This is Poppy's husband David, updating you all on Poppy's hospitalisation situation!

Good afternoon everyone,

I have been to visit Kay each day, since she was admitted for tests, and late last night after the results of a stool sample test, and just before her GI was going to perform a partial endoscopy of the bowel area and lower colon, she called me at home to inform me that they had discovered she had C-difficile, which she didn't have two weeks o when they checked her for it, prior to putting her on a course of prednisone, so it appears that the prednisone has reacted negatively in some way with her UC during this period.

To try and treat this, her GI suggested a course of antibiotics and gave her 'Flagyl' which unfortunately made matters worse, and she was running to the toilet all during the night, and still had the 'trots' today when I visited her again this morning a the hospital! After just a very short time of taking the antibiotic, she experiences increased bowel movements, stomach pains, and very severe wind. We looked up the antibiotic 'Flagyl' and found that her symptoms were very common amongst users of this particular antibiotic, and so it would appear that this is not always a good course of treatment for everyone.

a couple of questions:

1) Has anybody here ever had a similar experience with 'Flagyl' and if so what course of action did you take, and did it lead to a positive outcome?

2) Can anyone recommend a suitable antibiotic, that they have used in the past which has less or none of these side-effects?

Thank you friends, for all your kind support with this matter, both Kay and I really appreciate it.

I will provide you with further update on Poppy's condition in due course.

All the very best,
David (on behalf of 'Poppy')

Thank you very much 'blksteeda' I will let 'Poppy' know.....appreciate it.
David.

Sorry to hear poppie is still unwell. I reacted poorly to flagyl. I was only on it for ten days and things got so much worse. At my doctors recommendations I stayed on it despite my misery... And it took quite some time after before things started to turn around. Sorry I don't have any suggestions, just thought I'd let you know things did get better once the antibiotics were done.

Vanco is much more effective than Flagyl. My GI always uses Vanco for IBD patients, we just react better to it. The problem is that is it really expensive.

If Poppie can tolerate probiotics then S Boulardii specifically targets C Diff bacteria and has been shown to inhibit reinfection which can be common in C Diff.

Actually S Boulardii isn't a bacteria at all but a probiotic yeast so it is immune from antibiotics. So if Flagyl or vanco kill the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria including C Diff, then the S. Boulardii will still be around to prevent the bad guys from returning.

The question is whether she can tolerate it since many are sensitive to different strains of probiotics.

iai.asm.org/content/67/1/302.full
Saccharomyces boulardii Protease Inhibits the Effects of Clostridium difficile Toxins A and B in Human Colonic Mucosa

Post Edited (IamCurious) : 7/13/2016 4:10:17 PM (GMT-6)

I can't believe she was tested negative just prior to a course of Pred and then became full blown after Pred. Makes me wonder about the accuracy of stool samples. Did you know your stool sample has to be refrigerated if at room temp for more than an hour?

Regardless, I'm so sorry she has to endure a course of anti-Bs and agree with Iamcurious, at least it's worth a trial?

Huge hug to Poppie from me please! Hope she feels better soon once a treatment starts to kick butt!

Thanks for the update,
q

So sorry to read that Poppie has C-diff, but thank you for updating us while she's in hospital. I think she mentioned something in the past about problems tolerating dairy foods so it might be that she can't eat yogurt, which is good for repopulating the gut with helpful bacteria after one has been on Rx antibiotics. Flagyl can be almost as hard on the body as the ailments it's supposed to cure; I had to take it yrs back for an amebic infection and felt like I was being poisoned by insecticide during the 10 days on it. Advise Poppie to keep drinking water every hour that she's awake because Flagyl can produce an unpleasant metallic taste in the mouth. Wishing you both quick relief for her health problems ... / Old Hat (35 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

So sorry she's having such a tough time :( I had c diff and had to go through a course of flagyl before insurance would approve vancomycin- once I got on that, it cleared up quickly. It's a tough little bugger to treat. I'm glad she's in he hospital so they can keep an eye on her and her hydration and stuff. Hope she feels better soon.