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Ugh C Diff again, How long for Vancomycin to start working

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/8/2015 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
about 2.5 weeks ago started feeling a lot of nausea and very run down. Simplified my diet and the nausea started going away. Was having only 1-2 soft but formed BM everyday.
Had some blood work done and called my Dr. after this persisted over an entire week. She had me submit a sample for C-Diff which came back positive.
Started taking 250mg of Vancomycin 4x a day last Thursday (7/3). Also taking Florastor 2x a day.
When I started the Vancomycin BM's turned completely liquid and frequency has increased to about 10 a day.
Could just be a coincidence that my condition deteriorated with starting the Vanco.
Having some mucus with a very small amount of bleeding. The nausea isn't as bad, just mostly when stool is moving into my rectum area.
I've kept my diet very simple, eggs, rice, mashed potatoes and cooked vegetables.

This is my third time with C-Diff and my forth time on Vancomycin. I seem to remember Vanco working much faster before, but I could be wrong.
How long does it normally take for Vanco to work?
I'm planning on calling my Dr. tomorrow if things don't start improving. When I talked with her last week she mentioned Fecal Transplant would be an option.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Posted 7/8/2015 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
Do you take probiotics All the time? You should. Also avoid acid reducers as much as possible.
Posted 7/8/2015 2:31 PM (GMT 0)
Used to take VSL a few years ago when I was flaring, but stopped.
Had been symptom free for the past 3 years.
Regular probiotics sound like a good idea.
Posted 7/8/2015 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
I've never been given Vanco for C-Diff, I've always been given Flagyl. There is also Dificid "In one study, the recurrence rate of C. difficile in people who took fidaxomicin was lower than among those who took vancomycin"
Posted 7/8/2015 3:19 PM (GMT 0)
Flagyl doesn't work for a lot of people the drug they give after flagyl is vankomaycin
Dificid is usually reserved for the worst cases because it's the last drug they really have to treat it and if people start becoming resistant to it than c diff will become much much more dangerous
I was told not to take probiotics during c diff treatment
Sometimes antiobiotic can give Ds so it's hard to know if it's the drug or the c diff
Fmt sounds like a good idea
And it usually works pretty quickly
Posted 7/8/2015 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
with vancomycin, i get a cleansing the first day or two i take it- like a ton of diarrhea- and then i get harder poops after that.

it could be that you are resistant to vanco now. i am worried about this, too, since i've been on it four times, but it works for me every time to stop the diarrhea.
Posted 7/8/2015 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks bananagirl, I was wondering if I might be resistant to vanco.
Do you think a week without seeing any progress is enough time before calling my Dr.?
Posted 7/8/2015 6:38 PM (GMT 0)
yes, definitely. every time i start it, my doctor wants me to call him a week later just to update him on my progress. i've never had to increase the dose- 250 mg 4x daily, but i have had to increase the length of time to 1.5-2 months.

you should be noticing some improvement by now so i'd see if you can try dificid. i have never used it before since i respond to vanco each time.

i wanted to ask if you have taken florastor before/on its own? only reason i ask is because i tried it but got HORRENDOUS diarrhea. a few others on the forum have also had this problem with it so that could be causing your runs, too.
Posted 7/8/2015 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
This is my first time taking Florastor, wonder if that might be the problem.
I called and left a message with my GI a few hours ago. I will discuss your suggestion with her.

Thanks again bananagirl.
Posted 7/8/2015 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
sure no problem!! i usually take culturelle with my vanco course since i cannot take florastor at all! it took me up to 20x a day so i knew something was wrong. luckily, it only stays in your system as you are taking it and it's outta your body in about 3 days.
Posted 7/8/2015 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
I just got over a bout of CDiff. I was started on Flagyl and became so ill I was hospitalized. They started me on Vancomycin. It took a couple of days for the diarrhea frequency to slow down after starting the Vanc. The nausea has still not gone away completely, but that is likely due to the UC flare I'm currently in. I had to take two rounds of Levaquin for pneumonia and then bronchitis (which I probably got due to being on Humira). I was taking VSL #3 (probiotic) while on the antibiotics, but got CDiff anyway. I've read that recurrent CDiff may require a month of Vancomycin treatment. It's also very important that you take it exactly as directed on time for effectiveness. Good luck! I feel your pain and hope it starts working soon.
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