My Top 6 Recovery Symptom Mitigation Techniques

[Rusty S]

Just dropping in for a word of encouragement to everyone that's in their long, terrifying, frustrating recovery stage: I was doing some (never-ending) research, and apparently we're several times more prone than average to digestive upsets for up to *two years* after finishing treatment (though luckily it typically declines in frequency/severity over that time). At 16 months in, I can totally confirm! That said, I've noticed a few things that mitigate the intermittent gurgling, flatulence, aches, irregularity, mucous, etc that I'd like to share in the event it provides any relief to y'all. I know everyone's body is different, but these are six things that have definitively worked for me...

1. Intermittent Fasting: Reducing my "feeding window" to under 12hrs per day.

2. Reduced Caffeine: As long as I'm under 200mg per day I fare pretty well (no more coffee-all-day).

3. Avoiding Caffeine On An Empty Stomach: I have considerably better "habits" if I have, for example, my coffee *after* breakfast and my caffeinated-fill-in-the-blank *after* lunch.

4. Adequate Sleep: Helps GI symptoms in general (regularity, water re-absorption, etc).

5. Florastor: Saccharomyces Boulardii seems to reduce GI symptoms without causing the adverse effects associated with bacterial probiotics.

6. Reduced Sugar: If I have too much sugar now days, it's gas-pain/D-central. Cutting out sweets is good for my overall health, anyway, so I can live with that.

I know this doesn't cover food intolerances to things like lactose, gluten, etc, but I had a blood test a while back to rule those out when I kept having annoying GI symptoms. Through trial and error, these six rules have made a huge difference for me, so I hope y'all find some benefit. Hang in there, and as always, feel free to DM me if you have questions about anything I post.

Best wishes for a full recovery!

[Medena]

In recovery, fasting really helped me too.
And salted sticks :)

[D1dad]

Thanks for the help as I’m only 7 days into Flagyl after 9 days of (what the hell is going on here). I’m not young, 45 but thus far everyday is better than the last. Up till now I had what you could call a cast iron gut but know that I’ll be approaching what, and when I eat differently. I do like my beer but am scared to death about drinking my first beer after the Flagyl leaves my system.

[roy]

You might need to skip the beer for several weeks!

[Rusty S]

@Medina: Hmm... what are these Salted Sticks you speak of? A stick of salted butter? A stick from outside coated in salt? A stick made of salt with a grammatically inaccurate naming convention? A SALTED STICK OF DYNAMITE? A pretzel?

@D1dad: Oh, wow... yeah, anything that caused "irregular movements" in any way before *really* did after C Diff. It's like the infection and antibiotics for recovery nuke your gut flora and it has to slowly rebuild/adjust over a long period of time afterwards. I didn't realize there was such a complex ecosystem in my colon until this. I have a newfound respect for the role the GI tract can have on how normal/abnormal I can feel on the day-to-day.

IMHO, the top 3 hardest things to deal with after treatment are...
1. Being patient
2. Being patient
3. Being patient

Hang in there!

[D1dad]

Patient I will be but I’m not going to let this change me till it does. Last night was Taco Bell with diablo sauce, which I thought I’d pay for today but so far....nope. I also finished off my wife’s left over holiday m&m’s. I’m at the point that I’m eating like a high school wrestler appetite wise. I lost weight in just a couple weeks and even lost a few lbs this week no matter what I eat. I don’t get it?

[Rusty S]

As far as I've read, weight loss is normal. I lost 25lbs in the month I had C Diff prior to treatment. Scared the hell out of me, actually. Some people seem to have new food intolerances. I'm like you in that I don't; just more sensitive to pre-existing triggers (too much sugar, too much coffee, etc). Also I like Taco Bell.

[NanciT]

The weight loss is typical with CDIFF, it sounds like you are near the end of your treatment. I personally recommend giving the gut a rest, Taco Bell? WOW! You must have an iron gut!

What you are describing is unusual if you are able to eat anything you want. Hopefully that continues as you finish up your meds. I am sure the weight will come back on. I would be careful with alcohol.

Wishing you the best

NanciT

[D1dad]

Appreciate it. I did have a cheeseburger with no bun yesterday and I beleive the cheese upset my gut a little. I just took my last dose of Flagyl this morning so here’s to hoping it worked. Symptoms cleared within 24 hours and unlike many, I didn’t experience many side effects which is unusual for me as I’m sensitive to just about all medicines. The side effects I did experience were short lived, headaches the first couple of days and tiredness which may have been from c diff. I used to drink whole milk like water but during this deal I haven’t touched it simply because it in no way sounded good. I’m gonna celebrate what I hope is the end of this nightmare when the Flagyl has cleared my system with a tall beer. Speaking of which, any idea how long that is? My pamphlet that came with med says no alchohol for 48 hours while I’ve read online 72. It’s not a big deal if I have to wait, I’ve avoided alchohol for 3 weeks so 1 more wont kill me.

[roy]

72 hours, sooner than that and alcohol could react with the flagyl.
But if you have that beer and it upsets your gut you will not be able to judge if it's your poor (VERY POOR) choice of nutrients or a relapse of c.diff.
The idea of eliminating potentialy irritating substances is so that the cause of returning symptoms is much easier to identify.
Test results both positive and negative are unreliable after treatment so only symptoms indicate a cure.
If that beer irritates your already damaged gut you could end up being treated again for no real reason.
Give your gut time to heal before you insult it with irritants.
C.diff damage could be compared with a 12 inch round burn on your leg, that's the sort of damage inside you.
Would you consider pouring alcohol, salt, or chilli onto a burn 7 days after it started to heal?

[Obreezy]

Before C Diff I had an iron gut and could eat anything I wanted without any GI repurcussions. Even during antibiotics I felt fine and continued to eat pretty much whatever. But when I finished the antibiotic (particularly the second time around), that’s when I noticed that my stomach was significantly more sensitive and I’ve had to modify my diet.

Be really careful about what you eat! I was pretty uneducated about C Diff the first time I got it, so I expected myself to feel back to normal right after finishing the antibiotic, and for the most part I did. So over the next few weeks, I ate fried foods, many types of vegetables, and drank occasionally with only minor upsets that I didnt think too much about. Around 5 weeks after finishing flagyl, I went on a road trip to visit my parents. I stopped to get food along the way, so of course I got loads of greasy fast food. Then when I was with my parents, we went out to eat and drank almost every day. My stomach got really upset, and I thought it was a relapse. I got retested, tested positive, and put on vanco. Looking back, I’m almost positive it was just IBS from all the garbage I’d eaten that week, and I ended up doing a lot more harm to my body than good.

[Rusty S]

@D1dad: I also took Flagyl with no real side effects and ate whatever I wanted while on it, but like Obreezy, I didn't know what I was getting into when the antibiotics were over. A few days after the Flagyl was when the fun started! The active C Diff bacteria are killed off by the antibiotics, but some of the spores persist. The "recovery symptoms" I'm referring to come and go for long after; the first 6 months were the most annoying, and I'm feeling generally pretty good at *month 15* now. "Everyone's body is different" but it's normal to have aftereffects that gradually decline in severity (as does relapse risk) over time. No one's tryin' to scare ya or anything; just a heads up on what you might expect. I know I sure as hell didn't see it coming. For reference, my only treatment was one round of Flagyl, too. Hopefully you fare well!

[NanciT]

Please reread what Roy has written. We have both been on this site a long time. We see this over and over again.

During medication many do well, I did fine on Vanco 10 days and could actually eat! Coming off treatment, things became much worse. I did relapse but it was over 2 weeks later. The issue becomes if it is actually a relapse, you don't want to treat unless it is. These meds are harsh on the system, I had issues AFTER the Vanco, not during.

Talk with your GI about alcohol as far as how long to wait. It is tough on the gut and there is a warning about Flagyl and alcohol. Give your gut some time.

NanciT

[D1dad]

Well thanks everyone for peeing in my Cheerios lol. To hear being fine on Flagyl, as far as eating and then getting worse is a little disheartening to be honest. This has pretty much kicked me in the nads from a healthy, in shape, somewhat middle aged guy standpoint. I always took pride that @45 my weight is good, take no maintenance meds and generally never get sick given that half the year I work in hospitals and nursing homes. I looked at today as the finish line and being able to put this nightmare behind me but maybe I need to rethink that. At the same time I refuse to sniff every little fart and turn myself into a paranoid basket case. I do appreciate all the advice and will definetely take heads up approach. No offense, but I hope after this our paths never cross again.

[roy]

You have/had a serious infection in one of your largest organs and we were trying to support you with our experiance on how to maximize your chances of a quick recovery.

Here's another drop for your cheerios
100 people die each day in road accidents in the USA.
Around 82 die daily from c.diff.
Look after yourself, do what you think best suits your own situation.