Mayo Clinic Website

My latest good news, bad news is that I found a Mayo Clinic website which explains how I could have developed a c-diff infection. Most people get c-diff after being in hospitals (where that bacteria abounds) or after taking a strong antibiotic which kills off their good bacteria. Last summer I took an antiparasitic drug for cryptospordium and and an antifungal drug for candida. I only took the antiparasitic drug 3 days, but took the antifungal for a total of 5 months, but not continuously. The MC site says that prolonged antifungal drug use can also lead to c-diff infections. I'm definitely going to tell my doctor about that. He didn't think I needed high dose probiotics after taking the antifungal drug. I took them anyway.

The bad news is that the MC site said that most studies show that treating c-dff with vancomycin FIRST, often prevents recurrence of c-diff. However standard procedure is 2 rounds of flagyl, then prolonged vanco treatment. I STILL want to go to Maui on October 6. My orthodontist is trying to complete my invisiline work before then. I want to be WELL by October. So I hope 'prolonged' vanco treatment is less than a month. However, we can easily cancel our trip, for medical reasons, without financial loss.

Nevertheless, vanco should be easier to take in capsule form (no bad taste), even though I might get some nausea. I've read really good reports about vanco, as well as some dangerous, irreversible side effects. I just don't know how long to wait after I finish the flagyl to decide whether or not I still have c-diff. That's totally up to me. I hope my doctor finally learned his lesson after doubting me 2 years in a row when I had serious infections, which he disounted as 'stress'. He has been much more supportive lately.

I'm so glad I finally found an explanation about WHY I got c-diff. Understanding WHY these things happen gives me more hope that I can prevent recurrent infections from other bugs, once I eliminate c-diff. Nevertheless, I'm struggling to stay optimistic about eliminating this bacteria, before our planned Maui trip, if ever. So I asked for prayer support during the prayer request portion of my church service tonight.

I know God will use this experience to teach me some kind of lesson and strengthen me, but I have difficulty seeing the 'big picture' while I still suffer both nasty side effects of flagyl and ongoing c-diff symptoms. By the 4th day of my last round of flagyl, the c-diff symptoms had disappeared. I'm starting day 7 (of 10) of this flagyl treatment and still have c-diff symptoms.