# c-diff



## caputsky (Jan 21, 2009)

Hey IBSers, To make a long story short, I have been suffering from IBS-D for over 3 years now (since Sept of 2005). It started out just as a minor inconvenience and by a year later I was having daily attacks. In April of 2007 I discovered a website, ...com, that had suggestions in terms of diet, meds, fibre, etc. I started to follow those guidelines, plus took a few medications and did hypnotherapy and for about 8 months I felt 80-90% better. Then, in February of 2008 I started to have more issues, which was frustrating because I hadn't changed anything. Blood tests and samples were ordered by my GI, and the blood tests came back normal (as almost every single procedure/test had since my symptoms started). In June of the same year I went back to my GI complaining of the same problems, just more so. Turns out, my regular doctor's lab that was supposed to do my samples "lost them." So my GI ordered more. They came back positive for c-diff, which confused the heck out of all my doctors since I hadn't been on antibiotics in years, hadn't been hospitalized in a while, and I don't work in a hospital. So, I was treated with Vancomycin. This drug made my symptoms 100 times worse, but I tried to stick with it. After that course, I still was experiencing the same symptoms, so this time I was put on Flagyl. I got horrible reactions from that stuff, and was taken off after 5 days. Then, 2 weeks later, another sample was done to test for c-diff and it came back negative. It was at that point one of my GI doctors (I was seeing 3 through the same practice) basically told me that I had "refractory" IBS and nothing could be done to help. Great advice. Since the fall, my IBS has been difficulty to control or predict. Foods that were never triggers for me before suddenly are causing attacks. So, I was wondering if anyone on the boards has had experience with c-diff. And if so, does anyone think its possible that the spores are still in my digestive track, occassionally rearing their ugly heads? I just feel like the rules of IBS has really changed, and that scares and frustrates me. Did anyone feel like, because they had IBS, it took a while to get over the c-diff infection? I am going to try to start Culturelle to see if that might help because it has been studied and recommended. I actually tried Florastor probiotic, but it made my symptoms worse as well (yes, one of my doctors actually told me I was a medical mystery). Sorry for the length of this post, just wondering if anyone out there has had this nasty bug and has any suggestions/experience. Thank you so very much!Julie


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## Ausie one (Jan 24, 2009)

Sorry what is C diff?I really think that what we eat one time does not always upset us and why we seem to be ok and another time seem bad for weeks it baffles me too.I just feel like a guinea pig with doctors do not think they really know what to give us.I know I have to be careful with what I eat, as one day I am fine next diaster.


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## distressed (Jan 7, 2009)

C-Diff is nasty, its gastroenteritis on steroids pretty much and can take ages to get rid of...it is also extremely resillient.I had it...and despite antibiotics it continued to show in pathology for months!C-Diff can be repressed and not show up on pathology too.... if you get worse...get tested again.Certainly C-Diff would completely stuff up your intestinal bacteria balance, as would the antibiotics to treat it.I still wonder if I have a dormant infection, certainly i have imbalance because going on antibiotics always helps me feel well.Flagyl and vancomycin should make you feel well if u have c-diff though...the only other thing to try would be rifampicin as maybe your bugs are resitant to vancomycin and flagyll.To answer the question though, yes its possible the spores are still there.....problem is the treatment is really probiotics or antibiotics. My recommendation if you honestly believe its c-diff is take Saccharomyces boulardii (florastor)with vancomycin or flagyll or rifampicin which I know is not what you want to hear but if its c-diff thats how you kill it. Flagyll is nasty to take, you get an abhorrent taste in the mouth and feel odd. Still sounds odd if you had c-diff that it made you worse...i would expect some worsening the first couple of days due to 'die-off' of the bug but after 5 days you should start to feel better. One of the big problems with C-Diff is it releases toxins and they are what make you sick, not so much the bug itself.Another no risk option would be to see what effect activated charcoal has. Take a good dose of that and if you feel lots better a few hours later then you know that its binding something thats making you ill....cant hurt to try, its cheap, safe and will give a result same day or it wont.Bear in mind, if it is bug related...any antibiotic or probiotic is going to make you feel sicker before you get better....specially if its c-diff as the c-diff will release toxins as its attacked.


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## caputsky (Jan 21, 2009)

Thanks for the information, distressed. I honestly can not say whether or not I still have some remnants of cdiff based upon actual evidence -- it's just a feeling I have. One of my GI doctors thought it could have been a false positive, but every piece of information I could find on the bacteria mentioned that false positives were rare (while false negatives were common). I did try the florastor while I was on vancomycin, and honestly, it seemed to make things worse. Sorry for the TMI, but it seemed like my bowel movements completely dissipated and appeared sand-like (I know, really weird). Anyway, presently I have ordered Culturelle and it should be here by tomorrow, so I'm going to try and start that probiotic. I figure even if it isn't cdiff anymore, my gut could use some extra "good guys" and that type is highly recommended. We'll see how it goes. Thanks again for your reply!


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## distressed (Jan 7, 2009)

generally if c-diff shows on pathology you have it....its very very rare for that reading to be false....but it is common for it not to show and still remain.How that occurs is the spores remain and recultivate the bug so to speak.


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## fatherandhusband33 (Jan 26, 2011)

I also have C Diff and for all I know I could have been suffering from this periodicaly throughout my life since age 23, and now I am 33. When I was younger it blew me down then too, but did not seem to happen as frequently. For a good stretch of several years I was mostly symptom free. Last year I came down with it hard, and if I wasnt being laid off at the same time, then I am sure I would have lost my job for it. Since finaly being propperly diagnosed with it a couple months ago, I have been battleing it with flagyl. My doctor refuses to give me vancomyacin because she says that it has some nasty side effects. This is my 3rd relapse of the C Diff and so my 3rd round of anti-biotics (Flagyl, also known as metronidazol). This time they have perscribed 4 weeks instead of 10 days. This latest relapse seems to be one of the worst. I think my C Diff got so bad because my urologist and general practitioner were blasting me with anti-biotics like cipro, and many others when I went in for prostate pain last year. Since then it has been constant battle with C Diff. I used probiotics for it after struggling with it so hard last winter, and they seemed to realy help. On my last go around I was taking Flourastor (sachromyces boulardi lyo, a yeast probiotic). I was only taking 1 per day though and I really dont think that was nearly enough. This go around I am getting really scared, and so I am taking the Flourastor, Culturelle (Lactobacillus GG), 2 pills of Walgreen's brand super probiotic (Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Bifidobacterium Lactis), and sometimes another one that I forget what is in it. So, hopefully when I finaly finish this round of anti-biotics, I will have an army of good bacteria ready to crowd out the C Diff. Otherwise, if I relapse again, my doctor will no longer see me, and I will have to be refered to an infectious disease specialist. We will see what happens, and I will keep you posted if you are interested on what happens. I think it is good to share information so that we can maintain hope and especialy share those success stories.


caputsky said:


> Hey IBSers, To make a long story short, I have been suffering from IBS-D for over 3 years now (since Sept of 2005). It started out just as a minor inconvenience and by a year later I was having daily attacks. In April of 2007 I discovered a website, ...com, that had suggestions in terms of diet, meds, fibre, etc. I started to follow those guidelines, plus took a few medications and did hypnotherapy and for about 8 months I felt 80-90% better. Then, in February of 2008 I started to have more issues, which was frustrating because I hadn't changed anything. Blood tests and samples were ordered by my GI, and the blood tests came back normal (as almost every single procedure/test had since my symptoms started). In June of the same year I went back to my GI complaining of the same problems, just more so. Turns out, my regular doctor's lab that was supposed to do my samples "lost them." So my GI ordered more. They came back positive for c-diff, which confused the heck out of all my doctors since I hadn't been on antibiotics in years, hadn't been hospitalized in a while, and I don't work in a hospital. So, I was treated with Vancomycin. This drug made my symptoms 100 times worse, but I tried to stick with it. After that course, I still was experiencing the same symptoms, so this time I was put on Flagyl. I got horrible reactions from that stuff, and was taken off after 5 days. Then, 2 weeks later, another sample was done to test for c-diff and it came back negative. It was at that point one of my GI doctors (I was seeing 3 through the same practice) basically told me that I had "refractory" IBS and nothing could be done to help. Great advice. Since the fall, my IBS has been difficulty to control or predict. Foods that were never triggers for me before suddenly are causing attacks. So, I was wondering if anyone on the boards has had experience with c-diff. And if so, does anyone think its possible that the spores are still in my digestive track, occassionally rearing their ugly heads? I just feel like the rules of IBS has really changed, and that scares and frustrates me. Did anyone feel like, because they had IBS, it took a while to get over the c-diff infection? I am going to try to start Culturelle to see if that might help because it has been studied and recommended. I actually tried Florastor probiotic, but it made my symptoms worse as well (yes, one of my doctors actually told me I was a medical mystery). Sorry for the length of this post, just wondering if anyone out there has had this nasty bug and has any suggestions/experience. Thank you so very much!Julie


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## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

I am really sorry to read your story with C Diff. I have had several infections myself, though was fortunate to respond to Flagyl. S. Boulardii in conjunction with Flagyl seemed to help me.I have read that there is a radical treatment for C Diff infection that transplants human feces from one person without C Diff into your colon that seems to be getting some traction. You may want to discuss with your doctor for this chronic C Diff.Scientists Treat Hospital Infection With 'Fecal Transplanthttp://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/01/19/scientists-perform-fecal-transplant-treat-hospital-infection/


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