HI,
Im 30 yr old female caught c diff from overuse of antibiotics for UTI.first symptoms were just 1 or 2 loose watery D for few days and it stopped .After a week saw it again so did garlic enema to stop D.things turned upside down after the enema.I got severe lower right abdominal pain and severe nausea that I couldn't stand or sit.Ended up in the ER 2 times for the pain.But even then there is no severe D but my BM s are so different either C or D or mushy stools.
misdiagnosed for 1 month and finally tested positive for C Diff.was put on Vanco for 20 days, 4 x 250 mg for 10 days and 1 X 250mg for 10 days.(couldn't tolerate flagyl effects so switched to Vanco).now Im on 7th days of Vanco.
My Question is
1.How do I know that Im recovering from C Diff (my stools are mushy or D with 2
-3 BMs per day). is this normal while recovering.
2.I still have pain on my right side but subsided a lot.How long I will have this pain.
3.Nausea is gone and able to eat everything except got allergic to coconut water.
4.Im having excessive gas throughout the day.
5.Taking BIO k+ ,need suggestions on this.
6.im vegan and my diet contains usually fermented foods and yogurt ,fruits, diary and vegetables, but I still feel my diet is not helping me in recovering.
Any help is appreciated.This is really frustrating as me and my husband are TTC.Im really depressed and taking anxiety meds for this and literally crying all the day from 2 weeks and so sick of being sick.I want to be normal again asap.
Note: CT scan with ora contrast is done and normal,cbc is normal except slight increase in WBC,Haemoglobin is normal.ESR,CRP are normal, all stool tests for OVA Parasites is negative, no WBC or RBC in stool,PROmetheus IBD test is negative.
C DIFF is positive.
c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
Hi,
Sorry that you're not feeling well! This can be a very frustrating, upsetting condition, but you will get better. Try to stay as positive as you can, and discuss other options with whoever is prescribing your anxiety meds if you think you need to. Are you seeing a GI specialist for your treatment? That can also be helpful.
For your questions (not medical advice, not a doctor)...
1. This is hard to answer because each person's recovery is a little different. If I read correctly, you are taking a tapering dose of Vanco for 20 days. Lots of people do very well on one course or a taper of Vanco! 80% get better with one or two rounds of antibiotics. Mushy stools and D do happen during treatment and sometimes after. If you have watery D three or more times a day for three days, that's the rule of thumb we use around here for calling your doctor to check in. My GI goes by the same guideline. Of course, you should call them anyway if you're concerned. Generally speaking, you know you are improving with the meds because the frequency of your BMs slows down quite a bit and other symptoms also improve, but early recovery can be bumpy both on and once off of the Vanco.
2. I don't think anyone can say how long your right sided pain will last, unfortunately. I sometimes get it on the left in the colon area, but it comes and goes. This is another issue to bring up with your doctor if it worries you. The CT scan would've picked up anything super obvious, though, and your negative IBD tests also help. It could just be the colon hurting as it starts to heal, but that's a non-medical guess!
3. No nausea is good! Many people (myself included) were able to eat almost anything while on Vancomycin. When you come off of it, that's when the real healing begins and your gut flora starts to rebuild. You might encounter other food intolerances at that point, and they may or may not last. Some people bounce right back and are able to eat their normal diet, others take time.
4. Having gas is not uncommon, as your guts are irritated from the harm done by the infection. I often have it, and so do other posters. It can also be caused by the antibiotic, things that you're eating, by taking probiotics in some people, by IBS, or sometimes it just happens! Things will be out of whack in your guts for a while.
5. Not sure what suggestions you are looking for here. Other probiotic choices? :) There are tons on the market. Popular ones here are Align (that's what I take), VSL #3, and Florastor. Sometimes it takes trying different ones out. If you feel good taking Bio-K+, then no reason to not use it! You can use more than one probiotic if you want to, also, but be careful about taking too many. That can cause GI upset. Kefir, which is a fermented yogurt-type drink, is also popular here and contains tons of probiotics.
6. Fermented foods and yogurt can be very helpful in rebuilding gut flora, or so I've heard. Unfortunately, many people can't tolerate roughage for a while after C Diff, so that makes uncooked veggies tough to handle. Lactose intolerance is also common to develop, but not everyone gets it. A very bland diet like BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) is generally recommended to start with, and then begin reintroducing foods slowly from there and see how they agree with you. If it doesn't work out, move on to something else and try the other food later. Not sure what to say about maybe having to shift away from your vegan diet for right now.
Hope this helps! A mod should be along soon with better information than I've got. :)
Sorry that you're not feeling well! This can be a very frustrating, upsetting condition, but you will get better. Try to stay as positive as you can, and discuss other options with whoever is prescribing your anxiety meds if you think you need to. Are you seeing a GI specialist for your treatment? That can also be helpful.
For your questions (not medical advice, not a doctor)...
1. This is hard to answer because each person's recovery is a little different. If I read correctly, you are taking a tapering dose of Vanco for 20 days. Lots of people do very well on one course or a taper of Vanco! 80% get better with one or two rounds of antibiotics. Mushy stools and D do happen during treatment and sometimes after. If you have watery D three or more times a day for three days, that's the rule of thumb we use around here for calling your doctor to check in. My GI goes by the same guideline. Of course, you should call them anyway if you're concerned. Generally speaking, you know you are improving with the meds because the frequency of your BMs slows down quite a bit and other symptoms also improve, but early recovery can be bumpy both on and once off of the Vanco.
2. I don't think anyone can say how long your right sided pain will last, unfortunately. I sometimes get it on the left in the colon area, but it comes and goes. This is another issue to bring up with your doctor if it worries you. The CT scan would've picked up anything super obvious, though, and your negative IBD tests also help. It could just be the colon hurting as it starts to heal, but that's a non-medical guess!
3. No nausea is good! Many people (myself included) were able to eat almost anything while on Vancomycin. When you come off of it, that's when the real healing begins and your gut flora starts to rebuild. You might encounter other food intolerances at that point, and they may or may not last. Some people bounce right back and are able to eat their normal diet, others take time.
4. Having gas is not uncommon, as your guts are irritated from the harm done by the infection. I often have it, and so do other posters. It can also be caused by the antibiotic, things that you're eating, by taking probiotics in some people, by IBS, or sometimes it just happens! Things will be out of whack in your guts for a while.
5. Not sure what suggestions you are looking for here. Other probiotic choices? :) There are tons on the market. Popular ones here are Align (that's what I take), VSL #3, and Florastor. Sometimes it takes trying different ones out. If you feel good taking Bio-K+, then no reason to not use it! You can use more than one probiotic if you want to, also, but be careful about taking too many. That can cause GI upset. Kefir, which is a fermented yogurt-type drink, is also popular here and contains tons of probiotics.
6. Fermented foods and yogurt can be very helpful in rebuilding gut flora, or so I've heard. Unfortunately, many people can't tolerate roughage for a while after C Diff, so that makes uncooked veggies tough to handle. Lactose intolerance is also common to develop, but not everyone gets it. A very bland diet like BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) is generally recommended to start with, and then begin reintroducing foods slowly from there and see how they agree with you. If it doesn't work out, move on to something else and try the other food later. Not sure what to say about maybe having to shift away from your vegan diet for right now.
Hope this helps! A mod should be along soon with better information than I've got. :)
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
Thanks a lot for your reply your reply helped a lot.
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
Kuro has given you useful information. Let us know how you do in the next few days.
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
Kuro's advice is fantastic! I'm sorry you are going through this, it is a horrible and frustrating disease. I hope you get to feeling better very soon, we all get there eventually :)
I also had right-sided pain bad during recovery (2 months out and it still happens sometimes), and it ended up being most likely my ileocecal valve (which is right next to your appendix on the lower right side, which did make me worry about my appendix but it was ruled out by a doctor). Apparently it can get inflamed during and in recovery from many GI illnesses and get "stuck open" or not function as well. Only a doctor can say for certain of course! Not much can be done for it that I am aware of (my chiropractor showed me how to massage the area and it has helped), but having a benign explanation for what is happening gave me some peace of mind :)
Keeping a food journal is also super helpful, and can help you identify what foods cause you to have a flare up.
It's super common to have anxiety with this horrible condition! Try to be as kind to yourself as you can, and counselling and medication can be very useful to ease the anxiety while your body heals :)
I also had right-sided pain bad during recovery (2 months out and it still happens sometimes), and it ended up being most likely my ileocecal valve (which is right next to your appendix on the lower right side, which did make me worry about my appendix but it was ruled out by a doctor). Apparently it can get inflamed during and in recovery from many GI illnesses and get "stuck open" or not function as well. Only a doctor can say for certain of course! Not much can be done for it that I am aware of (my chiropractor showed me how to massage the area and it has helped), but having a benign explanation for what is happening gave me some peace of mind :)
Keeping a food journal is also super helpful, and can help you identify what foods cause you to have a flare up.
It's super common to have anxiety with this horrible condition! Try to be as kind to yourself as you can, and counselling and medication can be very useful to ease the anxiety while your body heals :)
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
Yes this is really horrible disease .Im having loose stools twice a day on and off on vancomycin treatment.Still on vancomycin.I need to check with my GI.
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
Most people would be very happy with those minor symptoms.
The problem with consulting a Dr is that they might think they are expected to "do something" and that might upset what seems like a very normal recovery.
The problem with consulting a Dr is that they might think they are expected to "do something" and that might upset what seems like a very normal recovery.
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
Ive had loose mushy stools two-three times daily after vanco during the recovery time. So I guess that can be normal in recovery time, even though I'm not sure as I'm not a doctor
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Re: c diff recovery extremely stressed, plz help
I got C Dif several months ago. Horrible experience and little help from doctors. I tried many Probiotics, eating barely nothing. I did a lot of research and decided to try a highly rated and expensive Probiotic. But I was desperate. It was approx. $50 per bottle and is from a company called "1 MD". THE PROBIOTIC THAT FINALLY WORKED IS CALLED- "COMPLETE PROBIOTICS PLATINUM". Within 5 days I was getting better- 2 weeks, normal bowel movements and eating normally. I am not a doctor but a sufferer of this terrible side effect from taking antibiotics prescribed by 2 doctors. Please try this product. I do not work for the probiotic company.
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