Daughter losing weight/waiting for FMT

[Artmother]

My daughter is on Vanco, 4 x's daily while she waits for a FMT on 7/30/14. She has had 4 reoccurrences of C Diff since 1/14/14. She has no appetite and cramping. She has lost 27 lbs since January. She is only 5'1" tall, so the weight loss is dramatic. I am considering trying supplement shakes like Ensure, but I don't know anything about them. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!

[saraht]

You could try them and see if they help. I would ask her dr first. Can she eat at all? Did she try the BRAT diet? Bananas Rice Applesauce Toast. Cdiff can be such a funny thing. When you have it for long periods of time like we all have you learn what your tummy can and can't handle. Does she take a multi-vit? I have a friend that is a nutritionist who suggested to me that I take a chewable multi-vit everyday. Easier to absorb since your mouth has started more of the breakdown compared to swallowing a pill. That is just to make sure she is getting her daily need of vitamins and minerals if she's not eating well and still having D.
Another thing to look for is dairy. I'm not sure if ensure has dairy in it. Has she developed some kind of lactose intolerance? A lot of us suffers develop lactose intolerance. Maybe you could try cutting off dairy and see if that helps.

I'm no dr, just making suggestions that have helped me. I will say a prayer for your daughter, and I hope she beats this nasty thing soon!

-Sarah

[chinacherry88]

Hi artmum,
So sorry to hear your daughter is still suffering. Hope the FMT put an end to this awful disease. As far as the weight loss is concern she could try some kind of milkshake called fresubin -It's the only thing my stomach could handle during my c-diff days- It's absorb in the high part of the intestines so it doesn't hurt the tummy as well. By the way, I think Fresubin can only be prescribed by a doctor. Furthermore, if her weight loss is so compromised I'll contact to your GI doctor ASAP. Mine put me on parenteral nutrition as well as on fresubin. Hope things turn for the better soon. Praying for you. Clara.

[beth22]

I could not handle Ensure or Boost. They went right through me. Try rice, broth, baked potato. If she can handle some baked turkey or chicken breast that would be good. Stay away from dairy and you might try a gluten free bread if you think gluten might be an issue.

[dawn813]

Artmother,
You say she has no appetite. There is a probiotic called primadolphilus reuteri which is said to help make you hungry so you can eat and gain weight. I tried it and it didnt agree with me. But others have tried it and it helped them to gain back some weight and regain their appetite. May be a good idea to check into this as long as its ok with her doctor. The probiotics would probably be good for her anyway since she has c diff. Just a suggestion.

[Bobbie]

Good call, Dawn. Several on our site "found" their appetites again after taking this probiotic. I meant to mention it but forgot. It can be purchased at WholeFoods or other health food stores or try online. I drank a lot of Ensure Plus to gain back weight.

[dawn813]

Yes I have heard Primadolphilus Reuteri has helped alot of people. I found mine on Walgreens.com. I got the Reuteri pearls which do not need refrigeration. Hope this info helps your daughter.

I will keep you both in my prayers ^_^

[Katchel7]

Hi there. I lost a lot of weight and relapsed with cdiff 5 times prior to have a fmt. I ate a lot of boiled rice with chicken stock when I was sick. The chicken broth was soothing to my stomach and also ginger soda eased my nausea. I had a fmt and was cured and slowly regained weight and my health. I've been cdiff free for one year now and eat everything. I'm sure the Fmt will work...it has a great success rate. All the very best and take care :)

[Artmother]

Katchel7
Hi people! I didn't think I had received any responses until just checking. Thank you so very much! Her GI's have told her not to take any vitamins. I will look into the probiotics and other suggestions ASAP. A weird feature of my daughter's C Diff is that she doesn't have any D, except for the very first day the C Diff appeared in January when she had bloody D pouring out of her. She sometimes has M and nausea. Mainly, she just has terrible stomach aches and crushing fatigue. She tests positive for C Diff. The FMT is in 4 days! She is afraid to hope it will help her, because she doesn't want to be disappointed. But, the post by Katchel7 was incredibly exciting! The thought that she could get better and eat again like she used to just seems miraculous after what she has been through. I will keep you posted.

[Artmother]

I should have proofread my last post, darn it! I didn't mean to have Katchel7 at the top. I typed it there to include the name in the body of my post.

[Artmother]

Dear Roy,
Your question is worth asking. The doctors are wondering the same thing, which is, 'does she have an underlying condition as well as C Diff?' She has tested positive for C Diff and has had symptoms of nausia, cramping and M. She only had D the first day of C Diff way back in January. The doctors were very confused about whether or not to give her an FMT without doing exploratory endoscopy and colonoscopy first. They decided to go ahead with the FMT. She had it today. The doctor saw some inflammation so he ended up taking 6 biopsys before he delivered the transplant material. I feel very sad because C Diff may not be the only problem for her. In addition, her donor didn't produce a very large amount of material to be transferred and the FMT may not work because of this. We are feeling pretty low. It was such a long process getting the FMT set up and now that is done, there isn't much of a feeling of triumph.

[beth22]

FMT helps in some other conditions as well. Some people have had microscopic colitis after c diff, others have had other conditions. Good that he took the biopsies and you will be able to tell from those. If nothing shows up, perhaps they can do another FMT if this one did not work. Or you can try stool enemas. For right now, just recuperate and see if this FMT makes her feel any better. Celiac usually causes inflammation in the small intestine from what I understand. Biopsies from the colon will not tell you if she has that, but there is a blood panel test that will.

[Artmother]

Beth,
It was your referral that led us to the doctors who are treating her now. I have been meaning to thank you again. Thank you! They are great. Now, we just have to wait and see what the next week will tell. The biopsy results will be in and we will know if the FMT took. Sometimes, it is just so hard to wait!

[Bobbie]

Don't give up hope. With FMT's, often it isn't the quantity but the quality of the donated stool. Did the doctor mention diet to you? Many C. diff experts recommend asking fiber to the diet after the FMT as it is supposed to "feed" the new bacteria. Check on this with her doctor. Best to both of you. Your daughter has a wonderful mother.