Extreme weight loss first sign?

[AlliMari]

Hi All!
I posted a bout 5 months ago. I acquired Cdiff in June through the community. After about 3 months of antibiotic treatment(Flagyl and Vanco) I was finally 'cured'. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago: there has been a lot of stress that has worn me down and now the little heathen bacteria are back. I'm back on Vanco and my doctor is setting me up for FMT. My question: has anyone else had their Cdiff progress in the following manner? Mine starts with some D but my primary symptoms are extreme weight loss. I'm already thin(5'7" 112 after the first episodes. Initially 122) but I will drop 2 lbs overnight(today I went from 107 to 105)even though I am eating. I know all of our bodies are different but I feel like a nut job and I was hoping someone else had a similar experience. My Cdiff initial symptoms started each time with intense hunger pangs(even though I was eating), weight loss and THEN the D started about 10 days to 2 weeks later. Please tell me I'm not alone over here in my 'crazy corner'.....and you can lie to me if you have to ;) OH and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!!! I guess the plus is that if I have an appetite, I can eat all the pumpkin pie I want. Glass half full and all. Yes, humor helps. I hope I don't offend anyone :)

[roy]

Have you been tested for parasites?

[amg]

One of my daughter's initial symptoms (she's had 4 bouts since July) is intense hunger that can't be satisfied. Then tiredness and low grade fever/chills, then the stools start to become urgent and soft. It progresses to looser D in a day or so. She also loses weight during the course - about 6 lbs from her initial weight. Hard to know if that's from medication side effects (Flagyl yuck), eating a light and bland diet, or the c diff itself.

[AlliMari]

Hi Roy!!! Yes I have. When I contracted CDiff the first time, the symptoms were the same. They tested for everything over a 4 week span but didn't test for CDiff until about a month in. The only thing that came up positive was CDiff. After about 4 days of Vanco, it starts to subside and after about a week I can start gaining or holding steady. I am relatively thin naturally with a fast metabolism so that may not help.

AMG Thank you for posting that. That is pretty much how mine goes. I don't get D for a number of days but my stools are traditionally loose anyway. Your daughter's progression sounds similar to mine. It helps to know I'm not the only one.

I will be heading out of town to a specialist in 2 weeks. Hopefully an FMT will turn things around.

Thank you again to both of you. Roy you are always a source of knowledge and I thank you for that. Happy Holidays!!

[NanciT]

Weight loss is very individual with CDIFF. Yes, nearly all will lose weight but my thoughts are it is related to how long you are on meds, diet you are able to maintain and genetics. My weight loss would go from 1 lb and then the following week I would lose 5 lbs. The amount of D is a factor but I did not have alot of D throughout the entire year I had it.
Sounds like you are all set with an FMT! Hopefully this will take care of it for you and you can put it in the past
Wishing you the best
NanciT

[beth22]

The inflammation that the c diff toxins cause can affect other things. I have pancreatitis as a result and weight loss and that gnawing sensation in the stomach are symptoms. So, indirectly it can do that as well as directly. Since you are going to the doctor you might ask them to check your pancreatic enzymes - lipase and amylase.

[speg]

I lost 40 lbs. How's that for extreme weight loss? I was heavy so could spare it, but was in a panic thinking I was dying since I have never lost weight to the tune for 5 lbs a week (some times 3-4 lbs a day). This should have been an early indicator, but as I was breastfeeding my docs just chalked it up to healthier eating, I had been on a diabetes diet/exercise program through my pregnancy to control GD. Then a low grade almost not noticeable fever, it happened mostly at night I'd get chills and sweats, but only be about 99.5 F. It'd clear by morning. Then in the 2 weeks before I got diagnosed and treated I started having profuse D that was filled with mucus and black dots (I thought it was undigested food, it was dark blood clots). I developed hemhorroids and fissures, while I awaited my stool test results.

I never should have been left 8 weeks untreated, but post pregnancy "masked" some of my early warnings. I did a single 14 day oral vanomycin treatment, I added keifer and florastor to my routine, and fiber pills (which I have replaced with flax seed meal these days). I was already drinking lots of bone broth as it was said to help with breastfeeding. We suspect I had a short lived relapse, that my NP and I decided to wait out treatment on. About 3 months later things started to clear up. After a year my weight was still down, but I was working to maintain this as I needed weight loss to help prevent type 2 diabetes associated with GD. I have had no major relapses and it's been almost 3 years. I only take a routine pill probiotic, eat fermeted foods/yogurts as I please, and have discontinued the florastor. I seem ok. Mentally it took it's toll.

[jul78ew]

This is interesting information