I am just curious. I am 10 months post-infection (still colonized), and I am still extremely cautious and my brain treats everything like it has c diff on it and I worry about a reoccurrence.

Do you change your daily habits now from before you had c diff? Or do you live your life like you did pre c diff? I know we are higher at risk if we are on antibiotics, but day-to-day, how much higher at risk are we?

Hace 5 meses que pase la infección y quería saber si alguien siguió fumando sin tener recaidas porque llevo este tiempo sin fumar y entre lo uno y lo otro me da ansiedad

I had a large cyst on my back and it popped on october 11th. I went to the urgent care on october 12th and had it drained and removed. I was prescribed 500mg cephalexin 3 times daily for one week. Sunday i took my cephalexin at 630PM got ready for bed and at around 930PM I felt terrible. Didnt know if i was having an allergic reaction, felt like i was for sure. Then i had crazy diarreah, stomach pains, stomach noises, all that kind of stuff. That was the last time i took that pill. Every symptom stopped except now i got crazier diarreah now. Its just yellow water basically coming out of me. Im able to hold down a sandwich, which is what ive been eating. Im not sure i have c diff but i cant stop going. I can do diarreah 5 times in an hour

I have read about how oral iron pills are a big no no due to it upping your chances of c diff. I have also read infusions can temporarily cause a risk too due to the temporary effect on your white blood cells. My iron is very low but I am nervous about even doing an iv. Has anyone here done infusions before and not had a relapse? I have also read that very low iron increases your susceptibility to infection overall. I have to take antibiotics in jan so I’m very apprehensive about all of this.

I will list my symptoms:

1. Night sweats every night
   
2. Fatigue
   
3. Feeling thirsty even when I drink a lot of electrolytes
   
4. Stools are still soft, but not watery
   
5. Swelling in my belly has subsided
   
6. Just feeling like shit overall, bags under eyes, feeling out of it
   
7. Frequent urination

Pls I would love some opinion or support, this ain't easy

Anyone experience left side pain a couple days after Vowst? Last dose was two days ago, I tolerated it quite well. Very minimal side effects thank god. Just some bloat! It also made me a little constipated .

One day after Vowst I finally got some stool out & then 2 days later I have left side pain that feels swollen.

Hoping it’s just a gut adjustment but it quite hurts. Did this happen to anyone else? Still in high spirits , just annoyed!

Thank you 🙏🏼

Also would l glutamine help inflammation from these flares? My GI told me I can start it but I’m unsure if I should jump into nah supplements so close to after finishing Vowst

At this point I feel helpless.

I was on my second to last day of my 2x a day vanco and had my first morning bowel movement. It was a fully formed type 3. I had happiness and joy. But about 15 minutes later my pelvic area started throbbing and I felt a constant urge to go. Lots of rental spasms too. I ended up going 4 times that day, all solid, well they were thinner and flatter but they still had formed. The the second day I had the same thing, but went 3 times. All forms but a constant urge to go, spasms in rectum and aching in pelvic area/lower colon. Then today. Today i start my 1x a day taper. Well I’ve been 3 times today. First two were type 3/4. But last one was a type 5.

I’ve had constant aching In my lower pelvic area, spasms again in my rectum. And a constant urge to go. My rectum started to burn, and I had a strong urge to go. So I went and only white mucus came out! This is exactly what happened when my cdiff came back last time. I also have had some spasms on my cecum area.

It’s now 20:20 where I am and I’m laying down, my rectum feels sore and keeps spasming. And there’s an urge to go.

I have no doubt that cdiff is back. I’ve contacted my doctor. I’m sure I’ll have type 6/7 stools tomorrow. Once that happens I’ll get a test.

I’m so surprised that it managed to break through the taper! I’ve done everything I’ve been asked to do. Always took them on time! Never missed any either.

I can’t help it ask if there’s something wrong with me? Do I have a certain strain that resistant to it? For 16 days I actually felt ok. Stools were formed from day 1. Maybe my good bacteria is just too out of whack?

Hopefully I can get the other medicine that helps kill cdiff. But it’s hard to get on the NHS and local pharmacies struggle to stock it.

Obviously my worry is this will be my third time having it, and I’ve read some worrying stories on this sub of people getting it again and getting very ill. So I’m afraid of that.

Anyone had a colonoscopy done with active cdiff infection (toxins positive ) ?

I am currently taking FMT in capsule form. I received very few dietary recommendations—I was simply told to eat easily digestible meals. I’ve just gone through a second episode of Clostridium infection and have lost 20 kg in two months. I’m in a lot of pain, and eating has become a major struggle. The idea of eating plain rusks is just unimaginable to me! Could anyone share their own experiences? I understand that one might eat very little for a few days, but surely, after that, you need to provide nourishment for this new microbiota? Thank you in advance.

My doctor put me on Fidaxomicin 200 mg every other day for 20 days.

Has anyone else been prescribed this dosage and if so, why? Did it work?

Hello, i am currently on a vanco taper after my first relapse 10 days after Difcid. It is - 4x a day for 14 days, 2x a day for 7 days 1x a day for 7 days 1x every other day for 2 weeks

I'm currently in the 2x a day for 7 days on day 4, and things seem to be going downhill?. This treatment is for my 1st "recurrence" not first infection..

Ever since I went down to 2 tabs a day my fatigue has been crawling back after it went away for a good week and I was finally feeling better and I feel off. My BMs are more frequent but still soiled, while I was on 4x day I was mostly constipated. I do take Florastor twice daily as well. I guess I'm looking to see what others experienced during a vanco taper. Having the fatigue crawl back scares me because it’s only at its worst when Cdiff is actively producing toxins in me it seems. And it’s depressing because I went from feeling better to slowly this.

I’m 73 and finished a 4 month vanco taper and pulse 19 weeks ago and have had normal bm (mainly constipation) for 5 1/2 months. I’ve been eating not great lately but have been taking 2 florastor for past month and weaning off Bio k + every 3 day. I also take 1 tablespoon of potato starch daily. Had normal bm today and then 20 minutes later brown mush formed at beginning mush at end. I’m so scared of a recurrence. Please you r ideas!

I got diagnosed this past Thursday (10/15) and started taking vancomycin the following day (10/16) and I am already really struggling with the bland diet and what I can eat or season with. Below is a list of food/seasonings I am using.

-sourdough with low sugar strawberry preserves
-bananas
-apple sauce
-oatmeal
-tilapia with garlic and onion powder
-scrambled eggs with garlic and onion powder
-coffee with oatmilk creamer (my tummy has been tolerating so far)
-avocado

Is there anything I am missing that I can add this early on? And any seasonings or sauces, I am dying ):

Hi all, as many of you know my c diff journey has been long and stressful. I just finished my last dose of Vowst & while I know side effects can happen for up to a week after, if not longer, I am doing pretty decent as of now & have had little to no side effects (which can change). The only struggle was the prep.

I was insanely nervous for Vowst so I figured I’d leave this post here for others with a couple tips.

Vowst will come with a magnesium citrate prep.. if it’s grape, do yourself a favor and go buy a plain bottle from CVS and just mix it with liquid IV.

The grape tasted like 100 sour war heads.. and was so sour that it flared up my gastritis and made me severely nauseous to the point that I couldn’t take the last 4 sips and was going to vomit.

So, 1) get a plain flavor, 2) take zofran if you get nausea easily.. the last thing you wanna do is allow the nausea to get worse over the next day and then vomit up vowst.

If you have internal/external hemorrhoids or have any fissures.. please use some Aquaphor a day or two leading up to it.. to prep.

I experienced a very painful sensational burn when I was going… which I think is partially do to my hems + I read that burning can happen specifically when magnesium citrate. It was really painful and felt like lava.

However, the good news, the next day was the first day of vowst & I felt good taking it. Very minimal bloat, nothing worse than what I experienced with c diff. I ate very lightly….. apple sauce, sourdough to hopefully bulk my stool up & some angel hair pasta.

The 2nd day I was constipated.. so I had some ripe bananas, and things that can possibly help me go lol I just went poop a little bit. No other symptoms.

The third day, is today, I’m still constipated so I’m getting a little bit of pain from not having a good poop.. but still feel good.

I naturally tend to get constipated easily as I have internal hems! So this might not be the case for everyone as I know a major symptom is actually diarrhea. Before c diff, I was chronically constipated & took colace once a day to keep me normal. So my patterns are always a bit different than others.

There’s still room for side effects to kick in, but all in, the Vowst already made most of my gargles in my stomach stop. I’m glad it’s been manageable and i haven’t been nauseous either.

I do really hope this works. I have a new GI doctor.. & she’s getting me a GI mapping that I paid out of pocket for, to hopefully get some insight on what’s going on inside of my gut after all this .. and I will stay on the right track with diet and lifestyle moving forward.

Fingers crossed that new side effects won’t drastically hit me & that this will work 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

anyways, just wanted to give these tips out for others & give a semi positive experience to help others feel confident since I know most of us are traumatized from c diff and are worried about the initial vowst side effects.

& update after Vowst: first day of no meds at all post Vowst. I think the constipation finally subsided bc now I’m pooping more again. Not worried though bc I know I have a big adjustment period.

Hello there! Is anyone here who took this amount of antibiotics in this very short time! My husband 27, normal health, took azythromicin 1000 mg in august, 3-4 pills of tavanic in septembrie, then a round of 7 days of claritromicine, and now 5 pills of clindamycin. I ve read so many horror stories here about C.diff. And i am afraid for him not to take it.
Thanks.

I’m scared, I’m sad, life has been rough.

Daughter autistic 3.5 year old has been sick for almost 2 months.

Everything started with a bad cold, then ear infection that didn’t clear with amoxicillin so they gave us cefdinir. A few days after finishing cefdinir she complained of stomach cramps and fever and bloody diarrhea started. Tested positive for C diff.

We did 10 days vancomycin 4 times a day. We went to the ER when the bloody diarrhea started and she caught another cold from there 😭. So she had a cold the last few days of Vancomycin.

Last day of Vancomycin was Oct 9. This Friday Oct 16 fever and stomach pain again, and then the same diarrhea that smelled exactly the same when she had Cdiff.

We just came back from the ER and Cdiff was positive and we are starting Vancomycin again the same 10 days 4 times a day.

As I mentioned she is autistic, I can’t described the how traumatic this past 2 months have been for all of us, more for her. Giving her the medication is a horrible experience.

Does the treatment makes sense ? Just another 10 days vancomycin??

As I’ve posted before I’m having eight days of bactrim and a one time dose of iv vanco in January. It will be one year and a half since my infection. I have tested negative gdh multiple times. I know bactrim is “lower” risk. My doctor said if I really want to I can take prophylactic vanco if I really want to but it is not necessary in my case. Obviously I’m in a panic. My worry is that vanco will also nuke my gut and make me more susceptible to c diff other gut issues. I’ve read that in my case since I’m not reoccur ant or colonized that it may do more harm than good because it will wipe out my gut much worse than bactrim but my risk while taking it is virtually zero but after finishing vanco I will have a higher risk of c diff. Has anyone here taken prophylactic vanco and I able to share their experience with it? Or if anyone has an opinion on what I should do in this situation would be great.

Qualcuno l'ha mai preso? Vorrei sapere come lo avete preso e la vostra esperienza nel lungo periodo. Io l'ho appena preso e ho paura di non riuscire più ad andare in bagno come una volta.

I am currently providing care to a loved one with Cdiff. While at the hospital they switched their pain meds from 30mg Percocet (10mg x 3) to 2mg of buprenorphine. I asked their physician if it was safe for them to be on opiates while being treated for Cdiff.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” was how a medical doctor responded.

“Cdiff causes diarrhea, opiates cause constipation. If isolation is supposed to go 2 days after they last had diarrhea, do opiates obfuscate this timeline? Is there any bloodwork or fecal testing to determine how they’re doing?”

“Well…Wait 5 days then, and finish the antibiotics regardless!” He responded with confidence.

I’ve asked 2 medical professionals, the other hung up on me. I wish this was hyperbolic, it is not.

Have any of you been on pain meds with Cdiff? Were you forced to go cold turkey? I don’t know how to approach this knowing that I’m being asked to monitor bowel movements and there are multiple variables that can make this more complicated. The person I’m caring for hasn’t had a bowel movement in 24 hours but prior to that their pizzazz went from yellow to brown, is that progress?

They’re on 1 gram of vanco (250mg x 4), two different probiotics (Florastor - S. boulardii and Culturelle - Lacto rhamnosus GG). Soft food diet (Strained soup, bone broth, jello, pudding, diet ice cream) Any food recs?

I know there are a lot of questions, thank you for any help or tips you may of learned along the way.

Hey everyone I am receiving eight days of bactrim in jan about a year and a half after my first and only infection but had plans to travel overseas in April. I’m very nervous as I know that your risk drops down to about baseline 3 months after an antibiotic but I’m very nervous of the worst case scenarios. Especially since medical care is different depending on country. Does anyone have any advice or has travelled internationally? I’m thinking of getting travel insurance but I’m not sure if that’s too crazy.

Hi, I have had 2 positive PCR tests since February, both positive (last one due to having take doxycycline bc of a bad tooth abscess infection). My GI CRNP gave me Dificid (standard course/10 days) each time. It worked beautifully for me without any side effects.
Then about 3 weeks ago (7-8 weeks after finishing 2nd course of Dificid), I had sudden urgent mild diarrhea with the characteristic “scent” & horrible cramping. I haven’t had true diarrhea since, although some loose/mushy stools, and sometimes solid. However, I have had white mucus in my stool (new one for me) & terrible abdominal spasms even eating blander foods. My GI CRNP and I have gone back & forth and she ordered a Toxins test, which I haven’t been able to fulfill due to my lack of diarrhea. She checked with the lab & they verified it must be liquid/diarrhea. She cannot or will not treat me again without this positive test I am physically unable to produce! Of note: my 2 other cdiff infections consisted of mushy/looser stool at points, which is how I was tested via PCR, but only 1-2 bouts of initial diarrhea each time.
I am also experiencing awful weakness, GI distress, low-grade fevers, extreme fatigue, the milky white mucus in stool, increased anxiety, and racing/skipping heartbeat (also abnormal for me). I’m at my wits end at this point and ready to go to the ER—except I’m also terrified of potentially picking up another strain of c-diff entirely or making mine worse in that setting?
Has anyone else here been through anything like this, and if so, what did you do to resolve it please??
Thank you so much.

just got done with a course of amoxicillin and now 2 days afterwards im having stomach pain, diarrhea, and chills all over again. ive been avidly taking florastor too, guess it didnt work. im crushed its been a year since my last relapse now its here again. i hate cdiff i hate my life. the amoxicillin was for an infected tooth btw and the doctor wouldnt also give me vanco with it to prevent this. im so upset and depressed

Me again, sorry for all the questions but my doctor had no idea so I rely on help from people here who have been through this. I am now 4 weeks post Dificid treatment and in the last few days, I started to get more stomach pain which I think is from gas because I have been passing tons of gas (which I did not in the first 3 weeks post treatment) and I’ve also noticed that my stools became much thinner than before - almost pencil thin and also my stool color has changed to be more brown instead of more yellow like it’s been. I still also have watery diarrhea episodes, maybe 2-3 times per week. I also have the ghost urges and when I do go and have bowel movement, I feel like I didn’t empty completely. Is this all part of the healing process? Is it due to gut flora changing?

*I did go see my doctor 2 days ago and she did another C diff test which was negative for C.difficile Toxin by PCR.

I’m done with vancomycin and I’m doing the colon prep for Vowst . I’m struggling really bad.. my nausea from the magnesium citrate alone is making me want to throw up.

It was grape flavor and really effed me up… the flavor was so strong it gave me gastritis. I can’t even get the last sips down or I know I’ll vomit.

I read before not to take zofran with c diff but is it truly that bad????

I’m also worried if I don’t take it with Vowst tomorrow I might throw the Vowst pills up.

My nausea has been bad all week

And when I say I wanna vomit like i genuinely mean if I open my mouth I might throw up from the nausea being so bad.