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

Posted by acres @acres, Apr 12, 2016

I am trying to recover from a c.diff infection. This started with taking clindamycin in mid January and 3 days later I became ill with diarrhea and felt sick, loss of appetite etc...Went to the er twice, tested negative for c.diff on my 2nd visit. The Dr. told me to take imodium to rest my colon since I tested negative. That evening I had diarrhea and took the Imodium. Became constipated with pain lower right side. I went to a GI dr. pleading for help, I did another stool test and it came back positive for c.diff. I tried flagyl but could not tolerate the side effects. Tried vancomycin for 10 days. Did not work. Tested positive again, Went to a new gi doctor who prescribed dificid for ten days. I am 31 days post dificid and I have almost constant gut rumbling and urge to go. My 1st bm in the morning is usually semi normal, but after that they are always either pencil thin and or small pieces (2 to 5 times a day). This has been my routine since the vancomycin. I do not get dull blown diarrhea..... My dr. wants me to have a colonoscopy but I an scared that the cleansing will wipe out all my good flora. I currently take 2 florastor pills and 1/2 vsl3 per day. I eat fermented pickles for the probiotics as well..... I have many food intolerances since this whole mess began (fiber, many vegatables, dairy). I also have a strange taste in my mouth most of the time, have very little energy and fight with depression. My primary gave me Xanax .25 but I only take them at night when I cannot sleep...... Went to a nutritionist who put me on a no wheat, soy, dairy, gluten diet. Does not seem to be helping or hurting. I lost 20 pounds and cannot gain any weight (I weigh 120 at 5'7")... I am thinking it might be sibo, or candida but cannot find a dr. to test for these....I am in the right place for help or advice ? The urge to go is awful and limits my once active lifestyle.....
Thank you, Scott

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wendyw | @wendyw | Aug 11, 2018

Claudiabrende, FMT is having fantastic results curing CDiff. I hope you can report the same results here so others will be encouraged to look into it.

claudiabrende | @claudiabrende | Aug 11, 2018

@gina1963 Hi, I am on my second round of antibiotics since I was diagnosed with C diff and has I feel put my life on hold due to the symptoms. I keep getting repeated infections and now may be looking at a fecal transplant. How are you feeling now?

Justin McClanahan, Moderator | @JustinMcClanahan | Aug 11, 2018

In reply to @gina1963 "Im on difficid for cdiff very weak and low back pain" + (show)

Hello @gina1963, and welcome to Connect. You may notice that I moved your discussion and combined it with a discussion titled "I am trying to recover from a c diff infection." I did this so your post would be seen by the other Connect members already discussing C diff and the recovery process. If you are replying by email, you can click on VIEW & REPLY to be brought to the new location of your discussion.

@gina1963, do you have any specific questions for the other members who are and have recovered from c diff? How long have you been trying to recover?

gina1963 | @gina1963 | Aug 11, 2018

Im on difficid for cdiff very weak and low back pain

wendyw | @wendyw | Aug 10, 2018

I am so sorry for the people in this thread suffering C Diff, In Australia it is now being treated with Fecal Matter Transfers. As unpleasant as that sounds the results are incredible and occur instantly.
Please research it for yourselves.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016508516353549

pmj41 | @pmj41 | Aug 10, 2018

I just completed my treatment for my second bout of c. diff. I am not certain if it was just one long siege of two separate cases. Because I have had my colon totally removed and have had 6 sections of my small intestines removed because of perforations, having diarrhea is not an indicator for c. diff for me. I am all "hooked up" but I have diarrhea all of the time. I do have abdominal pain and my stools are different. After reading these posts I feel I should return to be tested again. I do have good insurance but am now in the famous donut hole and the last 10 day prescription of Vancomyacin was $651.00 for my co-pay! My surgeries have all occurred at Mayo Rochester.

Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator | @kanaazpereira | Aug 9, 2018

Hi @cupcake420,

I'm tagging @kyjeanne @tammy1pike @reg395 @musicflowers4u @mrfish @concernedmtnmom @dodgerblu818311 as they've also shared their experiences with c.diff and/or fluoroquinolone resistant c. diff; I'm hoping they will join in with some more insights.

suez | @suez | Aug 9, 2018

In reply to @cupcake420 "Thank youcipro ruined my Achilles to ,I was going n it six months for a breast..." + (show)

@cupcake420, I joined this group over a year ago and can vouch that it's a good source of information. So sorry your post was misunderstood by someone.
I want to share that I read about a recent Swedish study that found Cipro is associated with an increased risk of aortic aneurysm (BMJ, March, 2018). Beware. I will not be taking it again.

cupcake420 | @cupcake420 | Aug 9, 2018

Thank youcipro ruined my Achilles to ,I was going n it six months for a breast infection tears in labrums in hips and shoulders,I just wish the Drs would stop prescribing them,black box warnings don't stop them