8 weeks past vanco taper

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poppy86
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8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby poppy86 » Mon Jul 27, 2020 12:19 pm

Today is 8 weeks and 1 day since I finished my vanco taper. The pi-ibs is still very hard to manage. My gastroenterologist prescribed an anti-spasmodic, but I'm hesitant to try it due to side effects that could exacerbate some other conditions. So I just try to eat as carefully as I can and keep the anxiety under control, which hasn't been easy. I still wake up very early each day and have a morning rush of multiple BMs, which then irritates my internal hemorrhoids and causes them to bleed. I also have a lot of tenesmus still, gas, and rumbling/gurgling along with occasional abdominal pain. I'm exhausted most of the time and underweight, but I hope in time things will improve. I try to eat a variety of healthy foods that I can tolerate.

NickZA
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby NickZA » Mon Jul 27, 2020 12:58 pm

I am a 44 year old male. 5 months post C Diff. Used Vanco for 10 days. Tested 2 weeks later and was negative. But since then it has been a nightmare. Only food that works for me is gluten free oats. Green veggies and green smoothies. And lots of it. And fish steamed. And garlic, ginger and turmeric. Then I use Garden of Life’s Primal defense probiotics and also Molkosan which really made a difference for me. My nervous system is a mess. Vibrations in my feet. Pins and needles in hand and feet. Heart beat in my legs, toes and hands. Spasms in my neck going into my head sometimes. Pain in left side and right side. Pelvis pain. But if I follow my diet it really gets better. Sleep, exercise, and not stressing is also important. I just wish I was better informed of the journey that was lying ahead when I tested positive. Visited 6 GP’s and 2 specialists before my diagnoses were made.

NS789
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby NS789 » Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:21 pm

Poppy, I'm sorry to hear that you're still suffering from the nasty after-effects of c diff. Have you ever tried peppermint oil capsules? They act as a natural antispasmodic. They can cause heartburn though -- especially if you don't get the enteric coated ones. But I have found them to provide some relief from my "hyperactive" bowels.

I've also tried pure CBD oil and have found that it calms things down as well and helps me sleep.

Just a couple of natural options for you to consider :). Hang in there!

Ps - I know everyone says to take probiotics but I stopped taking them last week and honestly I feel better. I think they were causing some of my IBS issues (especially excess gas and rumbling).
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.

beth22
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby beth22 » Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:49 pm

I don't do well with probiotics either. I just take a tiny amount out of a capsule because I can't eat yogurt anymore. Everyone is different, but others have said that they did better without probiotcs after a while too.

NickZa - Welcome to the site. You can find more information for new posters in the first forum. I'm sorry that you are having all those side effects. Have you had your vitamin levels checked? Some people have been deficient in vitamins like B12, D, B6, or minerals like iron or calcium. Some of those types of deficiencies can cause symptoms too, like the pins and needles in hands and feet. I have had that too.

poppy86
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby poppy86 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:02 am

Thank you for your replies NickZa, NS789, and Beth22. IBS can be really unpleasant, I totally didn't expect all of this. Today I was up at 4 a.m. for a BM and went five times since then (it's now almost 9). This is how most days are for me. Nickza- I hope your recovery improves over time. And NS789, I hope you make a full recovery as well. I'll try peppermint oil, maybe that will work for me.

The only probiotic I take right now is just eating a probiotic yogurt that has 6 different live active cultures. I'm not really sure how much it helps, but I have been eating it every day for two months. I can't take Florastor.

Foods that I don't tolerate include sugar, anything with high fructose corn syrup, excess fruit, cruciferous vegetables, steak, spicy foods, most dairy, anything greasy or fried, and oddly enough dry cereals if eaten in excess. Stress and anxiety both cause the IBS to flare up as well and can cause loose BMs. For most of the day I feel an urge to have a BM, which is very distressing and distracting. If I eat a fruit or vegetable high in insoluble fiber, like zucchini with skin on, I eat oatmeal, pasta, plain mashed potatoes or rice first to "cushion" it. Meals tend to go through me quickly. I also try not to drink water with meals (instead drinking water between meals), and I'm trying to chew more thoroughly and eat slower. As soon as I eat I get very gassy and bloated, especially if the meal is big. So I try to have smaller meals more frequently rather than big ones.

Spike
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby Spike » Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:57 am

Have you ever talked to your doctor about Questran? I had a really rough spell couple weeks ago and it helped me get through. I dont have to take a lot of it and it works for me. I am struggling but it better and questran helpes me get through for a week there. I am 5 months out and still struggling. Hugs.

NS789
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby NS789 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:12 pm

Poppy, I've also just recently discovered a free app that I find really useful. It's called Cara Care and everyday you enter the foods you eat, how much water you drank, how much you exercised, how bloated you were, how crampy you were, how stressed you were, what medications/supplements you took, what your BMs were like on the Bristol scale, etc. After you've entered enough data, it'll give you little reports on what foods you ate on your worst days, for example, or what percentage of times you had "good" BMs or bad BMs, etc. It's neat because you can start to see a pattern between what you're eating/doing and how you feel. Worth a try if you're interested.
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: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby Ali-Mar » Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:57 pm

Poppy, I am so sorry you are still having problems, the recovery from C Diff seems a very rocky road. I hope we will put this behind us soon

NS789, it is a great idea to use an app. Is the app called Care Care? Can't seem to find it in the app store
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

NS789
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby NS789 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 5:11 pm

Hi Ali,

Here is the app I was referring to: https://cara.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.

beth22
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby beth22 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 8:20 pm

I found I could no longer tolerate yogurt after c difficile, even just a couple of spoonfuls. You could try stopping the yogurt that you have been eating for a few days and see if it makes any difference.

poppy86
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby poppy86 » Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:36 pm

Thank you for your replies Spike, NS789, Ali-Mar, and Beth22. I haven't tried questran, I'll ask my doc about that when I talk to him next. Also thank you for the app recommendation NS789. I'm having another bad day, just had watery D twice this afternoon. Had 7 BMs total today. Struggling, my stomach hurts. I don't know if this is just a bad IBS flare because I have been extremely stressed lately. I did skip my yogurt the past two days, I don't know if that affected anything. I'm so anxious right now.

Ali-Mar
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby Ali-Mar » Thu Jul 30, 2020 11:26 pm

Poppy I am so sorry to hear you are having another bad day, my GI doctor told me many times that stress flairs up the IBS and can cause diarrhea.
Last edited by Ali-Mar on Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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

poppy86
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby poppy86 » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:00 pm

It's 9 weeks today. Slowly getting through each day, lots of anxiety, BMs all over the map along with the other IBS symptoms, but I'm hanging in there.

Ril
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby Ril » Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:24 am

Poppy, I had severe IBS that unfortunately persisted so have tried several meds with varying degrees of success. Then first I tried was questran, which worked after some dosage regulation, but also xifaxan, which worked for a year.
Talk to your GI.

Rita

DCboiler
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Re: 8 weeks past vanco taper

Postby DCboiler » Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:25 pm

Beth- regarding Yogurt. My DR. informed me that I might be temporarily lactose intolerant when having D from C diff. I had tried eating some early in my first Vanco dose (when I was still symptomatic with frequent D) and felt worse almost immediately. Once symptoms subsided I was able to tolerate yogurt and reintroduce it to my diet while still on a Vanco taper.


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