Do I Still Have C-Diff?

About a week after I stopped taking flagyl to treat C-diff bacteria, my old symptoms (cramping abdominal pain, bloating, gas and constipation) slowly returned. I wanted to blame what I ate or overate or didn't eat. I didn't want to think that I still needed to take antibacterial drugs (like flagyl) with horrible side effects. However my cramping pain symptom has increased. So I feel pain after every meal.

So I checked C-diff websites and learned that 20% of patients don't get well after on treatment with flagyl. Some need several treatments. OH JOY! Just what I need ... more nausea. However, there is another but more expensive drug (vancomycin) which is used to treat C-diff. If the flagyl didn't get rid of C-diff, I will opt for vancomycin, which reportedly has fewer side effects.

However, I wonder how I determine for sure whether I still have c-diff. Do I need another $300+ DNA microbial stool test, which very accurately identifiess C-diff by its DNA? Or do I go to a mainstream doc in my HMO and put up with tests (1) for elevated white blood cells, which can indicate almost anything; (2) stool tests for c-diff toxins, which are often inaccurate and produce false negative results; (3) sigmoidoscopy, a painful exam of the colon through a tube with a camera to look for inflamed colon tissue, which could also be caused by other sources besides c-diff. Although those 3 kinds of tests are cheaper and covered by my HMO, as usual, what my HMO offers is very inaccurate.

After 10 years of misdiagnoses for my CD and food allergy symptoms by my HMO doc, I relied on my naturopath to diagnosed and treat my food allergies and other bacterial, fungus and parasitic gut infections. Of course my husband, who works for our HMO, keeps telling me I shouldn't assume that my HMO will use outdated, inaccurate tests. He keeps telling me I should call and ask how they test for C-diff. I'll check their website.

I just read another c-diff support group website which says that some people don't get rid of c-diff despite multiple treatments. The more I read, the more I fear the worst from this dangerous bacteria. I'll end this post here, while I decide what to do next.