Cipro plus Vancomycin for kidney infection, post c. diff

[OverIt33]

Yes, a culture was done, and yes, the (silent) UTI turned into a kidney infection. I have to take an antibiotic. Given the culture results along with my medical tolerances and reactions, Cipro is the only fit for the job.

My doctor is having me try a low, suppressive dose of vancomycin simultaneously due to my c. diff colonization just three months ago (after taking Cefdinir for -ironically- a UTI). I have managed to avoid relapse so far, but it has still been a rough and slow recovery. Spent so much $ on strong probiotics. Took Florastor during Vancomycin treatment. BRAT diet until a few weeks ago, and intermittent extreme fatigue.

And now, a kidney infection of all things. Bad one.
Yes, my doctor and I are both aware that vancomycin can cause UTI symptoms. Hoping to not have to take it long enough for that problem to arise. People who have been colonized with c. diff. have limited options when infections happen though, and I'm doing my best with what I have to work with.

So, tonight I have taken a single 500mg dose of Cipro along with a 125mg Vancomycin pill to kick things off.
Tomorrow I will switch to 250mg Cipro 2x/day, along with one 125mg vancomycin pill a day. I will do this for 3-5 total days depending on how I feel, etc. Hopefully not any longer, but there's no telling. Will also be taking Florastor twice a day.

I'm not posting here for alarmist opinions, so please save that type of input. I'm posting this so that whatever happens, I will be able to post a followup update after this treatment combo to share the results.

Fingers crossed, but this is nerve wracking either way. :(

[roy]

Keep taking florestor for several weeks after you finish antibiotics.

[NanciT]

First Sorry you are going through this. I also want to mention we as Moderators nearly all have gone through this illness. Some of us have also been in healthcare for many years. We donate our time on the site and work hard not to alarm, but give our information in reference to our own experiences.

I was in a similar situation but both my urologist and GI met, decided to not have me take the Vanco. This was due to the bladder irritation side effects. I had been trapped in a bad cycle with this. I ended up on Keflex, continued with my VSL#3 and did fine. I don't recall how many months I was Post CDIFF at the time. I did not relapse

Hope you feel better soon

NanciT

[Ril]

Same as NanciT and Roy.
I actually continued Florastor for 3 months after antibiotics. It made me feel more secure in addition to whatever help it was giving and that was just as important.

Hang in there and do well. We are here.
Rita

[OverIt33]

Thanks for the support everyone. It's hard to know what the right thing to do is, given what you know about your body, medical history, and what your doctor says, etc.

Turns out my infection is a bit worse than we thought, so it will require a longer course of antibiotics. I've made the following modification, according to all the data and my doctor's orders:

Today, instead of going down to 250mg Cipro, I've stayed at the 500mg dose twice a day. I've also started doing Vanco twice a day (125mg) instead of just once. The plan is to continue this for 10 days. *sigh*

Still taking probiotics and Florastor as planned. Maybe the probiotics are pointless, but I'd rather take them anyway.

So far, just mild stomach upset, but no D. We will see.

OH, and any advice about taking Fluconazole during this would be appreciated. Obviously it would wipe out the Florastor, but.... I'm totally miserable with a yeast infection at the same time.

This is really a mess, but I know I'm not the only one.

[NanciT]

I have no issues taking Fluconazole post CDIFF. After taking Vanco, I had chronic yeast and went on several rounds of it ( short course over a month).
I have done this several times, and also a variety of diet changes etc. Thankfully no issues with CDIFF

Sorry you are going through this, hopefully your infection will get cleared soon.

NanciT

[AnxiousJ]

I'm sorry you are going through this. I myself am 3 yrs post infection and was diagnosed with a uti last week and started Macrobid on Friday. This is my first course of antibiotics in 3 yrs. I am taking Florastor 3 hrs after my first dose followed by Bio K Plus 3 hrs after my 2nd dose. I know Cipro is a much stronger antibiotic but it sounds like you have a good plan with your doctor and are informed. Good luck with everything and keep us posted.

[beth22]

I had to take Levaquin along with vanco after c diff. I took 250 vanco twice a day. I had D the entire time, but not c diff. If you take the meds for yeast too, try taking a bacteria based probiotic in between your doses of cipro.

[OverIt33]

This is all great info; thanks everyone.

As of yesterday (day 4), I started having stomach upset in the morning and smelly, soft stool. Yesterday that happened twice in the morning and then I was fine. So far today it has happened once. I don't know if it qualifies as D, but it's close. Of course, BOTH antibiotics I'm taking can cause that, and I can't know without a stool sample what my toxin levels are. So far I feel fine otherwise, and yesterday was the first day I really felt better kidney-wise. There was marked progress by day 2 of Cipro, but yesterday was when I knew it was healing my kidney for sure.
Apparently I need to start taking weekly at-home UTI tests, because all of mine are silent! I don't know they're there until they go to my kidneys. :(

I took 2 doses (two days in a row) of Fluconazole, and it seems to be helping. Of course that doesn't happen overnight, but definite improvement.

My doctor said if I develop D to raise the frequency of vanco to 4x/day for the remaining duration of the Cipro course. I HAVE NO INSURANCE, so I'm trying to save as much of the vanco as I can. I don't think my symptoms warrant it yet, but I'll go to 4x/day if necessary. Worst case is I have a full round of Dificid (never taken it before) ready for IF I need to take it at any point. That stuff is $4K without insurance.
I also have a cold, woohoo!
Bacteria, yeast, AND a virus! Guess my immune system pushed the snooze button or something.

Taking SO many probiotics in the middle of the day between antibiotic doses (including Florastor)- which, yes, those can also cause D, so... *shrug*

Will update more when I know more.

I really appreciate everyone's support. <3

[roy]

Sometimes posters remind me of this song.


There was an Old Lady song

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and wiggled and tiggled inside her;
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die! 
There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat;
Fancy that to swallow a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady that swallowed a dog;
What a hog, to swallow a dog;
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cow,
I don't know how she swallowed a cow;
She swallowed the cow to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...
She's dead, of course

Moral is.
Dont overdo the medication!

[OverIt33]

How helpful of you, Roy. Thanks, I really appreciate that. You seem like a great person.

Well, it seems to have come back after all, so I'm going to have to stop my antibiotic early. I'm not posting this for snarky song lyrics or anything of the sort, in case you felt those were necessary. I'm posting for anyone who happens to be reading through these threads and is in the same situation.

[AnxiousJ]

I'm so sorry to read this. Were you tested? Is it possible it could be antibiotic associated and not necessarily the infection? It may be helpful if possible to get an infectious disease dr on board to help your doctor with a game plan. Hopefully, this can be dealt with quickly. I hope you feel better soon!

[Ril]

Unless you are having watery d it could be antibiotic induced d. You might want to talk to your dr before you do anything and see about testing and/or cutting back on other probiotics other than Florastor, depending upon the dr’s recommendations.

[OverIt33]

AnxiousJ wrote:
> I'm so sorry to read this. Were you tested? Is it possible it could be
> antibiotic associated and not necessarily the infection? It may be helpful
> if possible to get an infectious disease dr on board to help your doctor
> with a game plan. Hopefully, this can be dealt with quickly. I hope you
> feel better soon!

I haven't been tested as of now. The frequency alone is so reminiscent of c. diff., along with a couple of other little indicators, that I doubt it isn't c. diff. Again, I don't have health insurance, so even a stool sample can be costly. The only reason I have the vanco and the dificid is thanks to a medical tourism trip, basically. I may have to go back to restock! I did talk with my doctor, and we do have a new plan for the next 3 days. We're monitoring my kidney infection, and it's almost gone, but not quite. 3 more days of cipro would do the trick. The plan is to raise the vanco to 250mg instead of 125 and keep taking the cipro to finish out a 10 day course. Then, do a course of dificid, which I've never taken before but seems promising. This time, we will be testing samples after the dificid to make sure it is GONE. This is my second occurrence of c. diff., assuming that's what it is, and I've tried very hard to heal my gut during all of this. Before that first time, I never in my life had D from antibiotics. In fact, I never really had D from anything besides the flu.

I'm not sure the c. diff. ever completely went away after the first time- it just went to low enough levels that it was no longer a threat. So, I think I would test positive now even if I weren't having those symptoms. This will have to be a much more aggressive eradication approach, because I cannot stay in this vicious cycle. So, cipro + double vanco for 3 more days, followed by Dificid is the plan. Hopefully I can do it.

And for the record, I *despise* taking meds unless it's absolutely necessary to do so. For anyone who thinks I'm just a happy pill popper (which Roy seemed to indicate), I'm the exact opposite. However, my life and internal organs are at stake, so I'm just doing what I have to do. Aren't we all?

In general, this forum does seem to be a supportive place, and I'm grateful to have it. Thank you AnxiousJ and everyone else who has chimed in. How is your round of antibiotics going? Good I hope.

[beth22]

OverIt33 - You may not have c difficile back. When I was on the Levaquin along with vanco, I had D the entire two weeks I took the med and I had to take it as well. If I remember right, I took the vanco for a few more days after stopping the Levaquin. Don't bother to test while you are on vanco because it will probably just mask the test results even if it is c difficile. And don't mind Roy - he has that kind of sense of humor and tries to lighten people's spirits. I'm sure there was no ill intent.