HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

MOM In Hospital after Resection surgery and now has c-diff

Support Forums
>
Crohn's Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/17/2011 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
My mom (and I ) both have Crohn's disease. My mom has had Crohn's for over 30 + years and has always been able to control with lots of med's. She ended up in the ER a little over 2 weeks ago with a complete blockage, took her off of all of her med's and gave her steroids to try to reduce the swelling, after about a week in the hospital, she had a resection surgery done. They removed a little over 1 foot of her small intestine and 2-3 inches of her colon. about 2-3 days after surgery, she developed C-Diff. They have her on flagil (sp?) which she was on before the surgery as well when she developed the c-diff.  She is now 9 days post surgery and still feeling terrible. She isn't eating hardly anything at all, is on IV nutrition, has a constant stomach ache, and is having dihearea between 9-18 times in a 24 hour period.  I just want her to get better. The doctors took an x-ray yesterday and as far as the surgery goes, it looks good... I'm not sure if she is feeling so sick b/c of the surgery or b/c of the c-diff...... and the fact they took her off of all her med's 2 weeks ago. she is just so tired and weak, if she doesn't eat, she has no energy to get up and move, but if she eat's, she get's a stomach ache.....any advice???? her dr.'s said they are tweaking her med's and trying to get her to feeling better and as of today, they are going to consult with a infectious disease doctor about the c-diff....anyone else gone though this????
Posted 2/18/2011 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Hi. Welcome to healingwell. I'm so sorry that your mom is going through such a rough patch. I hope that she will recover soon.

My husband has had problems with c-diff infections. I recommend getting at least 3 stool tests to check for c-diff. If any of them come back positive, then, she still has c-diff. If she is on steroids, even with the flagyl, she can have a tough time beating back the infection. Also, there are some strains of c-diff that can be resistant to flagyl. In those cases, they switch from flagyl to vancomycin which is a much more powerful antibiotic.

Also, probiotics are important with c-diff. If she is able to take any yogurt, I recommend it. Also, there is a probiotic called Florastor which has a yeast that is known to have efficacy against c-diff. My husband takes 4 250mg caps of that daily.

Also, another drug that can help with the diarrhea is Questran. It can help bind the bile salts, and it also binds to the c-diff toxins and helps prevent further damage to the colon.

I think an infectious disease doctor can help - especially if she has resistant c-diff. Hang in there! It does get better. My husband had a horrible crohn's flare up along with c-diff, and it took a long time for him to recover from it.

Count the progress she's making in weeks, not days. Recovery takes a bit of time - I would just make sure that c-diff is not complicating matters.

((Hugs))
PV
Posted 2/18/2011 1:47 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much for the reply. I just talked with my dad tonight and she is about the same, still feeling crummy....They did take her off the flagyl and put her on vancomycin and she is also taking pro-biotics and is also all ready on Questran. They just put her on those I think last night or maybe just today. They also did another stool sample either last night or this morning, so still too early for those results.... well, I feel better after your post knowing that it sounds like they are doing all the right things. I just want her to start feeling better so she can come home... It's hard to get a call every day with an update and just keep hearing the same thing day after day...no change, she is still feeling bad.

How long did your husband have to stay in the hospital? and how long did it take him to start feeling any relief?

thanks again, its nice to hear someone else has a similiar story and to have some hope!
Posted 2/18/2011 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there. My husband had to get on remicade to control the crohn's flare up, and he remained on steroids and vancomycin for almost 10 months. But his was a special case.

It sounds to me like they are doing the best they can for your mom. I really do recommend the florastor. Is she in India? I'd ask if they could add on a yeast called saccharomyces boulardii (sold as Florastor here) to her regimen. I really think it helps with c-diff.

I think others on here are going to have to comment on recovery time from the surgery, my husband hasn't had that. But I do think it takes a while. Especially with a c-diff complication, I think it can take a bit. Also, being on antibiotics in itself can leave a person's insides feeling rough and cause diarrhea.

So, I think they are doing everything they can, and now it is up to your mom to slowly get better. Have some patience, and as I said think of this in terms of weeks not days. I was horribly impatient with my husband's recovery, which really brought me down some days.

((Hugs)).

PV
Posted 2/18/2011 3:10 AM (GMT 0)
She is in INDIANA, :) Thanks again for your post, it was really great to get some reassurance. :) I am trying to be patient, it's just hard... It's like a diet.....I want to see results right away and if I dont, I get discouraged! I just want her to feel better, it's hard to sit by and watch her go through this.
Posted 2/18/2011 4:52 AM (GMT 0)
I got C. diff hemorraghic colitis after a stint on antibiotics. I was given oral vancomycin for 10 days and probiotics. It seemed to clear up the C. diff but a stool culture after the vancomycin was completed showed I still had C. diff. They had me add more probiotics for 10 days but I still had another positive C. diff culture. So then I did Xifaxin for 14 days and that finally cleared it up.

I think your mom will see some improvement with the vanco. The problem is really getting rid of it. I could not eat at all and was extremely wiped out while I had active C. diff going on. Once the diarrhea lessened, I began to regain my appetite and then energy. It was a long haul. I was 60 when I got it. And from my reading, us older folks have a rough time when infected with C. diff. I hope your mother gets relief from the vanco and gets on to the road to recovery!
Posted 2/18/2011 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
No advice, but did want to send healing prayers to your Mom. I hope they get her feeling better soon. Hugs!
Posted 2/18/2011 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
Well, good news this morning, she was feeling better and tested negative on her latest c-diff test and has only had 1 bm since 4pm yesterday. She was in much better spirits this morning when she talked to my dad. I sure hope it lasts, but it seems like for every one step forward, it ends up being 2 steps back. Thanks for the advice, and for the healing prayers.....I really appreciate it!!!
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply