Connect
Long term cdiff risk
I realize this question may not seem urgent compared to the situations other are facing. I had cdiff seven years ago. It was very difficult to finally beat it. What worked for me was vancomycin and a slow tapered pulse dosage approach.
My question is, after all this time I’ve have been fine, no recurrence and no gut health problems. Is it safe for me to take an oral antibiotic again? I assume at some point I may need to but the prospect of that causing a cdiff relapse is very scary.
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Infectious Diseases Support Group.
Connect
Hello,
I wanted to comment on your post as I think this fear of recurrence is one that everyone who has battled C. Diff shares. I am only a year and a half recovered from the infection. It took months for my GI tract to get back to normal. C Diff recurrence is on my mind every day. I asked the same question you asked to several doctors and these are all of things they have told me:
*Avoid - at all costs - broad spectrum antibiotics for the rest of your life. There are antibiotics that are low C Diff risk that spare the microbiome.
*You should be fine going forward UNTIL you end up in the ICU with a bad lung infection and are put on a very strong broad-spectrum antibiotic.
*ANY antibiotic use (broad-spectrum or otherwise) can cause C. Diff.
*It may be possible to take antibiotics in the future and not have recurrence, IF your microbiome is in good shape.
My personal physician had C Diff decades ago without recurrence (no clue if he has taken antibiotics).
My elderly stepfather had C Diff about 11 years ago and has been on antibiotics several times since (once in the hospital with pneumonia), with no recurrence. We didn’t know at the time about the antibiotic connection, so no one thought to alert the medical team.
I saw someone’s story on YouTube who, after 5 years since 1st infection, used a topical antibiotic cream for a burn and got CDiff again. When she read the drug insert it clearly warned about CDiff risk.
My personal thoughts:
Get your stool tested periodically to check the status of your microbiome. If conventional docs won’t do it, go to holistic/integrative medical docs. Fix whatever gut imbalance you may have. Always avoid things that kill the microbiome: alcohol, antibiotics, etc. Aways include things that are beneficial to your microbiome (fermented foods).
Watch some of Dr. Sabine Hazan’s YouTube videos. Check out CDiff.org.
Best wishes to you and everyone who is dealing with this.