Relapse or Post IBS?

Since c-diff is a disease of the "lower half", so to speak, we find that many of our members cannot refrain from discussing what comes out the bottom end. If you must do it, please do it here.
andy2007
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Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby andy2007 » Tue Feb 04, 2020 11:09 am

Hi
I'm three weeks post vanco. Posted many times in last month. I was retested two days after finishing vanco (because I changed hospital) and all tests, GDH and PCR were negative (I am aware of the rules about testing so early). I was doing quite well, but this last week seems to have been up and down. I usually have the first bm after waking and it is formed and sometimes type 4, but then soft. Over the last few days I have had 4-5 soft bms a day. Usually after eating. This seems consistent with IBS, which I had before. Three days ago my bms were completely fine all day. These last two days it seems to have become mushier. I am aware of the three day rule and am worried about a relapse.
I wondered when people talk about three days of wd if this includes loose/mushy stools. It's not totally watery , but seems like a Bristol 6 sometimes which is technically diarrhea. Should I be contacting my doctor to mention this as it has been 3 days? As I said before, maybe stress is making this worse, but I don't see how two weeks ago I was having more consistent bms than now. I'm also not eating anything different. Is this just a normal pattern of recovery for many of us?

Andrew

georgina
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby georgina » Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:17 am

Days of abnormal stool are to be expected . If you feel well , have an appetite , no fever , no abdominal pain, frequency is not very high , you have nothing to worry . You could try something to bulk up your stool like Questran.

andy2007
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby andy2007 » Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:25 am

Thanks Georgina

I will look into that and see if it's available here. I live in Taiwan. I know some days are going to be off. I feel pretty well for the most part. No fever, good appetite, energy etc. Just occasional crampy pains and the rectal pressure where I feel like I constantly need the bathroom and half of the time I can't go. Still, it seems like going 4 or 5 times a day is too much, but it might be my new pattern for a while. Before all this I probably went 3x a day. It's probably IBS worsened with stress.

Andrew

andy2007
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby andy2007 » Thu Feb 20, 2020 9:43 am

Hi
Thanks everyone for all the advice I have been given over last month. It has been really helpful. I am six weeks post vanco. I have been pretty good and back to normal for the most part, however today I have had a spell of proper watery D today which has me worried. Not sure if it is due to having a few beers last night and being a bit adventurous with my diet. I have had a few beers over last couple of weeks with no issues so not sure. I have also eaten lots of foods I ate before c diff and had no problems.
I did have IBS before all this, and diarrhea from time to time, so I guess it is going to crop up again, but it has me all panicked. I had actually begun to relax recently and stop analyzing stools.
Has anyone had spells of D post infection and it's not turned out to be a relapse? I guess it could just be something bad that I ate. I will watch for the three day rule, but just looking for something to ease my mind.

Andrew

Bobbie
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby Bobbie » Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:02 pm

Andy,
Probably the beer and snacks. Go light on them. Expect problems for awhile. Your gut had a major onslaught.

You will be fine.

georgina
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby georgina » Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:17 am

As Bobbie said , don not panic , alcohol has definitely triggered a IBS flare . Go back to a bland diet and you will be just fine.

andy2007
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby andy2007 » Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:59 am

Thanks

I'm trying not to panic but it's hard. I woke up this morning and went to the bathroom twice. First part of stool was normal then it went mushy. Had eight hours before next bathroom visit and it's back mushy and has bits of undigested food in it. No M or B though like I had when I first got C. Diff.
I'm not sure if this is IBS. It's been a full day of D, but there was a bit of normal stool in the middle of that this morning so hoping that makes it less likely a relapse. Maybe I had spells like this before with IBS, but I don't remember as I wasn't so pre occupied with it. How long do IBS flares last? Could this be a relapse at six weeks since I stopped vanco? I thought I was kind of in the safe zone by now

Andrew

Zay
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby Zay » Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:42 pm

Honestly, it could also be your body just still recovering too.

I am past 6-7 weeks past my last round of medication and I suffer from near daily pain, bloat, and bowel movements ranging from a 6-1 on the chart of the bowel movement scale. No other symptoms, but I read about other people on other forums and blogs have the same problem for months until their insides heal.

If you're that worried about it, you can always go to a doctor for some peace of mind. Maybe they can look into other issues

Yes, stress and anxiety can cause loose bowel movements, I always called the the nervous poos

andy2007
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby andy2007 » Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:38 am

Nervous for sure!

I was loose this morning. A 6 on the scale, then a normal 4 this afternoon. Back to loose again now in the evening. I'm hoping that this pattern of loose then normal means it's likely not a recurrence. No idea how it could change like that though. Got better then worse again. Confusing.

By the way, does anyone know if alcohol can disrupt gut flora enough to allow c.diff to take hold again? Last Wednesday I drank a couple of beers and had a glass of wine. I know it was stupid, but I had already tested the waters with a beer and been OK. I was fine on the Thursday morning and had no bm, but it was the evening where I had some D. In the afternoon I ate a lot of nuts so this could also have been a trigger. Two days later (now) my bm are still loose and I have gone many times, but have had some normal bits of stool too. I can't find any info about alcohol causing a relapse. I know it can disrupt gut flora though, so I'm worried that it might have allowed c.diff to become active if that's possible.
I'd welcome any input regarding this as I am really stressed dealing with this recovery and other family worries. And I know it was foolish to have three drinks. I was just trying to relax. My mistake.

Andrew
Last edited by andy2007 on Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Bobbie
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby Bobbie » Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:00 pm

Andy,
Typical recovery, see Three-Day Rule.

andy2007
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby andy2007 » Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:02 pm

Hi
Thanks for the response.
May be typical. I was just wondering about the chance of alcohol causing a recurrence and whether there could be some normal bm between periods of loose/ D. I know it's not 'classic' relapse symptoms, but I didn't have really WD during my infection either. I did have M and B though which I don't now so that's good. I will see what tomorrow brings.

Andrew

beth22
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby beth22 » Sun Feb 23, 2020 12:17 am

Alcohol is an irritant. Your intestines are still irritated and maybe inflamed, so I would not drink alcohol or eat nuts. Dairy, spicy food, foods high in fiber do not agree with many.

Zay
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby Zay » Sun Feb 23, 2020 2:03 am

Your diet alone could be causing your issues. You may have food allergies now that could be causing problematic bowel movements or eating the wrong thing.

Alcohol on its own can cause loose bowels and with your bowels already being inflamed could also cause it.

Beth is right as well stay away from high fiber foods. My ER doctor told be to eat them, but as soon as I was off the meds I couldn't handle them without a lot of pain, but do eat some fiber i.e apple sauce or a banana. It'll not only feed the good bacteria as they are prebiotics, but it'll help keep things a little more binded.

Nuts, seeds, super oily, spicy, dairy, gluten, soy, sugar, acidic, high fiber foods (oatmeal), raw veggies, are all no no's and if you eat something like potatoes (peel the skin).

andy2007
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby andy2007 » Sun Feb 23, 2020 5:48 am

Okay

Thanks for the diet advice. It is appreciated.
I started today badly again with wd but stools became a normal 3/4 again this afternoon. Now it's evening and it is back to loose stools. The only thing I can think of today as a trigger could be a green tea I had. It had a little liquid sugar in it.
Maybe this is just an IBS flair. It would be strange to have these normal episodes in the middle of an infection unless it is my system trying to normalize a low grade infection.
About diet, I have eaten lots of nuts over the last few weeks. Actually, I had been eating them every day and been fine. I was eating them to gain back some pounds. The last thing I ate however before having this bad spell was a bag of almonds and macadamia nuts. I do remember something tasting a bit off too. Maybe that didn't help.
Regarding inflammation, I thought that would have all resolved post infection. IBS doesn't cause inflammation either as far as I know.
Does anyone know if alcohol can be the trigger for a relapse? That was my previous question. I would ask my doctor but it is a long wait to see him unfortunately.

Andrew

roy
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Re: Relapse or Post IBS?

Postby roy » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:36 am

alcohol is not recognized as a cause of a relapse but certainly irritates the damage caused by a serious infection in one of your bodys largest organs!
You would not pour alcohol on a burnt arm, you know it will hurt.
Just because you cant see the damage you cant ignore the fact that it takes time to heal.


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