Trying to recover from a c. diff infection (Clostridium difficile)

So sorry that you had a reaction to the medication. Currently, when he has an IBS-PI flare up, he takes Align in the morning and a blend of 10 other probiotics in the evening. That usually stabilizes his gut.

@lengel ...oh that is interesting. About 6 yrs ago and after ibs-d type problems my doctor gave me a cholesterol lowering drug to try, nothing wrong with cholesterol, but caused constipation. I tried it and I remember it cut down about 50 per cent of my trips to bathroom... but inside of moth and tongue etc. got so inflammed, tongue red and cracked and mouth so red and sore, pharmacist was shocked. So i stopped taking it. Not sure how many months later but said could we try again.... we did and same thing happened, so my reaction to drug. Fast forward about 3 months ago and I was referred to a nephrologist and she, upon hearing my woes of fecal incontinence and history, prescribed another such medication ; "LODALIS" (colesevelam hydrochloride) (bile acid sequestrant) to mix with water. But after reading drug info am too scared to try it. Also have sore mouth from previous molar extraction and keep getting bone chips (tiny) coming thru gums which makes mouth sore and also had another molar out yesterday and other side of mouth raw etc. so dare not take any meds I think will cause sore mouth again and am reluctant to tell her I did not try it , next appointment. For 30 single doses it was over $200.00 Canadan, good thing i still have my work health insurance to pay most of it. But I get the idea; find out something that causes constipation and take it for our diarrhea! J.

Such a difficult way to live. After c diff and four months of needing to be one minute from a bathroom and after multiple rounds of antibiotics, my husband’s GI doctor prescribed Questran powder, a cholesterol lowering drug. His colon finally calmed down.

P.S. sorry this is so long, but before dentist, 2 days before i start taking Imodium and cut down on what i eat, very plain, and take or wear disposables, even have those plastic underwear... it upsets my routine, if i in fact have a routine, but like you dont want to have an accident in middle of dental work.... and rather do all this before going anywhere, i now stay home. Was at daughter's for half hour the other day as she was going away, went to go pee in her bathroom and yep, fecal incontinence, but i take a bagt with me with change of underwear, cloths, wipes, spry, you name it... but its still miserable to go through so rarely visit her and she is only a few blocks away. Whereve i go my bag of emergency supplies goes with me.... a therapist with colitis gave me that tip.

hi @judy75 and all... well, i try and think of my poop/feces as processed food because really that's what it is,with a few things thrown in. I did take a 2 photos when i knew something was wrong in 2018 as so peculiar and looked like bits of blood etc., my dr. was on vacation and i showed to dr. at walkin clinic and he ordered the tests. when my dr. returned and i had diagnosis of c.diff i told him about the photos and went to get them from my purse and he said; i dont want to see them! Around same time i started to go to a naturopath, very nice woman, and at appointment after all this and figuring out what to do, i sold her about photos and what my dr. said and she said; oh show them to me! i am very interested in this !
Honestly, from birth to death we are evacuating food and liquids we intake.... and of course, its not a subject to talk about around the dinner table, but for a doctor not to want to even look a at very extraordinary photo.... and you cant even mention the words; toilet paper, in front of some people, lol....maybe as i have been forced to discuss it over the years, it's just another word in the dictionary - but living the life with it is life changing. By the way, rough time at dentist... 70 year old molar with very wide roots, he had a tough time pulling out and grinding them down,,,, eeek.... and after almost an hour start to finish even my listening to the drill with my tinnitus and hyperacousis, i stumbled out of their office ... Reading about it, apparently man dentists get tinnitus from constantly listening to drills! Wishing you the best outcome (here they do not re-test after Vanco unless still having diarrhea0 - odd, eh? J.

Oh my gosh! I can’t imagine! The world of gut problems. You just never know what to expect and the problems have to be the grossest in the body. It takes a very special person to go into gastro medicine. They earn every penny of their income and more.
I agree there are times I want to take a picture of my BMs just to show the dr what’s going on.
You are fortunate to get to the dentist. I need to have dental work done but don’t trust my gut to sit in the chair without needing to use the loo. I don’t want him to be in the middle of a procedure and me having to jump out of the chair to go to the bathroom.
Please take care. It’s time I find my way to bed.

Hi, I’m off vanco tomorrow and then the Dr wants to retest me next week. Some days I can go up to 5/6 times a day - all formed. Then there are other days when I barely go at all. I had c-dif back in 2019 and can’t remember too much, but it seems I had more diarrhea back then.

@judy75 not sure why i thought of a funny response, as have felt so awful lately , know yu do too, and just home an hour after having largest molar in my mouth taken out... he had a hard time as roots 'very wide" and i had numbing but he broke the tooth up first as full of fillings.... ugh ugh and ugh. i could feel the vibrations of him rocking each root back and forth a lot, to dislodge them..and grind them.... it was brutal but didnt want to leave the tooth and end up on even more anticiotics which gave me c diff in first plant.
regardless: reading your note , and it's NOT funny at all for any of us with bowel issues; but i had ibs-d for years before c diff, had runny diarrhea all during c diff and months of VANCO, and ended up with faecal incontinence; the only thing that saves me 50 per cent of the time is Imodium. Then its like rabbit poo and - this is even more "gross" than your question; sometimes i go to bathroom to pee and there on the floor is a little brown ball; or shower and in the drain is a little brown ball and we have a dog as a pet not a rabbit!!!
I am making a joke of it but it's enough to drive me to drink. i would say in past 2 years i have had may be three times a normal sausage bowel movement and overjoyed and felt like taking a photo - its like a rare siting!!!! So didnt have formed stool before c.diff and havent had since... i have forgotten what its like to have normal bowls.........think i have had too much happen to my bowel and now at 77 i don't want to pursue.... i have other issues with health physical and mental and just cant go through the colonoscopies etc etc etc.
i will say though, had fecal transplant been available to me at age 65 or before i would have had it in a minute with no hesitation... am sure it could not have been worse than the last ten years or more.
Best of luck and on this site there is no such thing as "gross" Take care my dear J.

Hello hope all goes well for you once your are off Vanco. I had c Diff back in June and never had good formed stool after my stool is always formed but very soft. And I still go 2 to 3 times per day. Was told I developed post Infection IBS seems it is common with any colon Infection. How many times do you still go per day? Will you get tested after the vanco?

I have a gross question regarding c-dif. I tested positive for c-dif, but my stool has been basically soft, but formed. I just go a lot. I end the vancomycin today. Has having a formed stool been anyone’s experience?