Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

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beth22
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby beth22 » Wed Feb 05, 2020 2:31 am

Pepto has some antimicrobial properties that Imodium doesn't.

Rev1119
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Rev1119 » Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:47 am

Thank you beth22 - yes, pepto has actually been working best for my nausea!

It's actually good that the levsin mishap happened because I now see that my gut pain/nausea is NOT due to spasms, but gas. My nutritionist and the doctor both mentioned SIBO as a possible issue, so I may be exploring that next. I am nervous as I know that treatment is usually with antibiotics (I do NOT do well with antibiotics - vanco did me in more than the C. Diff), but as usual will do what I need to do to (hopefully) feel better!

Ril
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Ril » Wed Feb 05, 2020 9:26 am

As I think I mentioned earlier, rhe antibiotic usually used for SIBO is xifaxan. It is also good after c diff, usually safe and well tolerated, as well as now used for IBS so it may serve you well.

Rev1119
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Rev1119 » Wed Mar 04, 2020 11:23 am

Thank you Rita! Update: it's been about 6 weeks after my initial post here and other than a minor incident after trying out lactose this week (which I'm newly intolerant to post-C. Diff ) I have had zero flares and have been feeling well for the first time in months. As I have a 0% track record for tolerating antibiotics well, I am choosing to forego the SIBO breath test/Xifaxan route for now (not convinced I have SIBO, and time is really healing me. What was also helpful was firing my nutritionist, who seemed to have zero knowledge of C. Diff) I can now also play badminton with my son for 30 minutes, and even just got back from another trip to the grocery store - but this time, I have tons of energy :)

Spike
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Spike » Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:51 pm

Rev, can you explain what you have done in this time to help you regain back your strength/ stamina. I am glad to here things got better with time. I am just about 2 weeks out of meds and feel like I poo. ;)

Rev1119
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Rev1119 » Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:32 pm

Hiya Spike - sorry to hear you are feeling poorly after the meds; I can definitely empathize :( Everyone is different, but below are all of the things I've done so far to feel more energized. Hope this helps and I hope you feel better soon! -

1) I only did what I absolutely had to on a daily basis (For me, this was dropping off/picking up my child from school and going to my part-time job) and RESTING. My house was a mess, the to-do lists waited and family/social commitments waited. This was very tough for me but a must.

2) Temporarily went on a low-residue diet per my GI doctor's orders after stopping the meds. I found that my gut was so sore/irritated after the meds and high-residue things like nuts and fiber were not my friends. I stayed on a low residue diet for a few weeks and felt much better, then gradually worked up to eating more. And the more that I could eat, the more energy I had.

3) I figured out which foods I could no longer tolerate (typically, these were things I did not have the easiest time with before C-Diff). This included dark meat and ground meat. I had a nutritionist who was telling me to eat drumsticks and ground chicken burgers after I told her I was having trouble with these things - naturally, these things sent me into horrible flares and I felt instantly better overall as soon as I fired her :)

4) Figured out which foods (particularly those with protein like turkey, chicken and fish) worked best for me and then I ate little bits a bunch throughout the day to get calories in/get energy. For me, many small meals worked better than 3 big ones.

5) Addressed deficiencies and kept up with supplementation and probiotics - I was found to be deficient in potassium from the vancomycin, and borderline deficient in magnesium from a PPI I was taking for one-time pill esophagitis. I took a potassium chloride supplement for 2 months only (it was a bit rough GI-wise) and then focused on eating potassium rich foods. I also slowly weaned off of omeprazole down to Pepcid, which I got off of last month and ate more things with magnesium. Probiotic-wise, I took Florastor for 4 months until my GI doctor told me to stop and take Culturelle. I'm also having lactose-free yogurt almost daily. My energy has increased significantly!

6) I very, very gradually got back into physical exercise (and really didn't feel up for much of anything until I was 3 months post-meds!). I started by just doing a few simple chores around the house. I increased this to a few more chores, then to stretching, then to walking a bit more outside of the house, and finally playing some badminton in the backyard. Still building up physical endurance at the moment, but I'm getting there. And finally:-

7) Maybe not the most encouraging answer, but TIME!!!!!!!! The further I am getting away from C. Diff (I'm not quite 5 months out at this point), the better I am starting to feel.
Last edited by Rev1119 on Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

D1dad
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby D1dad » Wed Mar 04, 2020 2:37 pm

Protein powder helped me get back into the weight room. Some folks have a tough time with whey afterwards so I definitely wouldn’t buy the cheap stuff with tons of fillers. Optimum nutrition is what I still use today. Only a few weeks out though is gonna be tough. I normally, and now once again weigh 180. After c diff I was closer to 160 and at 6 1” that was rough sledding for awhile.

Ril
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Ril » Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:58 pm

Rev, your dr made the same diet recommendations we make to our posters.
I am glad we are on the same page!
And very happy to hear how well you are doing.

Rev1119
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Rev1119 » Wed Mar 04, 2020 6:48 pm

Thank you! Not quite where I want to be yet but SO much better than I was during the first 3 months after I got off of Vanco in October - it gives me hope :)

D1dad
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby D1dad » Thu Mar 12, 2020 7:34 am

Unfortunately the cure isn’t exactly easy on the stomach. I had a chat with a doc through work and we discussed dificid at length and that’s the route I would go if I ever had it again. Less damage to the gut flora. Unfortunately I found this site never having have heard about cdiff and I was already into a bottle of flagyl. It worked but that drug is the work of an evil chemist. Stay the course and know you’ll be fine , just takes time.

Rev1119
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Re: Deconditioned & frustrated about being out of shape!

Postby Rev1119 » Thu Mar 12, 2020 4:50 pm

Thanks D1dad - glad to hear that flagyl worked for you! The C. Diff meds seem to be really evil for some people - Vanco made me sicker than the C. Diff itself (so sick that my GI doctor had me hospitalized due to thinking that it may not have worked). Time really does seem to be the best healer!


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