RN with relapsing cdiff

If you can find it, blueberry leaf tea is very astringent, and an old herbal remedy for diarrhea. There new probiotic formulas out that are enteric coated, and do not need refrigeration. Because of our stomach acids, some probiotics do not reach the intestines intact, hence the new enterics.

Hi there,

My heart goes out to you. I've never had C-Diff, but I do have Ulcerative Colitis. So, when it's flared up, I get to experience the 15 - 20 bm's a day that are just water. Once I'm flared, I stick to plain chicken breast and rice (in very small amounts)....no seasonings or flavorings of any kind. I drink huge amounts of water and sports drinks....when I'm real bad, I try to drink at least 24 ounces for each movement....my goal of course is to avoid hospitalization for dehydration, so far it's worked. I do also take the probiotic Culturelle that some have mentioned....since at this point I'm not eating any yogurt. Also, if tolerated....I try to drink an ensure a day (I like the chocolate and butter pecan flavors). I've lost over 25 lbs in 3 weeks during flares...so I try to supplement.

Once I'm out of crisis mode.....I eat yogurt every day....not the bargain brands either, I eat a brand called Nancy's..it's a local Oregon brand, so I'm not sure how far it's distributed. But it's loaded with 4-5 kinds of active cultures. Basically just look for one that's heavy on the active cultures.....also the more local the dairy is, the better since it's likely that more of the cultures are still alive. I also stay on a low residue diet for a couple of months (no whole grains, no nuts, no skins, no seeds...nothing that could be scratchy, for lack of a better word). Basically, just baby your colon.

Now I know that this stuff won't really help the infection (although bolstering the good bacteria, might do some good).....but it might make life a bit easier. The fatigue of that much diarrhea can be overwhelming, I remember wondering how I was going to drag myself out of bed for my next trip to the bathroom. Hang in there and whine at us when you need to.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

Peace,
Cathie

For this reason, when a patient has C-Diff, we take out the alcohol-based hand gels/foam out of the patient's room, and emphasize the use of proper hand washing, gloves, gown. You'd be surprised how many doctors and nurses actually complain when there is no foam in the room. This is scary!

It is my understanding that C Diff occurs naturally in all of our GI tracts. It is only when we take antibiotics that our normal balance of bacteria is upset and the C Diff proliferate, wreaking havoc. We isolate C Diff pts to prevent transmission to immunocompromised pts.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

hey,
i work on a medical unit where i got this monster for the first time. i relapsed2, 3 time with the third being septic and causing severe ulcerative colitis. it is 18 months later and i have a myriad of symptoms from abd pain, anorexia to muscle weakness, arthritis pain in my hands, fatigue(the kind that feels like something is sucking the life out of you) i have gone from 204# to almost 165# within the last 3 mo. i have just had a abd and pelvic ct and chest x ray and awaiting results. all blood tests were normal except for my k+ which was barely below normal at 3.4. i just dont know what to do. i never got workmans comp for anything. i am so tired all the time. i almost dont feel like fighting anymore. i hear cancer patients say the same thing! i really feel for you. i hope someone comes up with something to fight this monster.
anna
ps they still expect me to take care of patients c-diff +

I also have been treated recently for 'presumptive c diff'. I am a hospice nurse. Many of our patients, particularly those admitted in the hospital or Long Term Care facility have C Diff along with all the other 'super bugs". I also follow standards. I started with what I thought was a viral gastroenteritis, but it didn't clear. When I began with yellow, mucoid stools that smelled putrid (literally) I booked an appointment and brought a stool sample. 2 additional samples were also sent to the lab. Little did I know at the time that the samples needed to be fresh. The physician ,nor the lab told me the toxins degrade after two hours at room temperature. Made me wonder how many others were tested at the same lab and never told. Anyway mine sat for between 6 and 9 hours prior to going to the lab. Toxin A(the only toxin this particular md would test for) was negative. Toxin a and toxin B sensitivity is about 90%. Culture for C Diff sensitivity is 60%. Culture was also negative. I did have WBCs in stool and there was marked reduction of normal flora. The GI person I took myself to started me immediately on Flagyl. I also became worse. On the 6th day of treatment went to the ER and was admitted for 4 days. Curiously I had shaking chills on 3 occasions during hospitalization and then feeling of fever and flushed face but never spiked a fever or white count. I am better now but am run down and have had Norovirus and then flu since. I am hopeful to get better and will do all that I can - Probiotics, diet, supplements to boost immune system etc.

I contracted C-Diff over 2 years ago. What a trip that was. I probably picked up the C-Diff after a stay in the hospital for an intestinal operation, and 3 rounds of various broad spectrum antibiotics. I'm thinking it was the Clidomyacin that was the culprit. Anyway, I went undiagnosed for 2 months, lost 35 pounds, became very depressed.

After speaking with an on-call doctor was sent for a stool sample, 5 days later I got the good news, I was told I had C-Diff. This was good news to me, because now I knew what I had. After 10 days of Metro the C-Diff cleared. I immediately started taking (on the health food store owner's recomendation) Suprema Dophilus, an enteric coated probiotic. I drank lots of Gatorade, ate lots of watermelon, which I think helped with the dehydration. I also took Source of Life liquid vitamins.

Check out the UK C-Diff Support website, it has been very helpful to me. http://www.cdiff-support.co.uk/

Why is C-Diff spreading.... because the alchohol based hand gels DO NOT kill the C-Diff spores. You need to use soap and water and wash the spores down the drain. There is a supplier of a cleaning agent that claims to be effective against the C-Diff spores. I am still trying to get more info on it, but they have not responded to my emails.

http://www.chemicalexpress.co.uk/News/chemex_breakthrough_in_battle_against_c_diff.aspx

Hopefully this post will help shed some light on the subject.
MrHockey