3rd times a charm...?

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amorphis
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Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:20 am

3rd times a charm...?

Postby amorphis » Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:12 am

Hello everyone! I am a 27 year old female, and this is my 5th time with cdiff! It all started with doctors shoving antibiotics down my throat for what they thought were utis... Which ended up being a nerve issue! This went on for YEARS! All the antibiotic usage finally caught up with me in 2017, when I was diagnosed for the first time via colonoscopy. I have been treated with flagyl 1x Vanco 1x Firvanq 1x and have had 2 fmts. The first FMT was totally botched, and done at Stanford. I almost died because of the result, and ended up in a local hospital for two weeks. My local GI ended up doing one and I was free from the beast since October... Then a family member came over with the stomach flu! She then gave it to me, and it destroyed my system. I had to go to the emergency room the other day for being so severely ill again... And wella! It was back. I made an emergency gi appointment for today, and he is having me do firvanq 4x a day until Friday.. Which will be my 3rd fmt. I already have so many health issues, and I am 5'1 and 107 lbs... I cannot lose more weight. I have lost so much already :(. I am stressing out so bad, the antibiotics are making me so sick... Not to mention I have to share a bathroom with my beloved... I am doing everything in my power to stay on top of the cleaning, bleaching, etc. I am just so tired...

A few questions...

1. Do I have to bleach the toilet after I pee even?
2.What do I have to do to prepare my home for my FMT Friday? (Like what to wipe down in my bedroom,etc. I know I'll bleach the WHOLE bathroom!)

AllisS
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Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:52 pm

Re: 3rd times a charm...?

Postby AllisS » Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:37 am

Hi amorophis, welcome to the site. When you have a chance, please read our guidelines for all new posters, which you'll find in the first category of the Intro thread.

I'm not clear on how your episode of a stomach bug transitioned into a C. diff recurrence. How did you know the C. diff had returned?

To answer your first question, you absolutely do not need to be bleaching your toilet after urinating. C. diff isn't easily transmitted to other members of the household. The most important preventive measure is thorough handwashing: after bathroom use and before preparing or eating food. (Try to avoid food prep when you have diarrhea, whether C. diff-related or not.)

It sounds as though you're overbleaching; the only route of transmission of C. diff is fecal-to-oral, so another person isn't going to contract C. diff simply by using the same bathroom. If it gives you peace of mind to bleach surfaces and handles/knobs in the bathroom, you could purchase Clorox Germicidal Bleach Wipes online (they aren't available in retail stores or pharmacies), along with some disposable gloves, for convenience. It's unnecessary to apply bleach after every use of the bathroom.

As for your second question about preparing your house prior to FMT: There is nothing you need to "wipe down" in your bedroom. Bleaching in the bathroom needn't be any different than if you weren't having FMT.
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

roy
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Re: 3rd times a charm...?

Postby roy » Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:31 am

Firvanc and Vanco are the same medication.
Firvanc is the manufacturers answer to the much cheaper liquid vancomycin that's compounded from the IV vancomycin powder vials.
Only the cost is different.
Prior to each treatment did you have the classic watery D that your Drs recognized as a symptom of c.diff?
The timeline of your treatment is unusual, only 3 antibiotic courses but already on to 3rd FMT is quite drastic and you have not mentioned Dificid.

amorphis
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Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:20 am

Re: 3rd times a charm...?

Postby amorphis » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:15 pm

roy wrote:
> Firvanc and Vanco are the same medication.
> Firvanc is the manufacturers answer to the much cheaper liquid vancomycin
> that's compounded from the IV vancomycin powder vials.
> Only the cost is different.
> Prior to each treatment did you have the classic watery D that your Drs
> recognized as a symptom of c.diff?
> The timeline of your treatment is unusual, only 3 antibiotic courses but
> already on to 3rd FMT is quite drastic and you have not mentioned Dificid.

Hi Roy, I know my timeline is unusual. I always forget the vanco and firvanq are the same, so forgive me on that one. As for dificid, my insurance refuses to cover it, even thought my gi and I have fought for it (I Cannot afford it as I am disabled). So, that is why FMT was decided upon in the first place. I do no respond well to any antibiotics, as I have an auto-immune condition and nephropathy. Every time I have had watery D, yes. They do the tests and comes back positive with toxins as well. It just keeps coming back.

amorphis
Brand New Poster
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:20 am

Re: 3rd times a charm...?

Postby amorphis » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:18 pm

AllisS wrote:
> Hi amorophis, welcome to the site. When you have a chance, please read our
> guidelines for all new posters, which you'll find in the first category of
> the Intro thread.
>
> I'm not clear on how your episode of a stomach bug transitioned into a C.
> diff recurrence. How did you know the C. diff had returned?
>

Hi AllisS, Thank you for your response. I will read the guidelines!

Basically, The D never went away from the stomach bug, and my gi thinks it messed with my "good bugs", so the cdiff was able to thrive. They ended up testing my feces and came back positive. It ended up getting worse as time went on, but at first it was the exact same as my cousins.

NanciT
Long Time Contributor
Posts: 3035
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2014 12:01 pm

Re: 3rd times a charm...?

Postby NanciT » Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:18 pm

Dificid does have a Web site and I believe we have had several posters check into getting the medication through the drug company.

It's worth a try

NanciT

beth22
Long Time Contributor
Posts: 10852
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:23 pm

Re: 3rd times a charm...?

Postby beth22 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 3:04 am

I have had to do more than one FMT. Don't give up. Are you using your own donor?


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