Crohn's, UC, or CDiff Relapse? When will D stop? UGH

[AMinNJ]

Hi everyone,

My GI did a colonoscopy on me in Sept 08 to try to find a cause for the chronic RLQ pain I had been having for 2 years as well as the occasional bloodly mucous I had been having for 8 years, and the painful BMs with red blood on the tissue that I had been having on and off as well. He found nothing that would cause the RLQ pain, but did find small ulcers in the rectum to 15 cm. I was surprised and a bit angry... the doctor had only done the colonoscopy because I demanded one, and he had been insisting for the past several years that my rectal pain and bleeding was "only hemmhroids." After the colonoscopy, he told me he wasn't sure if the ulcers were from IBD, the result of the prep, or infection. He thought test prep, but I asked him to send in a stool test. He gave me the kit, and I sent it to the lab the next day. So I was surprised again when I got the call a few days later and was told I had tested positive for C.Diff. Started Flagyl, couldn't tolerate it, did a course of Vanco, and things improved.

Immediately after this, I did three things: I found myself a new GI, I went gluten and dairy free, and I started taking probiotics regularly (VSL, Florastor, Culturelle, P. Reut, etc.). I still had the chronic RLQ pain but no more bloody mucous. I was still worried about my chronic RLQ pain, so my new GI gave me a small capsule endoscopy which revealed scattered small ulcers in my terminal ileum. He said they might be from Crohn's Disease, or they might be the result of taking asprin for my migraines. Since I was asymptomatic, I did not need to take any medication. He said the only way to know for sure would be to do another colonoscopy and get a biopsy, but he did not want to do that because I had just had a colonoscopy a few months earlier.

Things stayed the same for me all year last year. Still had chronic RLQ pain (not severe just annoying) and occasional painful BMs with blood on the tissue. Wanting another opinion, I found another doctor, an IBD specialist/surgeon and had a consult. He did not want to run any tests because I had just had a bunch of tests, but he did say I had an anal fissue and that was causing the pain and bleeding. He said the fissue was in an unusual spot that could mean I had Crohn's.

Fast forward to this year. Back in the middle of March, I needed to take Zithromax for 4 days because of an infected skin biopsy. As a precaution, I took Florastor while taking the Zithromax and for a week or two afterwards, as well as VSL. The antibiotics really upset my stomach and I needed to take Pepcid AC for two weeks until it was better. I also had a couple of bad migraines during that time and took a ton of Advil and drank Pepsi, which I never do. I resumed taking VSL sporadically, the way I usually do, from that point on. I thought I was out of the woods.

Suddenly this past Friday night, I started getting severe abdominal cramps. An hour later, copious foul D. A couple of hours later, water D tinged with red blood. I had cramps all night long and when I went to the bathroom in the morning, I passed a LARGE amount of red liquid blood mixed with D. I was horrified, and had my husband take me right to the ER.

The ER was ridiculous. They took some stool samples and some blood samples, took an X-ray and an abdominal CT scan. After many many hours, the doctor came back to me and told me the CT showed "bowel wall thickening" but no perforation or toxic mega colon, and I was being discharged. Without any treatment, mind you. He told me the stool tests would take 3 days for results. I insisted he call the Infectious Disease specialist or my doctor or a GI specialist, but he gave me a hard time. Finally, he agreed to give me a prescription for Vanco and discharged me. I started taking the Vanco that evening.

I had watery D several times on Sunday but very little, if any, visible blood. Same as today, gas and watery D but no blood. Still crampy and uncomfortable. Called the IBD specialist and he is squeezing me in tomorrow morning. Until then, I am terrified. Is this Crohn's? Is it C.Diff? Is it both? If it is C.Diff again, when does the water D usually stop after starting Vanco?

Angela, 44
Mom to twin 6 year old boys

[JenniferH]

You suffered for that long, before they found out what was wrong? That's horrible, I am so sorry. I think the first step is to find out the results from the C diff test. The test for cdiff usually only takes 24hours. So if it has been 24hrs, that test might be resulted. Usually what I do, is I call the lab, they tell me if its resulted, and I pick up the results at one of the labs. They cant give you info over the phone. And I like to know asap!

[AMinNJ]

Thanks, Roy & Jennifer.

By RLQ pain, I meant "Right Lower Quadrant"

Do either of you know how long it usually takes for D to firm up after starting oral Vanco for C. diff? It's been 48 hours for me and I still have liquid D. (Sorry for TMI!)

Angela

[AMinNJ]

By the way, you're right, Roy, I agree... I definitely need a better answer to what is going on with me. I'm hoping my new GI will be the key for me to get a diagnosis.

[Nancy1]

Vanco usually took 3-4 days to kick in for me. If it takes longer than that, talk to your doc. You may need to change your dosage.