Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

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oceaneo
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Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby oceaneo » Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:59 pm

Hello again, this is my second post and I went more in depth on my full story in my first post but I just had a couple of additional questions.

Every since my stool test came back positive, I have been very cautious with my diet and never had severe symptoms throughout (thank GOD) just maybe one or two BMS a day which is normal for me anyway. Keeping a bland diet and introducing "safe" foods every day to see where I am at.

I had a couple of questions because I have talked to a lot of doctors and they recommended I wait before taking Flagyl because I have no symptoms and some say the opposite:

1. One doctor recommended to get another stool test in a week to see where I am at and then recommended to take Flagyl after a week or two if I come back positive. If I don't have severe symptoms, should I do that? I heard that flagyl can CAUSE c diff to be worse?

2. My main problem is my range of activity - right now I am doing a lot of resting and staying at home. It is helping a lot with my recovery. However, if I go outside to run errands and I walk around for 2+ hours, my symptoms slightly flared the next day. Was this normal for any of you all? For example, the other day I went to the mall and ran a few errands to get out of the house and I came back having some acid reflux/indigestion type feelings. The next day I had one slightly loose BM and my fever rose to 99.1 and went away on its own after 30 minutes. Where I live, it suddenly got cold overnight and this might be the cause of the sudden feelings. Is this the road to recovery? or should I take the flagyl to eradicate this once in for all?

3. I know some people debate on if probiotics work or not, but which ones worked for everyone? I just want to get a healthy probiotic schedule in so I can get a healthy gut again :)

I am getting a lot of mixed opinions from everyone and I am unsure what to do and of course the main goal is a speedy recovery. I had a doctor tell me "you are young so you should be able to eat and do anything and resume daily life" when I heard that this stuff takes weeks/months to heal sometimes. I also suffer from anxiety as well, so worrying doesn't do me any good and any helpful advice is appreciated!

georgina
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Re: Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby georgina » Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:33 am

The chances are that if you take another course of Flagyl you might end up relapsing full blown after the course.As you probably heard , Cdiff is a spore bacteria that cannot be eradicated for good , the antibiotic will only kill the active bacteria that has spouted from the spore form but it will not touch the spore , the spore will remain dormant inside the gut and the only thing that can stop it from spouting again is your beneficial flora. Flagyl will not only kill the Cdiff bacteria but will also kill a lot of your good flora in the process. Vanco will kill less flora then the Flagyl and the Dificid (witch is the best drug in my opinion) will only kill the clostridia species and will not touch the rest of your good guys.
As far as probiotics there are lots of options but most people stick to Florastor witch is a friendly yeast that has been studied to help in this infection , it can be taken along with the antibiotics because it won't be killed by it.

AllisS
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Re: Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby AllisS » Wed Oct 17, 2018 1:42 am

As Georgina says, Flagyl isn't the best choice of drugs. In any case, the doctor shouldn't treat you with an antibiotic only on the basis of a positive test result.Treatment should be based on symptoms, and if you're not having watery, profuse diarrhea three or more times a day for at least three days then treatment for C. diff isn't advisable.
If your illness was preceded by use of a medication, e.g., an antibiotic, please fill out an FDA Adverse Event Report at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm

roy
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Re: Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby roy » Wed Oct 17, 2018 3:15 am

A positive c.diff test does not mean you have a disease.
C.diff is a natural normal gut bacteria that lives happily alongside all the other types of bacteria in your gut.
C.diff (and most other bacteria) has the potential to make you sick.
If your gut flora is healthy it keeps c.diff in check and testing positive is 100% normal.
NO Dr should order a c.diff test unless you have frequent watery D.
That's because it's perfectly normal to carry c.diff and unless its causing D it MUST be left alone!
Giving treatment in an attempt to "cure" c.diff that's not causing a problem actually creates the condition in the colon that causes c.diff to overgrow!
Many people, and unfortunately quite a few inexperianced Drs make the mistake of confusing the bacteria named c.diff with the disease called clostridium difficile colitis (more correctly its called Psudomembronous colitis).
C.diff the bacteria has the potential to cause illness but is totaly different to the disease c.diff colitis.
One is a normal harmless gut condition that should be left alone, the other is a disease that needs treating (if it does not resolve on its own)

AllisS
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Re: Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby AllisS » Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:46 am

Thanks, Roy, for this clear explanation. Helps me better understand the difference between a positive test result and the illness, and will refer back to it in future.
If your illness was preceded by use of a medication, e.g., an antibiotic, please fill out an FDA Adverse Event Report at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm

beth22
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Re: Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby beth22 » Thu Oct 18, 2018 1:02 am

oceaneo - I have been testing positive for over a year and I have not treated nor will I unless I get D. When I first got c difficile, I was told to treat even though my symptoms were mild and I wish that I had not done that. I got one relapse after another. Flagyl is not even listed as a first line treatment for c difficile anymore. Your doctor should read the new guidelines. Unless you have symptoms, treatment is usually not advised. Probiotics help some. Florastor did not agree with me and I had to try several probiotics to see which one did. I take VSL#3, but there are others like Align, Culturelle, etc. Florastor is very good. Whichever probiotic you try, just take a small amount at first to see how you react to it. Sometimes it can give GI symptoms too.

oceaneo
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Re: Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby oceaneo » Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:39 pm

Thank you for everyone for the advice! I had found the same reasoning in all my research that Flagyl does more harm than good. It's definitely hard to try to recover from a serious illness without taking any form of medicine.

I also still have that question about fevers and levels of activity, I know everyone responds differently to c diff but did anyone else have this problem if they walked too much or had to many activities that their symptoms would slightly come back just for a day or two?

beth22
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Re: Newbie: need some advice on mild case of Cdiff

Postby beth22 » Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:54 am

I did in the beginning. Whenever I got run down, didn't get enough sleep, caught a cold, symptoms would return for a while, sometimes just a day or two.


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