DannyC's Case History

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 8:03 pm

History done by date: June 10 I am new here. I am on my third bout with C. Diff. First was in 03-02. I have had them back to back to back. Was in the hospital when I got it the first time and just came home today from the being in the hospital because of total dehydration from the C. Diff. I am also HIV+ and can deal with the HIV+ better than I can deal with this. This is killing me, I can't take much more. My question is is there anything other than Flagyl that I could take to supplement the Flagyl? Like health-food wise, somethings that I could eat to improve it, holistic stuff, etc? Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 8:07 pm

June 11 Like I said I am dealing with the HIV better than this. I have been + for over 9 yrs. now and have never been sick due to it. I read up on a lot of what Lauren told me to read today an am going to the health food store tomorrow or Thurs. to pick up some of the stuff listed. Spoke with lady at store by phone today an told me some conflicting things that have me baffled. She said stay away from wheat, bread I assume, but told me to eat oatmeal which contains wheat. What to do? Also, what to drink beside water? I usually drink sweet tea and Sprite everyday and your suppose to stay away from sugar. I am getting very frustrated. Sorry for so many questions but I have given myself a trip to the NASCAR race down in Daytona in July an I need to get well before then. Driving from near Atlanta down there and do not need this.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 8:13 pm

June 12 I went to the health food store today and got a supplement called Multidophilus Plus DDS-1. It contains 1 billion microorganisms of Lactobacillus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus and Bifidus (B. Bifidum). So hopefully that will help some also. I also got a small book on Probiotics. I also went to the grocery store an got me some more yogurt and some frozen chicken things (hope this is not bad). How about Caffeine, Diet Sprite? It does not have any sugar. My mom only puts 1/2 cup of sugar in my tea anyhow. Your right, I am nervous about not being completely well for my much anticipated trip to the race in Daytona. Same day/Separate post: Thanks. I figured buying all that frozen chicken was a bad idea but I am not a cook at all. So I usually eat a lot of fast food or easy to cook (frozen) foods. What is fake sugar? I use Domino Sugar for my tea. Also, can I eat eggs, which is a dairy product, right? The lady at the health food store told me not to eat wheat, which is bread. Is this true and how do I suppose to eat any type of sandwich then? I want to thank all of y'all for all of this informative information. It is very much appreciated. Like I have said, I have got to get fully well before my July 4th weekend trip to Daytona.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 8:23 pm

June 13 I am sure that I should be well by the beginning of July, which is my goal, but just nervous. It is a long drive down there an do not need a sore buttock and having to stop for the bathroom all the time, etc and esp. having to go all the time at the racetrack. The bread: I am glad to hear that I can possibly eat sandwiches then. I use Miracle Whip instead of Mayo on my sandwiches. I did not even think about going to the deli at the grocery store an getting already prepared stuff. I shall do that tomorrow. Eggs: Good to hear I can have them also. When I finish this, I am off-line to fix me an egg sandwich. I hope to be able to go back to my regular, not good I might add, eating habits but will try to change some things to make it alittle better of a diet. Not really diet but eating habits because I can use all the weight I can handle. Along with eating better, the antibiotic and the probiotic (on day 2 of it) I am taking hopefully I can kick this bug at last. Three times, back to back to back, is enough. I do plan on kicking this in order for my trip to be the best it can be. I have been a fighter all of my life. I was born with heart trouble, have had 4 heart surgeries. The last one to replace my aortic valve and like I said been HIV+ for 9 yrs. and have never been sick from it. I believe in a total positive outlook on life an I guess that is what sustains me. Again, thanks for all the encouragement and advice from everyone. Can you believe, I actually do not have any questions today? HAHA!!!! June 16 Update: After 4 days on one capsules a day and a day an a half on three capsules a day of the Probiotic along with the Flagyl, today has been my best day in quite awhile. Have had only 2 bms since 7am this morning an am not too sore or swallow back there. Plus, eating bananas and yogurt I think has help also. I just hope that tomorrow and the upcoming days are just as good or better than today has been. Thanks for all the informative advice that I have received from all.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 8:27 pm

June 17 Update #2 (no pun intended): It is bad when you get excited over a bowel movement. Had one at 7:30am and one at 9:30am and both had some form to them an involved no straining, just came out naturally. Took my antiboitic when I had my first movement and took my probiotic after my second movement. Am going to eat my daily banana and some cantaloupe in just a few. Will also eat my daily yogurt around 9 tonight. Am going to take another probiotic around noon today and my last one around 7 tonight. Kate, like you said, I am going to kick this bad boy this time. I have a date with Daytona coming up an plan on being in tip top shape for it. Also, did a good thing for myself on Saturday which I kinda overdid it that day but got a new stereo and speakers put in my car for my trip to Daytona. So far so good today. Will keep all informed of my progress and again I thank all for your support and information that you have given me. Same day/Separate post: I do keep the probiotic refrigerated. When I bought it the lady ask if I wanted the one from the shelf or one that had been refrigerated. Because of the advice on here I got the refrigerated one. I spoke with a chiropractor on Sat. an he told me it was fine to take 3 three times a day for a week then go to one a day for then on. I started the 3 times a day yesterday an like I said feel much better already. I have had another good day today an even ran some errands around town. I shall keep y'all updated. June 20 Another update: Had another good day yesterday but was sore. Then, ended up having a bad night last night. Had 2 accidents during the night and had bms every 2 hours during the night, my last being at 6am. Got up at 7am to take antibiotic and ate a banana. Have not had a bm since 6am. Its good to go to the bathroom to just urinate and not have an urge to have a bm. Took my probiotics at 10am. Got some yeast (3/twoXday), Colostrum(1/twoxday) and some L-Glutamine powder (gonna take 3xday) yesterday at the health food store, so am taking them now also. Energy level is good today and am not sore like I was yesterday.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 8:42 pm

June 21 Everything seems to be working good so far. It seems I can tolerate most everything I eat. Yesterday and today, for lunch, I had 2 hamburgers with some potato salad an stomach did fine with them. Yesterday was a good day. Had to get up three times during the night last night. The first 2 was to urinate only, so good to just do that and not have the urge to go, an the last, at 5am, I had a bm. It is now 7:30pm an have not had a bm since. So, hopefully, I am finally kicking this bug out of me with the probiotics along with the antibiotic. June 22 Update: I am doing GREAT. Had a bm right before going to bed last night. Same bathroom routine during last night as the night before and had a great bm this morning. Was not too hard or too loose, just right with no straining. Hope to have a routine like yesterday with not having anymore movements till later tonight or none at all till tomorrow. Starting to get really excited about my trip an getting things in order to go. Setting me up a checklist of ALL things needed to take with me. Told ya, I am going to lick this bad boy before my trip. With all I am taking an along with God's help it is going to come to pass. Same day/Separate post: I try to keep as much stress out of my life as I can. And, your right, my positive attitude carries me through the tough times. Always have been a toughie and always will be. Each and every day that passes, I feel more confident that I will make the trip. As for today, did my regular routine with meds and eating. Have not had a bm all day. WOO HOO!!!! So far atleast, the night is not over yet. But, again tonight I am not going to eat anything else. Have had supper an that is it for the night. My HIV support group is having a cookout tomorrow that I am going to. I will have me a hamburger, hot dog and the sides but I will have to pass on the double fudge chocolate cheese cake and instead will eat the homemade blueberry cobbler that someone is making. Will give an update tomorrow night on how the overnight went and my day tomorrow. June 23 The cookout had to be postponed till another day. The weather is bad here in GA and the guy that was hosting it had surgery on Friday, so they just decided to postpone till another weekend day. So, I shall have mom's home-cooked meal for supper. Had another good night last night with only one bm at about 5am. Got up at 7am an took my antibiotic. Took my probiotics at 10am. Had a GREAT bm around 11am. I think I have said this before, but it's bad when you get excited over a bm. Hope to go the rest of the day without a hitch. Plan on watching the race on TV an going over town and getting some more stuff for my trip. More updates to come, if y'all are not getting bored with me. June 26 Update and a story: Sorry I have not posted in a couple of days. Been alittle busy getting ready for my trip. Seems that the probiotics along with the Flagyl are still doing their job. Still having about three to four bms in a 24 hours period but they all have some sort of form to them and energy level is continued to be high. Tummy seems to be able to tolerate most everything I eat. Now, on to my great story. This lady on a NASCAR msg. board started a thread about, if you had 10 mins to meet your favorite driver, who would it be and what would you ask them. Well, I posted on the thread telling my story about all my illnesses, not mentioning HIV by name, and my dream of meeting Richard Petty. Seems that the lady that started the thread actually works with the Pettys'. So, she in return posted a msg. giving me her direct e-mail an saying that she would pass a msg. along to Richard for me. I wrote her an e-mail, stating in detail all of my illnesses, an then wrote her an e-mail letter to pass along to Richard. I got an e-mail back from her saying the following: Dear Danny, The Petty's have asked me for your home mailing address. I believe Richard will be sending you a personal letter. They cannot make any commitments in Daytona, because his entire schedule is completely full. I would still keep an eye out for him, since you have pit passes!! Please send me your address and I will forward it on! I wrote back to her, thanking her for being an angel sent from heaven, stating that I hope I did not imply that I wanted a personal meeting with him, only to see him on pit road. As, I used to work for the singer Peabo Bryson (biggest hit was, "Beauty and the Beast") an know how busy their schedules can be. I, also, told her that I think I need to have someone pinch me to wake me up from this most wonderful dream. You just do not know how excited I was when I got that e-mail from her. I almost passed out from pure excitement. So, that is my story. June 28 I KNOW that everything happens for a reason. I have seen it to many times over my 35 yrs. Yes, it does seems that something good usually comes of bad things that are happening to us. Believe me, I have had a lot of bad/rough spots during my lifetime an out of it seems to come good in some form or another i.e. meeting people that I would never have meet in the first place that have now become some of my most cherished people in my life. Would I have even gotten the response I have so far from the Pettys' if I were "healthy", probably not. Cause, I would not have stumbled across that lady, that works with the Pettys', if it were not for my illnesses. I hate using any one of my illnesses for a gain or get sympathy but sometimes that is what it takes to achieve a dream or goal that you have. And, this has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. My head will be in the clouds until I come back from Daytona, you can believe that. Again, thanks to ALL for your lending ear and all of the valuable information that I have received. If it were not for this site and the wonderful people on it, I would probably still be sick with this bug. June 29 Update #whatever: I think I have finally kicked this bug. Told ya I was going to, before my big trip. Only got up once during the night last night to urinate (finally getting all those fluids from the hospital out of me) and also had a bm but it was nothing to even warrant saying it was a bm. Had a GREAT bm just a little bit ago. Ate my morning banana, took my antibiotic along with the rest of my meds. Will take my morning probiotics around 9. Will have a test of my energy level today and tomorrow, as to how I am going to handle being out an about in a major way. I am headed up to Atlanta for the Pride festival. So, I will be doing a lot of walking and being out in the heat of the day. I am going to take one of the big bottles of Gatorade, I bought to take to Daytona, with me so as to not get dehydrated. Will give y'all an update on Monday, when I return home, on how I tolerated it all. P.S. Do you have to go through the page that says I Agree everytime you log onto the site to get into the message board? If not, how do you bypass it? Also, when I get my August disability check I will most definitely be sending an appreciation donation to the site if I can get an address to send it to, as I do not possess a credit card. July 1 I had a great time at Pride an the body held up to all the walking and the outside elements. Glad you gave me the heads up on the Gatorade. Cause, my BMWs were good and formed till yesterday. When they went back to being loose. The same for today and I was trying to pinpoint the origin of why. I bet that is what it was. Too much Gatorade. I will dilute the Gatorade while down in Daytona. Also, my eating habits got out of whack while up in ATL, so I will be sure to also eat correctly on my trip to Daytona, while I am there and coming back. July 2 It had to be the Gatorade. My stools are back to being formed again. Again, thanks for the heads up on that. Yes, I am still on my antibiotic and need some suggestions from people today. As you may well know, you can not drink alcohol while on Flagyl as it will make you sick as a dog. If I want to drink some, not a lot, while on my trip I need to stop taking the antibiotic tonight. I have two more weeks on the Flagyl. Should I stop tonight, in order to drink on my trip, then start back when I get back home or am I asking for serious trouble? But, I will continue to take ALL of my probiotic during my trip. Why I ask is, cause while at Pride this weekend I so wanted a drink but knew if I did that it would make me sick. So, I do not want to put myself in that situation again down at the speedway wanting a drink and knowing I cannot have one due to still being on the Flagyl and that it will make me sick. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I am leaving tomorrow night for the trip down. So let me know. Same day/Separate post: OK, no going off the Flagyl. Thanks for reminding me there is non-alcoholic beer to drink. DUH!!! I forgot all about that. Will do that. Thanks for all the advice. Keep it coming, not leaving till tomorrow night. Smiles and huggs to all. July 3 It is now 5pm. Leaving at 11pm. All has been well today except this morning. Started out the morning with very loose stools. Had to go get me some more Yeast, so I got me a fiber supplement while I was there. Have not been since. Will let y'all know how the trip went when I get back. Thanks for all the information and support y'all have given me. July 8 I am back. I had a great and wonderful trip. The "bug" was kept at bay during my trip, thank god. July 9 I take my last dose of Flagyl on Friday morning, so we will see how things go. Movements are good so far and still taking all of my probiotics. Same day/Separate post: Movements have been loose today for some reason. Took some of my fiber capsules after eating breakfast today. So, will see how things go. My last dose of Flaygl is on Friday morning. Hope that I have got it kicked. But, I made it on my trip and that is all I was worried about. Will deal with the other as it comes. July 10 Well seems like "it" has reared it ugly head again, maybe. Had two accidents during the night. Or, as my mom said, maybe I just need to get back on my diet. The yogurt, peanut butter, and not eating close to time for bed. Because, the d is not like the d of when I first came down with it, so maybe I just am adjusting to being back home. Since I take my last dose of Flagyl on Friday, should I call my doctor to see her again and to get some more Flagyl? I will call my doctor tomorrow.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 4:37 pm

Sam: You can take my post off since I put them in my Case History, if you want. Should I post on this thread and also put it in my case history each time? Called my doctors team nurse yesterday since my last does of Flagyl was yesterday also and was concerned it might be back with the 2 accidents the other night. But, my bms had gotten more formed by the time I spoke with her and she said lets see how things go and to hold off on going back on the Flagyl for now. Did not go during the night last night and had two good formed movements this morning. So, I will continue to take my probiotic with the microrganisms in it, the yeast, the Colostrum and my fiber supplement, Psyllium Husk and see how things go. What excately does the L-Glutamine powder do and should I continue to drink some everyday?

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Mon Jul 15, 2002 7:27 pm

July 15 Took my last dose of Flagyl on Thurs. morning, doing good so far. How long before you are somewhat sure it is gone? Maybe the Psyllium Husk is bounding me up, so should I stop taking it for a couple, three days to see how my bowels are going to work on their own? When can I HAVE A PIZZA????? or ice cream? Have had all good movement since Thurs. Actually, went almost 48 hours without one. But, I think I have finally licked this bad boy.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Thu Jul 18, 2002 8:34 am

July 16 Seems I might have spoke to soon. Had an accident during the night last night and have had about 3 loose stools so far today. After I eat something, I will take my fiber tablets, plus I just took some Imodium. Before getting this bug, I had accidents during the night so maybe "it" has not come back. My stools this morning have had a different feeling to them. So, maybe it is regular diarrha (sp). Did not involve any straining. Stomach is cramping some, problably from taking all my regular meds earlier this morning. Will see how the rest of the day goes. I might have a date tonight an do not need this. That is why I took the Imodium. Will give an update tomorrow.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Thu Jul 18, 2002 8:35 am

July 18 Slept ALL day yesterday. When I finally did get up, alittle after 4pm, it started up with a vengence. Called my doc's team nurse. She should call this morning. But, had a good night last night and first movement this morning was fairly well formed. Have had three movement in less than an hour though. No straining involved in any of the movements. I hope it is not back, AGAIN!!!

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Sat Jul 20, 2002 9:29 am

July 19 I see where I messed up in one since. When I went to the health food store an said I needed S. Boullardi/Brewer's Yeast, I was not aware that the yeast had to be live, so the lady just gave me regular yeast tablets. Ya live and ya learn. Got my Vanco this afternoon. No pill are available in the Atlanta area also. So they had to hurry up an mix me up some before they closed at 5 today. They gave me a 14 day supply, to take 7.5ml 4xday, with no refills. Is this the normal dosage and time frame? Had 2 accidents during the night last night. Hope to have a good day today and the Vanco starts to kick in.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 10:58 am

July 22 On day 3 of the Vanco. Have not had any accidents since Sat. morning and stools are more formed. Am not sure if it is from the Vanco or from the Psyllium Husk I took yesterday after breakfast and supper. Am feeling good though. Tommorrow is a big day for me. I have to go to court to see about getting my back disability payments. Well, really this is an all or nothing court date. She will either give me my back pay or take my disability away from me completely. Here's hoping all goes well.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Sat Jul 27, 2002 7:38 pm

On day 8 of the Vanco, still taking the probiotics and still doing well. Am having one maybe two bms per day now and they are well formed. I seem to be feeling more like I am constipatied than anything. Sorta had to force the last couple of movements. But, hey no complaining here. Just wanted to check in. P.S. Won my court case.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Mon Aug 05, 2002 8:15 pm

August 5 Well, here it is Monday. Two full days since last Vanco dose. Still doing well so far. Just one movement yesterday and one today. Had to go see my HIV doc. today for my regular follow-up visit. She said she will continue to keep her fingers crossed that I have beat it. Even with having the C. Diff, my viral load was still undetectable. Here's the shocker. Seems that a lot of patients are coming up with C. Diff. Wonder why? Anyways, she was going to use me and another one of her patients in a presentation about C. Diff. and treating it with Vanco., along with taking the S. Boulardii only. The S. Boulardii alone seems to be helping us. So, it seems, C. Diff. is getting some recogination. Atleast, in the HIV community of doctors, this is. But, her boss wants her to do this other presentation, so we will see. More updates later.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Tue Aug 13, 2002 11:03 am

Well, here it is 10 days out since my last dose of Vanco. So far, so good. Still taking the S. Boulardii though. No accidents during the night except a few nights ago but I attribute that to this new med my doc put me on for my hurting in my hands and feet from the Flagyl. Only having one or two movements per day an they are so well formed, I am gitty. It is so great to finally be having such great movements now. Sometimes, I am just so estatic (sp) about my movements. I, once again, would tell others that have not tried the S. Boulardii, to get some. I beleive that is what is continuing to keep "it" in check.

DannyC's Case History

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