Hi, @acres, I'm so sorry for all you are going through. C. Diff. is notoriously difficult to get rid of and can persist through many treatments. Most people get it from a round of the antibiotics that end with -mycin, and Clindamycin in the worst offender. Flagyl and Vancomycin are horrible Rxs, but they can work (they probably gave you that weird taste in your mouth, but that could also be undigested food or activity in your gut doing that). If they DON'T work, however, you can try Rifaximin. Rifaximin has no side effects and makes you feel human again, and works well. Keep taking the Florastor, but take the max dosage. It is the probiotic yeast S. Boulardii and it kills C.Diff. and you can take it while on treatment because it's a yeast, so antibiotics don't kill it.

And the VSL3 can help restore other Flora killed by the antibiotics, but you need at least 3-4 pills/day. I don't know that taking them with Rifaximin will help, as they will be killed off by the mediciine, but right after you finish treatment, you need to load up your system with probiotics and VSL helps. Other natural sources include kefir (if you have dairy issues you can find a non-dairy one), Mountain High or Chobani yoghurt (not all yogurts have probiotics in them, but these two do...MHY has less sugar). A nutritionist can help you with finding other natural sources.

I had a family member with C. Diff. We went through it 4 times and Rifaximin helped the most--it was wonderful. It made a huge difference. A Mayo doc who gave us the Rx that took a while to get filled because it was tough to find and it was an off-label use, so try that but be prepared to persist.

Another approach is to taper off Vanco by skipping doses for a day or two to let the spores grow, then killing them off with the next dose. I wouldn't try that without a doc's supervision.

You must persist in finding relief, as gut infections are tough to conquer. There is a radical treatment called fecal transplant that is a miracle cure. Research that. there's a doctor in Canada who makes pills for this, I'll try to find his name in my notes later this week. If you can get treatment at Mayo, they are the best docs. You need support as losing weight and suffering is not an option. Good luck!

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