C. difficile – Are your guts ever normal again?

@annapocono I really appreciate your post. You confirmed most of everything my GI told me last year. Another thing I've learned about Cdiff, after 4 bouts last year, is that it's made me paranoid. And I will do everything in my power not to ever take another antibiotic. I'm so susceptible to UTI's and I've even changed to a PH balanced soap that I use every single night. Those of us who have gone through Cdiff probably have the cleanest bathrooms in the neighborhood. 🙂

@pines I got a UTI just when i went off vancomycin. i was terrified to take an antibiotic. But I had to. The urologist seemed on top of the C. diff relapse vulnerability. I took monurol (fosftomycin) and did not relapse. Then she put me on a program to prevent any future UTI. So here is that program.
!. One ellura tablet a day .Ellura is cranberry juice . It is expensive. About a dollar a day. I bought it on amazon because i couldn't get it fast it in drug stores here in NYC. Read the reviews on Amazon. Women raving about how effective it is in warding off UTIs. I asked the doctor why not just drink cranberry juice and she said it is not as effective as this tablet.
2. Put a small pea sized amount of estrogen vaginal cream into the vagina every night for 2 weeks at the start --and then 2 or 3 times per week for maintenance. I just saw the doctor today and she said i should do that forever going forward. I know estrogen taken orally can be dangerous over the long term so I asked about the cream and she said , it does not get into the system and therefore is safe. I am 75 so the safety issue might be different for a younger woman.

I am feeling optimistic i won't get another UTI. Good luck to you and I am hoping this passed on advice might be helpful for you too.

What I mostly do is eat healthy and drink a lot of organic juices. I eat beets and drink organic beet juice all the time, I drink the brand Smart Juice Organic Pomegranate Juice. So delicious. Like dessert. No concentrates. Smart Juice also makes a Super Veggie Juice that is wonderful. I eat mostly chicken and fish. Little red meat. Lots of leafy greens and veggies in general. Only an occasional sweet, and then I dont even like it much. Don't eat fried food. I take Omega 3 Fatty Acid and Turmeric pills everyday. Drink green tea a lot, but I hate it. Can't stand the taste. Drink Kefir. I think that is what it is called. A natural probiotic. LIke a yogurt smoothie. Delicious and so healthy. Instead of taking probiotics. Also, sauerkraut, which is a natural probiotic. I dont use any special website. Lori Renee

@annapocono My doctor also put me on estrogen cream. And she said the same thing to only use a pea size amount. But she also asked if I was using a PH balanced soap. At the time, I was not. I've since changed to one and use it every night. I'm 70 and I've taken cranberry tablets for years. But not the brand you are using. I also drink the juice. I'm also faithful taking a probiotic every single day. I've now been on Florastor or another with S. Boulardii since my GI told me to start it last fall along with the regular probiotic. I got the UTI while I was just finishing the Vanco pulse and taper. I took Macrobid. I was told to stay away from Cipro for UTI's. What estrogen cream did she put you on? I'm using Premarin but I guess there is one that's a lot less money. My co-pay for Premarin was over $80. It lasts along time since I'm only using a pea size.

@pines Interesting that we are on the same program. Reassuring! I will switch to a cheaper cranberry pill when i have more confidence that i am not about to get another UTI. The estrogen cream was Premarin -- a large tube. It was expensive but not as expensive as yours. I have a supplemental insurance that must have picked up more of the cost. Why isn't medicare paying for this more completely I wonder. I also do probiotics every single day: kefir, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh etc and want to drink kombucha for he S. Boulardi but so far makes my stomach too gassy. Hoping that won't be true when i have C. Diff further in the rear view mirror. The infectious disease specialist did not want me to take probiotic pills. Because my immunity is , they say, somewhat compromised by mild RA and MGUS, she worried that the live bacteria in the powerful pills might make me sick. The amount in foods she said is more manageable. It's good to hear your story and that of everyone else. Feels good standing together. anna

@annapocono I was just curious how you drink your kefir...I'm struggling trying to get it down. I also ordered miso - but to be honest, I don't even know what to do with it! About two weeks after I finished Dificid, I have become gassy, I know longer have D, and I got a negative test result, but I have the gas now that I didn't have before!

@femalegolfer I think the gas must be the results from having Cdiff. I have never had so much gas in my life. And it's worse at night or when I get up in the morning. But I also wonder if the S. Boulardii and probiotics aren't part of the reason. But I'm not going to stop them if they're helping my colon and establishing more good bacteria. I happy the Dificid worked for you. It did for me also when Flagyl and Vancomycin did not. I'm happy we have this site to share all our woes. And as Anna said, "feels good standing together." Sherry

@lorirenee1 I know what you mean about green tea. I read that peppermint tea is good for settling the stomach -- and after c. diff my stomach was really queasy and full of gas. So I tried peppermint tea and it has helped lots. I don't love it. I miss coffee a lot but , you know how it is. Priority #1 is getting GI health back. Anna

I cannot give up my coffee. That is my weakness. Love the stuff. Not much of a tea drinker, I am lucky because I seem to do really well if I just stick to my bone broth. If I skip it, I am sure to have the runs....this life of ours is not easy...…. Lori

@annapocono I was just curious how you drink your kefir...I'm struggling trying to get it down. I also ordered miso - but to be honest, I don't even know what to do with it! About two weeks after I finished Dificid, I have become gassy, I know longer have D, and I got a negative test result, but I have the gas now that I didn't have before!