CDiff - IBS - Amenorrhea

[moons]

Hi all,

I'll try keep this brief but I am looking for support and help.

31DEC18 I was given strong antibiotics from my GP for a respo infection. In 6th Jan I flew Ireland - NZ and for the entire flight had the worst food poisoning symptoms that I ever experienced in my entire life. Landed in NZ after 38hrs (2 x 12h flights and a 14h layover!)and went straight to bed with 2Ltrs of fluid. LBM continued each 10 mins until I began passing mucusy-blood within 24h. Straight to A&E for admission and was diagnosed with CDiff.

Long story short, was given a 10 day vancomycin and placed in quarantine for the duration. Slowly, symptoms subsided. I began taking probiotics daily, including kombucha, kefir and saurkraut. I went back to the gym even though I was taking it very easy, my diet returned to somewhat normality although I stayed gluten free, was careful with spices and knew instantly if I had a reaction. I am vegan so I don't touch animal products but managed to make it work.

I have no idea how or why, but in April I ended up back in hospital again with a repeat of symptoms and INCREDIBLE boating. This time tested negative for CDiff and advised symptoms are as a result of IBS and general gastrointestinal tract damage.

I am now on low FODMAP, week 3 and increased my probiotic intake. I am feeling okay if not a bit low energy but I put that down to having difficulty meeting protein requirements as a vegan doing FODMAP. I'm becoming almost obsessed in rating how I'm feeling after each meal, thinking if this will make me sick or react and having to measure every gram of food on FODMAP is quite difficult too. I am becoming super caught up in food and no longer enjoy it as I fear it may make me sick again.

However, what I am mostly struggling with is another case of amenorrhea. I suffered previously from Feb16-Aug17 due to 12 week calorie deficit for weightlifting, which took my body over a year to recover from and it's now back obviously as a result of this. I am absolutely heartbroken. t's playing a massive mental game with me, I have put on a lot of weight in these last 5 months and have given up CrossFit as I have previously felt too unwell to train. I now feel like I could train but I am scared to incase it's the reason behind my latest reaction and also if it hinders my HA recovery.

Training and physical movement are such an important part of my holistic wellbeing that I really feel the negative effects of missing training. I feel more depressed, less proud of myself and like I am viewing myself as overall unhealthy. I am a yoga teacher and actually feel like I have nothing to teach as my physical body is not healthy and neither is my mental wellbeing right now either. If I could get back to moving my body I feel it would benefit me, although I am petrified of another attack.

My questions are;
Has anyone returned to HIIT workouts and what has the result been?
Has anyone else lost their period as a result?
How long was post-CDIFF IBS present for?

Thanks guys - feeling very alone and scared that this is my life now :(

[georgina]

If you are young ,like in your twenties your doctor should check for ovarian cysts and also do complete bloodwork for hormones , also ask doctor to get the thyroid checked .If you are older (in your fourties) you could go onto menopause. Don't think that amenorrhea has anything to do with Cdiff , it may a posibility to be influenced by veganism but also don't think that is the main cause.Discuss with your doctor and ask him to run some tests.

[moons]

I'm 33. I'll give it one more month - didn't show up for March or April and if it's not here again for May then I will see whats happening. Probably down to stresses I'd say :(

[roy]

If you miss a month at your age you should be seeing your Dr about it now, not waiting another month.

[moons]

CDiff and its stressors just keep showing up in all different areas of life hey :( Perhaps it's best for me not to return to the gym.
I have an appointment made for next Tuesday.

[beth22]

Lack of nutrients and vitamin deficiencies can cause you to have some of your symptoms, including the lack of period. If you have not already done so, ask your GP to check you for anemia, especially since you are vegan. Many who are not vegan wind up with iron deficiency, B12, B6, vitamin D, folate, etc.

[moons]

Full bloods done just before CDiff at an annual check up and they were fine, bloods done in Jan and fine too. So something happened between March and now :(

In terms of my other questions - anyone shed any light?

[Musings]

We are not doctors and think that most of these questions/concerns are something that should be addressed with a medical professional.

I skipped my period, or had an extremely light period, during active c.diff but believe it was due to lack of nutrients and stress. Once I began to recover, that regulated and I am around your age so if pregnancy is not a possibility, or you haven't recently gone on hormonal birth control, would advise speaking to your doctor about a missed period as others have mentioned it may be related to certain deficiencies.

[Ril]

Various things can cause this, among them poor nutrition, overdoing athletics, eating disorders, and many other things.As was already stated, c diff is not a likely culprit. Your dr will know what to check for and hopefully/likely it is something easily resolved, but it is good you have an appointment.

[moons]

Was simply asking for personal feedback - but guess this isn't the forum for that.
Thank you all for your time, good luck with your paths :)

[roy]

Dehydration from c.diff might cause amenorrhea, so might poor nutrition and other things right up to deadly cancer.
Go to your Dr and get professional advice.

[Ril]

In terms of your question about PI IBS, you will find all different answers. Some people recover very quickly and some unfortunately last for years. According to my GI there is no definitive answer in the studies and we hear the same thing here. The best thing is to monitor your diet and eat bland foods adding new foods slowly so you know what you can tolerate.