Vancomycin for C-Diff
Getting very frustrated one more day on vancomycin and still having stomach pain extreme bloating and lots of rumbling in my belly I pray that it’s caused by the meds I am taking 3 Florastor a day I’m so over this I quit smoking 6 months ago I figured I would be healthier 😩
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I should also mention that she is taking 5billion probiotics as well.
Dang, I forgot to mention that she has also drank 2% milk during her "okay to eat normal" phase. Was that a bad idea?
One more thing to add. I read her test wrong. She is positive for toxin producing c diff and presumptive negative for 027.
@ngorman25 that’s understandable as your stomach would have shrunk after not being able to eat for such a long time …
All GREAT questions. Ive had C-Diff as a result of antibiotic treatment for a different intestinal bacteria called Yersinia. The treatment with Bactrim wiped out my normal gut flora and an opportunistic C-Diff took up residence. Once diagnosed and treated i was ok - until another intestinal malady called collagenous colitis moved in. Im on my second relapse of that as we speak.
You didn't mention a Gastroenterologist. Is your wife under the care of one?
She had a referral for one. Hasn’t seen them yet
I’m going on 8 years of suffering from Cdiff that probably could have been prevented if I would have been told to take a probiotic when taking an antibiotic. I ended up finally having a fecal transplant which helped but the Cdiff ate my guts out. I have severe pain 24/7 from the Cdiff, Mayo won’t see me until I go 3 months with no pain medication, I can’t even go a day because the pain is so severe. I’ve had every test possible done several times to see if anything new that can explain the severe pain I am having but nothing shows. I know I did not have this pain before I got the Cdiff.
I Strongly suggest you get into see that person.
I completed 10 days of vancomycin for C.Diff about 5 weeks ago. Stools were still loose for quite after I finished the antibiotic. It seemed like everything I ate went right through me, so I lost the desire to eat. I read that some folks can develop temporary IBS-type symptoms after C Diff, so I started to follow the Low FODMAP diet to specifically avoid trigger foods until things calm down. A doctor recommended a very powerful (and expensive) probiotic called ProBioMed 250 (250 billion). Once I avoided known triggers and took that probiotic things really turned around for me. I have found that my family practice/surgeon/nutritionists have not been helpful - they contradict each other. I finally found a great Gastroenterologist a couple days ago and recommended the following to me: Florastor Probiotic 2x per day and Visbiome Probiotic 1x per day, both taken with meals, for the next 6 months. He also highly favors FMT (Fecal Microbiota(?) Transplant for recurrences. He says he has 92% cure rate.
Also, since you are living with someone with C Diff, I highly suggest you look into probiotics for yourself, use a separate bathroom and use a bleach solution to clean surfaces, etc (while she is contagious).
Visit the website cdiff.org. Check out the map of the states to locate C Diff expert Gastro docs in your state.
Best of luck to your wife during this most challenging time.
Hi All
Looking for some reassurance regarding C Diff recovery timeline. I have no known health issues but recently traveled to Europe and came home with serious diarrhea. Was hospitalized for 4 days. I tested negative for everything including C Diff but they had me on two intravenous antibiotics (one was Flagyl and I’m not sure what the other one was). CT showed pancolitis. I’ve never had any digestion issues and have always had clean colonoscopies.
They discharged me with a bland diet. Things improved for two weeks and it started again. I was retested and now I’m positive for C Diff.
I am taking 14 days of Vanclomycin.
Does anyone have a timeline of how your stool should be changing to know if this is working. I’m still going quite a bit but it’s controllable. My stomach has terrible gas pain. I can’t tell if it’s a side effect of Vanclomycin?
Sorry for so much detail but I have never had even the stomach flu since i was kid (40 years ago) so this is scaring me a little bit. I’ve lost weight and was thin to begin with so I think that’s part of what’s concerning me.
Any guidance or experience would be appreciated.
Thank you