lymebytes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11830
posted
I have an appt Monday w/my LLMd. I don't know if this can wait anymore.
I posted the other day about my intestinal/stomach bubbling, widespread everywhere. Loose bowels (sorry) and cramping.
This really started mildly a couple months ago, BUT in the last couple of weeks has just gotten worse and worse and the last couple of days it is bad.
I am on probiotics and SB.
I honestly don't know what to do. I have avoided mainstream Md's for over 3 years because I can't imagine explaining I have been on oral abx for over 3 years, not to mention they will never ever understand my pain issues and pain meds. I can just see the argument now.
My stomach/intestines feel like they are a mess, I have never felt anything like this. I cannot stop abx, cutting back on them and my symptoms flare horribly...what do I do?
Can you tell me definitive symptoms of C.diff? How do I know for certain? I am most worried about C.diff. I am not running a fever, but cramping, bubbling, abnormal bowels go on. Opinions appreciated.
(Edit: I posted further down that test results came in today that I have H.pylori - I honestly hope that is all it is. I will know more Monday)
posted
Usually w/ c-dif there is alnmost no stopping of the diarrhea. If you go to the ER, they will ask you to give a stool specimen that will be tested for c-dif but it takes a few days for the results to get back. Some G.I. Dr. want > 1 sample tested at different times to accurately diagnose.
If you are dehydrated, they'll probably start an IV and start you on flagyl, just in case it is c-dif.
That has been our experience. Ours was not c-dif. G.I. Dr. recommended to try small amount of liquid immodium to slow down diarrhea when symptoms start.
Posts: 126 | From MD | Registered: Mar 2009
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lymebytes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11830
posted
Hi Lymebytes, It may not be c-diff, but could definitely be something else. Are you bloated at all?
Posts: 84 | From Seattle, WA | Registered: Sep 2009
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
C-diff has a very unusual smell. It's a pretty awful smell.
You should probably stop the antibiotics for now, or at least call your LLMD and ask permission to do so. Then get tested for C. diff. Your primary care doctor or LLMD can order that test. It requires taking a stool sample to the lab.
Good luck. I had C. diff for 11 months. It is no fun.
Timaca
Posts: 2872 | From above 7,000 ft in a pine forest | Registered: Feb 2005
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lymebytes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11830
posted
Limeaid - some bloating, mostly major turmoil going on in there. Sort of painful, so it is hard to eat, all I need is to lose more weight.
Timaca - that's right! People have mentioned the awful smell..I don't have that.
Do most w/C.diff have the bad smell or can you have C.diff without any smell?
posted
Awwww! Wow, so many people are getting c.diff now. Make sure you are all on Florastor!!!
You can have it without horrible diarrhea and without the horrible smell too.
Get a c.diff stool test, do it 3 separate times. Get the sample to the lab within an hour and keep it fresh and cold or you will get a false negative.
STay off all other antibiotics until you know what it is.
If it is c.diff it is treated with oral Vancomycin and/or oral Flagyl.
It has an extremely high relapse rate due to the spores...so make sure if you get symptoms when you stop the meds that you go right back on and for a longer time at higher doses!
posted
I would try colloidal silver. I got C. Diff in the hospital 5 years ago and it was like acid in my colon. Very irritating. I used Hulda Clark's recipe of using high doses of Betain HCL with oil of oregano and it never really got rid of it. Finally tried colloidal silver and it finished it off.
If you would rather use a regular antibiotic then consider Tinidazol. Tinidazole might be more effective than Flagyl since it has been used less for this. Tinidazole was found in one study to have some effectiveness on the cyst form of Lyme, so you will get a double wammy from it. Have to get it overseas or Mexico I think. Tinidazole also inhibits yeast. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC174688/?page=3 (study found it more effective against resistant strains)
You can also order a Diagnostechs GI panel from Holistic Nurse: http://holisticnurse.com/paypal_tests.html It's possible you have a severe yeast infection or another bad bug like Entamoeba histolytica.
Posts: 31 | From TX | Registered: Nov 2008
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blinkie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14470
posted
What ever you do, DO NOT use immodium or anything that will slow the excretion of bodily fluids. You will trap the bacteria in the intestinal tract that way and it can eat through the intestine. Keep it moving...so to speak.
Also, you can have many symptoms that range from severe to mild. You DO NOT have to have bowels that cannot be stopped for it to be C diff. One problem with a public forum like this is the misinformation that can be spread.
In my opinion and as a c diff sufferer, your symptoms do sound like c diff so you should be tested right away. If you've had symptoms for months and now they are so bad you can't stand it, it sounds right for c diff. I had it that way as well as it remained under control on any abx, not just those to treat c diff. But, it is much, much better on the correct abx.
I understand your fear of telling a duck abotu being on abx so long but this is a serious infection and you should just go take care if it. I know plently of people that get it with just one round of abx too. It is known to spread easily in hospitals so if you go there, they will be very familiar with it.
They may turn a nose up at your treatment and LLMD but you just tell them as little as possible about it. What I do is only tell them you've been treating lyme that was caught late after infection and it is proving hard to erradicate. Many Docs are aware that "late" lyme can be troublesome. And try not to go into details about how long you've been on abx. That won't help them at all inm your treatment and it's none of thier business.
Posts: 1104 | From N.California | Registered: Jan 2008
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I wonder if you're taking enough of and the right kind of probiotics.
Posts: 924 | From CT | Registered: Apr 2009
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
when i went to the er, i was having diahhrea about every 15 minutes.
the nurses got so tired of me going that they just disconnected the iv. i would get back to the room and have to turn around that minute and go right back.
it was pure brown water. i could not stop going.
and, yes, DO NOT take immodium or anything. it stops the diahhrea but it allows the stools to stay in the colon and that spreads the infection.
i was put on flagyl and it took three days before it took effect.
i was literally raw. i had to use beaudreaux butt paste from the baby section because i was bleeding.
i didn't really notice a bad smell but it was painful.
nothing to mess with. oh yes, the doc said florastor twice a day.
it's on sale at drugstore.com for about 17 bucks a bottle. this is much less than other places where it runs about a buck a pill.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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WildCondor
Unregistered
posted
Dont mess with cheap brands of probiotics...get a good one like VSL # 3 or Theralac and make sure you get Florastor the brand not a cheaper and untested brand of S.boulardi that has not been put thru clinical trials like Florastor has!
Ditto..do not take Immodium! Tinidazole does not work as well on c.diff as Flagyl does. Oral Vancomycin is the best. Do not take Questran until you are somewhat recovering or it will bind to the FLagyl or Vancomycin and keep you ill for longer. If you are severely ill with fever and pain get to the ER and do a CT of the abdomen. Dont take ANY other antibiotics.....!!!
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lymebytes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11830
posted
Thanks everyone - appreciated much! I just received a copy of my Labcorp tests done a couple of weeks ago and it says I am H.pylori positive..
Could H.pylori be the problem then????????
WC - you betcha, I am VSL#3, and I really like Natures Way Primadophilus optima - and S. boulardii. Thanks so much for advice.
I guess I will study H.pylori - I had it years ago..but this feels different than that.
-no foul odor at all -constant, liquid diarrhea -VSL 3 and Florastor a must for prevention and control -do not take immodium! -in my case, no cramps or fever, just constant diarrhea -must take flagyl to eradicate (oral vanco did not help me at all but we are all different; I have no experience w/tindamax) -after a day of flagyl...I had no diarrhea -was told that Pepto Bismol and cholestyramine can help mop it up and get rid of it in addition to flagyl -do not take any abx until symptoms are gone, unless absolutely necessary (ie, life-saving) -as far as ducks go, C. Diff is C. Diff and needs to be treated; you don't have to have Lyme to get C. Diff -if you are lucky, C. Diff will show up first time around in stool (a matter of hours in my experience...not days if you're in the ER or an in-patient). -Tho 3 stool samples are often required for definitive dx. of C. Diff, most docs (ducks or LLMDs) will still begin treatment for C. Diff regardless of why you are taking abx b/c C. Diff is a very serious infection and can be fatal-- it is taken very seriously by all docs (as I have been told) -H. Pylori to my knowledge, has nothing to do with C. Diff. -Left untreated...let's not go there.
Better safe than sorry. Get yourself to an ER or urgent care clinic or to any doc ASAP. You need to be seen and evaluated.
Posts: 214 | From where ticks flourish | Registered: Dec 2007
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lymebytes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11830
posted
Thank you for all posts, tonight things are much calmer. Your responses are very much appreciated. As I posted above, seems it could be H.pylori due to new test results that came to me today.
Alana - thank you for your very informative post. I will be talking w/my LLMd on Monday and we will have to go over every possibility.
In all the years I have been on abx thankfully I have never missed a day of (quality, high CFU) probitocs or Florastor. So I am praying it is only h.pylori now.
I have no full blown diarrhea, bowels are loose though. No smell, no fever. Lots of non stop bubbling, gurgling indigestion symptoms . I do have an appetite and actually felt better after dinner tonight. My stomach even settled down after I ate. Would C.diff do that? So confusing. I am being very cautious to eat bland easy to digest foods right now.
I am hopeful my LLMD will know what we are dealing with and order any tests necessary. Until then if things worsen, off to urgent care or ER I will go.
Doing some study I read about a woman - she went undiagnosed 7 months! At this point if I had C.diff it would be months undiagnosed. Then another story where a man died after 4 days of it! Must be mild, moderate or severe infections to go 7 months and live and die in 4 days.
I just don't know how being on abx so long anyone could escape C.diff. But hopefully religiously taking probiotics prevents it....we will see.
Thanks to everyone again and all your wise advice.
bio-terrorism as reported yesterday. They have had
threats they believe are binLadin's. They have a
new drug for it ready for human trials.
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
My experience with c dif: * Only 55 days of prior antibiotic use * Used probiotics while on antibiotics * Loose stools, not outright diarhea to start with * Bubbly bowels, just didn't feel right. No serious cramping. * Some days were better than others...just when I decided that for sure I needed to test for c dif, I would decide that it wasn't that bad and not worry about it. * No foul odor * I went from questionable stools to full blown diarrhea in a matter of hours. Running to bathroom over 15 times in one day. * Decided not to wait the week for the results of my stool sample and went to the ER for testing * They were able to provide the results in about 1 hour. * Started treatment with oral vancomycin immediately. * It took FIVE days to notice an improvement. * During those 5 days, I was non-functioning & dehydrated. It was the sickest I've been in a long time.
My advice: I you even SUSPECT you might have it, just go to the ER and test tested. Serious complications can result if you don't get this treated.
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