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Hi, I 'm new here. I have a question about whether my C. Diff. is gone or not. I have had IBS for 10 years and the symptoms are the same except my C. Diff stool has a sickening sweet smell still. I was diagnosed with C. Diff on 1-28-22 and my GI doc started me on Flagyl (metronidazole) for 14 days. After 11 days, the cramping had stopped, but I still had diarrhea with belly distension and smelly stool so I called my GI doc and he ordered Vancomycin 250 mg 4 times a day for 14 days. I started the Vanco on 2-11-22 and am now on the 10th day of that. I had a couple of days where my first stool of the day was formed but the 4 movements afterward were diarrhea. Today, I'm back to very loose stools all morning. So basically, I've been on antibiotics for 3 weeks and have morning diarrhea with that sickening sweet smell. Usually, with my IBS, the diarrhea would stop by noon and I was fine the rest of the day until the next morning, but my stool was not that sickening sweet smell. My IBS always vacillated between diarrhea and constipation so I'm wondering if I still have the C. Diff. since now, I'm done with the diarrhea by 11 am, but my diarrhea still has that sickening smell. Anybody else experienced anything like this?
Replies to "Hi, I 'm new here. I have a question about whether my C. Diff. is gone..."
Good morning. I recently had a bout of C Diff. I have UC for the past 18 years. There is definitely a different smell between the two. With the loose stools it could be from the high doses of antibiotics that your taking. Definitely speak with your GI DR. Best of luck.
I too am currently on Vanco same dosage 250mg 14 days. This is my first reoccurrence after initial diagnosis 12/8. I was on Vanco then Dificid initially. Am devastated that it has come back even tho this episode has not been as bad as first. I am 73, female and never experienced anything this awful. I feel sure this will come back again based on the odds. Feeling like FMT is my last hope. My GI has had 100% success rate with it but wants to wait till 3rd reoccurrence. Don’t know if I can do this again and not sure why I have to wait. Anyone have experience with that?
@p95 - I have IBS but am not n antibiotics - and have the same problem as you do: normal first bowel movement and one or two diarrheal movements within the next couple of hours - all (including the first) accompanied by cramping pains (feel like labour pain each time!) then I am okay the rest of the day. No abnormal smell, though.
I’m curious about the cost of your Dificid? Mine was “covered” by insurance but still cost me $1300 out of pocket versus $20 for Vanco. Have you been able to get Dificid at a reasonable cost? It’s actually supposed to work better than Vanco but neither have worked for me. Just curious?
My husband has had C.diff since late December. Is on 3rd round of Vanco and had one round of Dificid. The copay on Dificid was $1500. The first Vanco had a copay of $28, the second a copay of $450. When he got the 3rd prescription, his Part D drug plan said he couldn’t get a refill (even when prescribed by infectious medicine doc. Pharmacist suggested using goodRX, where we bought it for $300. His doctor sent a letter to drug plan and now they may cover it again but goodRX will be cheaper. He is now tapering slowly so hope it works. He is better, but not back to normal.
The best way to get rid of C-Diff is a fécal transplant. I read somewhere that you can buy poo pills today not certain where you can find them!🤭
The only tapering off strategy that helped my husband was with cholestyramine. It is an off label prescription that his gastroenterologist used after every antibiotic failed.
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Welcome @p95,
I think you might appreciate these related discussions:
- C. difficile – Are your guts ever normal again?
- Living with High-Risk C-Diff and Preventing Re-Infection
- What happens after C.Difficile? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-happens-after-c-diff/
@ngorman25 @foxx67 @mhi @jond @cece55 @ken82 @woogie @minge @sue6408 @snail may be able to share experiences with you.
You could ask your doctor to test for the bacterial toxins in a stool sample to determine whether you still have the c difficile bacterial infection. Have you talked with your GI specialist about how to distinguish between IBS and C difficile?