has anyone had c.difficile with a normal stool test?

I only had one bout of C. diff but it took two rounds of different antibiotics to clear it. The C. diff was so severe it caused my colon to hemorrhage and I was hospitalized. First took Vancomycin. At the time I was taking the Vancomycin I was also told to Culturelle [probiotic]. I continued to have diarrhea after finishing the Vanco. It was different diarrhea than I had when I first had C. diff. Someone here suggested it might be the Culturelle and sure enough when I stopped it, so did the diarrhea.

Fast forward six weeks. When scheduling surgery to have my pelvic organs returned to their rightful places [everything prolapsed during the violent C. diff hemorrhagic episode], surgeon insisted I have repeat stool test to make sure there was no C. diff. Was only having loose BMs 2-3 times a day. Stool sample was POSITIVE for C. diff. GI put me on Xifaxin for 14 days. Then had to have stool tests for three days in a row. All those were negative.

To answer your question, since I didn't have a stool test soon after finishing my first round, I don't know what it would have said.

Also, I should have been suspicious during that 6 week period because my BMs still smelled awful. I will never forget the smell of C. diff diarrhea. Do you recall that smell and are you smelling it now?

I did okay with the Vanco. I thought it was giving me diarrhea but in reality it was the Culturelle. Oral Vanco is not absorbed systemically so should not cause too many side effects other than diarrhea in some people.

I hope this does the trick for you! Make sure the yogurt you are eating contains at least FOUR active cultures. Most only contain three. Look for yogurt containing the following: L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, B. bifidus...From what I read during my C.diff plague they are the most important.

Also, could your Florastor be aggravating the problem? Have you taken it before? Who would have thought that Culturelle would give me bad diarrhea?

Well, now I've moved from D to severe and massive D, and my doc must have forgotten to call in my Vanco to the pharmacy. I'll have to page him tomorrow. If this isn't c.diff, it's definitely some sort of major infection....very bad news:(

Since c. diff. naturally occurs in small amounts in the body, the stool sample test allows for some amounts to show up and still be negative.

While I was researching c diff for my brother this summer, I just remembered that I read that a lot of patients reported that probiotics really helped with the D while they were fighting the cdiff. In fact, some said that they had been staying on the probiotics for life, b/c if they went off of them the D returned.