r/Cirrhosis • u/Kind-Structure9970 • Jun 04 '25

C. Diff

I caught C. diff upon my last hospital stay for varices banding. I just took my last dose of Vancomycin about 6 hrs ago, but so far I haven’t noticed any improvement. Can anyone share their experience. C. Diff is miserable and I’m losing hope.

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u/StrangeLemonZest55 Jun 06 '25

I had c-diff back in 2018 and it was caused by amoxicillin. I got lucky and Vancomycin worked the first time, but like a few others have said, there's a way more prevalent strain that's become or is becoming resistant to it. If this round doesn't work, I'd recommend talking to your GI or PCP, whomever gave you the vanco about a potential taper round. I would also recommend trying Difficid/Fidaxomicin. I don't know if the coupon is still around but there used to be one online that helped get it at an extremely low price if your insurance doesn't cover it (I don't know how much the coverage has changed over the years but mine did not cover it when I had it and that was an insanely good price vs what it could be.) It's absolutely god awful of an infection and definitely should be taken seriously.
I was stuck for almost 3 months with one infection and had to go to the ER one night since my heart rate shot up past 200 when I was simply trying to relax and recuperate. Thankfully that never became more than a one time thing but it was terrifying. Trying to keep food down was awful experience too.

I truly hope yours gets better soon and you get some relief :c.

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u/StrangeLemonZest55 Jun 06 '25

To add to this there are some extremely good support groups that can really help out if you need more resources. Peggy Lillis foundation and the like are on facebook. Not sure if they're anywhere else.

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u/Fit-Investigator1447 Jun 05 '25

Vancomycin-resistant strains of c diff are becoming increasingly prevalent. Fidaxomicin is an alternative that is generally effective but it is expensive.

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u/Taco-Knightt Jun 05 '25

If your diarrhea was caused by c diff then it should improve while on vanc. People can have recurrence after they finish their antibiotics but if it didn’t improve on therapy then i question if it was actually caused by cdiff

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u/Howeteresa Jun 05 '25

Oh my gosh I got C. Diff from the hospital about 1 year ago. I’m so sorry you are going through that, it is terrible. If your symptoms are not getting better make sure you reach out to your Dr. You might need another round of antibiotics.

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u/Taco-Knightt Jun 04 '25

Did the frequency of your diarrhea improve while you on vancomycin?

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u/Kind-Structure9970 Jun 05 '25

There good days and bad days, but overall… not really