cdiffdiscuss.org

Hello, iam a first time user of this forum. I hope I'm not breaking any rules posting here, if I am, I apologize. My mother was recently diagnosed with c-diff(68 years old), I have up until now, never even heard of it. I was able to get very little information from the doctors during a whirlwind hospital visit. I will give you a very short version of the story. My mother is a long time sufferer of depression and anxiety. In the past 10 or so years, she has been shutting herself in more, having less social contact, and not even getting off the couch! She rarely sees doctors and was in fair health. (minor stroke, three years ago) She isn't very forthcoming about her mental/physical condition, to be honest, she usually lies and says everything is fine. In the last few months, she has rapidly declined. She could no longer bathe herself, fix meals, or even have any appetite. She also fell a few times. Well... I was out of town on business and she fell! She called 911, they picked her up and put her in bed. (she refused to be taken to the hospital!) My wife rushed over there the next morning and she couldn't get out of bed and had soiled herself during the night. Of course my wife rushed her to the hospital, where we found out she fractured her spine(thankfully no surgery needed, just a backbrace) and has c-diff, and here we are. Now she is in a sub-acute rehab in a diaper, learning to walk again! Now I've been doing a little research and I see a correlation between depression and c-diff. I guess what Im asking is, can one cause the other? Has anything similar happened to anyone else? We she be able to get strength back? Is this forever? She almost died! And I want to do everything I can to help her. This felt like the right place. I apologize for the bad punctuation and run ons. Lol. Iam not in the best state of mind right now. Thank you, God bless!

Hello MJbass and Welcome to the site Please read the first thread for all new posters

I am so sorry about your Mom and what a terrible shock to find her ill and with a FX spine, which will need a great deal of rehab.
I have never heard of Depression causing CDIFF, but CDIFF WILL cause depression. Most will get CDIFF while taking an antibiotic or exposure ( if she had been in a hospital or nursing home).
The best thing you can do is make sure she is on a medication and the CDIFF symptoms are improving. Her caregivers will be able to determine of the diarrhea has continued or is improving. Although most are started on Flagyl, Vancomycin is often the next step and to make sure she is followed by a GI.
Are you able to speak with her caregivers or doctors? You may also consider talking with her to allow you to get involved and support her by having permission in her chart they can discuss her care with you. This can be difficult, there are also legal forms( Durable Power of Attorney) but you may want to start with just that for now due to her history. I did this with my Mother in law after a stroke and it was a slow process.
I would confirm the medication and make sure she is improving. Diet is important while having CDIFF, a bland diet that is easy on the gut.
So difficult to go through, hoping your Mom improves quickly
NanciT

She is an unusual candidate for c.diff to be the initial problem!
How long after being hospitalised was she diagnosed with c.diff?
Has she been on antibiotics during the last few months?

Thank you both for your replies. She was diagnosed in the hospital and has not been on antibiotics. She takes cholesterol and blood pressure medication, and a light dose of celexa. I'm thinking since she was not physically active, and just sat all day, she got weak, her immune system lowered and that's how it happened. I'm trying to piece this all together, I apologize if I sound like an idiot. I just don't know what I'm talking about. I also read that older widowed women, living alone and who suffer from depression are 50 percent more likely to get c-diff. Does that sound right? Thank you all so much for taking the time.

You never sound like an idiot for seeking information on a subject you don’t know about....
What you list are not causes of c diff but factors that might put someone more at risk if primary causes were present. None of the primary causes I.e antibiotic use, nursing home or hospital admission prior to diagnosis, etc. seem to be present in your mom’s case which is why we are asking if you are sure they were not present.

Rita

Clostridium Difficile can also be caused by poorly cooked meats. Did your mother eat meat? If so, it is possible that your mother contracted c-diff thru poorly cooked meat.

Clostridium Difficile is also found throughout the environment — in soil, air, water, human and animal feces.

Your mother's weakened immune system and health left her at higher risk for bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic invasion. In this case... C-diff.

At this point it matters more for her to be cured of C-diff, than to find out how she got infected. However, as difficult as it may be, if possible there should be some improvements to her home living conditions.

Thank you for your replies. Iam starting to look forward and not backwards. One thing is for sure, iam definitely not letting her go back to her apartment. Best case scenario is a new apartment. Worst case assisted living. I really appreciate everyone responding to me, it makes me feel good. Thank you very much!

I am so sorry for what you are going through with your mom. As the others said, you can't help but wonder how she got c-diff. Being that she is usually in her home and hasn't been on any antibiotics, it is definitely mind boggling. I would get a good GI that is versed in c-diff to make sure that she is being treated correctly. After reading your posts, it sounds as if her depression and anxiety is the bigger issue. I am a believer that a healthy mental state is a main contributor to a healthy physical state. I hope that you can get her the help that she needs to get over her depression. C-diff can be a frustrating and difficult illness to go through. It can make her state of mind even worse. So, getting the right GI doctor, along with the right therapists can be instrumental in helping her to feel better. My heart goes out to you. I hope that she starts to feel better from the c-diff soon and you can get her on the right path.

Lisa

Was your mom around any animals? We had one poster who got c diff from her parrot. She took the bird in to the vet, who tested it, and sure enough, the bird had c difficie and was treated. But, dogs and cats can get it too.