# C-Diff recurrence



## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

As some of you may know, I went through a persistent C-Difficile infection a few weeks ago. A week and a half ago, the diahrea had stopped and I had a blood test done: after having taken Flagyl for 11 days, no signs of infection in my blood was found.Though I've heard that C-Diff comes back in most people who've had the infection once so this makes me wonder if I'm having it again now. I ate a bowl of broccoli cream soup yesterday and I've been feeling very gassy since then. But it's not just "normal" gas which I can evactuate by simply farting. It's the kind of gas that suddenly gives me an intense pain in my abdomen which is obviously relieved when "evacuating" it in the bathroom, but it's making my stools a little more mushy as well. When I pass gas in the bathroom, it usually doesn't come alone if you see what I mean. And my stools look green.The strange thing is that my stools were just fine before that. I was actually even glad I had normal BM's again after the C-Diff infection.During the Flagyl treatment I took probiotics with Saccharomyces Boulardii, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium because I had to rebuild my gut flora.Could this be C-Diff coming back? Or could it be the broccoli soup from yesterday that still irritates my colon? It would sound strange that one bowl of soup would cause this.Dammit... I was finally starting to pick up again after that pain in the ass C-Diff infection....


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> broccoli cream soup


 Really??? I wouldn't not be able to touch that! So it is NO suprise to me that you feel gassy. (at the least!)I think this has _nothing_ to do with C-Diff and just a response to the soup! Hon stay away from "cream" ANYthing for awhile. That is heavy in fat and IBS D'ers typically don't do well with those. And Broccoli is a known flatulence producer... why not familiarize yourself with those kinds of foods. Here is a good resource: http://www.endowsec.com/pated/edtgs12.htmAnd just a FYI, from what I understand.. one re-checks for C-Diff most accurately with a stool sample..not a blood sample.And if you are worried about the C-Diff returning... try using a probiotic after intense or liquid type D episodes as well as anytime you need an antibiotic for like a upper respiratory infection.. tooth infection.. etc....


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

BQ said:


> Really??? I wouldn't not be able to touch that! So it is NO suprise to me that you feel gassy. (at the least!)I think this has _nothing_ to do with C-Diff and just a response to the soup! Hon stay away from "cream" ANYthing for awhile. That is heavy in fat and IBS D'ers typically don't do well with those. And Broccoli is a known flatulence producer... why not familiarize yourself with those kinds of foods. Here is a good resource: http://www.endowsec.com/pated/edtgs12.htmAnd just a FYI, from what I understand.. one re-checks for C-Diff most accurately with a stool sample..not a blood sample.And if you are worried about the C-Diff returning... try using a probiotic after intense or liquid type D episodes as well as anytime you need an antibiotic for like a upper respiratory infection.. tooth infection.. etc....


Yeah I know the best recheck for C-Diff is the stool sample, but a blood sample would at least show an elevated whatever blood cell count if there is still an infection somewhere in the body.And don't worry... after having tasted the side effects of Dalacin (which is a friggin atomic bomb of an antibiotic) I swore to myself that I would take high doses of probiotics whenever I need antibiotics again. Avoiding antibiotics is still the main idea though.I think I just need to add brocolli to my list of "DONT TOUCH!". It's strange because I can take pumpkin soup or carrot soup without a problem, but broccoli apparently is one of the worse foods that cause gas or even diahrea.IBS is something mysterious I swear. I can drink a glass of milk or even eat a bag of potato chips without having too much intestinal troubles.Yet broccoli disrupts my colon for over a day.Just to be sure though, I went to the doctor just tonight. He listened to my stomach and said he couldn't feel any sign of infection. He says broccoli is indeed not really something he would recommend to people with IBS.He did advice me to continue taking probiotics and also gave me another one of these little jars in case it doesn't get better in a few days so I can test it again for C-Diff if needed, but he doesn't expect C-Diff to come back.One last question: at this moment I take a probiotic that contains Saccharomyces Boulardii (a beneficial yeast), Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium (two bacteria that are part of a normal gut flora).I know it's never a bad thing to take those but what I wonder is: do these things make you more resistant to viral gastroenteritis? What about C-Diff? Do they provide a better resistance to that pest too?I didn't know one friggin bowl of soup could upset my bowels for so long...Thanks!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> do these things make you more resistant to viral gastroenteritis?


IF you mean 'a stomach virus'....No not to my knowledge.


> What about C-Diff? Do they provide a better resistance to that pest too?


Having enough of the right bacteria in your gut will help prevent C-Diff (Which is an over-growth of a different bacteria). So yes I would think taking a probiotic will help you avoid C-Diff.Take a look at the link I gave you too.


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

I saved the link in my bookmarks. Thanks for sharing. I really didn't expect a simple bowl of brocolli soup to upset my bowels to such an extent and for such a long time.But it feels very similar to when I had the infection that's why it's worrying me. Well, I guess I'll see if it passes by tomorrow or not.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

It may not pass by tomorrow.... If I had eaten that... I'd be in for quite a few days of a flare!


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

I really didn't expect one bowl of soup to cause so much distress. It's the first time that a food causes so much trouble. I've literally been to the bathroom almost every hour today...


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

So, it's gotten worse since yesterday. Now it's flat out diahrea and I feel that my bowels are really upset. I'm gonna ask the doctor to do a stool sample test again. I'm really having a hard time blaming this just ona one little bowl of soup. I've eaten other soups just fine in the past. And I have never had such a bad and long flare up.Lets say that this is indeed a relapse of C-Diff.. is this something that I will have for the rest of my life? Is it chronic? Or will it eventually go away?I keep reading a lot of scary information about some people having C-Diff relapses all the time and they become harder and harder and more and more frequent over time.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> Lets say that this is indeed a relapse of C-Diff.. is this something that I will have for the rest of my life? Is it chronic? Or will it eventually go away?


No it isn't chronic and it WILL eventually go away. Having it once does make one more prone to it... And SOME infections can be more stubborn than others. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here.....Get a stool sample taken and get the results before worrying about how things may be down the road.... Worrying will only make the symptoms worse.


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

So I went to the doc and she can't feel any infection in my gut. I did ask her if I could take another sample and have it tested for C-Diff or any other parasite.She says it's most likely my gut that reacted badly to that soup. Since my colon probably was still recovering from the C-Diff infection I had recently, she said that throwing broccoli soup at it totally upset it again, harmed the gut flora again and that it might take several days for the D to disappear. She ordered me to take more probiotics for a month or two.I just hope this is not just my IBS that got worse because of the infection and that my gut will eventually become better in a few days. It's really frustrating because after the C-Diff infection, I had perfectly normal bowel movements again for two weeks and I felt so relieved. Then it suddenly worsened again after one stupid bowl of soup.Is it possible that the infection caused my colon to have permanent severe IBS-D? I don't know if that's possible since I did have two weeks of totally normal BM's after C-Diff.


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

I still run to the bathroom several times per day with flat out diahrea. This is starting to seriously depress me.What the hell is wrong? Can this one bowl of soup really cause THIS much trouble? The doc couldn't feel an infection in my gut so now I'm scared that this C-Diff pest may have caused permanent damage. Like Crohn's or something.Pf. I want to curl up in a little ball and pretend this was all just a bad dream.


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## Mr 100 (Aug 1, 2011)

hi Little Hedgehog, thought I would pass this report on to you re FT. The excellent results from using FT as a treatment for cdiff speak for themselves. there is some info about FT on ibsgroup, try a search.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031114945.htmThe only other 'cure' that I know of is saccharomyces boullardii, and you already have found this.I'm sure you will get better.edit, i just read through the thread again and i'm not sure if you still taking the sacc. boullardii. in your situation, i would take this with every meal.here's a link to the product that i use when things get too runny!http://www.optibacprobiotics.co.uk/shop/for-bowel-calm.html


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

So I noticed something else today. During the Flagyl course, I always had that fuzzy feeling on the back of my tongue when swallowing food. After checking the notice, I read that this could be one of the (rare) side effects of Flagyl so I just ignored it.Yet now, twoo weeks after the Flagyl course, I can still somewhat feel it a little.I checked my tongue this morning in the bathroom and what do I see? Some light colored (almost white) mush on the back of my tongue. I remember having read somewhere a while ago that this could indicate the presence of some yeast infection.Seeing how my gut flora got decimated because of the double antibiotics and that damned C-Diff infection, could it be possible that my recent diahrea is caused by a yeast infection and that it's compounded by my still utterly wiped out gut flora?I also wonder if it's possible that a C-Diff infection can make IBS spiral out of control permanently?Anyhow, I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist today. I'll submit the stool sample to him, tell him about my worries for Crohn, C-Diff and whatnot.I may even ask him to plan a coloscopy. It's not pleasant (I remember how I hated the sigmoidoscopy...), but at least it might give me some insight on what's going on and reassure me if nothing is found.And saying that all this misery started because of one stupid little wound I didn't immediately deinfect... If I had known, I would have effin' emptied an alchohol bottle on it right away!


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## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

I'm really sorry to read what you are going through.I have had C-Diff twice and I know exactly what you are feeling and worried about. Our son had it twice too and didn't respond initially to the flagyl. It took several courses of medication before it went away.C-Diff unfortunately has a very high recurrence rate, like 25-35%. It makes sense that you could have developed IBS-D from the infection. Post-infectious IBS is surprisingly high for anyone who had a serious gut infection or required antibiotics. It is not likely that Crohn's could have been triggered by the infection unless it was already present and you haven't mentioned that as a concern prior to the C-Diff infection.I think it is a little premature to look at a fecal transplant as a cure. There actually is a new antibiotic treatment in the US; however, you really have to have some stool samples tested before looking into another treatment for C-Diff.A furry tongue is a side effect of the flagyl and not an indication that it is a yeast infection. There is a risk that the Sach. Boulardii could cause that, but the risk is very low.Seeing a gastroenterologist is a very good idea as it will answer many of your questions and concerns. You will get this all under control. I know it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.Please keep us posted what their recommendation is.Jeff


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Yes Glad to hear you are seeing the Dr today. Let us know how you do! And hope you will get to feeling better real soon.


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

I just came hom from my visit to the specialist: she will test that #### that's on my tongue as well as my stool sample. She thinks it's C-Diff that came back, but we'll know more tomorrow.It's indeed hard to see the end of the tunnel.But I don't suppose C-Diff can make IBS spiral so hard out of control right?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> But I don't suppose C-Diff can make IBS spiral so hard out of control right?


 It can take quite awhile for IBS'ers guts to calm down after _any_ intestinal infection, including C-Diff. Just depends on the person. You will have to wait and see.


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

Yeah the specialist indeed said that C-Diff is a persistent little scum. "Difficile" is the French word for "difficult"...Anyway, she said it can indeed make my gut sensitive for a couple of months, but it shouldn't make my IBS spiral out of control completely. i'll know tomorrow if the bug is back, but seeing I'm running a slight fever now, I think it really could be that.I just hope I'll get back to normal in the end.


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

By the way, what I forgot to ask her: for several years it has happened that when i have to wipe a lot after a BM, I tend to see some bright red blood on the toilet paper. I always assumed this was because the excessive wiping simply scratches the skin down there open. Makes sense right?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> Makes sense right?


Yes.And I ahte to say this but you could also just have a GI virus of some kind too.... there are some going around here. Gotta wait for the test results though.


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## Little Hedgehog (Dec 2, 2008)

BQ said:


> Yes.And I ahte to say this but you could also just have a GI virus of some kind too.... there are some going around here. Gotta wait for the test results though.


To be honest, I'd be happy if it was just that. I'll let you know once I get the results.


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