Please delete this post

This forum is for discussions related to C. diff. including symptoms, doctors, medical advances, medications, If you are a new poster (joined within the last month), you can post more often for two months from your date of joining. After that time, one post per day only about "you." You can post more often to support others. Post other topics in Free Form Discussion and Chat Forum.
Rose18
Brand New Poster
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2019 1:06 am

Please delete this post

Postby Rose18 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:39 pm

I would like this post to be deleted please. Thank you.
Last edited by Rose18 on Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

LHutz
Regular Contributor
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 7:11 am

Re: Hi I’m new and very scared

Postby LHutz » Mon Jan 14, 2019 7:30 pm

There's no reason to obsessively clean like you have been, especially since you live alone. After hearing how contagious C. Diff is and how difficult it is to kill the spores, I was terrified that my wife and 1.5 year old son would catch it from me. Upon researching it further, I found that we come into contact with C. Diff frequently in our everyday lives and as long as a person doesn't have a compromised immune system, they won't contract a C. Diff. infection. Many people on this board have families and in searching through the archives, I have not found any stories about somebody passing C. Diff. on to a family member.

The best C. Diff prevention is to practice good hand hygiene. Cleaning your toilet after ever BM while you still have D multiple times a day is going to burn you out quickly. At the end of your Vanco treatment, you can do a deep cleaning of your home if it will make you feel better. But until then, you should relax with the cleaning before you have a breakdown.

sammyp
Contributor
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu May 24, 2018 2:08 pm

Re: Hi I’m new and very scared

Postby sammyp » Mon Jan 14, 2019 7:54 pm

If you had sepsis, you would know. People on here who've had sepsis have said they literally felt like they were dying.

Your WBC is confusing to me. With CDiff mine was elevated. And I feel like that's true for most people. I know you've been through a lot and I'm definitely not trying to patronize you but your symptoms don't really sound like CDiff. Constipation is not a usual CDiff symptom. I know there have been a few people here who've said they've experienced it too but I'm not entirely sure they were experiencing CDiff either. You'll find a lot of contention on the boards about this particular symptom. I'm saying this basically to say that with your other health issues and without the presence of extreme watery D (I was going 20+ times per day whether I drank or ate, didn't stop it) and a high WBC, I'd want my docs to investigate the possibility of other issues. There are many GI issues that can cause B and M - IBDs like Crohns and UC, for example. You mentioned you had a colonoscopy before CDiff began - does that mean you were having other GI problems prior to CDiff?

I agree about the sanitation. You definitely don't have to go overboard. I live with my husband, he has severe IBS flares and was in one when I got my CDiff. We have a tiny apartment with only one bathroom. I didn't know I had CDiff for an entire month - I wasn't bleaching or cleaning and he never got it. CDiff is out in the world. You come in contact with it all the time. The best way to protect against it is handwashing according to FDA guidelines. And if you have an accident on any linens or other surfaces in your house, that's when you'd want to either throw things away or bleach.

AllisS
Long Time Contributor
Posts: 1889
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:52 pm

Re: Hi I’m new and very scared

Postby AllisS » Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:03 am

Hi Rose18, welcome to the site. Please read our guidelines for all new posters; it's the first thread in the intro category.

It's difficult (as you surmise, yourself) to respond to such a long post, but I will try to address a few of your questions. First, LHutz is absolutely right about the excessive cleaning that you're doing. You can (and should) eliminate about 99 percent of it immediately. C. diff isn't easily transmitted; its sole route of transmission is fecal-to-oral -- you have to "ingest" spores, e.g., by touching your mouth or nose with a hand that's contaminated by stool. Thorough hand-washing with soap and water after bathroom use, before eating or preparing food, and when returning to the house after being out in the world is key to prevention of C. diff (as well as other illnesses). If you find yourself unable to curtail the overcleaning, you should seek professional help from a therapist. Given all of your health issues and your social isolation, you would likely benefit from talking with a therapist in any case. I realize that having limited funds makes it more difficult to find a therapist, but if you live in or anywhere near a city this resource should still be available; ask your PCP or other doctor whom you see if they can help with this.

I agree with sammyp that your symptoms don't sound like C. diff. They sound more like IBS and/or a motility disorder. It's very unlikely that you could have contracted C. diff from a colonoscopy.

Vanco isn't a good drug for people with preexisting hearing problems; it can cause hearing problems even in people whose hearing had been normal. I'm surprised that a doctor would prescribe this, given your history.

It also sounds as though you're overdoing it with the probiotics. Many people are under a misimpression that the more probiotics and probiotic foods they take the better, but this isn't the case. Probiotics can cause GI symptoms themselves. Also, there are, as of yet, no data-supported studies showing actual benefits of probiotics in relation to C. diff. The sole exception seems to be Florastor, which, in a few studies, indicated benefit for hospitalized patients. I'd cut back on some of the probiotics.

If you're able to stop the obsessive cleaning, I think you'll find that you have a lot more energy, and though it may seem counterintuitive because you're doing the cleaning to try and quell anxiety, you'll have more peace of mind as well. Obsessive activity only serves to create more anxiety.

Last but not least, if you've been unable to eat anything other than white bread for a week, you need to be seen by a doctor or to go to the ER.

Wishing you the best with your multiple health challenges.
If your illness was preceded by use of a medication, e.g., an antibiotic, please fill out an FDA Adverse Event Report at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm


Return to “General C. diff. Discussion”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 24 guests