cdiffdiscuss.org

Hi All,
I know you can't give medical advice but I would like to know what anxiety meds are some of you on? I am having anxiety attacks on and off all day. It is hard to function as it is but with this level of anxiety it is almost impossible. The fear is almost paralyzing. I have had some anxiety in the past but this is horrible. I am seeing my PCP either tomorrow or Friday and am going to ask for something. I am super sensitive to all meds so I need something mild that I don't have to take everyday for it to work. Is there anything out there that fits that criteria?
Also I am looking for the posts that give you the the tests you should have your potential stool donor take? My donor is very healthy, has not taken antibiotics for over 20 years and very seldom is sick. She has eaten very healthy all her life. The only thing that might halt this is she takes thyroid meds for low thyroid. She does not know if she has hashimoto's. I have hashimoto's so would that be considered a no go for this donor? Also she is 72.
I was in the hospital again overnight because my sodium levels were quite low again, this has happened 3 times in the past 2and a half months. The c-diff apparently broke through the twice a day Vanco while I was waiting for the dificid and I was having bm's 6-8 times per day that were soft liquid.I get very symptomatic and feel like I am dying when symptoms escalate. I am now on dificid the last one and a half days and am seeing much improvement. I will have my FMT on 5-04. I am praying it works as I don't think I can take much more emotionally. I feel I will not get better as I have been on antibiotics for 2 and a half months straight and was absolutely overmedicated which I now know causes this dreadful cycle. I need re-assurance and no one really understands what is this is like.

Hi! We here understand and you are certainly not alone in experiencing anxiety. Relapsing with c Diff is a living nightmare. I was cured by an FMT about a year ago.
I wanted to tell you I do not do well with antidepressants so cannot take them for anxiety. They make it worse and make me wired out of my mind.
So, I take Klonopin. I am prescribed two pills a day (.5 mg pills , I’m not sure) but only take one and divide it into quarters so it never hits me too hard. It’s just enough to keep the panic attacks under control. It has a really long half life and I find it less altering than xanax which I have taken before.

Unless you doing a DIY at home FMT your Dr will order the testing for your donor.
I would be surprised if they accepted someone of 72 though so check now so you have time to consider other options.

Roy,
This would be for a home enema. I just want to get all my ducks in a row just in case. I am having an fmt via colonoscopy at a hospital that will supply the donor stool. I just want to be prepared for any contingencies that might pop up later. That way if I need to do home infusions I won't be waiting for days or weeks. I will be asking my gi first rather than doing anything on my own.I don't know if this makes since or not but I like to be prepared.

I did think you might be doing that.
Get a Drs advice and research what your doing.
The person your thinking of using sounds unsuitable and you could make yourself very sick.
Her age alone would be a huge concern to an FMT specialist.
Think about what could happen if she had an unnoticeable tiny amount of blood in her stool that was caused by undiagnosed cancer!
She might even be colonised with a different strain of c.diff and you inherit it.
Testing of the donor is a must and it's expensive, but any Dr would probably say her age rules her out.

Than you for such good advice Roy, I will be scouting for another donor.

Talk to your dr about anti anxiety meds.
Some drs like to try antidepressants like SSRIs because they don’t make you drowsy and some of them have components that address both mild depression and anxiety. For anxiety alone, during c diff I have taken and most commonly used seems to be low doses of Xanax or klonopin.

Bear in mind that some/most of the SSRIs can have GI side-effects.