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Old 02-15-2013, 11:47 AM   #21
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Good luck MissMolly! MIne came back after about 8 days, which seems pretty typical. Many others are cured after more rounds of antibiotics, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed. There's a C-diff forum that's pretty active on the web; however, it can also scare you because many of the cases are very, very tough. It is also sad to hear about children, even tiny infants, getting it.
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Old 02-15-2013, 01:57 PM   #22
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Sorry to hear about your cases. My elderly father ended up with this a few years ago after hip surgery. It was very, very severe and he lost so much weight.

He went through the rounds of flagyl, but they did little. He finally went through a round of vancomycin and we also added probiotics with his physician's blessing. The vanco was like $10 a pill? In any case, it solved it for him. We used these antibotics of last resort very responsibly, not wanting to add vanco to the list of resistant antibotics.

As his caregiver, I washed my hands like crazy and was taking probotics right along with him. For much of the time, he was in a wing of a rehab center where everyone had cdiff. This stuff is nasty and nobody wants to talk about it. It has made me not want to go to the hospital. As it was, I kept my hands to myself and did a near medical scrub down every day when I was out of there.

To end on a postitive note: even though dad was into his 80s with this, and even though he lost 15% body weight (and he was not obese to start), he came through and is alive today. You CAN beat this.
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Old 02-16-2013, 04:02 AM   #23
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Joewras, so glad to hear your father recovered. It is a particularly terrible disease in the elderly and I understand it runs like crazy through hospitals and nursing homes.
My symptoms were actually fairly mild when they returned after the first round of flagyl: they didn't come roaring back but crept in over a day or two. My first time with symptoms, on the other hand, was dreadful in their virulence. So I am assuming that each round of flagyl kills off more and more spores until they are overwhelmed by regrowth of the "good" bacteria: I guess that's the point. Anyway, I'm feeling less sick on this second round of flagyl and it did almost immediately clear up the C-diff symptoms (within a day or two). I think it is a psychological thing: I know what to expect and that I made it through the first round so I can handle this one, too.
Perhaps the only good thing to come out of this ordeal is that I discovered kefir, sent away for kefir grains, and am now happily brewing my own. I really love it and can truly feel its healing qualities.
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Old 02-16-2013, 05:18 AM   #24
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Never heard of kefir. Thanks for the tip.

Dad had the c-diff in '07. Probotics were around, but not the rage like today. In any case, I believe they really helped. My sister and I also had Dad trying yogurt and other thing he never had in his life before. It all helps.
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Old 02-16-2013, 06:00 AM   #25
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Am so sorry, and wishing you well. Yours is an important story for everyone's awareness. OTOH, I find if I read too much about something on the Web I end up scaring myself to death.

Slight, but relevant rant - Back when I was a kid and got sick, my Mom just kept me home in bed for a few days till I was better. Meanwhile, other parents ran their kids to the doctor for antibiotics, because heaven forbid they miss a day of school. So now we have antibiotic-resistant bugs, and the antibiotics only kill our good intestinal flora. I've read that some doctors feel society is almost back to a "pre-antibiotic" state - scary.

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After several weeks of suffering from what I thought was the "stomach flu," I was just diagnosed with C-diff. I'm a normally very healthy and fit 56 yr. old who had the misfortune of being placed on antibiotics after a dental surgery last December. Evidently it depleted all the "good" bacteria in my gut and along comes the C-diff toxins and move right in. I started taking Flagyl three days ago and am feeling all the lousy side-effects it is known for. Am also taking probiotics.

Until 4 days ago I was blissfully ignorant of C-diff. Now I am scaring myself by reading all the websites/forums devoted to it and how hard it is to rid the body of it. If anyone has experience with this terrible stuff, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Please send healing thoughts and prayers my way.
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Old 02-16-2013, 07:17 AM   #26
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It is true that one of the more disconcerting things about this infection is that to cure the pernicious effects of an antibiotic you take--another antibiotic.
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Old 02-16-2013, 09:50 AM   #27
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It is true that one of the more disconcerting things about this infection is that to cure the pernicious effects of an antibiotic you take--another antibiotic.
I hope you are taking probiotics too. You need to restore your bowel flora to a healthy mix. At least eat some yogurt with probiotics!
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Old 02-16-2013, 10:03 AM   #28
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I hope you are taking probiotics too. You need to restore your bowel flora to a healthy mix. At least eat some yogurt with probiotics!
Marita said that they were in the first post.

Also mentioned something called "kefir" which could be simplified as "thin yogurt", but is much more.

Sounds like kefir along with the probiotics are getting a lot of biological agents in the system to displace the nasties!

Kefir: Kefir - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 02-26-2013, 09:18 PM   #29
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Marita - I am curious to know how you are doing after round 2? I finished my Flagyl last Tuesday and it all came roaring back over the weekend. I am now on my second round of Flagyl and I am feeling equally sick if not more so this time (from the C Diff, not the Flagyl). Tell me there is hope.
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Old 02-27-2013, 03:35 AM   #30
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Miss Molly, I finished the second round of flagyl last Sunday. As the first time, the side effects of the flagyl were so terrible I felt far sicker on it than the C-diff alone. I stuck it out, however, and the C-diff symptoms have been gone since on it . Today's Wednesday, so it is still a waiting game to see whether the C-diff is gone or not. The flagyl takes at least 72 hours to leave the body--still feeling a few side effects such as mild stomach ache and bad taste in mouth. I am continuing with the probiotics, as my doctor wants. My plan is to wait and see what happens over the next week; if the C-diff comes back, I will visit my doctor and get a new prescription for vancomycin. I will not go back on the flagyl again. I hope the best for you: just stay on the second round of flagyl and give it time. It builds up in the body and is very powerful. Again, on this round of flagyl all the C-diff symptoms have been gone: I've been "normal" in the you-know-what category. If it weren't for the horrible flagyl I would have felt great these last 10 days. I really hate that the "cure" is worse than the disease, for me at least! I'll check in in a week or so.
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Old 02-27-2013, 07:41 AM   #31
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Miss Molly, I finished the second round of flagyl last Sunday. As the first time, the side effects of the flagyl were so terrible I felt far sicker on it than the C-diff alone. I stuck it out, however, and the C-diff symptoms have been gone since on it . Today's Wednesday, so it is still a waiting game to see whether the C-diff is gone or not. The flagyl takes at least 72 hours to leave the body--still feeling a few side effects such as mild stomach ache and bad taste in mouth. I am continuing with the probiotics, as my doctor wants. My plan is to wait and see what happens over the next week; if the C-diff comes back, I will visit my doctor and get a new prescription for vancomycin. I will not go back on the flagyl again. I hope the best for you: just stay on the second round of flagyl and give it time. It builds up in the body and is very powerful. Again, on this round of flagyl all the C-diff symptoms have been gone: I've been "normal" in the you-know-what category. If it weren't for the horrible flagyl I would have felt great these last 10 days. I really hate that the "cure" is worse than the disease, for me at least! I'll check in in a week or so.
Well, I hope this time you are cured and don't have to do any more rounds of meds. I have read that the Vanco is much easier to tolerate than the Flagyl. I really don't have too many problems with the Flagyl - just a bad taste and it gives me nightmares. It's the symptoms of the C Diff that do such a number on me. I am also doing the probiotics and eating yogurt. I was really shocked when my symptoms returned. I was not expecting that to happen at all. I am usually very healthy - never get colds or flu. This has really been a difficult time for me. Keep me updated on your progress. They say the C Diff has become quite resistent to medications and is becoming harder and harder to cure.
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Old 02-27-2013, 07:57 AM   #32
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I'll admit to shock, too. I have always been exceedingly healthy and energetic, and I feel like I've aged significantly over the last two months--not one well day. For the first time in my life I've been truly scared of dying. . .it just wreaks havoc over the whole body. The good news is that the vast majority of people are cured, eventually, and that the fecal transplant science is now well accepted as a highly successful cure--should one need this last ditch effort. I noted that it is being done regularly in my neck of the woods, and that gave me comfort. Hang in there!
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Old 02-27-2013, 09:35 AM   #33
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MissMolly, so sorry. It is a terrible thing. Please keep us updated if you want. A week off flagyl--which made me equally as sick as the infection--I relapsed and am now on a second round. Have been dealing with this now since Jan 4 and have had pretty much no life during this whole time.
How does your doctor feel about the fecal transplants mentioned in #5?

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1277346

The anecdotal evidence that I've read about this has been compelling.
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Old 02-27-2013, 11:08 AM   #34
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How does your doctor feel about the fecal transplants mentioned in #5?

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1277346

The anecdotal evidence that I've read about this has been compelling.

We (my doc and I) have not yet had this conversation, so I don't know. From what I have read, this is a last resort option - that all regular medications have to be tried first. I truly hope I don't get to the point that I have to do this - just the thought of what is being put in you is disgusting. If a second round of Flagyl fails, you move to Vanco then to Difficid (a new drug). Then if you continue to relapse you look at fecal transplant.
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Old 02-27-2013, 12:27 PM   #35
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......... just the thought of what is being put in you is disgusting........
Yea, I can certainly understand that.
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Old 02-27-2013, 12:34 PM   #36
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MissMolly's sequence of treatments is what I've read, too. However, despite the "gross" factor I for one am not at all turned off by the last option. It supposedly takes just a few minutes and works something like 98% of the time. I would do it in a heartbeat right now rather than be told I had to go on yet another round of sickening medicine. The real gross factor for me is the symptoms of C-diff.
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Old 02-27-2013, 12:55 PM   #37
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If a second round of Flagyl fails, you move to Vanco then to Difficid (a new drug). Then if you continue to relapse you look at fecal transplant.
I knew about Flagyl (I took it for 6 weeks two years ago to cure my C. diff infection) and Vancocin, but was not aware of a new drug on the market targeted at C. dif. I found this very interesting (and very scary) article on the new drug: F.D.A. Approves Drug to Treat Hospital Scourge

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Infections and deaths from C. difficile — the name means “difficult” — have increased sharply since the 1990s, in part because of the spread of a more virulent strain. It is estimated that several hundred thousand Americans are infected each year. Up to 1 percent of patients must have their colons removed and about 5 percent die.

While most of those infected are elderly people in hospitals or nursing homes, younger adults and children can also be infected, and there are cases that arise outside the hospital.

Problems usually start when people are treated with antibiotics for some other infection. That can kill off many of the harmless bacteria in the intestines, allowing C. difficile, which is resistant to most antibiotics, to take over.
I developed my infection after taking an antibiotic for a sinus infection. I've managed to avoid all antibiotics since that very unpleasant experience.
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Old 02-27-2013, 12:57 PM   #38
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MissMolly's sequence of treatments is what I've read, too. However, despite the "gross" factor I for one am not at all turned off by the last option. It supposedly takes just a few minutes and works something like 98% of the time. I would do it in a heartbeat right now rather than be told I had to go on yet another round of sickening medicine. The real gross factor for me is the symptoms of C-diff.
I read somewhere about a person basically doing it themselves through the back end. I guess it doesn't distribute the good bugs through the upper GI tract, but the price is right.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...ur_friend.html

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And then there's the do-it-yourself crowd. All you need is a bottle of saline, a 2-quart enema bag, and one standard kitchen blender. Mike Silverman, a University of Toronto physician who wrote up a guide to homespun fecal transplants for the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, says it's entirely safe to do the procedure this way, provided that a doctor gets involved at some point to screen the donor sample.
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Old 02-27-2013, 01:00 PM   #39
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I read somewhere about a person basically doing it themselves through the back end. I guess it doesn't distribute the good bugs through the upper GI tract, but the price is right.
Now that right there is gross...
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Old 02-27-2013, 01:03 PM   #40
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Now that right there is gross...
Like I said earlier, my MIL died from C diff. She was otherwise pretty healthy.
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