C.Diff gone but still feel horrible?

[3groovygirls]

Hi,

I am new here! My 11 year old daughter was diagnosed with C.Diff the beginning of June. Her ped. couldn't figure out what was wrong so we immediately (Well immediately after about 3 trips to the ped in 2 months and being told it was a GI virus and these things can take time!!!!!) went to a GI Dr within the week. She was very sick, had lost 5lbs, etc. Found out it was C.Diff, she took the medicine and was feeling better! Then slowly she started to feel not so good again. However, she just had her follow up test and it was negative. So it's gone after 1 round of abx. Hooray! But then why does she still have so much nausea? Her diarrhea is gone but she still has to poop after every meal. She is taking the Florastor twice a day and Pepto seems to help a bit. I did a bit of reading on this board and I see this is common? How long does it take people to get back to normal? Is there anything (in terms of food) we should be avoiding?? I don't know if it is relavent but her sister has Celiac disease - I'm wondering if she should go GF while she recovers as it seems like some people had gluten issues after. (She also had a Celiac test and it was negative so maybe avoiding gluten is a moot point). So from experience - anything I can possible do or not do to help her system recover. I feel terrible she STILL feels bad and want to do what I can so she feels 100% soon.

Thanks!

[beth22]

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I'm so sorry that your daughter has had to go through this. It is bad enough for an adult. Food intolerances are common after c diff. My first one was dairy. If she is eating dairy products, you could try to cut that out and see if it makes a difference. Florastor gave me GI symptoms too, although for most people it does not. Her intestines are very sensitive due to the c diff and the medication she took. Both irritate the GI tract. I would definitely give it a little time, especially since she had it for a few months prior to being treated. If you get a scrape, after the scab falls off, you still have an area of redness for a long time sometimes and new tissue has to regenerate completely. I think it is a similar thing with the intestines. The cells and tissues have been damaged and they need time to heal. If you do start to eliminate foods, just do one thing at a time. Raw vegetables, fruit, sugar, dairy and in some cases gluten, can affect people afterwards, but it is different for every individual. I have trouble with fruit and some vegetables and dairy. I think it is the fiber. I definitely can't eat the same now as before c diff.

[code3rn]

So sorry to hear your daugher is suffering! Sadly, this is an illness that its effects linger on for quite some time for some. For me, pepto helped some and also Citrucel fiber powder. It helped "firm" things up and also less trips to the bathroom. As Beth said, sometimes florastor can cause some symptoms. If you feel like she is not better at all, maybe have another test done. The PCR test is more accurate than others. I work in the ER, and we give zofran for nausea for kids and adults. Maybe ask your doctor for some to give her for the really bad days? Hope she feels better soon!

[chunderly]

I felt nauseous, fatigued and generally off for about 2.5 months after being successfully treated for c diff a little over a year ago. I was so concerned and saw my Pcp and gi about it and they didn't seem to be too concerned. Eventually it passed.

[dawn813]

I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. Its a terrible thing for someone to go thru personally. To watch your child go thru it would be even worse.

You asked about foods to avoid. Each person is different in what they can or cannot tolerate. Its a trial and error type deal. I have been cdiff free for about 10 months but I still cannot eat certain foods. Red meat is harder to digest than grilled chicken or fish. I personally eat ALOT of grilled chicken. So much so that Im almost sick of it lol. But I am still unable to eat red meat after 10 months. I can eat pork though which seemed unusual to me. I still cannot eat any type of sweets or foods with white sugar in them. Sends me off for about 4 or 5 days trying to get straightened back out. I can eat both vegetables and fruits, which Beth stated she cannot. I also cant eat pasta of any kind. Tears me up. I am able to drink milk and eat cottage cheese, hard mozzarella cheese and yogurt, but no processed cheese. The hard cheeses are easier on your stomach. Some cant tolerate dairy for awhile. Just start slowly and with small amounts of each new food.

It would help you to keep a food diary of everything she eats each day and only change or try a small amount of ONE new thing in a period of day or two to see if it affects her. This way you will be able to single out the offending foods. Then you can try to add them back in slowly at a later time

She is young and sounds like she is on her way to recovery. It takes time for your digestive tract to heal after this infection. Some take longer than others but she will get better! I will keep her in my prayers.