C Difficile/post infectious IBS

Oh man, I just wrote this huge thing for you and my computer crashed.  Okay, let me sum up:

Your C. diff was treated and hopefully your diarrhea will begin to abate.  That nasty bug can wreak havoc on your guts.  If your diarrhea doesn't go away, you may have a tricky parasite.  U.S. doctors and microbiology labs have no clue how to correctly test for parasites.  You need to send three samples of your stools to someone who really knows their stuff, and they need to test for all the weird, crazy stuff that they don't normally see.  They absolutely need to do a stool culture. 

I lived in East Africa and parts of South America for months, and contracted several parasitic infections over the course of my travels.  High fevers were the mainstay symptom (up to 104 degrees); diarrhea was always terrible, like 30x/day; stomach cramps could be absolutely debilitating.  Three years later, I still have low-grade fever (around 100-101), very frequent and sometimes bloody diarrhea, and stomach cramps.  IBSers tend to have a lot of colicky abdominal pain and alternating constipation and diarrhea.  According to many sources, IBS should not cause nocturnal or bloody diarrhea (unless you have hemorrhoids), fever, or significant weight loss.  If you have these symptoms, I would be very suspicious of an IBS diagnosis.  There is probably something else going on that should have focused treatment!

Your diarrhea may improve on its own, if you're lucky.  In the meantime, here are some things that have helped me intermittently:

1) Fiber supplements, like Citrucel - make it into a slurry, like a heaping tablespoon of the powder in 3-4 oz. of water.  Start slow, once a day, and increase it as you can.  Sometimes this causes gas and discomfort in people, which is why you need to start slow.

2) Imodium or Lomotil.  These usually help most people, but you want to make SURE you don't have a parasite or bacterial infection before you take them.

3) Probiotics, like Lil mentioned, are a must.  Acidophilus capsules - 4x/day.  Yogurt is a good bet too.

4) Anti-cholinergics like hyoscyamine or dicyclomine can help with the cramps, if you have them.

5) A good multi-vitamin is important if you have a lot of diarrhea.  Take it with food so it doesn't upset your stomach.

6) Stay hydrated with diluted Gatorade (Gatorade itself is full of sugar, which can cause worse diarrhea; if you dilute it by half with water, it's a better hydration tool) or Pedialyte.

I totally feel your pain.  Did any of this help?  Let us know how you're doing!

Hey,

im fairly  new to this forum, but my mother in law had cancer and was given lots of antibiotics for a biopsy she had ,,and ended up with cdif. They gave her flaygl to, and it didnt help. We called in an infectious disease doctor, and she put her on vancomyacin, which got rid of the cdiff. Hope that helps Pepper

I got c diff in May from getting too many antibiotics following a kidney procedure.   The dr that overmedicated called me and said I needed to see a surgeon right away to have my colon removed which meant that I would need a colostomy bag as I only have 2 inches of my colon due to a subtotal colectomy last July.  I went to my GI who did a scope and cultures & found severe inflamation; he admitted me to the hospital & the next day diagnosed the c diff. I spent 5 days in the hospital in isolation because the c diff is contagious and I was severely dehydrated, had extreme abdominal pain and severe diarrhea.  They put me in flagyl for for 2 weeks and the followiing day it can back in full force.  My GI then put me on vancomycin in a strong tapered dose for 6 weeks; it's a very expensive drug ($8,000.) but they say it is they best one for the c diff., I'm also on a probiotic from a health food store and eat a yogurt called super yogurt 3xs a day.

I continue to have diarrhea after I eat but it isn't uncontrollable not and I'm not losing weight; I lost 16 lbs in 2 weeks.  With c diff you need to clean your house and wash your hands thoroughly.  The only thing that kills the spores is diluted bleach and the spores can live up to a year.  We also was all of my clothes in hot water.

This infection has taken its toll on me and I am taking a long time to bounce back.  My GI calls me every week to see how I am doing and I have to go back when the antibiotic is done for another culture to see if the infection is gone.  I've been hospitalized 3 times since I've had the infection for kidney reasons and they put me in isolation every time.

C diff can cause serious intestional problems that can lead to drs having to remove your colon or even getting sepsis.  It is not something to take lightly so if you start to get symptoms back please see your dr right away.

I hope you feel better and I wish you the very best,

Judy

I am an RN and have post infectious IBS after having C Diff.

There is lots of good info in some of these posts.  My advice would be to search the internet and find the very best GI doctor you can find, one who specializes in Ulcerative Colitis.  There are poor, medium and good doctors and you want a good one.  Try getting names by reading journals and finding names of doctors who write about and treat UC.

Even if you have to travel a long way, go to the best doc you can find. Ask at an Ulcerative Colitis forums, who other patients and families think are good  doctors and cross index that with names you find about doctors that are researching and treating UC.  God Be with you. Ellen 37