Dificid Day 5

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sammi79
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Dificid Day 5

Postby sammi79 » Fri Jul 24, 2020 8:30 am

I had my follow up with my GI doctor this morning. He was glad to hear that after 4 days on Dificid (I'm starting day 5 today) that I am getting back to normal. I am have having formed movements, can safely pass gas, still seeing a little blood and having some gurgling intestines but nothing to the extent I was before. I'm also not running to the bathroom up to 20 times a day so that is a nice perk, too.

I asked him about a Dificid taper and he wants to start with the 10 day treatment first and then see me in a month. He isn't convinced my whole issue is C Diff because I had the negative test before the colonoscopy and he said there was inflammation in my colon but it didn't look like C Diff. As I mentioned before, he did not take samples to test for C Diff during the colonoscopy. I brought up the false negative since I was on the Vanco when he tested me and he said "that wouldn't make a difference". I feel that it would and had it truly been negative, I would not have gotten worse 2-3 weeks after finishing the taper and test positive again. But, I'm no doctor so what do I know?!

At this point, he wants me to finish the Dificid and I have 6 days left on that. He also wants me to keep taking the Balsalazide he put me on when he thought it was ulcerative colitis. I had stopped taking it when I started the Dificid but he said it's an anti-inflammatory that could still help calm my colon during the C Diff.

I feel pretty good on the Dificid. I have bad nausea most of the day and am pretty tired physically. The nausea has been clearing around dinner time so I get to eat then, YAY! I am not complaining by any means. This is the most normal I have felt since last fall. I got out yesterday afternoon to run a quick errands and the movement of the car brought the nausea back, so I am going nowhere until this med is done!

Florastor doesn't seem to help me. Would VSL3 be worth a try? Can I take that with the Dificid?

roy
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Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby roy » Fri Jul 24, 2020 11:08 am

"Florastor doesn't seem to help me. Would VSL3 be worth a try? Can I take that with the Dificid?"
how do you know it's not helping?
You also said your improving and almost back to normal.
Old saying.
If it's not broke dont fix it!

NS789
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Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby NS789 » Fri Jul 24, 2020 1:38 pm

VSL may help but it's impossible to say. In my experience, what works for one person, may not work for another. How your body reacts to certain probiotics is certainly an individual experience. You may just have to try a few and see how they affect you. For example, my GI was adamant that I take Align but my body just didn't seem to tolerate it. I also tried other generic, multi strain probiotics and couldn't tolerate them either. Florastor was okay though. It's just trial and error.

You could try any probiotic with the Dificid. Just don't go overboard and take too many or too high a dose. You might make yourself feel worse rather than better. It's best to go slow and introduce things gradually so you can monitor your body's reaction.

Take care!
32 y/o female. Got C. diff in Feb. 2020. Prescribed Flagyl (10 days), then Flagyl again (4 days), then Vanco (10 days), then Dificid (10 days), then Dificid again (10 days), then a Vanco taper (5 wks), then a Dificid taper (2 mths) and finally recovered.

Ali-Mar
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Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby Ali-Mar » Fri Jul 24, 2020 5:43 pm

It is my understanding everyone will test negative while on the antibiotic. I tested negative two days after completing Vanco and tested positive 5 weeks later. I hear most will test false negative up two tweels post-treatment.

If you take probiotics ( live bacteria ) while on antibiotics you should take it a few hours before or after the antibiotic so the antibiotic won't kill it. I also read that you should also take it 15 mins before eating so the stomach acid won't kill it
Male 54, contracted C-Diff on Feb 5, 2020, diagnosed on March 2nd, Took Flagyl for 8 days, Vanco for 10 days, relapsed 5 weeks post-Vanco. finished Dificid Taper on June 20 relapsed two weeks later, had the FMT on July 14th, 2020

roy
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Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby roy » Fri Jul 24, 2020 6:03 pm

During and after treatment tests are not reliable.
As many as 50% are wrong.
Both false positive and false negatives are very common.

beth22
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Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby beth22 » Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:40 am

It is very rare to get a positive test while on vanco. It has happened to some posters and they had to increase their dosage. My ID when I first had c diff told me that it was pointless to test on vanco because it would not show positive.

You will have to try different probiotics. VSL#3 helped me, but in small doses. I could not tolerate FLorastor. It gave me a lot of bloating, gas, looser stools and even a rash. Everyone is different. Align did not agree either.

sammi79
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Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby sammi79 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 8:03 am

Roy, perhaps I should have eleborated. I am not currently taking Florastor. I took it Jan-March and it seemed to have doubled my symptoms. That is why I asked about a new probiotic.

I am seeing more blood with my movements. BMs are still forming well, minimal abdominal pain, minimal bloating, gurgling is just about gone. I will admit, I have been enjoying being able to eat more. Would that cause an increase in bleeding? I felt defeated when I went today and saw the amount of blood. That is always my hallmark CDiff sign. Perhaps the doctor is right and I do also have UC. I am going to go back to being much kinder to my colon with food and see if that helps!!!!

Netnet
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Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby Netnet » Tue Sep 22, 2020 1:43 am

A few years ago when I had cdiff, I used Florastor after my own research. I was also on Vanco at the time after Flagyl failed to cure me. I started to notice a few small patches of slightly darkening, leathery looking skin Mostly on my trunk. Then more. A dermatologist thought they were something that would only get worse with age but I’m convinced that they weren’t what he thought they were bc they eventually disappeared after stopping the Vanco and Florastor. I tend to think the Florastor caused the patches due to its yeast origin. Could this be true??? Or was the Vanco more likely the source? I’d like to know in case I ever need to take an antibiotic again and feel the need to add Florastor. Or maybe I should be taking it anyway instead of the Align 5X that I take.

beth22
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Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:23 pm

Re: Dificid Day 5

Postby beth22 » Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:08 pm

I got a rash from Florastor, but not patches. I think it can cause skin issues. Maybe you have a yeast sensitivity. That is what a doctor told me about my rash.


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