Wellness

[Anita Hug]

I've dealt with this. It took a long time to recover, and I still take two different probiotics (multi strain bacteria and a yeast) daily to help keep my "good" bacteria.  I certainly do not want the c-diff to take control again!

A probiotic containing a yeast called Saccharomyces Boulardii (Florastor is one)  is likely the most effective probiotic to use in conjunction with the specific antibiotics.  Since it is a yeast, it can be taken with antibiotics and it wont be killed off. I took high doses of Florastor while I was on antibiotics, and then added a multi strain one after I stopped taking the antibiotics. 

The probiotics might be expensive and not covered by insurance, but I'd talk to the doctors about this and see if your family can provide this for him if the nursing home wont. If he's been on a lot of antibiotics lately, his good flora is probably wiped out. 

[LTT1]

@jubilant

My dept leader was hospitalized with this. C-diff is quite serious.

First, this* "bug" will be tested to see what antibiotic or combination will kill this bacterium. My friend was also put on a med that is usually saved for fungal infections... to kill the spores.

I was asked to gown up to visit her, but I didn't want to. They said this was for my protection and not hers.

I believe that a person with C-Diff is infectious through contact with body fluids.

I cannot believe that MDs don't RX probiotics... this seems to have protective activity. I was on every antibiotic over the years for sinus infections. 

It would seem to me that your dad should have been allowed to stay in the hospital for the tooth problem.

You might want to make sure any tooth procedures are handled with care concerning treatment with antibiotics before.

My friend was scared... C-diff can be very scary. I hope your dad recovers and is comfortable soon.

[LTT1]

@jubilant

"Ironically, the standard treatment for C. difficile is another antibiotic. These antibiotics keep C. difficile from growing, which in turn treats diarrhea and other complications. For mild to moderate infection, doctors usually prescribe metronidazole (Flagyl), taken by mouth." Jun 18, 2016

from Google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+is+c+diff+infection+treated&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS623US625&oq=how+is+C...

Mayo Clinic

[jubilant]

@LTT1  Thanks so much for all the info. I am going to go back and click on them after this post. They did call the oral surgeons facility and notify them of Dad's C-diff.

They were fine with it and they started Dad on antiobiotics yesterday early morning.  They gave him shots to get it in his system quickly so he could have the tooth extracted as soon as possible. 

[Toppers3]

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@jubilant wrote:

Thank you so much for this.  I have been trying to research the web but what you gave me here is the most detailed. I really appreciate it. One of the websites I was just on said it is "on the rise" and there is a new strain out now that is resistant to the antibiotics. I do know it's contagious, too. Since the diagnosis at the hospital was postive all the nurses are wearing robes now...yet my mother and sister have been in the hospital room all day with him and they haven't been given robes??????

Your info was so informative.....thank you!  And thanks to the person who posted it before!

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Hi @jubilant,

I had it, too.

My case was from taking oral antibiotics long-term.

I just happened to be in the hospital as an in-patient already, and was checked for it.

It was caught immediately, and I was treated for it while I was in the hospital. I had my own room anyway, so I was put into isolation while there.

I was put on Flagyl for it.

When I was released from the hospital and when I had to follow-up with my primary care doctor, I had asked him about taking the probiotic called Florastor. 

It's an over-the-counter probiotic that's different than the others. It's a type of yeast, so I started to take that to help my colon.

The nurses had advised me to keep our bathrooms clean by using any type of cleaning products that contain bleach, as the C-Diff. spores can live on bathroom surfaces for a long time, for like six months, if I recall properly. 

[jubilant]

@Toppers3    We are thinking we caught Dad's early, too. So thankful yours was caught early.  I am praying the tooth extraction won't slow the process of healing down....he has been through so much already.  Your post is encouraging. Thank you so much!  I will definitely ask the doctor about Florastor.

[ccassaday]

I had been hospitalized. I ended catching cdiff. It took two rounds of antibiotics before it went away. It was horrible. I don't wish it on anyone.

[jubilant]

@lulu2 

I am surprised at how many here have had it. I never heard of it before today.  I am glad you finally got through it.  From all I am reading, antibiotics is the cause of lots of it in the elderly. Thank you for posting to me. I appreciate it.

[jubilant]

@Anita Hug

Thank you for your valuable information. I hope you never get it again, too, Anita.  Right now Dad's is a lot of loose stool and today he started in with some stomach problems. Hope it won't get much worse for him.  He is feeble enough that I don't see at 88..... how he can take much more. I am so lucky to have had him for so long.  He is and was a loving father.  Most people my age don't still have both parents.  I am grateful.

[Mesmerized169]

Interesting reading here.  

I was hospitalized 5+ yrs ago for a cyst on my lower belly that got infected and blew up, resulting in necrotizing cellulitis and I needed an emergency surgery to cut me open and clean out the infection.  A swab of the infection was taken before surgery.  I was later diagnosed with staph, strep, and c-diff all at the same time.  I was not taking any antibiotics prior to this, or maybe I was but only for a day or two at the most.  I also had bronchitis on top of all that too and needed a nebulizer. That was 6 days of hell in the hospital to make a long story short.  Once they figured out what infections I had, they prescribed me a Levaquin IV drip, then eventually sent me home with an Rx for Levaquin pills.  I was only in my early 40s back then.  

So are you telling me, if I had C-diff before, that it's laying dormat now and can come back again?  Exactly what symptoms would I experience?  I cannot compare it to the storm I went thru 5+ yrs ago because everything was wrong back then.