I have c diff

Posted by rrf67 @rrf67, Jul 24, 2022

I have recently been diagnosed with c diff. I am currently on vancomycin 125mg four times a day. I have been bleeding for over 2 months now regularly with no solid movements whatsoever. I have urgency in the mornings and have to run to the bathroom only to be issues of blood and coffee ground feces, nothing ever solid. I just had a colonoscopy last Monday if showed diverticulum in the transverse colon and inflammation in the sigmoid colon in four different places. my question is when will I get better?? I have been dealing with this for a long time and it is debilitating. Will the vancomycin give me solid movements and will it stop the blood issues?? I just need to talk to someone who can identify with what I have. I have to call my gastro at the end of the week to let her know how I am doing. if I still have this what will be the next step?? Also, has anyone else with c diff smell an odor on themselves and when they go?? does c diff have a distinctive odor?

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@ngorman25

@roso Yes, I take only one a day. I figured I would start out taking one and then if I needed to, I would increase it. Just passed 4 years of doing it this way. Fyi- I only weigh 88 lbs. So I don't know if this is a factor or not. Anyway, wishing all the best to you and your husband. Please let me know how he does. And if anything else comes up, please contact me anytime.

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Thank you for responding so quickly. My fingers are crossed that he has your luck!

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@roso

What probiotics are you taking? My husband now has c diff for the second time and is taking vancomycin again. I am looking at probiotics, but every site I go to recommends a different one to take to try to avoid a recurrence.

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Infectious Disease department at my hospital suggested Kefir yogurt. Most physicians won’t recommend over the counter medicine or supplements but kefir has scientific study behind it I was told. Also, I was put on Dificid after my second bout when Vancomycin didn’t work. It’s very expensive so it’s not used as a first line of defence. 2 pills twice a day then one pill every other day for 20 days. A low roughage diet and no dairy, a probiotic every other day and so far, so good! I will gradually add more roughage. Remember…your gut is inflamed. It needs TLC right now. Hope this helps.

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@lamiller

Infectious Disease department at my hospital suggested Kefir yogurt. Most physicians won’t recommend over the counter medicine or supplements but kefir has scientific study behind it I was told. Also, I was put on Dificid after my second bout when Vancomycin didn’t work. It’s very expensive so it’s not used as a first line of defence. 2 pills twice a day then one pill every other day for 20 days. A low roughage diet and no dairy, a probiotic every other day and so far, so good! I will gradually add more roughage. Remember…your gut is inflamed. It needs TLC right now. Hope this helps.

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Thank you. Stay well!

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C-diff is a horrible infection. I feel for you! The quarantine and cleaning everything with chlorine is a lot of work especially when you feel unwell. Make sure your health care provider checks your electrolytes. Losing fluid the way you are can cause severe dehydration and dangerous electrolyte imbalance. Vancomycin did not work for me. By my second hospital admission for the same bout I was started on Dificid. It’s expensive so it’s not the first line of defence. It’s working for me. 5 days 2x a day and now I’m on 1 pill every other day for 20 days. Talk to your doctor about fecal transplant. Sounds awful but it evidently works for hard to cure cases. As far as the odour question.. there was a study of nurses who could detect c-diff infection by the odor . There’s lots of info online. Hope you get well soon.

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I had bleeding and urgency and diarrhea for 4 months approx. No gastro would listen to me or treated me as if it was nothing. Finally I went to a gastro in Cleveland Clinic. She did multiple blood test, colonoscopy which showed Ulcerative Colitis. I did have C diff with this and it does smell but when I took my colonoscopy and took the prep all my feces (diarrhea) was green, which is a sign of c diff. I went through hell with all this until someone finally listened to me. I am now on infusions every 8 weeks and have not had a problem. Praise God. I hope this helps you and God bless. I know what you are going thru.

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