Six month healed, post-IBS symptoms

[Jess93]

Hello,

I'm glad to say that after battling C-Diff for a few months, I have not had a recurrence for six months.
I eat a variety of foods but I'm on a mostly plant-based diet.

I'm wondering about post-C Diff IBS symptoms.

I get gassy and bloated, my food does not digest all the way, sometimes I have ribbon stools, and I recently developed on and off abdominal pain in my lower left abdomen. Does this sound like an issue left over from C Diff or something else? Colon cancer? Does anyone have these issues after being healed for six months?

Thank you,

Jess93

[NS789]

Hi Jess93! I'm glad to hear you've gone six months without a recurrence. That's wonderful news!

Do you have a GI doctor? It's possible that your symptoms are IBS-related, but I would check with a specialist to rule other things out. I certainly wouldn't jump to the conclusion of colon cancer, but ribbon-like stool can sometimes be a sign of a narrowing somewhere within the colon or a partial blockage. It's worth investigating just to be safe.

Wishing you well!

[georgina]

As NS789 said , a weird shaped stool does not mean that is cancer related (although you can never be to sure of anything when it comes to cancer). Uneven movement of your gut and spasm will create any kind of shapes to your stool and most of those are IBS related. But , as i said , if you have a suspicion or if it runs in the family you can talk to your GI about screening.

[LHutz]

Nobody here can say whether you symptoms are cancer. You'd need a colonoscopy or fecal cancer test for a diagnosis.

After c. diff many people are left with new food sensitivities that they did not have before c. diff. In particular, many people find vegetables difficult to digest. It's possible that your plant based diet could be causing you some issues. You have to figure out what foods you are now sensitive to and that takes time. For example, many people find that they can no longer digest lettuce, garlic, onions and lactose. C. diff left me unable to digest lettuce, garlic. Both of them now cause D, gas and abdominal pain.

[PamO]

Without giving medical advice and being able to identify what the issues are caused by...I think it takes the gut a long time to heal from cdiff. From my own experience, it has been a year and is now beginning to feel like things are actually more like normal. The microbiome needs to heal, tissue has been damaged, and it also seems like peristaltic needs to adjust again and normalize, and the ability to absorb fluids and nutrients may be impaired for some time. Vegetable/fiber diet is good for restoration of the microbiome, although raw veggies may be difficult for awhile. Someone wrote about garlic as well, garlic is very difficult to digest and in Eastern medicine is used very sparingly (unlike in the West) and known to cause issues.

[Jmm805]

Hi there, I wish there were more replies! I am a year post- x2 fecal Microbial Transplants. I haven't had any reoccurrences since the FMTs but I have had episodes about once a month where I get such severe abdominal pain that I pass out on the toilet. The symptoms are much like my first night of c diff symptoms where my body empties my colon fast and aggressively. My doctor has done numerous tests and has concluded its likely IBS. I guess there's not much anyone can really share other than trying to manage IBS now? I wish I had more to share other than you're not alone. If I get any good info, I will come back and share.