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Trying to recover from a c. diff infection (Clostridium difficile)
Digestive Health | Last Active: Apr 11 12:22am | Replies (545)Comment receiving replies
Hi, all! I am a 25 year old female who was diagnosed/treated for c diff about three months ago. The antibiotics (vancomycin) worked wonders initially; however, this past week, I’ve been experiencing abdominal cramping, pain in my lower left side of abdomen, irregular bowel movements, nausea, and general gas/discomfort. I am not sure if I am relapsing (I’ve had one case of diarrhea, yesterday, but stools have been mostly solid/soft otherwise) or if my digestive system is just not fully healed. I’m thinking the latter, so I am wondering if you all have any advice on healing your gut in the absence of actual c diff bacteria? I’ve been taking probiotics, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. Do you think an appointment with a GI doc would be beneficial? Not sure if there’s anything they can do or prescribe since I don’t think the bacteria is present. I have a friend who had c diff in high school and she said that her doctor prescribed her colitis medication. Is that typical for recovery?
Replies to "Hi, all! I am a 25 year old female who was diagnosed/treated for c diff about..."
@big001 .... C diff is such a hard thing to over come. I've had 4 bouts of it and used three different RX's. I even did the Vancomycin pulse and taper for 5 or 6 weeks. I was good for 3 weeks and then it came back with a vengeance. I then did 10 days on Deficid. It will be one month tomorrow since I finished that RX. Is the probiotic you're taking Florastor? My gastroenterologist has me taking that now since it has Saccharolyces Boulardii which survives stomach acid and colonizes in the intestinal tract where the C diff spores thrive. I pray this last RX works. Now with winter coming on, I hope I stay well. Last winter I had 4 sinus infections and the Clindamycin I took for the last one what was gave me the C diff this past April. Hopefully, you just have some bug that's going around. How long has it been since you finished the Vancomycin?
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Unfortunately CDiff is one of those infections where relapses are common. From my experience, part of the reason we relapse after antibiotic treatment is due to improper diet. We are encouraged to return to a “normal” diet when symptoms subside and in my experience all of us who have suffered GI infections and take antibiotics have some form of dysbiosis or imbalance of good versus bad bacteria in our gut. A normal American diet consists of carbs, grains, sugars and other foods that may be otherwise healthy but not for someone coming fout of a gut infection. If you want to work on modifying your diet, look at SCD and Low Fodmaps diets. You may need to go on one of these for a period of time until your gut heals. Usually no dairy, very limited carbs, low sugar, and more protein, vegetables and certain fruits. I was initially diagnosed with CDiff, then SIBO and it has taken me three rounds of antibiotics and finally going on a low FODMAP diet to stop relapsing and start gaining the 20 lbs I lost in three months. The diet change was the missing component for me. I was eating rice, baked potatoes, toast, yogurt and all the foods that are bad for someone in my situation. But of course seeing a GI doctor would also be helpful. I finally had to seek a nutritionist to guide me through the process. Hang in there. Hope others here give you encouragement and feedback. Wishing you fast healing.