HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

So I DO have C diff

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 5/29/2013 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
Called the GI's office several times asking about he results of my labs.  Finally heard back that I am positive for C diff....5 days after leaving my sample with the lab.  Going on a 10-day course of Vancomycin.

I have been suffering for nearly a month already.  In a lot of pain and I'm sure I am dehydrated and probably anemic.

Does having UC make you more susceptible to picking up C diff, then?  I have not been on any antibiotics for over a year.

Post Edited (geeker) : 5/29/2013 3:34:06 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/29/2013 9:35 PM (GMT 0)
geeker, so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. c diff has been the worst thing that's ever happened to me- way worse than UC surprisingly.

I had not been on antibiotics before I was diagnosed, but I had tried humira. the doc said having a suppressed immune system can make c diff grow like crazy.

also, my doc said that once you have c diff (and are a UC patient), 50% of patients will relapse soon after the antibiotics course is over.

I hope the vanco helps you. flagyl was pretty useless for me.
Posted 5/29/2013 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
Pharmacy does not have Vanco in stock...so I wait another day...
Posted 5/30/2013 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
geeker- so sorry about the c-diff. As if UC isn't bad enough. Not to be gross but I understand that Fecal Transplant is a very good option for c-diff. Yes, high on the Yuk factor scale, but I think has an over 90% cure rate. Just something to google or think about.
B
Posted 5/30/2013 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
I had c.diff twice. It was horrible and way worse than my proctitis. I was told by one GI doc I went to that people with colitis are more prone to it. I actually had it before I knew I had colitis. Having it made the doctors suspicious I had something else going on. Not long after I recovered from my second bout of c.diff, I developed colitis symptoms again and it turned out to be proctitis.

I have no experience with vancomycin. I was on Flagyl both times. I swear the flagyl made me feel worse than the actual c.diff. After having c.diff I became best friends with my probiotics and haven't stopped taking them since. I'm terrified of getting c.diff again.

I hope you have a quick and uneventful recovery from it.
Posted 5/30/2013 1:40 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all of the well wishes. I just hope I can get through it while maintaining my job.
Posted 5/30/2013 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
Very sorry to hear about your C-diff... Hopefully you get through it ok. Have you spoken and explained the situation with your employer? Hopefully they will give you a bit of a break.

Honestly it sounds like you need a week or two just to rest and try and recover. Perhaps your doctor can write something. Maybe an explanation etc.

Work is always the toughest part with these things...
Posted 5/30/2013 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
In July 2011, I was diagnosed with UC and tested negative for C. diff. After a year and a half of pain, mucus, on and off again bleeding, and no consistent success with oral and rectal meds, I finally listened to my wife and requested a new C. diff. test. The results were positive for C. diff. toxins. I'm lucky to have a smart spouse.

After a week on Vancomycin the bleeding stopped, my stools were consistently formed for the first time since 2011, and much of the pain was gone. It's been nearly a month since I finished the antibiotics. Although I am still taking Lialda and not fully 'healed', I am 90% better than I was in April.

My G.I. specialist was quite happy to promote immunosuppresive therapy because I had no relief using standard UC meds. Nothing I did helped and my symptoms would be moderate for a few months and then bad the next few. It never occurred to my specialist that a simple C. diff. retest was in order. I was never a fan of establishment health care before and am even less so now.
Posted 5/30/2013 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
At this point, I am wondering what has taken so long...I have been bleeding with D for a month come this weekend.

My own fault I guess for waiting almost 3 weeks to contact my doctor. Been on Asacol...added Rowasa for the "flare" I was having. BEGGED for steroids to get the bleeding stopped. Doctor refused to give it to me. I did as I was told though and provided them with a stool sample on Thursday last week. I was skeptical about infection because *I have UC* (or do I?).

WHY would they not notify me until today, a week later? The testing lab says results are issued within 24 hours.

Now that I do have a dx, I have to wait longer to get the antibiotics because they do not keep Vanco in stock. Seriously? I think I am destined for suffering.

I am going to find out when the lab issued results, then I will know if it was them or my doctor's office that dropped the ball. I am beyond angry. I am IN PAIN and angry.
Posted 5/30/2013 5:05 AM (GMT 0)
I would be miffed too!!! It might take awhile but I hope you fee better soon
Posted 5/30/2013 9:10 AM (GMT 0)
C diff stinks! Literary! That was the second sign that i recognised having an infection. The first was the stool sample i left at the hospital.

Is c diff limited to the colon or can it appear in the small intestine too?
Posted 5/30/2013 11:27 AM (GMT 0)
I believe it's most commonly found in the colon, but it can be located in the small intestine. I've seen references to people with the k-pouch and BCIR that have developed C diff after being on Cipro for extended periods of time. Scary stuff... Hope you feel better soon!
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply