C-Diff problem

I had C. diff about five months after my takedown. Luckily I had been doing very well until then so it was obvious immediately that something was wrong that wasn't just the adjustment period, and it was diagnosed relatively quickly. I can't imagine suffering with those symptoms for as long as you have, you my sympathies!

When I started vancomycin for C. diff the first time, I noticed an improvement within the first three days. I had a recurrence of C. diff about two months after that, and that time vancomycin didn't help, so my GI switched me to Dificid, which kicked in within a couple of days. I've had no recurrences since then, about seven months.

I hope you start to feel better soon! If you don't see an improvement with vancomycin, maybe you can talk to your GI about trying Dificid.

Thanks Liz. I have a call into my Dr. Hopefully he can either up my dosage or try something different. I see that you are 'Med-free' that's awesome!

yes you should see improvement within 3 days i would think..perhaps because it has been going on so long its a little more stubborn but other drug recommended good idea..

once you get c-diff under control i recommend you get some ss boulardii.this can help prevent reoccurrence

however,once you have had it you are susceptible to it in future..and anytime i go bad without explanation i know i need to get tested for it..and have been advised to do it various times a year..

i have been lucky in that vnco has worked for me each time i had it..then dr.shen recommends after it gets negative to have test again in a month..

i have refractory pouchitis so i rotate antibiotics but if i see they are not working or something seems different i get my c-diff test done just to be sure..

i cannot believe they did not test you for c-diff but to be fair when i first had pouch surgeon also just thought it was pouchitis and i wash`t tested for it..i got lucky i guess because he guessed right..but i now know i need to test for it..

I got C diff shortly after my takedown. Like Pluot, Vanco made me feel better, but then I relapsed 2-3 weeks after being off of it. I then was prescribed Dificid and have been fine since.

I don't know how long I had c-diff before it was diagnosed. My GI took a stool sample during a pouchoscopy so it was treated before pouchitis. I was treated with flagyl and had to take it around 4 times before I was sure it was gone. I didn't retest each time as I hadn't been off of antibiotics for 2 weeks.

I believe most doctors would treat j-pouchers for pouchitis before testing for c-diff. C-diff isn't very common. I had c-diff several times when I had my colon and once it was caused by cipro. Cipro is prescribed for pouchitis and I won't take it as I don't want to bring on another case of c-diff.

I feel bad for you as it's nasty. I doubt you've had it all the time since August. I honestly don't know how I could have known to even complain to my surgeon about it as getting use to a j-pouch involves so many trips to the restroom and pain. I couldn't tell I had c-diff when I had my colon as it resembled flaring with UC. They all involve diarrhea.

I think it's a good thing you are on vanco. I never was and it took me a lot longer than 3 days to feel better. I hope you are feeling better ASAP. I'd never want to go through the first 4 months after my take down again - and compounding it with c-diff is just awful.

I still take s.boulardii probiotics as it specifically fights c-diff. You might want to look into this after you get off of the antibiotics.