doctor first.
Sweet93
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Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2016 11:06 am

Last day of Vanco, worried

Postby Sweet93 » Sun Jan 08, 2017 12:26 pm

Hi everyone, I'm a 23 year old female from the U.S. who got c-diff after being treated with clindamycin for a severe case of strep throat/scarlet fever in October.

First I was given 10 days of flagyl. I had awful side effects on it and had to spread it out to 12 days to finish. After the flagyl I had severe abdominal pain and was given bentyl which thankfully got rid of it after only one pill.

After 3 weeks I was feeling well but noticed my stools weren't formed anymore. Sorry, TMI, they looked formed but as soon as I'd flush they'd break up. I only had watery diarrhea once during this time (after eating too many Hershey's kisses), so I thought I was fine. Still, I asked for a stool test to be sure, and it ended up being positive. I think it was for c diff toxin.

When I got the call for the positive test it was Christmas Eve and my doctor's office was closed. The on call doctor from another practice wanted to give me more flagyl, but after reading this site, I asked for liquid vancomycin. He gave me 10 days worth.

My doctor's office called and recommended 14 days of vanco, which wasn't an issue since the bottle we bought had 15 days worth.

Yesterday was my last day of the 14 days on vanco and I felt great. I decided to finish the bottle since I have two doses left, and took one dose this morning, and have one left.

This morning I woke up with nausea for the first time. I also had and am having a lot of abdominal pain. I went to the bathroom and had a normal stool. Since then I've gone three times and my stools have gotten soft (like after flagyl) and the last time it was watery. I feel like I need to go again right now too.

I'm not sure what to do. I still have one dose of vanco left. How can I be having diarrhea again if I'm still on vanco? My mom and brother seemed to have had the same symptoms for a few days, and they both got better so maybe this is a stomach bug? I also had ramen with steamed broccoli last night which may be the problem? My dad is telling me to take some pepto-bismol, which I'm not sure if I should do while on vanco?

Thank you for reading, any advice or insight you all have would be extremely helpful. I'm really glad to have this site. Since I'm the only one having been through this in my family, it helps to not feel alone.

roy
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Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 1:05 am

Re: Last day of Vanco, worried

Postby roy » Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:23 pm

Sounds like you have whatever your family had and hopefully it will be self limiting.
It also sounds like you were recovering after the flagyl and did not need the vanco.
A cure is indicated by the lack of symptoms not by a test.
You can test positive for a long time after you finish meds so this time go by your symptoms.
If watery D returns at least 3 times a day and lasts for 3 days (or gets worse fast) then it might be back.
Your gut flora has to rebalance itself now so expect some weird days but anything except D is normal.
A lot of posters say pepto helps.

Sweet93
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Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2016 11:06 am

Re: Last day of Vanco, worried

Postby Sweet93 » Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:37 pm

Roy thank you for your reply! I'm having some abdominal pain now but have only been to the bathroom once since my post. Still watery. I'll try the pepto.

Thanks for your insight as well. It's so hard to know if you're recovering or if you're relapsing. When the doctor wakes you up on Christmas Eve saying you need medicine, it's terrifying. I don't even know how many times I've cried over c diff at this point.

amyc
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Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 8:15 am

Re: Last day of Vanco, worried

Postby amyc » Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:22 pm

i don't think pepto interacts with vanco, but you can call the pharmacist just to make sure.

Ril
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Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:45 pm

Re: Last day of Vanco, worried

Postby Ril » Tue Jan 10, 2017 2:47 pm

Welcome to the site Sweet. Please read the first thread on the home page on rules for posting.
Recovery is difficult for most. It often becomes very hard to tell whether you are relapsing or it is "normal" recovery.
Going by the 3 day rule Roy explained is most helpful. Adding probiotics also may be helpful to your recovery.

You may want to read through at least some of the entries in the CDI section of this site. There is a lot of good and useful information there.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery,
Rita

Sweet93
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Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2016 11:06 am

Re: Last day of Vanco, worried

Postby Sweet93 » Fri Apr 07, 2017 4:16 pm

Just wanted to update this thread - it did turn out be the stomach flu! Lasted 3 days and went around to four family members! What a time to get the stomach flu haha.


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