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

Find a Doc that does fecal microbial transplants.

@tammy1pike, I am in the Birmingham Al area. I’m on my third recurrence of Cdiff. I got it from clindamycin given for a serious sinus infection. I had taken it before for dental reasons so I didn’t perceive a problem. I was so devastated when I got it. I’ve been having gut issues for a year now. Last December I had a horrible episode of unbearable pain, then diarrhea & then vomiting. I thought it was a virus, but when I got up the next morning I was having lots of bloody stool. I immediately went to my Dr. A CT scan revealed I had ischemic colitis. After a months treatment for that I had a colonoscopy. I had to wait for enough healing so as not to perforate my colon. I was almost normal except for pain in my lower gut soon after eating. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis & had a polyp removed. I thought I was on the road to a somewhat recovery. Then I guess that since I had a compromised gut anyway this Cdiff had really beat me down. I’m 71 & I thought was a young 71. I have a heart problem too ( Afib) but my treatment was going well. I fell like I won’t live long like this. I’m tiny anyway, but now I’m at 85 pounds. I’m very weak. I just can’t get my GI to take me seriously. They just throw meds at me. 2 rounds of Flagyl & now I’m on vancomycin. I feel a little better & no diarrhea, but I’m horrified that it will be back as soon as this round of meds is over. I’m desperate. We have lots of medical care here in Birmingham that people come from all over for. I guess I’m just going to the wrong Dr. I’m sorry I’m making this so long, but like I said I have no life. Thank you for listening.

I am also also taking a guar gum fiber called NutriSource made by Nestle, also per the nutritionist’s recommendation. Once I started working with the nutritionist I realized how little I knew about diet and introducing foods post infection, and sadly how little my own GI doctor knew about diet for these types of conditions.

Have you worked with a nutritionist ? My attempt at LowFodmap was a disaster when I was doing it on my own. Even yogurt gave me diarrhea. The nutritionist took me off dairy also. It has taken a while to tweak it but it seems to be working now. I am also off grains and most complex carbs. My initial diagnosis was suspected CDiff but I ended up with a SIBO or dysbiosis diagnosis, which may also help account for why we may be reacting to the diet differently. Best wishes to you.

@sue6408 Hi sue Im not sure this will help but one time my abd. was bloated ,had alot of gas went to Dr. he told me to go on fiber and a probiotic this really helped me ,at that time I wasn't eating right just junk food so now I make sure I eat veggies every day and probiotic at least 3 x,s a week hope you feel better let me know if this helped .

I am trying to recover from c.diff. I am negative by stool culture for 1 year. I am experiencing extreme distention after drinking water or eating. I often can’t sleep due to the pressure of my distended abdomen. I have had all the tests ( gastric emptying, small bowel series,breath test ) Also I have not been hungry for 2 years. I feel if I could get rid of the cause of my bloating I could live again. Can anyone help me ? ( already been on fodmap 4 a year.didnt help)

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Dear gut health, I was on the Fodmap diet 4 a year. It really didn’t help. Post c.difficile I bloat like I am pregnant and feel like my gut will burst. I went to an allergy Dr. between gut Dr. appointments and found out I was allergic to dairy now. ( I wasn’t previously) I have a low tolerance for gluten,but no actual allergy. So you may want check for food allergy. Eliminating dairy has decreased some of the symptoms. . I am new to this site. How do I ask my own questions?

@tina1125 I finished the Deficid for my 4th bout of Cdiff just one month ago. It hit me the hardest of all four and I lost 10 pounds during the first two weeks with it. And unfortunately, the first week the test came back negative so I had to go for almost 2 weeks before the test was positive for Cdiff. But during the past month, I've put almost all the weight back on. I wish I could keep it off and take off another 30 or 40 pounds. I'm sorry to hear you continue to lose weight plus muscle tone. I wouldn't wish Cdiff on my worst enemy. And I've never paid so much attention to BM's. 🙂

It is not uncommon to lose weight following GI infections, particularly if you are still having loose stools or diarrhea. I lost 20 pounds in three months because I kept relapsing a week after finishing antibiotics (even after no longer testing positive for CDiff or any other parasite). What I think has finally started to turn things around for me is the diet. My nutritionist told me in simple terms that the bad bacteria and imbalance (dysbiosis) left in your gut after the infection and (yes) by the antibiotics, highjacks and steals nutrition from being absorbed by your body which leads to malnutrition and weight loss. This is why it is so important to make changes in diet following these infections to allow your gut to heal and not feed bad bacteria until that gut balance is restored. I think this principle applies to CDiff, IBS, SIBO and other intestinal conditions that can lead to malabsorption of nutrients. A red flag went up for me when you said you ate a lot over the Thanksgiving weekend. I took three rounds of antibiotics, would do alright for a week or so thereafter, and then quickly relapse back to diarrhea (even after no longer showing signs of active infection). Everyone kept telling me to eat normal again after the antibiotics so I could gain weight back, and that inevitably contributed to more loose stools, diarrhea, and further weight loss, creating a vicious cycle for me. I knew that what I was putting into my mouth was contributing to my symptoms but never imagined that foods like yogurt, rice or a baked potato could make me worse. The idea is to limit dairy, gluten, complex carbs and refined sugars for a while to “kill” the overgrowth of bad bacteria and make sure they do not return to repopulate your gut after the antibiotic. Let me know if you want me to explain in more detail what I am doing and I also recommend you look at Low FODMAPs and SCD diet. I am working with a nutritionist and using aspects of both. I finished my last round of antibiotics on Nov 15 and I am now on my tenth day of having normal looking and solid stools, and also gained four pounds. I am cautiously optimistic but the only thing I have changed this time is what and how I eat. Hope this helps.