My Mom has had c-diff for 8 weeks she is 93 will she ever get over this? No one has any answers.?

Answer 1

Firstly i am amazed that a doctor hasn't tried to explain this to you. As the guy above mentioned, Clostridium difficile infections are most common in an immunocompromised patient, typically someone who has been on broadspectrum antibiotics, like Nexium and Prilosec.

The antibiotics wipe out the bacterial flora in the gut which enables C. difficile to establish itself. C. difficile is able to survive because it has the ability to form a highly resistant spore, but the infection can also come from the outside if the persons surroundings arent very clean.

Hospital strains of C. difficile are resistant to many antibiotics. Here in Leicester (UK) we had an outbreak in the local hospitals where three people died. My professor is heading up the enquiry into how it happened. Typically after the infection occurs someone is administerd Vancomycin introvenusly - Vancomycin being one of the strongest antiobiotics around.

Treatment for the infection should include lots of fluid to replace that being lost, as well as trying to re-establish the bacterial flora in the gut. I like the suggestion of live yoghurt and pro-biotics.

I'm sure the doctors are trying everything that they can, and no-one would like to give a definate answer either way. Many victims of C. difficile infections are elderly. BUT she managed to get to 93, surviving two world wars, so there is hope.

I hope i have been able to explain this ok. If you would like some more information, you can e-mail me through my homepage.

Answer 2

With proper therapy, yes, your mom could get over this.

c. diff. is a nasty little bug. It is not caused by taking too many antibiotics, that's a myth. A lot of people already have c. diff. in their systems. It's when we are weakened by infection and are placed on medication that manipulates the GI tract that the c. diff. can flourish. Antibiotics can help cause this, however there was also a recent study that showed overuse of Nexium, Prilosec, and others was the primary source of the recent c. diff. increase in hospitals. (Edit: Nexium and Prilosec are in a class of medication called Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). PPIs decrease the amount of acid in the stomach, they are NOT antibiotics.)

But that's neither here nor there. Once the infection starts, its very hard to kill. I've seen patients that are treated with oral Flagyl and Vancomycin as well as the IV equivalents. If your mom is not currently on those meds, I'd have a talk with your doctor. Is she currently hospitalized? At 8 weeks, she should be. Also, I'd recommend she be on a pro-biotic supplement as well. Just make sure the doses are in between the oral antibiotics, otherwise they basically cancel each other out. Yogurt is a great source of pro-biotics and is easy to add into her diet.

Keep up your research, and don't hesitate to switch doctors. Good luck!

Answer 3

C-diff usually comes from taking a lot of antibiotics She needs to see a doctor hopefully he will give her medication for this problem and if you had it once you will proably get it again

Answer 4

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