Re: Jeff - C.Difficile

[Guest guest]

Jeff,

I have not personally had C. Difficile. However, my mother, who will soon be 80 years old, has been battling a very severe case since April 1. She had surgery on March 18 to remove her sigmoid colon and subsequently developed pneumonia. She was in the hospital post surgery for 8 days, being treated with various antibiotics and was discharged with a prescription for Levaquin for 6 more days at home. She did not develop the C. Difficile infection until she was home for 6 days. Once she was diagnosed with C. Diff, she was put on Flagyl for 14 days. By the 13th day of being on Flagyl, her diarrhea had accelerated to more than 20 times a day and the cramping was unreal. I took her to the emergency room where they hydrated her and put her on Vancomycin. Within 3 days the diarrhea had subsided and she was feeling much better.

However, she is now on her 6th treatment of Vancomycin because each time she finishes the medicine, within 6 days the infection starts all over again. This bacteria is very difficult to get rid of because it produces spores that lay dormant while on antibiotic therapy, but once the antibiotic clears the system, the spores develop into active bacteria again. It's a vicious cycle and I hold my breath and pray each time Mom finishes her prescription.

If you are lucky, just stopping the Rifampin will eliminate the infection. If not, it may be a very long struggle to get rid of it. I have read on one of their support groups that some of them have been trying to get rid of it for over 8 years. Their's may be extreme cases, but I know it has been hard on my mom, especially at her age. She also suffers from dementia and doesn't fully understand just exactly what is happening. She thinks we are being ridiculous for insisting on her taking this extremely expensive medication for so long.

This is a contagious infection and for awhile I was afraid that I had gotten it from her even though I had not been on antibiotics. There are documented cases of non-antibiotic C. Diff. especially in people whose bowel is already comprimised by such things as UC. Since I had been her care giver and I was the one cleaning up after her, when I developed severe diarrhea, I was certain I had it. But after having a negative stool sample, checking for a number of possibilities, the doctor surmised that I was more than likely having a flare of UC brought on by all the stress I have been under.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Carol