Can anyone give advice on struggling with C-Dif?

My sister has been fighting a C-dif infection for nearly six months now. She's been on all recommended anti-biotics and they have made her so sick that it's not possible for her to take them. At one point she got some sort of odd "roving" form of the infection that hit her joints one at a time, leaving her unable to walk on her own. VERY FRIGHTENING!





She's seeing a specialist who has told her if she still has it in a year, he will do something drastic. But at only 108 pounds, with continual diarrhea and unable to eat normally (or often, at all) I think it needs to be taken care of before then. She's really frustrated, since her quality of life has taken a dive...no trips, no fun, no NOTHING because visits to the bathroom and pain from this illness have taken over. Help! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Can anyone give advice on struggling with C-Dif?
First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your sister - what a horrible thing to have to deal with diarrhea all the time. Now - to answer your question.





I assume your sister has a diagnosed Clostridium difficile infection - which is basically an overgrowth of C.difficile (a type of bacteria) in her colon. The toxin produced by the bacteria is what causes the diarrhea/pain/cramping that people feel with the infection. She would have had symptoms shortly after starting or stopping an earlier antibiotic, with fever, and an elevated white blood cell count.





Are you sure she actually has C.diff? Although there are rare cases when people get it spontaneously, it is most often caused by taking an antibiotic that kills off the good bacteria in your colon, allowing the C.diff (bad bacteria) to over grow. She should have had her stool sent for culture, and tested for the toxin produced by the bacteria.





Hopefully, if she does indeed have C.diff - she was treated with a course of oral vancomycin or metronidazole? Why wasn't she able to tolerate them? They are considered first line therapy, and every effort should be made to take a full course.





If her symptoms went away on antibiotics, but then come back after stopping the antibiotic - that's considered a relapse, and requries a much longer course of antibiotics (sometimes called pulse dosing or tapered dosing).





Also, if symptoms persist, some people use resin binders - medications that will bind up the toxin (which causes all the problems) and help "flush" it out of her system. I think the medicine cholestyramine has been the most effective.





Lastly, she might try to repopulate her bowel with good bacteria. This would require a rectal infusion with a variety of bacteria that are usually found in the gut - obviously, she would need to talk with her doctor about that.





Some patients with C.diff get what's called "reactive arthritis" which can be migrating joint pains which are an inflammatory reaction to the infection.





Okay, so to sum it up - I'd first make sure she actually has C.diff - maybe she needs to have her stool retested, or to get a colonoscopy with a biopsy of her bowel wall. Then if it really is C.diff (and not irritable bowel, or ulcerative colitis, or Crohn's, or celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, laxative use, etc, etc) then I'd make it a priority to get and keep those antibiotics down (make sure you take them by mouth - its the BEST way to get them into the bowel)! Lastly, I'd try the other methods of resin binders, or maybe repopulation with normal bowel flora. Regardless, if her symptoms are indeed severe, it sounds like she might not be able to wait a year for more definitive treatment. Good luck, and I hope this helps!
Reply:Was she ever hospitalized with intravenous antibiotics? That is really the only way to get rid of an active infection.





Left untreated for long enough, C dif can set of a transient auto-immune like syndrome, called Reiter's syndrome. Usually that syndrome is caused by other bugs, but it is possible for C dif to do it. The constellation of symptoms is usually: arthritis like pains, conjunctivitis (like pink eye) and sterile urethritis.





Now by the word "transient" I don't mean for a couple of weeks, I mean like a couple of years or even a couple of decades, but most eventually get better.





She needs to get with a good gastro-enterologist to finally get the diarrhea cleared up, then needs to be followed by a rheumatologist for the other.





Best wishes on this.
Reply:Something is wrong with this Q, C-dif is treated very aggressively.
Reply:actually they(Chiropractors) are doctors. anyone who goes for 4 years to a spectly school is a doctor. and alof of what they beliebe isnt bull, its alternative medicine which doesnt have suide effects. and where did your info come from about peple leaving on stretchers? ive never heard of that, and since i am going to one now, ive neveer felt hurt as well. you should try it. it feels good. and what about the medical mistakes that happen yearly? what about side effects perscripbed by medical doctors? what about people who are hooked on morphene and the bad docs that done stop them? There are good and bad people and u have that in every field. also more than 74% of acidents in the medical field are from doctors mistakes. There is a high fatality rate due to inscision errors on the doctors behalf and inaccuracy, though there are many good surgeons out there. That was from a documentary I was watching from some science lab.U raise a good point ansd I appreciate your post, I just couldnt reach you by email. sorry for this on here :). good luck, though.
Reply:Hi..


"Clostridium difficile infectious diarrhea" occurs secondary to a toxin produced by this bacterium... Acquisition of C. difficile occurs most frequently in elderly persons in hospitals or nursing homes, potentially due to environmental contamination with C. difficile and carriage of the spores on the hands of hospital personnel.... Patients often develop diarrhea after antibiotic therapy.... Most antibiotics have been implicated in the development of C. difficile infection... Other risk factors include: recent surgery, intensive care, nasogastric intubation and length of hospital stay... The typical clinical picture in C. difficile infection is nonbloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever... In severely ill patients low blood pressure, dilated colon (toxic megacolon) and colon perforation can occur...


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


Treatment includes, discontinuing the offending drug if possible and oral antibiotics such as "metronidazole" or "vancomycin".....hope you find this information helpful....


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


Once one has had a course of treatment with a drug, they need to be retested to see if the c diff is GONE or not! If one is still positive after a course of treatment, it was obviously NOT enough for that person... Infectious disease doctor..


needs to re-evaluate... Even though c diff causes awful diarrhea most of the time, just not having diarrhea does NOT mean it's gone... And that's a mistake made by many, not good... You can still have c diff and stop having diarrhea during or after treatment...


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


Another point, obviously when someone is having a tremendous amount of diarrhea.. the natural instinct is to give them something to STOP it... NO! You can't do that... If you stop it, you take away the only way the body has to get rid of it. Just ask an infectious disease doctor with any sense...


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


The body loses a tremendous amount of fluid,


when someone is having this much diarrhea.... And someone needs to be "paying attention", to how much is being lost, like by weights.... So they realize how much needs to be replaced... If you get too "dry" from losing all this fluid, and it's not being replaced, that can lead to problems with your kidneys, amongst other things....


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


The test for this is a stool sample, specifically ordered to be tested for c diff... It can also be tested for c diff and leukocytes... The leukocytes can be reported immediately, (they just look at a staining through a microscope) and many docs will start treatment based on that while waiting on the final c diff results...


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


I can only say :The Dyflucan/Diflucan is what they use for yeast infections, usually you take l 300mg pill on first day, then three days later you take another 300mg pill...


This "might" help;) ...


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


Dont give up..go to the best doctors..and regular follow ups..


I wish you both a lot of courage!!!! ..


I mean that!


%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;.%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;


Call : 1-800-653-6568, our Referring Physicians Office and make an appointment to see Dr. Muszkat, one of the experts in Gastroenterology....








My regards! .. and never give up hope!! x