posted
Hi ... have been having diarrhea for the past few weeks and it got much worse this weekend.
My LLMD thinks it might be a clostridium difficile infection, and I have to call the office for a prescription for a stool test.
Anyone ever have c.diff? Is there a specific test I should ask the office for? It seems that there are several tests.
It came on so quickly ... I was having some GI issues and then all of a sudden it was completely crazy! I was taking saccharomyces boulardii too!
I was taking azithromycin and ceftin.
Ugh. Crap. (Literally!)
-------------------- Went through five years of hell because an IDSA doc ignored a CDC-positive Western blot in 2009. Started Lyme treatment in early 2014. Trying to wrap my foggy brain around the intricacies of this disease. I also have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Posts: 30 | From NY | Registered: Jul 2012
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posted
I've read that you need to have 3 stool samples to make sure they don't miss the infection.
s.boulardii won't protect you if your diet is not a good one. So be sure to stay away from anything that would throw off your gut bacterial balance.
For example.... sugar, white foods, fruit,pasta, etc.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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beaches
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 38251
posted
C. diff stool tests are unreliable. Majority of docs will treat based on symptoms. Flagyl or vancomycin are used to treat C. diff.
Do the stool test, but in the meantime demand tx for C. diff. C. diff is not something to fool around with.
Posts: 1885 | From here | Registered: Jul 2012
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posted
Thanks! I don't eat sugar or white foods but I definitely abuse fruit. Aaargh.
Well, at least the Flagyl is a cyst buster also...but if I am not taking other abx, won't that make me worse? I was supposed to add Plaquenil this weekend as a cyst buster, but now my LLMD says to go off everything (the Zithromax, the Ceftin, and all the supplements) until the test. Aargh.
-------------------- Went through five years of hell because an IDSA doc ignored a CDC-positive Western blot in 2009. Started Lyme treatment in early 2014. Trying to wrap my foggy brain around the intricacies of this disease. I also have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Posts: 30 | From NY | Registered: Jul 2012
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posted
Just went through this same exact thing. Treating with vanco 4 times a day (requested 21 days instead of the usual prescription of 10 days due to a recommendation here by TF), S. Boulardi and a custom mix for probiotics especially for C. Diff from "Custom Probiotics.
The vanco has been very easy for me to take with no added herx at all,(and I am extremely sensitive to meds) probably because it is not absorbed well and remains in the colon to treat.
Cleared up quickly and feeling much better. Wishing you luck!!
Posts: 219 | From pacific nw | Registered: Jun 2009
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posted
Thanks! It turned out the hospital said it was not c.diff., because I had a somewhat formed stool sample. They said if it was c.diff it would have been all liquid. They rejected the test. My doc's office said this is hospital policy across the country.
Should I try to get another test when it is more, uh, liquidy, just to be on the safe side, or just go with what the hospital said? After all my experiences, I am loath to trust hospitals.
-------------------- Went through five years of hell because an IDSA doc ignored a CDC-positive Western blot in 2009. Started Lyme treatment in early 2014. Trying to wrap my foggy brain around the intricacies of this disease. I also have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Posts: 30 | From NY | Registered: Jul 2012
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
You could take a stool sample to a lab like LabCorp or Quest.
Or, do they now have the same rule?
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
My son's and my test went through paclab, my doc faxed an order to my local lab, we picked up the collection kits, collected the specimens at home, dropped them off and that was it. Results faxed back to my doc. My sons stool was formed, test was positive. Lab techs do not question a docs written orders.
Posts: 219 | From pacific nw | Registered: Jun 2009
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