Trying to recover from c diff infection

Posted by acres @acres, Apr 12, 2016

I am trying to recover from a c.diff infection. This started with taking clindamycin in mid January and 3 days later I became ill with diarrhea and felt sick, loss of appetite etc...Went to the er twice, tested negative for c.diff on my 2nd visit. The Dr. told me to take imodium to rest my colon since I tested negative. That evening I had diarrhea and took the Imodium. Became constipated with pain lower right side. I went to a GI dr. pleading for help, I did another stool test and it came back positive for c.diff. I tried flagyl but could not tolerate the side effects. Tried vancomycin for 10 days. Did not work. Tested positive again, Went to a new gi doctor who prescribed dificid for ten days. I am 31 days post dificid and I have almost constant gut rumbling and urge to go. My 1st bm in the morning is usually semi normal, but after that they are always either pencil thin and or small pieces (2 to 5 times a day). This has been my routine since the vancomycin. I do not get dull blown diarrhea..... My dr. wants me to have a colonoscopy but I an scared that the cleansing will wipe out all my good flora. I currently take 2 florastor pills and 1/2 vsl3 per day. I eat fermented pickles for the probiotics as well..... I have many food intolerances since this whole mess began (fiber, many vegatables, dairy). I also have a strange taste in my mouth most of the time, have very little energy and fight with depression. My primary gave me Xanax .25 but I only take them at night when I cannot sleep...... Went to a nutritionist who put me on a no wheat, soy, dairy, gluten diet. Does not seem to be helping or hurting. I lost 20 pounds and cannot gain any weight (I weigh 120 at 5'7")... I am thinking it might be sibo, or candida but cannot find a dr. to test for these....I am in the right place for help or advice ? The urge to go is awful and limits my once active lifestyle.....Thank you, Scott

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Profile picture for epm @epm

Thanks for your input.

Where did you have the FMT procedure done? At Mayo in MN?
Do you know if the fecal matter came from OpenBiome in MA? (They have had issues since 2020. Prior to that seems to have been great.)
OR did you have a relative or friend donor?
Thank you for allowing me to openly ask questions.

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@epm I had the fmt performed in March of 2019 via colonoscopy at a local hospital. I live in New Jersey. The fmt came from a company but I don't remember the name. The result was almost immediate! What I don't know is why the doctors wait until a patient has had 3 or 4 relapses before they will perform the fmt! Personally, I think it's the pharmaceutical industry that has the control because if they did the fmt after the first or second relapse, they wouldn't have the patients taking all the drugs such as vancomycin! The pharmaceutical industry would miss out on all the money. When I first got sick, I didn't have prescription coverage and I paid $1000 for 40 pills! That's just my opinion. Anything else you want to ask, feel free.

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Great little posts about CDIFF. Appreciate it. Though it is from 2017, still gives insight. I have been mayo arizona the past few weeks for Cdiff, and maybe SIBO, though they really do not test for SIBO. I was on Dificid for 10 days. Been off it it for about 4 days now and starting again to not feel well. Not sure if should go back again or not or wait it out. Appreciate everyone's posts above. Hope everyone is doing well from Cdiff.

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same. surprisingly newly diagnosed with c. diff a/b toxins without any diarrhea. been on 125 mg van. 4xday having bloating & constipation. History of ulcerative colitis and diverticulosis (never diverticulitis). same morning stool specimen resulted, I was scheduled for a colonoscopy (already done the prep) yet they canceled colonoscopy and told me to take vanc. for 14 days

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why cancel a colonoscopy because of atypical c diff ?

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I am just reading your post now, 2023. I have battled cdiff for years with 2 fecal transplants. And after having a bout of diverticulitus landed me on antibiotics and on the cdiff train. I now learned about floraster, it has helped alot, but like you no dairy, i eat gluten because my foodcintolerances are a long list, too much fiber goofs my stomache, no meat but eggs are ok. Lost a butt ton of weight but i have no gallblader so I am careful with my fats. I hope you are doing well. This is a lonely isolating problem. I understand lifestyle change. Id like to hear about a follow up!!

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Profile picture for ngorman25 @ngorman25

@epm I, too, had reoccurring cdiff in 2018. After the 4th one, I got the fmt. Best thing I ever did! Although, I still have not gained the weight back, I am doing ok. I know my body will never be the way it was before cdiff, I make sure to take probiotics every day! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me! Good luck!

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I had C-diff after surgery for hiatal hernia. Was so sick I didn’t want to live. The antibiotic helped and no more C-diff. Now I have SIBO. Took Xifaxan (very expensive) for two weeks. Felt like my old self again. After two days off the antibiotic, it returned. Waiting for insurance to approve a second go around.

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I didn’t have to get tested fir SIBO. Went on the antibiotic for SIBO, xifaxan. After two weeks was like a new person. However, it came back again. Waiting for insurance approval for xifaxan again. It’s very expensive with my insurance but I have no
. Btw the tests for SIBO are not conclusive that’s why my GI Dr put me on the
Antibiotic to see.

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Profile picture for parrotlady @parrotlady

I didn’t have to get tested fir SIBO. Went on the antibiotic for SIBO, xifaxan. After two weeks was like a new person. However, it came back again. Waiting for insurance approval for xifaxan again. It’s very expensive with my insurance but I have no
. Btw the tests for SIBO are not conclusive that’s why my GI Dr put me on the
Antibiotic to see.

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@parrotlady Have you given any thought to getting the fmt? That's the only thing that worked for me.

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I asked my GI and they told me it’s only for c-diff which I no longer have according to stool tests.

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Profile picture for tammy1pike @tammy1pike

Hello everyone! I thought I would update you on my son’s progress. As I stated, he had a Fecal Microbia Transplant on Dec. 21, 2017. On our way home from this procedure he ate a steak dinner after not eating for weeks. He then would eat one meal per day, most days until about January 15, 2018 (11days ago)! Suddenly his appetite returned full force! This gave his body much needed fuel! He returned to Varsity Baseball Practice last weekend and has gone everyday since! He now feels much better! His focus is on catching up on his school work and on rebuilding muscle that he lost dyring this C-DIFF illness! He is down 40 lbs. from the first 7 weeks of showing C-DIFF symptoms. He lost muscle and was severely malnourished. However, this should give hope to anyone else out there with C-DIFF! Get control of your/your child’s treatment plan! Get involved! Pray for wisdom and for guidance! This helped me find Dr. Keta Vaidya at Digestive Disease Center in Huntsville, AL! Other doctors planned to keep prescribing multiple rounds of Flagyl and Vancomycin after my son’s C-DIFF reoccurrence. My son had no weight left to lose! He was skin & bones! My point is, you have the right to change your child’s treatment plan if you need to! Prayers and best regards to you all! Thank you to those who private messaged me about C-DIFF! It is nothing to take lightly!

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How’s your son doing now?

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