Diarrhea: SIBO, C. diff or ?

GoodRX no help either:

Walgreens

Price with coupon
$2,286.48
MEMBER IDGROUPBINPCN
AE507229RXGWM009893DCAE1
 
Sounds like you are reliving my route to an IBS-D diagnosis. I even had that drug...last year, I think...paid a bit more than usual, but not that much. HOWEVER, some of my c diff meds were “costy.”

And peppermint pills. Lots of stuff. But I think diet was the essential component for me. Since you didn’t ask, here’s some lightweight reading:

About your drug...

https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/About-...research-offers-advances-in-science-care.aspx


And then...you may need to give your gut a rest. It may help. So, some more easy (thus meeting MY needs) reading on various solutions:

http://www.siboinfo.com/uploads/5/4/8/4/5484269/low_fermentation_diet.pdf

https://www.gicare.com/gi-health-resources/low-fiberlow-residue-diet/

https://kelliesfoodtoglow.com/nutrition-and-cancer/help-with-a-low-fibre-diet/



What IBS folks CAN eat:

https://livinghappywithibs.com/2013/05/14/low-fodmap-sample-meals/
 
Nevermind, Medicare excludes you. Pharmaceutical company jerks.


Reread the restrictions on whatever you are reading. Sometimes it looks like they are saying you can’t use discounts if you HAVE Medicare. In rereading, I realized that it said we couldn’t use it WITH Medicare...that is, they could not discount from the Medicare price (that congress won’t let us negotiate.)
 


Okay, so this one is really strict. Sorry.

But sometimes with these—and they change all the time—there is a minimal discount for Medicare types. There is a drug I have been trying...different issue...that is not on the Medicare formulary and costs about $230/mo retail. The manufacturer has “coupons.” If your insurance covers it at all, the mfgr will cover your copay. If your insurance doesn’t cover it, they can mail order it to you...for $80 for a three month supply. I did that twice...six months worth. NOW their website says that the discount is NOT available to anyone enrolled in Medicare. So
I guess I’m done with that drug and maybe now everyone excludes us from all medication discounts. I’m sorry if
I got your hopes up.

Thank you, Congress.
 
Since it's an antibiotic that I'm only going to take for one 14 day course, I think it's not worth it trying to shop around. OTOH, they didn't have a full prescription, so I only received (and paid for) a 5 day supply - maybe I could get the rest of the script from somewhere else - I'll check around tomorrow. Appreciate the input!
 
Update: still pooping many times/day (at least 10, and very urgent when it hits), but mostly firmer. Feeling less nauseous. Xifaxan seems to be doing something.

Going to the theater tonight. Fingers crossed.
 
Update: still pooping many times/day (at least 10, and very urgent when it hits), but mostly firmer. Feeling less nauseous. Xifaxan seems to be doing something.

Going to the theater tonight. Fingers crossed.
Sounds like it’s helping. Good luck tonight.
 
So another update. The diarrhea is slowly resolving (less liquid, a bit less frequent - I'm down to pooping 4-5 times/day), but not quite normal. I've still got another 2-3 days of Xifaxan to go, and I've started back on my vitamins, minerals and probiotics. Eating is a little better.

But I also came down with a horrible case of some kind of respiratory bug - clearly a virus (non-productive cough that sounded and felt like whooping cough or croup) - with mild on and off fever. So just as I was feeling a little better, I started feeling like crap again. And then Charles came down with it about 12 hours after me. We have had The Miseries.

I'm hoping this is all a case of good timing, because we should have gotten this out of our system by the time we leave for 2.5 months in our RV, mostly in CA - we leave on May 14th. We're leaving with our RV club for a 10 day trip first, stopping in Palm Springs, Buellton and then Paso Robles. Some of them will continue up the coast to Oregon and beyond - we will stop at our favorite hangout just south of Gilroy, near my daughter and son-in-law, and my son and Charles' daughter in San Jose. It's already starting to get warm here in Goodyear - I'm hoping to miss most of the summer months, although we will need to be back in August for various medical appointments. Assuming we're still doing well, we may head out again before our next meetup with the RV club in Durango (part of the return to AZ trip) on September 18th, which then goes to Monument Valley.

In any case, we have our Medicare insurance supplement which is portable, so if we get sick, we can go to doctors in CA - either close by in Gilroy, or (preferably) we could drive 60 miles to Palo Alto and see our old doctors - we're still signed up with them.

Except for when we were living in the old RV while our house sold this will be our longest RV trip, and the longest in our new RV. I'm going to make sure to take some trips to the beach while we're here - I miss it very very much.
 
But I also came down with a horrible case of some kind of respiratory bug - clearly a virus (non-productive cough that sounded and felt like whooping cough or croup) - with mild on and off fever. So just as I was feeling a little better, I started feeling like crap again. And then Charles came down with it about 12 hours after me.

so sorry to hear it - I hope you are both back to healthy for your trip.
 

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