C. difficile – Are your guts ever normal again?

Had Cdiff for over one year back in 2011 I was in the hospital for 4 months and was very sick where I almost died. I went all that time up until July of this year I think it was with out having even a tad bit of the runs and then I took keflex for a cut on my head that wasn't a big deal. They sewed it up and it really didn't need an antibiotic. Then a couple days later there it was like a bad habit.

@plm2019 So you went for 8 years from 2011 to 2019 and then still had a relapse?

Yes I did... they told me you can go 20 years and still have a relapse. Its nasty stuff that lies dormant in your gastro intenstines and they just sit and wait for the perfect time to attack, maybe just so happened to be Keflex and apparently the was something in there already that was not happy either. So the 2 go hand in hand and boom there you have it the present of Cdiff... the gift that keeps on giving literally. It never goes away, don't think it does, it will get you at anytime. Obviously I am a prime example.

Hi Sue.. your comment was a long time ago, so I don't know if you'll see, but I'm wondering about SIBO with you. I know I sound like a SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) proponent here, but while of course it's not everyone's problem, since I've learned so much about it, I think it is greatly under-diagnosed and treated when I read people's stories. Yours would be a classic presentation, as a theory that makes sense is that it starts (not always) with some kind of food poisoning or gastric infection and that leads to bacteria later colonizing the small intestine.

Bloating after eating is a classic SIBO symptom. The tricky thing I've found is finding a GI doc who understands it and knows how to diagnose, and treat it properly. I was lucky to have a diagnosis from Mayo, but I don't think they believe it is a legitimate problem (that is the impression I got). I had to research myself, and found a protocol from Dr. Mark Pimental at Cedars Sinai, who has done a lot of research on this. (I have the newest protocol from a patient who interviewed him 🙂 ), if you or anyone is interested. I have a local nurse practitioner who will prescribe my meds. If this is not successful , I'm going to Johns Hopkins, where they have GI docs who specialize in SIBO. That is the only place I've found in America, although there must be isolated Dr.s somewhere.

With SIBO, much of the advice you typically get is opposite of what you want to do. i.e. probiotics, and pre-biotics like Kombucha. You DON'T want to put any more bacteria in your GI tract, i.e small intestine. I think (this is my personal opinion based on research) , and is controversial among people who study this, but while probiotics were a nice idea it backfired, and probably makes a lot of people sicker, definitely people with SIBO. You want all these bacteria in your COLON. Unfortunately, by 'eating' them, they likely get wiped out in your stomach or small intestine before every making it there. AND, if they don't they end up taking residence in your small intestine, where you don't want them. They start feeding on your kombucha and carbs and making gasses, i.e bloating.

I'd investigate that. Be careful about naturopaths. They've kind of latched on to SIBO. Some probably know what they are doing, some don't. I think that's why it gets a bad rap with the medical community.

SIBO needs to be treated with specific antibiotics, depending on the type of bacteria you have, although based on your symptoms, you could assume a specific type and try. It also involves taking a prokinetic (wich seems counterintuitive if you have diarrhea, and also eating in a certain way.. HOW you eat, is probably more important than WHAT you eat. If the FODMAP diet isn't helping, I'd just stop that, it's so restrictive. There is a SIBO diet which is less restrictive, it won't cure it, but some people find it helps, at least avoiding things that the bacteria like, but you can't easily digest - i.e. fiber and all the things we are 'told' are good for us 🙂

Hi I definitely would love to learn about the protocol
I’m having issues with SIBO and not getting any relief from the antibiotic I am on.

Thanks for the info. I tested negative for SIBO. I have been diagnosed with the inability to digest sucrose and starches. There is a medicine for the sucrose portion of the diagnosis, but not for the starches. The only problem is the sucraid cost $8084/month. I don't think the average person can afford this. If i eat only "home made" meals that consist of protein and a green veggie (no peas). I have no bloating or diarrhea .The diet is worse than fodmap . Just check food labels in your kitchen... table sugar is in everything.

Have your physicians office contact the company that makes it they have programs. I also would check to see if they are affiliated with a hospital that has a pharmacy that can purchase drugs through a program called 340b. Trust me I do this for a living. Good luck

@losthope How have you been doing? I recall last year when I was dealing with Cdiff from April to October, you were going through the same thing. That was great advice to contact the hospital pharmacy. I took three different RX's for my 4 bouts of Cdiff. The Dificid was the last one and my co-pay was going to be almost $1,000. My gastroenterologist went through the hospital pharmacy and I ended up only paying $100 co-pay. And the Dificid was the one that finally worked. My insurance wouldn't approve it until I had also tried Vancomcin first. And I had even done the Vanco pulse and taper for 6 weeks and Cdiff still returned two weeks after finishing the taper. Hope this finds you feeling great. I'm one year from my last episode and hope I never have to take another antibiotic. Clindamycin really did a number on me.

@bluebananna. How did they treat you & how are you doing now ? When I presented with my horrible diarrhea I thought I might have Cdiff because I had taken a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection. I don’t take antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I had taken clindamycin before so I wasn’t to worried. Then I got this horrible Cdiff. I’m like you, I’ve never been so sick. Mine happened on the weekend so I waited until Monday morning to call my dr. They sent me to the ER because I needed fluids. I was started on Flagyl initially. I got better but as soon as 3 days off I was sick again. This happened 3 times & my GII changed me to vancomycin. I had 2 weeks of it. I’ve been off now for 7 days & I’m definitely better, but not ok. I have a loose stool in the morning & maybe one more later, but I always feel like I need to go. Almost everything I eat hurts my stomach except very soft things like cream potatoes, eggs etc. I’m lactose intolerant so I have to be careful with yogurts & things like that. I stay afraid all the time that it’s coming bsck. My GI dr said my next step if it does is a FMT. I’m terrified. This stuff is a nightmare. I hope you can overcome yours. Some do with just one treatment. Just stay on top of it because most have reoccurrence.

I'm suffered for 7 days with what I thought was a bad case of the stomach flu until I went to my family doctor and they requested a stool sample and found from that that I had c-diff I believe this is the sickest I've ever been in my entire life