Will a scheduled colonoscopy cause a relapse of C-Diff?

@minge did you ever end up getting the colonoscopy? Did it cause a relapse? I too am 2 months post antibiotics for cdiff and nervous of getting my colonoscopy because of that reason

I am also interested to find out if the colonoscopy or tetanus shot caused a relapse in the c diff. The majority of 2022 I was dealing with a flareup of diverticulitis that never went away after numerous double antibiotics. Ended up having a sigmoidectomy June 2022. At that time they said I tested positive for. C diff. I was not treated for that. Then I ended up taking amoxicillin in October for a dental issue. After 10 days the c diff reared its ugly head, and I ended up spending seven days in the hospital. Was treated with Vancomycin and florastor. Was released from the hospital on another 10 days of Vancomycin and Florastor. I have continued on once a day with the probiotic. And here I am at the beginning of March 2023. Scared to death to ever take another antibiotic. So I understand what you mean by it coming back. I am afraid to even take Tylenol. So afraid it will trigger the C diff again! It is always on my mind, but I am trying to move forward. Trying to stay as healthy as possible. Good luck out there. May we all keep away from this horrible c diff!

Hi BBarbiee I can relate also as after my first bout with it in 2019 i worry also. But i do take an antibiotic every time i have dental work and so far no reoccurrence. I can suggest that when I was last on Vancomycin my PCP Doctor put me on a probiotic that worked well for me. He was very specific that it had to be Lactobacillus Acidophilus and not to take the one that had the acid part first. Now i would definitely check with your doctor as because of my transplant drugs I'm on they will only let me take it when I'm on a longer term of antibiotics since it plays with my other meds and that the one-day I'm on Amoxicillin for dental work is not long enough to cause cdif and I'm now 3 years of twice a year dental cleaning and no problems with cdif. Hope that helps. Let me know what you find out as I too would not want to wish that disease on anyone.

Dana,
It is interesting that you say your doctor suggested a specific probiotic for you. When I was in the hospital they had me taking the probiotic Florastor three times a day, along with the Vanco. When I was released from the hospital, I had to take the Vanco for 10 more days and with that I continue taking a probiotic Florastor. I have since continued taking that same probiotic one time a day at night. If I feel a little loose, then I take one during the day. I have not felt right about venturing out and trying any other probiotic since this is the one they put me on. I am interested in what you said that your doctor recommended to you and I will remember that. Have not had to take any antibiotics since the time in October 2022 that ‘woke’ up the horrible C Diff. It has almost been five months. And I am careful, so as not to get sick or be in any need of antibiotics. Thank you so much for your comment. Hopefully we will all not have to deal with this. The infectious disease doctor that saw me in the hospital was telling me that if I can go one year without having an issue then I would probably be OK. One year. !!!! Well one year seems like an awful long time but I will inch my way there and hope for the best. Stay well.

I take probiotics any time i must take an antibiotic. C-Diff is horrible.

I had C-Diff. It was bad. Any time I need to take an antibiotic (I try not to) I take a probiotic. No specific kind, just from the drug store, or from Amazon. It works for me.

I have the same question. I had a horrible time with c diff - every time I stopped the vancomycin, I would get it again two weeks later. I finally ended up having a fecal transplant from a clinical trial. I am horrified of antibiotics for the rest of my life. I am due for my colonoscopy this year, but I am freaking out because I’m scared to death of doing anything to my stomach, including the prep. I have PTSD from having C – diff in the first place.

Hi @annc999 Your experience with c-diff is frustrating. Are you thinking you want to forgo having a colonoscopy, maybe see if there are other options?

I had C. Diff in July of 2024, treated with 10 days of Vancomycin. Although I have not had a recurrence (yet) I do have PTSD from the C Diff and aftermath (developed post-infectious IBS, malnutrition, lost approx 30 lbs., possible leaky gut and possible fatty liver from the leaky gut) Probiotics turned things around for me and allowed me to start eating again (ProBioMed 250 (for a few weeks in the beginning), Visbiome (currently) and Florastor (currently)). I slowly had to reintroduce food and build up to normal amounts. My local doctors all say the same thing, “You’ll probably be fine as long as you don’t take antibiotics again, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics.” Great. I get frequent UTI’s that have to be treated with antibiotics. Therefore now I obsess about everything I put in my mouth and scared to death about needing antibiotics in the future. I read that it’s not just antibiotics we need to worry about, but also antivirals and antifungals. I started working with Dr. Sabine Hazan and her lab ProgenaBiome. She analyzes stool samples and gives me the breakdown of what good and bad bacteria is in my microbiome. This is quite pricey, but I feel that my life depends on fixing my gut. Dr. Hazan gave me a list of things to AVOID (for 18 months) while I am on her protocol of supplements improve my gut which include AVOIDING COLON CLEANSES, LAXATIVES & ENEMAS. In my personal case, I will not be doing any colon prep or colonoscopy in the near future, unless it is medically necessary. I just don’t think my microbiome has recovered enough to survive being washed out at this point in my recovery.

Prayers and best wishes to everyone who has suffered from this horrific infection.

I want medical research that shows a colonoscopy does not induce or cause risk for c diff. The prep does a number on your system. My doc wants me to also do a penicillin challenge to see if I am still allergic as I was as a child. It requires me to actually take 500 mg of it. His point is that penicillin has less risk of c diff than other antibiotics. What if that causes c diff? It did for my friend who had c diff again. He scares me every time is see him and I don’t need that reminder about how bad it’ll diff is.