karol's case history

[karol123]

went to dr for possible sinus infection, prescribed omoxicylln. after 4 or 5 days with no luck and some d i didn't relate to abiotic, called dr again. he precsribed cefdinir. 3 days in still d stopped taking. went back to obgyn who is the only dr. i normally see cause i'm pretty healthy and since i didn't have any other symptoms and d was not watery or bloody or too often, she suggested florastor digestive and nasal wash, tea, etc. for sinus. should have gone to her in the first place but don't normally see a obgyn for sinus troubles. by next eveing symtoms were much worse, horrible nausea, fever, and lots more d. went to er. they tested for c diff right away and resulst back within the hour. c diff. i was dehydrated also, put on iv with anti nausea med right away and after c diff confirmed put on flagyl. iv fluids etc. also on morphine every two hours and ativan when needed to calm system. i don't remember ever real pain, it was more a the most horrible waves of nausea, but after the drugs my system calmed down. still lots of bloody d, in the hospital 4 days! finally sent me home on flagyl. i was improving slowly but after the 7 or 10 days of flagyl, it came back about 2 to 3 weeks later. also, during most of the entire time i felt like i was getting a uti and after got home stareted taking azo. helped get rid of pressure. after c diff returned again i was started on 50mg vanco. now that i know more seems like a pretty low dose, and for 10 days. i had enough liquid vanco to last me almost 12 days so i finished it out. felt good on vanco. got stronger each day and soft, formed stools, last day on vanco almost a normal one. 5 days after finsihing vanco d was back. since i didn't feel bad yet i decided to try the "3 day rule" i read about here, but by afternoon of second day, feeling bad, low grade fever, more d with some blood and mucous. went in for stool sample, found out a couple hrs. later it was positive c diff. the only reason i was almost relieved is because if it had come back negative, i'd all ready begun to feel really sick and did't know what i'd do next. this time obgyn called GI dr and he said put me on 125 mg. vanco taper. accidentlly doubled first dosage by taking a tspn. instead of 1/2 tspn. got worried but too late to get dr. then looked on here and found many have taken 250 so drank a lot of water, waited a little longer before my next dose and all ok. thought the one dose of 250 might be toxic for me. i'm a small woman, about 114lbs and 56 years old. in general good health all my life. so i'm on my 3 day of vanco, still not back up to normal energy level, say i'm about 60 percent, but improving. d has slowed way down and last stool looked like it was trying to take some form. i still think i see small amount of blood at times and sometimes small amt. of mu. but not much. even though fairly tired it helps to get out and get fresh air. our weather has been so rainy it's made it hard to do. i take 2 florastor a day, midway between vanco, also drink some kiefir and eat yogurt. also taking a probiotic which says is has a lot of differnt strains. i started all that first time i came home. have lost approx. 13 pounds since the start of this the last part of april. most of it in the first couple weeks. my taper is over a 5 week period. 125mg 4x a day for 10 days, then 3 times a day for 7 days, then twice a day for seven days then once a day for 7 days and then every other day. i'll keep you informed. thnks for listening. .. and best of health to all

[karol123]

gosh, i just read my first case history post, what a lot of babble, hope it made sense. today is my 4th day of vanco and my best day so far.
last night i had somewhat formed stool and right before bed d, but not c diffy looking. some cramping. this mornng a little d and it's almost 7:30 pm and i haven't gone since the am. eating more normally, but still kiefer, yogurt, bananas, some canned fruiter, probiotics. today i have felt better than i have since symptoms returned 5 days ago. i'm hoping this taper will give my body long enough to build up enough good flora in the gut to beat this thing this time. it's been 3 times now in less than 3 mos. two reoccurences. i'll continue to keep u posted.

[karol123]

another good day,but i did pretty good last time as long as i was on vanco. no d today, bm in the morning, not normal but not d either. looks like my body is trying to do something. haven't seen any blood and i don't think any, or very little mucous. sometimes hard to tell. eating more normally, a very little bit of sweets, just a bite now and then after dinner. havent had bm since this morning, thats pretty much how it was before on vanco, only stools were looking more normal. can't remember how long it took.
in any case i'm feeling quite well, started taking two of the probiotic pills yesterday a long with florastor. so far no (additional) stomach problems. it's strange, i think of my colon now and realize it's sick and want to treat it and my body well. eating my greek yogurt, bananas, a little canned fruit, switch back and forth now between egg and oatmeal in the mornings. feel just a very slight bit of nausea after dose of 125mg vanco, but only for a few minutes.

[karol123]

today feeling well, my seventh day on vanco taper (125mg 4x day). today i started off the morning with the usual trip to the bathroom,soft, formed, narrow farily narrow stool. usually a couple times in the morning, and not much else the rest of the day, however, this afternoon i was leaving the bank and got a sudden strong urge to go. because it was so sudden and strong i was afraid it might be d, but, to my pleasant surprise, i had the most normal stool i've had yet, and plenty of it. i was actually pretty excited, although i realize i'm still on vanco. i feel good, energy level probably back up to 75, maybe 80 percent. i continue with yougurt, probiotics and some kiefer, but eat more regularly otherwise. last night i had steak, small piece cut in bite size pieces, and sauteed yellow and red peppers which are mild, onion, and mushrooms. normally i would have used some olive oil but was out so used butter. a few days ago, i began to treat myself with very small amounts of something or another for dessert. a "bite" of a brownie, a small piece of lemon cake mixed with my yougurt and bananas. a small piece of pumkin pie mixed in with my yog. and ban. it doesn't seem to agitate things as i've read some say sugar is an absolute no no with c diff, but i don't overdue. of course i'm still on vanco, so maybe that makes a difference too. on friday i taper down to 3 times a day, same mg. had oatmeal two days this week, plain, which i hate, but i had some peaches and bananas and it's not bad. guess thats all for now. good health to us all.

[karol123]

tomorrow is my 10th day on vanco taper, then down from 4 times a day to 3. still feeling well, mostly soft,but formed stools, no d since about the 4th day of vanco, no blood that i can see and no mucous. however, i do have a little burning from time to time in lower abdoman, colon i suppose. not bad, and i assume it is irriation of my colon, but i am concerned the burning could mean more damage to the colon. still eating my yogurt, etc. oh, after doing some reading last night there is a gentleman who believes we can help restore our gut flora by NOT washing our vegetableS he says we need the good bacteria on those veggies and we"re washing away before eating he also seems to think we are washing too much in general and washing away too much good bac what do u think?

[karol123]

well, today will be first full day of my first taper from 4 x a day vanco to 3. so, i didn't get up in the middle of the night last night to take a dose. i will be spreading it out to every 8 hours, 6am, 2pm and 10pm. this morning had a very close to normal stool. i seem to do quite well on vanco. i continue to take two probiotic capsules and 2 florastor each day, as close to in between vanco as possible. also drink a bit of kefir. i wish there was some way to know what that good gut flora was doing and if it's rebuilding and will be ready to fight off any left over cdiff when i'm done. in the meantime i'm thankful vanco lets you feel pretty normal again. take care, will let you know how the taper is going

[karol123]

just to add, i have had no cramping and the burning in my lower left abdomen is pretty well gone. i hope this means my colon is not so irritated. i took my first few sips of coffee in several mos. but just read that caffeine kills good flora. so, no more unless its decaff. i still have an occasional treat of some kind but don't overdo. i feel so close to normal on vanco it's hard to believe i could have to go through this again, and although i try to be optimistic, i also try to be realistic and prepared for whatevers next.

[karol123]

not much new to write. on vanco taper, i'm on my 5th day of tapering from 4 to 3 times a day. feel good, pretty normal stools and stool frequency. eating fairly normal, keep up with probiotics and yogurt, kiefer etc. i beleive this sat. i will start at two times a day vanco, same mg. a little nervous about it, but i think it will be fine. will keep u ifomred.

[karol123]

hello, back again. last night after my 10pm dose of vanco, i left it out of fridg. this morning at 6am when i went for my first dose of the day i discovered it sitting out on counter. took my dose and called pharmacist as soon as they opened. there were only a few doses left thank goodness, i got the next bottle on my taper prescription home in time for my 2pm dose. they have to get the stuff from the hospital then mix up. now they are keeping it at the pharmacy. the pharmacist explained that the heat breaks down the stability of the vanco and so it may not work the way it should. i continue to do well on vanco, fairly normal stools, no d, b, or m. i try not to worry about another relapse but after reading so many posts here it's hard sometimes. in any case right now i'm grateful to be feeling well. i'm still a bit paranoid about germs and what i eat, but i guess it can only help to eat healthier then i was before. lost about 13 -14 lbs since the begining of all this the end of april. to all, take care and good health.

[karol123]

tomorrow my last day of 3 doses a day, then i drop down to 2. hope i don't see any change. doing so well on vanco. my stools are pretty normal, a little light in color, frequency good, a bit of gas now and then but not bad, much more energy, good appetite. i try to stay away from anything very spicy, i have had cooked onions in my food without any problem. i continue to have a bit of something sweet mixed in with my yogurt after dinner, really wanted a glass of wine the other night, but obstained as i'm afraid to have any alcohol on vanco. bought plain keifir instead of flavored, less sugar, although the other didn't seem to adversely affect me and tasted much better. i buy the greek yougurt with 5 live strains, continuing probiotics and florastor. hoping that good flora is having a chance to rebuild a bit. will write again once i taper down to two does per day.

[karol123]

1 more day of vanco 2x per day then i drop down to once per day. the last couple days there's been some gurgling of the stomach, and been having some gas. also think i may notice a bit more tenderness, however nothing extreme in these areas,and i feel good. i eat pretty healthy these days, a good amount of fish, chicken, not too much fat, and of course eating my yogurt and drink a bit of kiefir each day. still take my florastor twice a day, and 2 caps. of the probiotic. stools still looking pretty good, not like before, but no d. i also go with more frequency in the last couple weeks. more like normal actually, instead of a few times in the morning then nothing the rest of the day. guess thats about it, will let you know how things are going after i drop to vanco, once a day. good health to us all.

[karol123]

today is my last day of once per day on vanco, then one dose every other day. i have done very well these last 7 days on once per day, but today
my stomach felt a bit uneasy. more urge to go when it was just gas, and a mushier, but not watery at all, stool. have had pretty normal stool habits, still go the most, at least twice in the am, not as much the rest of the day. i have had an extremely stressfull 4 days with an unplanned move to another place, boxes everywhere, so much to do, and company coming soon... but, i'm trying to keep calm, continue to eat pretty healthy etc. for the first time today i took 3 caps of probiotics instead of two. i havent seemed to have any adverse side effects from bumping up to two caps a day some time ago, so with less vanco, i thought i'd try a bit more probiotic. i continue with what i would approximate, 1/ to 1 cup of kiefir a day, sometimes less, florastor twice a day and yogurt. been feeling fine, just got a bit nervous today.