Re: anyone had c diff - HelpForIBS.com Message Boards

I have IBS-D and had rectal surgery on 6/22. I recovered from the surgery with my new friend "Wilson the C-Diff Colon". I'm trying to be funy here... So, We've been making some progress together finally these last two weeks together- but here is the info you are looking for on "C-Diff".

C - difficile is a bacteria in your intestines. It is found normally in healthy and ill people alike. There are millions, perhaps billions of different types of bacteria in your body. Bacteria are an important part of your health. They help break down and digest food. They also ward off many "bad" or foreign bacteria that you may come in contact with.

Your body has lots of "good" and necessary bacteria. It also has some "bad" or dangerous bacteria. Clostridium difficile is a "bad" bacteria. Fortunately, when you are healthy and not taking antibiotics, the millions of good bacteria in your system keep the c - diff under control and in smaller numbers. However, when you take an antibiotic, the levels of good bacteria are reduced down to a smaller number. If your c-diff is strong and doesn't get killed by the antibiotic along with the good bacteria, then it is possible that the c-diff will overpopulate inside your intestine or colon. When this happens, you may get the illness called clostridium difficile colitis.
Keep in mind that this illness is usually treatable with a couple of special antibiotics and for most people it goes away after a couple weeks or as prescribed by your doctor. For the other approximately 20% of the patients who are not cured, the common first-line and least expensive drug used is Flagyl (metronidazole). If Flagyl is ineffective then Vancocin (vancomycin) is commonly prescribed. The Vancocin is very expensive (about $4.80 per pill!!). As of right now, the vancomycin is the last-resort and there are no other main line and clinically proven and accepted (by USDA) defenses against c-diff.

C-difficile produces spores when attacked by antibiotics. The spores can live in the open air or in dirt for up to two years. Normal disinfectants have been shown ineffective against the spores. This means that even if you kill the C-dif bacteria, spores can still be present. When the leftover spores detect an attack from conventional antibiotics, it unmasks the spores and causes them to start producing the C-dif bacteria all over again. This is why you can get rid of the symptoms while on the medicine and it can come right back later.

Those of us who have not been cured by the normal treatment by our doctor call this illness a disease because there is not a solid cure for everyone. So you see - this can be a disease for some people if it won't go away. There is no guarantee if a patient will get rid of it and it may affect them or be susceptible for the rest of their lives. It recurs in many people who get off the medicine.

I just posted some info about probiotics- take a peek and ask your Dr. http://www.helpforibs.com/messageboards/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=IBD&Number=313630&page=0&view=expanded&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Stay on the IBS Diet...and stay tough.

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IBS-D, with Coloitis from surgery

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Crohn's Disease & Colitis

Crohn's Disease & Colitis