u/Numerous_Drag5651

Hi,

I finished Vowst two days ago and know that it takes a while to settle down. Today I have had nine urgent bms that started out formed, but yellow and thin before changing to colonoscopy prep type liquid movements.(sorry for TMI) I just wanted to hear others’ experiences for how long it was until you felt comfortable leaving the house without bathroom emergencies. I need to work next week and have times where I cannot easily access a bathroom. Obviously going nine times with urgency is an issue and I am very worried about it. I also hear a lot of grumbling and have cramping until every last bit of stool is out, which I recognize is possibly normal. The cramping has been so bad - any advice?

Terrified it isn’t leaving- please help!

Hi,

I have been on Dificid for twenty days with only a few days off of it and concurrent vanco for the last 15 days (10 overlapping with Dificid) that I am still taking. My abdominal cramping has not eased and actually is getting worse. My stools were originally full of yellow blotches and are now very very dark brown (not black) and I had two bouts of clear mucous today with no stool. I had no mucous prior and that with the cramping were my initial symptoms each time infection started, but I have been on treatment still.

1. Has anyone gotten worsening cramping, mucous, and darker stools with persistent smell on vancomycin and had the treatment succeed? What did you experience during vanco?

2. I am supposed to do Vowst this week and am afraid it will not work with my symptoms actively worsening- any experiences with still being symptomatic and taking vowst?

I really do appreciate anybody who is willing to share their experiences!

On Dificid and vancomycin for a third relapse with C.Diff. 15 days in on Dificid and 5 days in on vanco. Today, I had bowel movements similar to before treating the relapse, with some mucous only movements and some diarrhea, and am feeling hopeless since it is happening while on the tail end of antibiotics. The strong stool smell has also not dissipated. Has anyone else had frequent diarrhea pick up while towards the tail end of the antibiotics? Is the c.diff persisting, or the antibiotics causing side effects late in the game? I originally thought I was maybe getting better. This has been terrifying and mentally challenging to say the least.

I am looking for some reassurance after a physically and mentally challenging experience with C.Diff. I had two rounds of Dificid and just found out that I relapsed again from a stool test. I am going to be put on a third course of Dificid for ten days followed by VOWST and had a few things that I was nervous about:

1. The prep - I have had problems with colon prep containing Magnesium Citrate before and am really nervous about the prep for VOWST. Was it as bad as colonoscopy prep? Please share any experiences with this that you had. I want to know what I am in for.

2. Did VOWST help you, or make symptoms worse? How long did it take to have normal bowel movements?

I am nervous also because I have a job with limited bathroom access. While my BMs are frequent now with bad abdominal pain and bloating, they are not diarrhea and as difficult as it is to imagine, I fear the possibility of getting even worse after treatment if it doesn’t take. I appreciate anything you can share to ease my mind or inform me!

I am desperately seeking people who may have had similar experiences or may offer advice.

I have an almost ten year history of Hydrogen SIBO. Last August, I did a stool test and had positive PCR results for c.diff, but no toxins or toxigenic results were positive. In February, I took doxycycline for the SIBO and continued to feel worse to a point that I scheduled a colonoscopy. I got so sick from the prep that the test was never performed and I ended up in the ER. I continued to get worse.

From April through the first week of June, I had incessant trips to the bathroom with long, thin, yellow stool each time, sometimes ten times a day. I also have no actual fever, but felt feverish. I asked for a new stool test, which was positive for toxigenic c.diff and toxin negative. I took ten days of Dificid and saw a lot of improvement in stool consistency but not bloating or cramping. After three days off the Dificid, stools worsened again and I went to the ER, where an abdominal CT came back normal and blood work looked good. A few days later, I found out the stool test they did came back positive for Yersinia infection and negative for C.Diff as a PCR. I did a seven day course of Bactrim alongside Dificid to treat the Yersinia and prevent C. Diff relapse. Again, I got better stool consistency while on the antibiotics until the last few days on the Dificid when they once again worsened.

A week ago, I still had yellow stool and had worse cramping and diarrhea than most of the time I had the infections, similar to the infections at their peak. I started a bile acid sequestrant that helped for about a week and my stool color and consistency looked normal, bloating reduced and cramping was still not great, but was manageable. Now, I once again had about ten bowel movements yesterday, all yellow, long, mostly thin, urgent, but loosely formed (not liquid) with really bad cramping and pain in my abdomen around my colon. I also have tenesmus, nausea, immense bloating/belching and still feel feverish with no actual fever, which never went away these past months of treatment. I almost went to the hospital again, but didn’t think the outcome would be any more productive than the last two times since the symptoms are the same.

This is at a point where I am not sure if there is something I’m missing, if this is likely a relapse, or if PI-IBS is really just this bad and if so, what else I can be doing about that? I take the bile acid sequestrant with breakfast and dinner, and Florastor with lunch. I tried IBGard with no measurable difference. This is destroying my quality of life, my mentality, ruining my sleep due to discomfort, and overall a scary experience. I feel like the world doesn’t stop when you are sick and it has just been impossible to function to a point where I dread every day and night of this.

Any similar experiences or things that worked for you that you may be willing to share would be greatly appreciated and would help this feel less isolating.