Post-surgery systemic infection

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone here was familiar or had experience with a systemic infection after being discharged following in-patient surgery (especially through the ER). I recently had a perianal abscess that was easily drained without complications. I thought the worst was finally over, but the weeks between then and now have been a living hell. (Sorry for the long post - you can skip to the last 4 paragraphs for most of the information)

I was prescribed Cipro and Flagyl, and I went back to the ER after having very severe adverse reactions to Cipro (80 hrs+ insomnia, tendon/nerve/joint pains, chills, cramps, etc.). I caution everyone to think twice before taking a fluoroquinolone antibiotic and at least consider taking a safer antibiotic - I wish I had been given that option. I was lucky that I listened to my body and stopped taking it But that's a tangent; anyway, I was switched to Augmentin and given lorazepam for "anxiety." I might have been delirious from sleep deprivation, but I have never been mentally anxious.. whatever. My side effects went away and I finished my antibiotics with no problem.

A week later, some of the Ciprofloxacin side effects came back with some new friends. I had tendon pain/burning, joint pains, and peripheral neuropathy again. I started taking a Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc/VitD supplement like I had when I was taking Cipro, and these pains went away. However, anxiety creeped its head out of nowhere. I have never had severe or even moderate anxiety in my life, but I suddenly found myself having persistent tachycardia, palpitations, and whole-body tremors, and these all spilled over into mental anxiety, forming a positive feedback loop (and not in a good way). I've had 3 panic attacks since then, and each time I was just relaxing and not thinking about anything stressful.

I've also had vertigo, chest pains, persistent oral thrush, persistent athlete's foot (it never itched and a tiny amount sticks around even though I've been consistently using antifungal cream for 5 weeks), persistent diarrhea (I suspect pseudomembranous colitis due to rectal discharge [not from the abscess incision] and presence of yellow "globules" in the stool/inside but close to the exit of the rectum), random muscle tenderness, gas (I usually don't get gas from UC), weird "vibrations" in localized parts of my body, dandruff (I use conditioner and a moisturizing hair product, and I never have dandruff), and recently, lots of small, non-itchy, red bumps with a yellow center under hair follicles randomly spread throughout my body. I think they're pustules, but I'm no doctor.. even if they are the ones who got me in this situation to begin with. I've also started to have neck stiffness, and I tested positive for Kernig's sign (possibly indicative of meningitis..).

I honestly believe I have systemic candidiasis, or at least a systemic infection of some sort of pathogen, probably fungal. I visited the ER this week, and the doctors just ignored my suggestion and went about doing their fruitless tests (blood count, liver levels, kidney function?, stool and urine samples, and a pelvic/abdominal CT scan). Everything came back normal; of course, since they didn't even check for fungal pathogens. C. diff. came back negative and the CT scan did not detect pseudomembranes, but I think that may have had to do with me starting probiotics - I haven't had leakage or "globules" since. They said I'm "too healthy" to have candidiasis and blamed my symptoms on a UC flareup.

I know my body, and this does not feel at all like a UC flareup. I don't get diarrhea when I have a flare-up - I get a lot of bleeding and constant abdominal pain. I also had a flareup only a few months ago, and I had just finished tapering off of prednisone when I got the abscess. I've also been on 6mp/mercaptopurine for over 5 years, so that's obviously affected my immune system. I've been through a fair amount of stress, and my nutrition and sleep habits aren't the healthiest, so those are things to consider too. Not to mention, I've been off of the antibiotics for over 3 weeks now, so there's no reason I should still have thrush if I really am "healthy."

I read a medical journal article that showed Adderall/Ritalin (I take Concerta for ADHD, which I was diagnosed with after recently taking antibiotics.. hm.. I'm pretty sure I had recently taken antibiotics when I got UC, too..) promotes Candida growth, so this could be why I still have the thrush. I examined the back of my mouth with a flashlight and noticed white patches there, too. All the pieces of the puzzle fit. Medical journals show that even people who are not immunocompromised can develop candidiasis, so the doctors' excuses are faulty. I feel like I'm being treated like a hypochondriac, even though my symptoms manifested before I learned about systemic infections. I'm almost 100% sure I know what's wrong with me, and it infuriates me that my doctors ignore my evidence-based theory and aren't taking my condition seriously. The mortality rate for systemic candidiasis is 44%, and I could not live with myself (pun intended.. heh) if a stupid, easily treatable infection by a common fungus is how my story ends.

I don't know what to do anymore. I just wanted to graduate from college and make my mom proud, but I can't even concentrate on my schoolwork now. There are no supplements for extraintestinal candidiasis (I'm already taking grapefruit seed extract, probiotics, and yogurt, and I think they have helped with intestinal symptoms), and no doctor wants to prescribe me an oral antifungal. I don't have insurance and am limited to the county hospitals' limited and crowded resources, so I can't even go doctor shopping, and I can't afford to see a naturopathic doctor out-of-pocket. If anyone has any advice, I'm all ears - it's probably better than my doctors' advice.

Holy crap...what a hell experience you've been through!

I would take the oral antifungal since that's what you suspect.

I hope you get it sorted out...I know it would be difficult to not worry about your school at this point, but you need to get better and resume your education when you're well. I'm sure your mom understands and wouldn't want you to expend energy you don't have towards a battle that can totally exhaust you to the point of possibly getting sicker.

Keep us posted how you're doing.

q

mam9,

If your stools are really stinky (barnyard) and possibly greenish, I would test again for cdiff. We've been through the "negative" test results. Cdiff is notorious for false negative readings. This is why they routinely require 3 stool tests to clear out the possibility of cdiff.

I wish you well, hang in there.

mam9,

Welcome to the forum.

I am sorry for the hell you've been through.

How long have you been on the GSE?

Have you tried Wild Oregano Oil?

I've read that for resistant candida issues, it's best to alternate the GSE and Wild Oregano Oil (WEO), so you'd do 7 days on GSE and then 7 days on WEO. The reasoning behind that is that your body becomes resistant to one or other, so it gives it a chance to work if you alternate them.

Also, which probiotics are you on?

I would imagine you'd need mega doses.

It could just be matter of time, because the use of GSE to rid candida could be causing a healing crisis, temporarily making things worse before they get better.

Also, what about diet?

I would highly recommend your eliminating: gluten, wheat, dairy, and sugar - as all of these can proliferate candida exponentially, especially if you already have it.

Although I haven't done any of the research on it, have you ever looked into Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar?

Hope you start getting this under control soon.

 

Well my GI wasn't buying the Candida theory and asserted that I must be having a flareup, nevermind the fact I had just gotten one under control a month before my problems.. She also said I might actually have Crohn's because this is "acting more like Crohn's" and prescribed me Entocort and scheduled me for an MRI to check for fistulas (they've already done 2 CT scans and found no fistula near my surgery site).

I noticed my GI symptoms are a lot worse when I don't take my probiotics. I've always been one to have full faith in doctors' judgments, but the past 2 months have been crap because of this blind faith. I don't plan on taking the Entocort because 1) I don't think I'm having a flareup and 2) I read that Entocort is contraindicated in intestinal infections - the candida/c.diff/whatever it could be would love for my immune system to be suppressed (again). Not to mention, Entocort is usually for Crohn's, and "I think maybe you might possibly have Crohn's" isn't exactly the best diagnosis or indication for taking Entocort..

My thrush has gone away since I stopped using Concerta, and my vertigo has pretty much vanished. I think Concerta was stimulating the yeast just as much as it was stimulating me, which is why my immune system couldn't clear it. I think that also explains why I get panic attacks and weird "vibration/rumbling" feelings in localized parts of my body (legs, stomach, neck, etc.) when Concerta wears off - the yeast are angry that their fuel source has run out, so they take it out on my body. Sounds a little farfetched, but so does blaming all my symptoms on a mere flareup. Here's a medical journal article that backs up my theory: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC95721/

My GI refused to do a blood test for candida or to prescribe antifungals, so it looks like I'm fighting this battle on my own. I know my body and what a flareup feels like, so I'm not going to touch the Entocort. I have been feeling better, so I'm going to work as hard as possible (without my ADHD med.. :( ) so that I don't have to withdraw from school so late into the semester!