Positive for C Diff

[JenniferG]

Partial stool report came back positive for C Diff. What do we do now? I know it must be treated. Could that be causing the flare?

 

Anyone with positive C Diff?

[mdmom]

You can treat with Saccharomyces Boulardi, a beneficial yeast. We use New Beginnnings Nutritionals Sacc. Boul.

[philamom]

Your child should be treated with Flagyl or Vanomycin. They usually prescribe Flagyl first, and if that doesn't work move onto Vanomycin. You should increase probiotics, one of them being saccharomyces boulardi. My daughter had c-diff in the past. We give her daily Florastor, Culturelle, Integrtative Pearls, Klaire Ther-biotic detox, and at times, Custom Probiotics. About 250+billion cfu's probiotics daily. Increase probiotics slowly to avoid gas/bloating.

[JenniferG]

Your child should be treated with Flagyl or Vanomycin. They usually prescribe Flagyl first, and if that doesn't work move onto Vanomycin. You should increase probiotics, one of them being saccharomyces boulardi. My daughter had c-diff in the past. We give her daily Florastor, Culturelle, Integrtative Pearls, Klaire Ther-biotic detox, and at times, Custom Probiotics. About 250+billion cfu's probiotics daily. Increase probiotics slowly to avoid gas/bloating.

250 billion? Wow. I am way off. I give my kids 1-15 billion a day. no wonder she got C Diff!

[JenniferG]

So for a very long time I have had GI issues. Had my gall bladder out 2 years ago. Can't eat anything without running to the bathroom (sorry to be so graphic).....I wonder if I should be tested too then????

[mdmom]

Probiotics changed our lives after having constipation, diarrhea chronically for years.

 

Even with all of the antibiotics, antivirals and antifungals we all take each day, our guts are in good health.

 

We all take 450 billion cells of probiotics/day.

 

We use VSL#3 powder.

 

I know a lot of folks on here follow Dr. T's advice to stay away from strep thermophilus, but we do not see any flares with this strain. It's in VSL#3.

 

JenniferG - you may want to try probiotics to see if they help you. Work up slowly to a full dose.

[LNN]

Don't beat yourself up. My kids take 15 Billion and do just fine. So don't feel like you were way off the mark. Everyone's "right dose" is different.

 

Probiotics will be necessary while you're treating but I don't believe you can beat C Diff with probiotics alone. Also, if you end up using an anti-fungal like nystatin or diflucan, it will kill the Sacc Boullardis as well as C Diff. You want to use a variety of strains to replace what's being killed by the abx and anti-fungals.

 

Like mdmom, we do not have an issue with S Thermopolis. My son does, however, react to Sacc B. So there's no universal answer. You just need to try something and if you don't see improvement, try something else. Just be aware that something you try could end up not working. Can't tell you how many months I blames other things until I realized by elimination we had a problem with Sacc B. Makes no sense. But everyone's gut is different.

[sf_mom]

I had C-dif twice last year and both times when starting Tindamax. It was thought by one of our Dr.'s the C-dif was bound up in biofilms as tindamax treats biofilms. He is an LLMD and has seen correlation between C-dif and the introduction of tindamax many times.

 

We too use higher doses of probiotics (even higher than 450 billion CFUs) with strep thermophilus in it and never had a problem. We regularly do comprehensive stool analysis via Metametrix to track 'good' bacteria in gut and all the other stuff results provide. Over the last two years, even though our children have been on two or three antibiotics at any given time their 'good' bacteria continues to improve. The 'good' streptomyces sp and mcyoplasma sp in gut is now well established.

 

With your stomach and gall bladder issues I would be checking for parasites via Metmetrix Comprehensive Stool Analysis and Lyme plus co-infections via Igenex or similar TBI specialty lab. In the comprehensive stool analysis they check for C-dif, H-pylori and others. Plus you'll have an understanding the status of good bacteria, inflammation, absorption issues (enzymes), etc. It very common to have GI issues with both parasites/Lyme and might help determine how DD is impacted as well.

 

I am attaching a link to Metametrix and their sample report so you can understand what they look for in their test. You have to request kit and have Dr. sign off on it and they return results to Dr.

 

http://www.metametrix.com/files/test-menu/sample-reports/GI-Effects-GI-Function-SR.pdf

[tpotter]

Your child should be treated with Flagyl or Vanomycin. They usually prescribe Flagyl first, and if that doesn't work move onto Vanomycin. You should increase probiotics, one of them being saccharomyces boulardi. My daughter had c-diff in the past. We give her daily Florastor, Culturelle, Integrtative Pearls, Klaire Ther-biotic detox, and at times, Custom Probiotics. About 250+billion cfu's probiotics daily. Increase probiotics slowly to avoid gas/bloating.

 

 

And, your child needs to be off all other abx while being treated for c-diff. My son went through this several times, and now he takes no oral abx. When he has needed it, he gets an injection. We did all the probiotics from day 1, and he still got c-diff repeatedly. Stay on top of this. It can destroy the stomach, and is very important to take care of. And, yes, it could definitely cause the flare.

[Stephanie2]

My boys have a history of c. diff (from too many abx). We used to use vancomycin (must be oral, not IV) or flagyl, but be careful: if you are going to go chasing gut bugs, have lots of probiotics on board (twice a day) and you may even see the need for diflucan or an herbal yeast fighter if you see yeast start to flare from the abx. And just FYI, we switched over to homeopathy 18 months ago and we had clostridia flare once since then and it was taken care of by a remedy called Clostridia Difficile nosode. My son only needed two doses. But this approach should be overseen by a homeopath.

[norcalmom]

There is an old thread that references an article on the differnt things that help with gut issues - and saccharomyces boulardi - mentioned above is in it. I now look for this ingredient in probiotics we use, because it is helpful with common gut issues that arise when on antibiotics - like C-diff.

 

I don't know if it is strong enough to treat actual infection, but you could research that.