“How long does C Diff last?”

I’ve been asked this question many times and can relate.  Most colds and flu’s go away on their own in 2-3 weeks.  So, the first time you get C Diff your thought is, ok how long is this going to last?  Then, there are others who have been dealing with C Diff for months or longer…how much longer will their C Diff last?

Most People Will Have it Easy

The answer is tricky and not fun.  Typically you go on antibiotics after you are diagnosed.  The antibiotics (metronidazole, vancomycin, or whatever your physician prescribes) will last usually 10-14 days .  At this point, you’ll find that 80-85% of patients will be fine.  So, for most people it’ll appear to only last a week or two.  I say “appear” because there is an unknown number of people who will harbor C Diff in their colon or small intestine after that with NO SYMPTOMS.  So, is it over for them?   I was one of those people and a year later when I took amoxicillin for a cold (dumb idea) the symptoms of C Diff came back in full force and I tested positive again!

Some Will Take A Little Longer

So, for the 15-20% who relapse you go on antibiotics for 10-14 days again, or you may find physicians using the tapering method.  This is where your physician might ask you to go on antibiotics for a week or so, and slowly taper down the strength or amount of antibiotics over a month or so.  You may also be asked to try a pulsing method which is similar except you might take antibiotics every other day while tapering down to lower levels of antibiotics.   So, these methods will vary in time, so let’s assume it takes another 30 days.   Now we’re up to what, 45 days?

A Few Will Have a Long Battle

Well, you may stop the symptoms there, or you may be one of the 65% of patients who relapse AGAIN.  Yup, 65% of patients who relapse once are likely to relapse multiple times[1].  So, people who make it to this point just don’t know when it will be over.  I was one and it isn’t fun.  But, you cannot give up!

So, there we have it.  It’s not a very clear answer, but most people will be without symptoms in a few weeks.  At the other end of the spectrum, you may dealing with this a while.  But, you cannot give up on pursuing treatment.  C Diff is deadly serious, but the vast majority of people will find a good end to C Diff.   (check out the “what works” page)

No One Cares About Your Health More Than You Do

I believe that no one cares more about your health than you do.  YOU need to persist in finding your cure until you get it.  Keep going back to physicians and going to new ones.  Question them, and don’t give up.

I am not a physician and you shouldn’t use this as advice of any kind.  Seek your own qualified physician’s advice for curing C Diff.

[1] http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/186458-followup

No Evidence (yet) that Activia cures C Diff

Now, with that said, I looked at Danon’s site and found that the “active” ingredient in Activia is “Bifidobacterium animalis lactis”.  So far, I’ve found no evidence or studies that show that Activia is effective in combatting C Diff.  I wouldn’t say that it is useless to eat Activia as it appears to have other intestinal benefits, but I just haven’t personally found evidence that it combats C Diff.

DanActive On The Other Hand

However, I did find one study that suggests that DanActive may be associated with a lower rates of getting C Diff in the first place. [1] This study showed that drinking Danon’s mixture of Lactobacillus casei, L bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus may reduce the likelihood of getting C Diff.  The study sites 0% of the DanActive drinkers came down with C Diff versus 17% of the non-DanActive drinkers.

[1] http://www.danactive.com/8044-Lactobacillus%20Casei%20Clin%20study_a.pdf
Use of probiotic Lactobacillus preparation to prevent diarrhoea associated with antibiotics:
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
M. Hickson, AL. D’Souza, N. Muthu, TR. Rogers, S. Want, C. Rajkumar and CJ. Bulpitt
British Medical Journal, July 2007; bmj.com

Cure Rates Similar

If you ask me, the cure rates were similar (88% versus 86%), but this is still fantastic news.  Currently, there are two antibiotics being widely used to treat C Diff: Vancomycin/Vancocin and Metronidazole/Flagyl.  If the FDA approves Opt-80/PAR-101, there will be three that are widely used.  With the increase in antibiotic resistant strains of C Diff being found this is could be huge.  Think about the person who is battling C Diff right now and getting no response from either vancomycin or metronidazole.  Now, they’ll have another chance with a new antibiotic that is being shown to be an effective cure for C Diff.

Relapses Reduced

Even better news is that the study is showing that the relapse rates associated with Opt-80 are much lower than those associated with vancomycin (15% versus 25%).  I, like so many of you who have emailed me, had great results with the existing antibiotics.  However, it seemed that everytime I tapered off of the antibiotic, I would very quickly get the whole cycle started again with a new bout of C Diff.  Here again, with Opt-80, I see great promise in having another antibiotic option that may prevent relapses for some people.

[1] http://www.thestreet.com/story/10447183/2/optimer-soars-on-antibiotic-data.html

According to BD Worldwide’s website, “Lactinex products are a blend of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus (bulgaricus).” [1] Although Lactobacillus acidophilus and helveticus are generally considered beneficial, no where on the companies website did I find a claim that it is intended as a treatment for C Diff.

I’m still searching for any clinical evidence that Lactobacillus acidophilus or helveticus are effective in curing or preventing C Diff as well.

OPT-80, a promising new drug being tested for C Diff

According to PipelineReview.com and Optimer Pharmaceuticals, there may be a new drug coming out that  “may eradicate C. difficile selectively,” [1] which could be a huge breakthrough in the treatment of Clostridium Difficile infections.

This drug is fantastic news for people suffering from multiple relapses.

The makers of the new drug say: “We believe that OPT-80 offers advantages over current treatments due to its demonstrated activity against C. difficile, low rates of recurrence, evidence of low C. difficile resistance, minimal systemic exposure, limited disruption of normally occurring gastrointestinal bacteria and convenient dosing regimen.” [2]

OPT-80 “targets” C Diff
According to Optimer Pharmaceuticals this drug may work against some gram positive bacteria, but not against gram negative bacteria. The idea is that if it only works against some gram positive bacteria then surely there will be many other good bacterias left behind still when you finish a round of this drug someday.

The exciting part of having good bacteria left over after you finish your antibiotics is that researchers believe that the good bacteria can “win out” and outgrow C Diff. So, you have a good environment in your gut, rather than a world ruled by the toxin-producing C Diff.

So, in theory it looks very promising. It is still not approved by the FDA for prescription against C Diff, but possibly after more phase II and III trials are completed it will be.

What works

For a brief list of what worked for me see What Works.

Why relapses occur with C Diff
A likely cause of relapses is that the antibiotic (metronidazole or vancomycin) used to kill the C Diff infection also kills off all of the beneficial or normal bacteria in the GI tract. After 10 days or so, pretty much all bacteria is dead, leaving quite a vacuum to fill after antibiotics are finished.

C Diff creates spores to reproduce. These spores can last a very long time in many environments. So, although the antibiotic kills most or all of the active bacteria, it doesn’t necessarily kill all of the spores. Time goes by while you think things are good for a few days and the spores are amazingly ready to “grow up” into active bacteria again. Now, you are back where you started and it’s time to start antibiotics again.

Article Here

So, if this is true and it also helps prevent the spread of MRSA, then what are we waiting for? Let’s up the ante in our hospitals with copper door handles, tools, and commonly used surfaces! Hmmm, think we should start using copper plated toilets?

I survived a over a year of struggling with C Diff.  Multiple treatments from physicians alone failed.  I had to be sick with fever during the birth of our first child with no treatment available and the worry that I would be one of the 3%.

Do you own research and find products that appear to work, according to clinical studies, that physicians all but ignore.  Well using two products in ways I’ll describe I was able to put C Diff out of my daily life!

Lactobacillus GG and Florastor.

Timing relative to Vancomycin or Metronidazole doses and pulsing.

This is a huge problem in the world and look at these stats… X% die from it, X% of hospitals have it everyday, X% of inpatients get it (good luck).

And it’s getting worse, X% of outpatients not on abx get it, and X% of people have variants that have become resistant to all possible abx!

First, get well.

Then, join a cause for keeping hospitals and physicians responsible for staying clean.