Cdiff and UC flare

Hey guys..new to this site, I'm a 24 year old male and was diagnosed with Cdiff and a UC flare a little over a week ago via flex-sig scope done by my Dr. in the hospital. I was given IV prednisone(40mg) and Asacol before they received the results from the stool samples.Once it came back positive for Cdiff, they pulled me off the pred cold turkey no taper, I had been on it for about a week before going into the hospital. I was given Flagyll but instanstly began having more intense D so they switched me to liquid Vancomycin 125 mgs 4x a day. The pain and amount of trips to the bathroom seemed to reduce within a few days and i was no longer on my hands and knees pleading for an injection of dilaudid. However I began getting extremely constipated and went from 10-12 BM's to about 3 or 4 small ones passing only a little mix of blood and stool. I suspected the Asacol was behind this but continued to take it anyway upon my Dr.'s request. My first night home was not all that bad, still dealing with pain and discomfort but was glad to be home and thought I was only improving.  The next day I began vomitting within an hour or so of each asacol dose and the D started to pick up again.  I read different forums of others having a reverse effect from Asacol or just not being able to digest it properly, I suspected I was having the same reaction and told my doc and he said to hold off on it for now.  I was put back on 20mg of pred and still using the Vanco, that is all for now. I was close to going back to the hospital yesterday, the number of bathroom trips picked back up in the 8-12 range and was feeling very weak and dehydrated. I held off because I have an appointment with the head of gastro today at 3, hoping this guy has some answers for me. 

  

   Sorry to write a book but I'm very concerned at this point, I've done nothing the last few days but read up on the horror stories of those who've suffered with cdiff and how hard it is to get rid of.  Some claiming weeks or months of being on antibiotics with no improvement, only to have to the infection come back each time they try to come off the meds. This whole ordeal is really starting to take its toll, I play hockey and train in the gym on a regular basis prior to getting sick so dealing with weight loss and extreme weakness and fatigue at my age is all pretty new to me and hard to except.  I have not had a normal bowel movement in 4 weeks and just want my life back..

Nobody else here has dealt with cdiff and a UC flare at the same time??

I did but my symptoms were very, very mild. I was surprised at the positive c diff test, given my only symptom was bleeding.

Hi! Similar situation. A little more than a year ago I was diagnosed with proctitis and c-diff after I had a colonoscopy. My primary care doc suspected c-diff because of symptoms I was experiencing after taking an antibiotic for a cough. He prescribed Flagyl, but it didn't work. Sent me to a GI doc who did the colonoscopy. Tried various rounds of Vancomycin .... c-diff is finally suppressed, but it required a 6 month taper of Vancomycin with testing (after each Vanco drop) throughout. Started w/ 4 pills/day, ended with one pill every 3 days.

My GI doc isn't sure if the c-diff caused already existing proctitis to flare or if it caused the proctitis but I've been dealing with the proctitis ever since. Currently taking balsalazide 9x/day, 6mp and a mesalamine enema at night. Also taking iron + vitamin c for anemia.

The c-diff is awful. I totally get what you're going through. I'm in my early 30s with three young children and at times I couldn't leave the house. I found myself parenting from the bathroom. But the long taper of Vanco really worked. Every time I tried to go off it too quickly, it would come back. I just took my last Vanco pill last week, and next week (I think) is my last c-diff test. Here's hoping it's negative! The last four tests have been negative, though, so I have high hopes.

I hope this helps. Hang in there.

I am so sorry to hear u r dealing with this. Sadly, I am to. I was dx. With UC in 2003 and hard a hard fight to get to remission. I have been in remission since the birth of my second child in 2007.
I had been back and forth in the hospital for severe migraines when I picked up c diff a few weeks ago. I feel your pain, I was admitted twice for it due to severe D and severe stomach pain. I was put on flagyl which did not work, so the infectious disease doc put me on vanco. I have taken it for two,weeks when I started getting severe upset stomach, nausea, and severe reflux pain, so like an idiot, I stopped my vanco for two days. I started it yesterday again, but today, I am in trouble. Have been to the bathroom at least 8 x today, if not 10 x . I am seeing blood today to which I did not have in the early stages of it. I am afraid I may be hospital bound this weekend if it does not clear up fast. Unfortunatly, I also have a common immune deficiency, which my infectious disease doc said I may reinfect right after getting off vanco.......

I wish u luck. I know how UC and c diff can change your life. I have two,young kids who need their mom and I have been out of commission for about 4 months now due to the migraines and the c diff. Take care of yourself.

Yo man, very glad to hear from a fellow bber. The weight loss has been the worst hit to me aside from the pain I've had at night the last month. I actually came back into the hospital on the 14th and am still here unfortunately. Upon my return I continued on 40 mgs of pred which has not done much of anything for me and had my first remicade infusion this past Monday. They were getting ready to send me home the next day when they noticed my white cell count rising again so I stayed put. The put me back on vancomycyin because they suspected the cdiff was back but after a few days on the antibiotic they did a couple more stool cultures that came back negative for the infection. I still have yet to see any progress and am still bleeding a lot at night, still having anywhere from 6-10 trips. The internal medicine doctors at the hospital believe that I could be suffering from another virus called cmv colitis but my GI seems to think otherwise and that my colitis has just gotten that severe. Im prepping for another colonoscopy tomorrow so they'll get a good look and take some more biopsies to see if there is an underlying infection or just a bad flare. My GI says he wants to start me on cyclosporin which he considers last line of treatment before surgery. This is really starting to freak me out since this is only my 2nd flare ever and these doctors are telling me I will require surgery if I don't respond to the cyclosporin. I'm praying it's either the cdiff or cmv infection causing the flare to be worse because that is the only thing that would make any sense to me.

So did your cdiff clear after your first round of antibiotics and how long into the remicade treatment did you finally start seeing some progress? Feeling pretty hopeless at this point as I'm only 24 and do not want to lose my colon.

I took flagyl for the cdiff which cleared it up pretty quick. I actually felt an improvement the next day after my infusion but was far from perfect. I believe it can take some people a few infusions before they start seeing results. I feel like you have a lot more options left to exhaust before surgery, maybe you should consult another GI.

Starting IV cyclosporine today in the hospital as a last resort to save my colon. Anyone else have any experience with this drug?

As Edbar said,did you ask about fecal transplant?It's an approved treatment for C.diff.It could help your colitis too.From my experience if you dodn't ask, Dr's go with their interest. Did 5 home infusions FT for my daughter after 14 days of oral vanco. Praise God...from then on she is completely out from all UC meds. She is on strict SCD diet too. If you are out from c.diff try diet modification along with medication.Try everything you can to save your colon.

All toxin and culture tests have came back negative for cdiff, they took biopsies from a colonoscopy on Monday that also showed no sign of any infection. I'm in a tough position since I am stuck in the hospital while they see how I respond to the cyclosporine and if I don't see any improvement after the wkend then they said I will be out of options. I asked every GI doc and internal medicine doctor that I've see in here the last 2 weeks and they've all refused the transplant and say it is a last resort treatment. Is it possible that the cdiff spores are still infecting my colon even if every test has came back negative for the infection, I'm still not convinced it is completely gone and would like to try a transplant on my own before I'm faced with surgery. Another part of my believes that it would be pointless at this point and that there's nothing anyone can do anymore to save my colon

You mentioned that the doctors would consider FT as a last resort. It sounds like you might be at that point. I would try to convince them.

The odds of clearing the first cdiff infection is good. However, every recurrence increases the odds of it becoming refractory. This is why GIs won't touch an FT until the 3rd relapse minimum. In my son's case, he relapsed 7-8 times. Test results can show negative, only to have the spore cycle continue and produce the cdiff infection again. The more relapses, the more inbalance in your gut flora and less likely of it restoring itself without intervention.

Your UC needs to be stabilized regardless. Unfortunately, it takes a little time. If pred doesn't stabilize you, they will start talking to you about biologics (Remicade, Humira, etc.). Hang in there, you'll get through it....but prepare yourself mentally, for a fight. Once your stabilzed, you can focus on maintenance. Good luck.

Are you in liquid diet? If not try to give a bowel rest.Avoid all processed foods including dairy and sugar.If you can, go with homemade chicken soup/broth.It has lots of anti inflammatory effects.Ripe spotted bananas are also good.