# difference between c-diff and IBS?



## Jen37 (Nov 10, 2011)

Hi Everyone, Let me start off by saying that I have been having issues with my intestines for about a year now. It started as as just abdominal pain and soreness that would come and go. I did not have the diareha or anything. It was more just pian being the main symptom. Well I have been having worsening symptoms the last two weeks. I have the pain and crampiness most all the time, but now my bowels are kind of messed up. For instance, my normal is usually going once per day and it will sometimes be on the soft side to normal ( but I still have the soreness and pain). Well in the last couple weeks I have noticed that after I go to the bathroom, I will feel really icky inside( I had this before too), but the new issue is that I have the feeling that I still have to go,like that crampy feeling in my intestines. I have to sit with the heating pad to get a little relief. Ok, I have looked at my whole situation. The medications I take daily ( have been on them for over three years), Kelfex low dose daily to prevent the severe UTI's I was getting, and zyrtec once a day. Like I said, I have been on these for over three years now. I see a gasrtoenterologist and the last time I was there he gave me librax to try. I have not yet tried it as I am very sensitive to meds and almost always have bad reactions to them. He also did a stool test about 6 months ago to check for parasites and rule out C-diff. They were all negative. I am worried about the whole C-diff thing though since I am on the low dose antibiotic. I do take a ton of probitoics though and thought that would help. The gastro doc said that the keflex is not one of the big C-diff causers like the second and third generation cephlosporins and he said seeing that I have been on it for so long he highly doubts I will get C-diff and thinks I would have had it by now if it were going to cause it. Now my question is: what is the difference between C-diff and IBS symptoms wise?? I know c-diff is a infection and IBS means basically they have no clue what is wrong, but how would you tell the difference symptom wise between the two?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Generally people with C diff tend to have much more severe diarrhea than IBS (more often, more watery, and more prone to have accidents from because the bathroom is too far away even when you are a few feet away when the urge hits) than people with IBS. C diff can also cause bloody diarrhea.That you have a doc that checks tend to make me think you can trust them, they are checking for all the right things.Taking probiotics should keep the C diff at bay, it can only grow when there is ecological space for it in the colon.


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## Jen37 (Nov 10, 2011)

Thanks for the reply Kathleen, I appreciate it....


Kathleen M. said:


> Generally people with C diff tend to have much more severe diarrhea than IBS (more often, more watery, and more prone to have accidents from because the bathroom is too far away even when you are a few feet away when the urge hits) than people with IBS. C diff can also cause bloody diarrhea.That you have a doc that checks tend to make me think you can trust them, they are checking for all the right things.Taking probiotics should keep the C diff at bay, it can only grow when there is ecological space for it in the colon.


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## Arleeda (Aug 24, 2016)

I have the same question as this five years on! I have been plagued by sudden onset liquid diarrhea, almost always in early a.m., for almost a year now. There is no pain. Only once has it been in the afternoon, and then I was in the car on my way home after dropping off a friend who had had a cardiac catheterization so no embarrassing situation. This is unusual, since I used to be constipated! I have found that I can keep it in control with one Imodium every other day, but on a recent trip to Costa Rica I didn't have a movement for 5 days so I cut out the Imodium out and the diarrhea came back. Fortunately in early a.m. and immediate Imodium worked in a couple of hours. I also take probiotics, but they alone aren't much help. I told my internist and he says it is probably IBS, but is scheduling me for a colonoscopy since I haven't had one in 5 years. I presume there will be a stool culture somewhere along the way to rule out/in C. diff. I am 79. My friend gave me some dicyclomine, and that seems to work well also. I guess I will wait and see what GI doc says.


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