I'm betting I now have C Diff. ?s for anyone who has had this....

Uggh, so sorry if that is the case. I don't have experience, but if the typical meds like vancomycin and flagyl (both antibiotics) don't help...there is always fecal transplantation. You may want to do a search on this site about this. If you have not heard of it before, it is a little shocking, but it is a legit (albiet a little gross) treatment for c-diff. Let us know how the culture turns out.

I know what you are saying...hopefully can cure the c-diff and at least get back to baseline.

FYI...you would have to check but I read that an older male is the best bet for a fecal transplantation. Something like an older persons flora (as opposed to a baby) is stronger flora and I think men's is stronger as well. Of course the person should be healthy and not carrying anything. There are some people though who have had success w/ baby poo ( I think subdued being one) That being said there is a huge yuk factor.

I think alot of probiotics are a good idea too.

I had C-Diff last February. My test came back negative, but was treated for it anyway, since I had all the symptoms. My dr. said it was very common to get a negative test first. I took Flagyl and florastor. I was fine after finishing my first round of Flagyl, I kept taking the Florastor for about 6 months. I guess i was lucky not to have a relapse, since i also heard it is very common

My lab has the following notation on its C Diff protocol:

The laboratory uses a two-step algorithm for detection of C. difficile in
fecal samples. Specimens are screened for (GDH) glutamate dehydrogenase
antigen and concurrently tested for toxin A/B by immunoassay.
GDH is an essential, stable enzyme that is produced in large amounts by all C.
difficile isolates, both toxigenic and non-toxigenic. Therefore, this is an
excellent screening marker for C. difficile.

I tested negative again. I'm going back on prednisone, much to my dismay, but if it helps, I'll stop complaining. In the meantime, my psyllium seed powder came in the mail today and the Florastor should be here in a day or two.

I'm to check in with my GI again in a week (earlier if I feel worse), and when we next talk, I'm going to ask him about taking flagyl just in case it's a false negative.

Thanks all. Believe it or not, I was really really sorry to get the negative results. C Diff may be hard to cure, but at least it is at least in theory curable, whereas if I don't have C Diff, it means my UC is getting worse. I had another accident on Sunday, this time in semi-public -- I got poop on my shirttail (and the floor) in the bathroom of a public place. Luckily, the bathrooms are completely private, so I was able to take my shirt off and clean it and clean up the toilet and the floor and myself before leaving. But how depressing. Also when I got to work today I had to race from the elevator to the bathroom and I came really close to a similar accident. Man, I hate this disease.

thanks, nssg. It's pretty disheartening. We just keep plugging away at easing the symptoms.

My boyfriend is such a dear, but one thing he doesn't really understand is why I sometimes just want to be alone with this.

I've always been on Lialda and I'm using the mesalamine (Rowasa generic) enemas at night and then the steroid suppositories during the day, partly because I was trying to stay off of oral prednisone but I believed that there was value in some steroid usage, but also I had heard from my doc and elsewhere that the mesalamine enemas were most effective at controlling the urgency. I only started the suppositories about a week ago, so I don't really have enough evidence to say how well they work.

I was SO convinced it was C Diff because my first accident occurred after I had been on Avelox, which is a really potent antibiotic with a ton of warnings.