C Diff

If you are in a hurry, at least read the last paragraph of this blog

I have not tried a single new recipe in weeks. HH and I have both been eating a rather bland diet, trying to get his digestive tract back in shape from the double antibiotic disaster last March.

I have not been swimming, and have only been tubing once. I still feel like there is a remnant of fluid in my ear, and will probably go back to the doctor to check on infection this week.

We had rocks delivered to replace the mulch in our front yard. I have moved 6 tons of rock in our little wheel barrow, and have two tons to go. That surely qualifies as Type O, intense physical exercise, not to mention post menopausal weight bearing exercise!

I have not seen dear BC, so I don’t have stories about what he is eating. We hope to see him (and his parents) this week.

So, to paraphrase Anne of Green Gables, there has not been much scope for imaginative blogging.

But this week, something health related and interesting happened. After waiting almost a month we got HH in to see a gastroenterologist. We told the whole story from the first week of March until now. When we had made the appointment he was having unexplained relapses. But on a very strict diet, he had been normal for two weeks.

After listening the doctor made two observations and a proposal.

He believes that what happened to HH was that when he finished the two antibiotics, C Diff took over his intestines. Technically that should not have happened, since he started on probiotics as soon as the antibiotics ended, but evidently it did. I am not a C Diff expert, but you can google it. There is a lot of information on the internet.

He asked what kind of probiotics HH was taking. I told him the Blood Type Diet Type A probiotic. He looked at me and said, “I don’t know what you have read, but I will tell you that there have been lots of double blind studies on probiotics. The old acidophilus that used to be popular is worthless. In fact the only (and he emphasized only) probiotics that do well in studies are the bifidus strains.” He recommended Phillips, a brand that contains two bifidus strains. He said that HH needed to be taking two a day, and implied that if he ever went on antibiotics again, to start aggressive probiotics immediately.

I came home and looked at our BTD probiotics. The Type A probiotic contains one of the two bifidus strains. The Type O probiotic does not contain either.

After 12 years on the BTD, I have come to trust Dr D and his research. Going forward I will act on this theory – that for daily colon health the Blood Type specific probiotic probably has advantages, but after antibiotics, we need bifidus. Right now HH is taking a Type A probiotic in the morning and the Philips probiotic in the evening. I wish I knew Dr. D personally and could get his response to this.

The doctor hopes that two weeks of good bowel health indicate that the C Diff has been replaced by good bacteria at last. He encouraged HH to gradually return to a normal diet. If he has another relapse, he will do an examination for C Diff. There are medications that can eradicate the C Diff, but they are expensive.

It is Sunday afternoon, and HH has eaten a couple of new things every day. So far so good. Tonight there is an ice cream social at our church. He thinks he will have a little bit of ice cream at the social, and buy a Subway sandwich for dinner on the way home. So we will see what happens with wheat and dairy.

From the BTD standpoint wheat is neutral and ice cream is avoid. HH is desperate for something that does not taste bland, and we agreed that we might as well find out whether he needs to go for the C Diff test. If he has no ill effects from tonight’s adventure, I will start adding spices back into his food. That will make mealtime more enjoyable for us both.

Reading about someone else’s digestive health may not be interesting. So here are the two take aways for you. 1. If you have to go on antibiotics, be proactive with probiotics – particularly the bifidus strains. 2. If you have digestive problems after antibiotics, read about C Diff, double up on bifidus, and find a doctor who is aware of this issue.