Not really new, but c diff again dangit!

Seems as if i get c diff on the tnf drugs. The neutropenia obviously makes my body manufacture c diff at an alarming rate. I was hoping entyvio didnt carry that same risk but apparently it does. Am i forever screwed?

Starting vanco again for the 50th time. My pill cost has gone down now thank god. All antibiotics at my pharmacy are $5. The actual cash price is $4000 without insurance. Who can even afford that?

Hopefully i can get rid of it but scared im gonna flare! Just in a crappy and very smelly spot at the moment and wanted to vent to you guys.

That sucks.

article said...
Healthy individuals are usually protected from CDI by the normal bacterial flora of the gut, which resists C. difficile’s colonization and growth. Disruption of the normal microflora by antibiotics allows C. difficile to proliferate, produce toxins, and cause disease.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3401971/

You can try FMT. It is very effective and maybe it can prevent further infections by restoring gut flora.

Post Edited (xy123) : 4/27/2015 3:01:35 PM (GMT-6)

Have you tried Dificid? It's a new antibiotic for C.diff, it's a little more effective than Vanco.

www.dificid.com/

If you didn't have good insurance then I'd imagine they'd make you try Flagyl first which probably wouldn't work.

My 14 day supply of Vanco last year cost me $5 but my insurance company paid about $1,300 for the script (Retailed for $1,700). $1,700 for medications is un-affordable; I've heard that you can price shop local pharmacies if you are paying out of pocket and sometimes there is a BIG difference in the cash/retail pricing.

I've heard the same thing as Old Hat with the Lactobaccillus GG.

Wow Joanna, this sucks!! You eat so healthy too, like starch revisiting, gluten free, I don t get this disease!!
How did you know It was c diff, just watery diarreah all the time? How long after starting entyvio did it start? I just started entyvio. Oh man, this is scary, I hope the vanco works likes a charm for you!

hey linda. i just commented about my symptoms on your post!

basically, i've been having watery diarrhea for about a month. i have a cramping in my right side which is where i get paralytic ileus. my whole abdomen is very distended and achy.

i'm not in too much pain since my UC flares are 1000x worse than c diff has ever been but it's still uncomfortable. my bum holey is getting mighty tired of all the bathroom trips. i'd say c diff feels like you are doing a colonoscopy prep every single freaking day. your colon is cleaning house and things you ate a year ago are saying hello to the toilet.

hey nssg,

yeah, that's typically the way things go!!

i wanted to start entyvio but im not sure i can if theres still the c diff risk involved. i haven't talked to my gi about any of this but see him next week and then may 13 i have my scope. i'm annoyed because i've been doing so great UC wise for over a year and now my c diff is gonna make me have a horrid looking scope.

How awful for you!! try not to let this get you down if you can.

thanks, guys. yeah, i'm hoping this isnt gonna be a bad c diff infection like my last ones. i was always in the hospital for them.

yeah charlie, i dont wanna do entyvio if it is still gonna give me c diff. seems couterproductive at this point. not sure what is gonna happen yet. i just dont wanna flare on top of the c diff.

My doctors in pittsburgh dont do fecal transplants but id do that if it were possible

FTs have a very high success rate for stopping C Diff and the procedure is slowly becoming mainstream. It might be worth it to search for some doctors in your area who are familiar with it. FTs do have a reputation for stopping C Diff, and it may also help with your UC.

I guess FTs are not fully in the mainstream yet so there aren't enough doctors around who are familiar with it. If it is any consolation I am sure that eventually this procedure will become routine for health practitioners.

I am worried that even if you do find a doctor that it might be expensive. Insurance companies might find any excuse not to cover it.

www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2013/02/10/Bacteria-inside-us-studied-as-key-to-health/stories/201302100323
After taking a year to develop the procedure, Dr. Lebovitz has done two fecal transplants in Pittsburgh. For now, he is confining them to C. difficile patients who are hospitalized and resistant to antibiotics. He uses a colonoscopy tube to transfer the feces from healthy donors to the patients.

thepowerofpoop.com/talk-doctor-fecal-transplant-c-difficile-infection-doctors-perspective/

I'm so sorry to hear about your cdiff infection. I'm hoping you can avoid hospitalization. I too am suffering from bloody D while on a biological and have been wondering if its cdiff infection. So far my only suspicion is the bloody D. Infections suck but stay strong!

BG,

What about going to the Cleveland Clinic? my.clevelandclinic.org/services/digestive_diseases/departments-centers/gastroenterology-hepatology/fecal-transplant Their website says that they do FT.

If I lived in your area of the Country and I needed surgery I would go to the Cleveland Clinic. Maybe it's a good place to explore all your options, including FT. Not many people have surgery for c.diff but that is a treatment option. I'd also try Dificid before I went for surgery.