Colitis Caused by C DIFF?

I was just thinking... In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that about a month before ANY of my symptoms appeared, I was taking an antibiotic called levaquin.  After having the bloody diarrea, colonic inflammation/mucus etc and an colonoscopy, I was diagnonsed with Ulcerative Colitis in January of 2007.  I had no idea that levaquin could cause colitis, but it makes sense.    I've since then had three subsequent flares, and have requested that my doctor look into the possibility of my colitis being caused by C diff at there has not been any stool test performed.... Is a c diff infection more acute OR can it come and go in flares?  Obviously, having a two-year lasting bacterial infection opens a whole new 'can of worms' as far as treatment is concerned, but I'm going to do EVERYTHING in my power to fight this disease.  Any thoughts on this would be appreciated tremendously.

C diff has been known to be mis-diagnosed as UC. That's why most GI's do stool cultures when you have a bad flare. If he hasn't already done so, I think it would be appropriate and prudent for your doc to run stool cultures to resolve your questions.

People who have gotten a c diff infection are definitely prone to relapse. For most, it will happen within the first 6 months after having gotten rid of the infection. I had a relapse mild infection about 45 days after my clean bill of health. It only took one round of vanco to get rid of it, and I've been c diff free since.

C diff is also a regular bacteria found in our digestive tract, it is only a problem when it over populates. That is why cultures are so important. I had a c-scope done at the tail end of a c diff infection, and it came back with a severe UC diagnosis. Of course my colon looked horrible, it had just gone through three months of infection, plus numerous rounds of antibiotics. Over two years later, at my latest c-scope, I was downgraded to mild to moderate colitis, with lots of pseudopolyps and scarring indicating a really bad, past inflammation.

As for c diff causing UC? I don't think it causes it, but if you have a genetic tendency towards IBD, I definitely think that an infection will trigger a flare. But there are plenty of people who have gotten c diff infections and gotten over them with no residual UC diagnosis. C diff is also one adaptable son of a gun, becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. If you are interested in more info, I can provide a few links to some good sites about c diff.

Definitely get a culture performed. I'm paranoid now, and when my flare started, I immediately thought "C diff is back, and it is seeking revenge!". A stool culture showed it was just UC. There is definitely a different feel to the c diff then there is to a UC flare. BMs have a different smell, appearance, urgency. But the only way to truly tell is to get a culture done.

Currently, I'm not taking probiotics BUT, I'm only not doing so until after the stool tests...I want my gut flora to (hopefully) be analyzed accurately and afterwards even if they don't find anything conclusive as to whether or not my symptoms are caused by some type of bacterial infection that may trigger flares, I will start with probiotics.  C diff degrades the lining of the colon, which in my case could explain why my sympotms and flares are exacerbated whenever I drink anything acidic such as energy drinks, soda or coffee even though my GI doctor has told me that with UC these drinks shouldn't cause flare ups...

The only thing that causes me to doubt that this could be an infection is the fact that it has gone on for almost two years (with symptoms being treated successfully with steroids each time I have a flare), and statistically, a  c diff infection is acute.  I will keep everyone posted as to how the test results go.  If I am c diff positive, then what?  I've been told that colitis cause by it is actually worse...

C diff is not always acute.  I'm not sure where you got the statistics that say otherwise.  Many people get it, and get over it.  When you get your stool culture, are you asking for it just to check for c diff?  Or are you asking for an analysis of what is in you?  If you are just looking for c diff, probiotics won't matter.  Either the c diff toxins will be there, or they won't.  Also, c diff doesn't respond well to prednisone.  If you are getting positive results from pred, I'd be looking for a second opinion, and maybe treating UC/Crohn's more aggressively.

Here is a great support site for chronic c diff sufferers:

http://www.cdiffsupport.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=4

I'd particularly take a look at the threads about probiotics, and medications.

The people who post there are usually those with antibiotic resistant strains, so it might seem skewed towards people who have had infections for years.  THEY ARE IN THE MINORITY!  But the site contains great info, and lots of up to date research.  The moderator Bobby spends a great amount of time researching and confirming information before it posted on the site.

C- DIFF is definitely something that can cause inflammation and mimick IBD at it's onset.

UC needs the trigger to set it into motion. I can't say that I didn't have c.diff as the trigger since my THEN doctor didn't do a stool sample. I didn't have one done until I saw the GI almost 3 years later.

NO c.diff or anything to attribute my symptoms except UC...ho hum...lol!

q

are you thinking proctosigmoiditis? if so, the 'itis' part means inflammation...i'm assuming of an underermined reason?

sounds classic UC, and if he doesn't have bleeding, it could be early stages.

Was your dad put on any meds?

quincy

A bit wishful thinking. It's extremely rare to initially be diagnosed with an Ulcerative Colitis and have it later be a misdiagnosis of C-diff. In fact, I've read this forum for 8+ years and never once run across a case of that happening.

Why? A UC diagnosis involved chronic, architectural changes to your cells and intestinal tissue. Pretty hard to mistake a one-time infection which would never make those permanent changes.

As UC patients we have much. much higher odds of getting C-Diff. Some of us even suffer from reoccurring C-Diff.

Hello, I’ve just been reading this and wanted to ask. I’ve had a really bad flare recently and was hospitalised for a week. During the stay they tested me for c diff. They came back and said I was a c diff carrier and this was naturally in my system. They said it occurred in some people and others not.

They said the c diff was not active and they did not put me on antibiotics, but this major flare did occur after a large dose of antibiotics the GP gave me for an infection which I had prior.

I’m worried now that I’ll be in trouble in the future as I don’t think I’ll get rid of it if it occurs in my system.

Does this mean antibiotics are going to create havoc for me ? In honesty I believe it will 😬

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) C Diff page is below.

In my experience it is not to be taken lightly. UC can make us miserable, C Diff can kill us. If you come down with it a second time, it is particularly troublesome.

Overly strong antibiotics, like Cipro, do untold damage. I hate to disagree with iPoop, but both can do lots of damage. I know...first hand.

https://www.cdc.gov/cdiff/clinicians/resources.html

Pseudomembraneous colitis is very specific to c. diff and has tell tale symptoms. It's rare to have a sub-acute c. diff infection. It's usually either there or it's not. Broad spectrum antibiotics are high risk for UC patients for this reason.

That said, antibiotics can trigger UC in general because they obliterate gut flora populations that help regulate the immune system. This is the basis behind clean theory. All the organisms in the gut that want to live there give off chemical messages to keep the host immune system from destroying them. This in turn prevents the immune system from attacking the gut lining. When you kill off the populations, there is nothing to stop the immune system from attacking the gut wall. This in of itself can cause flares.