Oral Vancomycin Lowered PSC Patient’s MELD Score and Increased Quality of Life

Trigger warning: thoughts of suicide. This post includes sensitive topics and some which may be triggering for readers. If you need support, someone to talk to, or are currently in distress, here are some helpful resources for you: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or you can text “NAMI” to 741-741 to talk with a trained crisis counselor.

Duane has been taking oral vancomycin since March 2021, and he has already seen a significant decrease in his MELD score and an increase in his mental health and quality of life. Duane—who also lives with inflammatory bowel disease—began vancomycin therapy in stage four liver disease (cirrhosis) in his early forties, taking four 125 mg pills per day. He gets his prescription from his doctor at the Cleveland Clinic.

Keep reading below to learn how vancomycin has dramatically improved Duane’s quality of life.

Patient Story: Submitted by Duane Books

Vancomycin has definitely improved the quality of my life dramatically and has significantly lowered my MELD score. Before I started taking vancomycin, I was on the verge of suicide as I could no longer see the point of living when the quality of my life was so bad.

My doctor decided to submit me for testing for a potential liver transplant. He also had me try vancomycin to see if it would improve the quality of my life—and it did! It didn’t take long for it to do so. I’m so glad he had me try vancomycin; I only wish more doctors would do the same.

To be honest, I no longer want a transplant with how good the quality of my life has been since I started taking vancomycin. Unfortunately, my bile duct valve is so bad that the doctors at Cleveland Clinic are no longer able to place a stent in to open it up. My last ERCP was unsuccessful in trying to insert a stent.

I know that PSC is a chronic disease that can worsen over time, but in the meantime, I strongly believe that vancomycin should be used to help treat the disease.