Daily update (number 2) for Poppy's hospitalisation situation (from her husband - David)

Good morning everyone,

Just to give you the latest on Poppy's current situation in the hospital:

Poppy has now started to take 'Vancomycin' to combat the 'c-difficile' instead of the other antibiotic 'Flagyl' that she was taking, and which was not agreeing with her very well. She is still having more than usual bowel movements, however her GI says this is to be expected, bearing in mind the problems Poppy has been having, and moving from one antibiotic to another etcetera......Does this sound normal, or acceptable?

The probiotic she is taking currently with the 'Vancomycin' antibiotic is 'Enterogermina 5m' and there isn't much in the way of a wide range of probiotics to choose from where we live. Does anyone know of an effective one? Maybe one that they are using currently, that Poppy might consider trying? Poppy is lactose intolerant, and has a very restricted diet, because of this and many other food allergies, and also she suffers from 'multiple chemical sensitivity' which just adds to the problem unfortunately. Anyway, she is having some irregular bowel movements wit the 'Vancomycin' and 'Enterogermina 5m' and we just wondered if this is normal, or if anyone has any other suggestions?

Poppy will be coming home tomorrow (Friday) Hooray!!! and the planned course of action for now, is as follows:

- Continue taking the 'Vancomycin' to try and fix the 'c-difficile' infection issue
- Continue to take the 'Prednisone' however to gradually reduce this (Poppy and her GI have agreed to
reduce this immediately from 50mg to 40 mg) over a period of weeks. It may take 2-3 weeks to fix the
'c-difficile' issue, or longer, depending how successful the antibiotic is, and how Poppy's strength holds
up during this period. She needs to keep on this to also keep her 'Spondyloarthropathy'at bay
- Once the 'c-difficile' is under control, look at a different form of treatment for her UC+'Spondy' moving
forward, and take things from there.

We would appreciate your thoughts or ideas about the above course of action, and to get your feedback, as to whether this sounds like an appropriate/effective short-term plan?

In addition to the above, Poppy does have the 'transplant' option in mind (introducing a 3rd party's matter) and any other current treatments, so isn't ruling anything out at this stage.

In closing Poppy and I would like to thank you all for your help, support, and advice, and also the many wonderful messages of support and best wishes from so many of her dear friends on the 'Heling Well' site....Thank You all so much XXXX.

I am pleased to say that Poppy herself will provide the next update, so for now, her stand-in will say Adios y hasta luego!

I hope you all get well soon, and my heart goes out to all Poppy's fellow sufferers on this site. God bless you all.

David (Poppy's Hubby)

I hope Vancomycin works for her. From my own experience I highly recommend FMT for C-Diff if Vancomycin fails.

Thanks for the update. I am happy she's coming home tomorrow. You know, healing from all this is a process, it takes a lot of time, but seeing progress is always a good thing. I am sure much more progress will be seen over the next few days and weeks :)

David, you are the best for sticking by Poppies side. Thank you for the update and sorry I can't give you any advice on antibiotic treatment. I believe antibiotic abuse over the years got me to where I am now. Like Poppie and many others, my UC became apparent after I quit smoking. Bless you and all the best you both.

Cheers
Pete

Yes, it is normal to taper down the Prednisone dose as soon as possible; some doctors advise to do this by reducing 10 mg. per dose every 7-8 days, which sounds like what Poppie's doc is advocating. Vancomycin is the U.S. drug of choice now for C.diff, and, as IamCurious points out, all these powerful antibiotics knock out the beneficial gut bacteria along with the troublemaking strains, which tends to prolong diarrhea, alas. In the U.S. lactobaccillus GG is another probiotic that has been extensively researched and found helpful against C.diff; we can buy it in a non-prescription compound called Culturelle, which you may find under another name. I hope Poppie will feel much better when she returns home. / Old Hat (35 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Nice to hear your good news. At least C. dif is a known entity and can be dealt with.

I have multiple food intolerances due to UC (they've gotten a bit better lately) and the two probiotics that have helped are VSL#3, taken until I felt it wasn't needed and later Cardioviva or Reuterii Pearls (similar to each other but different from VSL), also beneficial.

I do not take any pro-b's right now but the minute antibiotics are RX'd I add VSL#3 at opposite time as the anti-b's. I recently had IV vancomycin plus 3 other oral anti-b's to fight a v. bad skin infection and UC did not cause problems (if I stuck with my diet mod.) and I did take VSL#3. Vanco totally killed my infection, what a relief because it was nasty and super fast-growing.

Good luck on your recovery.

Post Edited (imagardener2) : 7/16/2016 5:58:17 PM (GMT-6)

I've never had c diff, but prednisone alone gave me awful night sweats. To top it off, I could never sleep while on the drug so I would be awake sweating, with my clothes drenched sometimes. I had to change a few times even. I know it stinks, but it's probably the prednisone. At least it will become less problematic over time - and before you know it you will be back to 100% and off steroids.

I definitely needed a sleep aid while on steroids. I hope you have one at home.

Identifying the source of the problem is a huge first step. I hope you will soon get better.

Did they offer FT? I know it's kind of hard to find places that will do it, but i agree, it's a great option for you. I wish I could have given it a shot.. I guess you have to just stick it out and give yourself time to heal at this point. You will recover, don't worry. Thinking about you poppie.

Poppie, I remember having some nights of sweats to the point I was saturated at the beginning of FMT and I put it down to herxing. I did a quick google search of "herxing vancomycin" and see others who have experienced a similar reaction. Just a thought?

Hoping you are on the road to recovery very soon.

nssg..No, I wasn't offered FT, and to be honest I knew bugger all about it then!!

The diagnosis of clostridium difficile was dropped into my lap at the hospital, so it didn't give me any time to think and reflect on my options...

ewa..Good to know..I don't do enough research!! feeling a bit perkier today anyway.

Oh Crap..nice name...I'm actually poppie, but managed to produce a name that sounds like poopie ha hah!

Bull..Yeah I realise that today, it's the fever, it's weird when your dealing with this in the middle of the night everything looks bleak...you always think the worse. I'm feeling a bit more relaxed about it today..gracias

Hope that the vanco kicks in and you start feeling better soon! Hang in there!!