Help!

[AmerBamer]

11 weeks ago I was diagnosed with a kidney infection and took a week of Levaquin, then Ceftriaxine IV, then three weeks of Augmentin.  I was fine while on the medicine, but two days after I went off I started having diarrhea and/or loose/soft stools.  This has lasted for 8 weeks now and so far I've not gotten any answers from the doc.  They've put me on probiotics, which I've taken faithfully, to no avail.  I went on a bland diet, that didn't help either.  They tested me for C Diff and parasites, both negative.  Any ideas?

[girlvet]

Hi Amer, would also recommend another C Diff series of tests - as the antibiotics you've been on could have "masked" the results of the first one.  Best to be off the meds 10-14 days to get a more accurate result.  Best of luck to you.

[CalGal]

Was the test for C. diff done in triplicate? If not, make sure you have that done. I'm not sure what probiotics they put you on, but if you're negative for C. diff when you're retested, try to get hold of Culturelle and take it 2x a day. Stay away from dairy products, too.

And you may have to be patient. The stuff you were on and for that period of time could mess up anyone's GI tract.

If you want to go 'hard core' probiotics, start using VSL#3. It's the one that's been used in a number of clinical trials and it's very effective and is used for treatment folling C. diff infections and in those with forms of inflammatory bowel disease. It's expensive, but worth it.