My Son Is Doing Great!

[natalyjac]

I am almost too scared to write this 'success story' for fears that my 17 year old son will come downstairs telling me he is relapsing. However, I know how much the success stories carried me through his illness, so I need to share his.

It all started after having a prescription for Keflex for 10 days, followed by another prescription for Keflex for 10 days and then Omnicef for 10 days. (During the span of 2 months or so.) On day 8 of the Omnicef, the violent D started. Over the span of a week, my son went from 145 pounds down to 134 pounds and then continued to drop weight gradually over the next month.

First round of treatment was 500 mg of Flagyl 3x day. He did great on that. No side effects, and things were great. He made it 17 days past his last does of Flagyl, and then the B and M started with a vengeance. Ended up with Flagyl again, 3 x day. He made it four days past meds this time, and his weight was now 126, even though he was eating like a horse. The usual symptoms reappeared, and we ended up with a pulse/taper of Vanco. His schedule was this:
week 1: 125 mg 4x/day
week 2: 125 mg 2x/day
week 3: 125 mg 1x/day
week 4: 125 mg every other day
weeks 5/6 125 mg every third day.

He felt immediately better on the Vanco and never looked back. His last dose of Vanco was on May 10th, and it now the end of August and his weight is back and you would never know he ever had the c diff to begin with. He still takes 1 Florastor a day along with 1 Primadophilus Optima and Primadophilus Reteuri each day.

He has had numerous infections since he got C diff and we were able to handle them without antibiotics. When he gets a high fever and sinus symtoms, we boil water and add fresh, pressed garlic to the water and he breathes that several times a day (and blows his nose to clear out the mucous). He even got a fever out of the blue of 105 degrees one night (no other symptoms) and the ID doctor just kept on eye on him and we were able to get through that without antibiotics either. Winter will be the real test because he is asthmatic and gets sick numerous times throughout the winter months. It is great though because our ID doctor wants to see my son for any infection he has because he doesn't want my son to take the antibiotics.

The following is what I think has helped my son:
1. luck
2. altering his diet and removing most sugars
3. introducing kefir smoothies to his diet with protein powder (no sucralose version)
4. probiotics
5. making him get more sleep and not run himself down so much
6. having a doctor that understand c diff very well and understands the risks of antibiotics

Thanks to everyone on this board for all the advice they have provided and for sharing their experiences. It was all invaluable to me as I was very nervous about my son's health.

[beth22]

That's great news and I hope he gets through the winter months without any infections. Sleep is very important as you already realize. Thank you for posting this and giving us all a little hope. Wishing your son continued good health!

[Kathy George]

You missed one major factor that assisted your son during his journey toward recovery…… A DEVOTED MOTHER!!!!! Best wishes are going your way!!!!!