new here and reaching out!!!

(C-DIFF)

A little background information. (not sure about dates) After having normal stools and suddenly BAM a change. I began to experience diarrhea usually up to 2 times a day. I was going through a particular difficult time in my life with severe depression and really didn't leave my house. This went on and on but it really just became a part of my every day life. I've suspected my gallbladder being bad since having my first daughter in 06, but testing came back "normal." I have dealt with these issues despite the fact that the tech told me my gb is emptying at a FAST rate which can be an issue and mimic signs of an under active gb. Upon leaving him he said "good luck finding a doctor that believes it's an issue." Sure enough was called back by doctor saying the test was "normal." Skipping forward I had another daughter in 2010 and once again lots of gb issues. Pain in upper right stomach and nagging nausea. This type of thing comes and goes for those of you who have suffered with gb issues as well. I went for another hida scan and once again, fast emptying rate but this doctor said it was also "normal." Soooo frustrating when you KNOW your body and also the extreme family history of gb disease. Guess you could say I have suffered in silence. The diarrhea was something I KNEW needed addressed especially since the color didn't seem right to me. Always seemed yellow especially when wiping....almost even neon colored. Well, FINALLY after having daily diarrhea for 6+ months I went into regular md in January to get to the bottom of it all...of course no quick solution. I had a abdominal ultrasound that came back fine other than having a "fatty, inflamed liver." She also suggested I get into a gastro doctor. She did put me on a PPI...Omeprazole. Well my daughter came down with a stomach virus on Feb 2...I woke up feeling REALLY sick Feb 7th I thought I picked it up from her. I was having awful stomach pain followed by diarrhea which turned into pure water and again the awful color. After several bouts it wasn't feeling like your "typical" stomach bug. It was off and on through out the day. At times I didn't even feel the urge but would sit down to urinate and with a little pressure, bam more water. I was SICK and worried what was going on. I called the on call doctor which basically told me to stop the PPI (7 days into it) because that is the only resent thing that changed and he thought it could be the culprit. I stop and and the madness continues. I wasn't getting much direction for ANY doctor and needless to say after 4-5 days ended up in the ER (was extremely dehydrated) The doctor was awful and plain rude. They were ready to release me with papers stating an "ulcer" when I told them I felt I needed to go poo for them to run a stool sample. Sure enough the doc comes in saying I have C-Diff. Had never heard of this, didn't know what it was...nothing!!! Basically said I could have gotten it from antibiotics (which I hadn't had for like 2 months). Sent me home with Flagyl. I knew nothing about this awful BUG and what to expect. I thought I would take this antibiotic and be done with it. Well, since I do my research I looked up patient reviews on Flagyl and to say the LEAST was not comfortable taking it. Long story short asked my doctor to change prescription to Vanco and began that. I've gotten sooo much conflicting info, I don't even know where to start. Conflicting info on flaygl vs vanco...the chance of relapse....possibility of PPI's causing issues, whether I have somehow had this for 6+ months and NEVER knew and if that was the case why would it all of a sudden be AWFUL?!?!? Sooo many questions. I finished the vanco on feb 22 and started a probiotic a few days later. My stools were better but definitely not my "norm." I was pretty constipated for about a week which I found odd and is not typical for me.Well about 4 or so days ago I started to feel iffy again.. Some all too familiar symptoms....some stomach cramping, lots of constant noise and moving around in my stomach. I had a bad feeling it could be returning. I had a couple pretty soft bm's that I was sure would turn into the diarrhea again. Woke up yesterday morning with cramps still ..1 or 2 soft bm's then I ate and BAM, water diarrhea again!!!! I was in tears!!! No bm's yet today but afraid to eat anything!!!! My regular md wants a stool sample but even then I have to wait up to 5 days for results and pretty afraid I could get significantly worse. I'm feeling so discouraged, frustrated, sad, mad ..you name it. I have SEVERE anxiety and panic attacks are awful and making everything soo much worse for me. So sorry this is so long and those of you who took the time to read it, I truly appreciate it. I guess any comments, questions and or advice would be great!!!! I'm pretty upset. Thank you in advance.

amber

So sorry to hear that your son is struggling so bad. How old is he?? Is the color of his stool a specific color?? Does he seem to have a lot of side effects from the antibiotics? This is so tough, physically and mentally. It must be really difficult to see your child suffer like that. Hoping this will be the end of it for him!!!

How exactly do they rule out Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis?? I thought that when I was in the ER, they would have checked for these things but didn't. They want to do an upper endoscopy but I have to put that off do to expenses.:-( They suspect GERD...I also have a "fatty inflamed liver" and I highly suspect my GB needs taken out!! How did you tolerate the Flagyl??

Hi. Sorry you are going through such a rough time. I don't know anything about gallbladder issues, but I do have some experience dealing with c-diff. My husband who has crohn's disease has had several terrible bouts with c-diff.

C-diff is a very hardy spore forming bacteria that is very difficult to eradicate. The antibiotics (flagyl, vancomycin) can kill the bacteria, but not the spores. So, once you finish the course of antibiotics, the spores can become bacteria and can cause a relapse.

C-diff is also an infection that causes a lot of damage to your intestines. It is pretty normal to have post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome for a little while after the infection. It can be difficult to tell IBS apart from C-diff, and this is where we use the 3 day test - if you have bowel problems for 3 continuous days, you need to get re-tested for c-diff again. If it doesn't last 3 days, it is probably IBS, and you should eat a limited diet and slowly re-introduce foods.

My husband was having a lot of problems with c-diff infections until he started taking saccharomyces boulardii - a yeast that has shown some efficacy in treating c-diff. It is sold as Florastor. Also, he takes VSL#3, a probiotic, and eats lots of greek yogurt. I highly recommend taking florstor - I think it has played a big part in my husband conquering his c-diff recurrences.

Good luck; hang in there. It will hopefully get better soon.

PV

Thank you for the replies. So Im assuming an upper endoscopy can rule out Crohn's and UC? They want me to have this done, also to check for GERD. I didn't have a single BM yesterday but woke up with quite the noises in my stomach and went. Odd thing is, it was completely solid!!!! Regardless I did the stool sample and sent it in. Now it's the waiting game to see if it's back.

Amber

Good to know. The GI mentioned a colonoscopy but left it up to me??? I don't want any unnecessary tests done. I would think she would push it if she thought I needed it. My aunt has Crohn's so there is some history. Sounds like it wouldn't be a bad idea to have both done.