New here and looking for help. - ThinnerTimes

pauljchisholm · 04-24-2007, 06:59 AM

My name is Paul and I had gastric bypass surgery in early December 2006. Since then I have been suffering with C-Difficile. Through a series of mis-diagnosis and inadequate medication, this has gone on too long. Has anyone else been inflicted with this disease? Is it a common side effect of the surgery? What medications have worked for you? Which doctors have been able to prescribe the proper meds? Is this re-occuring? Sorry to ask so many questions, but I am so tired of this disease. Any information you can offer will be helpful to me in order to now try to help myself. Thank you in advance for all your help.
Paul

JenBear7 · 04-24-2007, 07:41 AM

Welcome Paul.. never apologize for asking questions! I am still pre-op, and cant answer any of them, but wanted to welcome you! I do believe LisaM had C-diff.. if it wasnt her, it was someone .. and I am more than sure that someone will have some answers for you!

GOOD LUCK!

Bypassingme619 · 04-24-2007, 08:35 AM

Paul I am sure there a couple of people here who have suffered from colitis. What antibiotics have you been taking? Has there been any talk about more extensive treatment? Paul I hope you find someone who can better help you. Hang in there.

Kendebrat · 04-24-2007, 09:44 AM

Paul - Welcome - sorry I can't help either, I am only two weeks post-op - I know you will get your question answered and it will be interesting to hear the answer - Hope you can get well soon.

Caroll · 04-24-2007, 04:03 PM

Hi Paul and welcome. I'm new to the forum as well. My surgery was 4/9. I am a nurse and the antibiotic of choice that we use in the hospital is Flagyl .

RGD · 04-24-2007, 04:14 PM

Hello Paul -

Yes I had C-Diff. Mine was due to the massive antibiotics given to me after I suffered a rupture and was drug induced for a week.

As soon as I was diagnosed - I was placed under quarantine.

At first I was given "something" via IV. After that they gave me Flagyl which is an extremely bitter drug - four times a day. After about two weeks of being home (four weeks total I guess) they then changed the drug to Vancocin.

Vancocin cost me $100 for a two week supply - and that was after insurance covered their part.

You have to be very careful not to infect others in your family. Hopefully you have more than one bathroom so that only you can use one. I placed all of my dirty clothes in plastic bags to be washed by themselves.

As for the Doctor - since I was in the hospital at the time: an Infectious Disease Doctor was brought in. I continued to see him for two months before being cleared.

I would say that unless you have been put on Flagyl or Vancocin - and - practiced extreme hygiene procedures - it's not re-occurring, you just haven't been cured from the first go around.

Best of luck to you with this -

Ron

LisaM · 04-24-2007, 05:07 PM

I also got it from a dose of antibiotics that shouldn't have been given to me (long story). And was treated with the same drugs Rob was--only they started me on the vancomycin (Vancocin) in the hospital, as Flagyl makes me desperately ill. What happens is basically, all the good bacteria in your gut get killed off for one reason or another, and clostridium difficile, another kind of bacteria, takes over. When it progresses to pseudomembranous colitis, which it did with me, it can cause incredible diarrhea, vomiting, etc. I was in the hospital for eight days, nearly died. Obviously this isn't what's going on with you, or you'd be dead already.

It can also be a disease that you catch AT the hospital, known as a nosocomial infection. Evidently C.dif is quite virulent, hard to kill, and fairly easy to transfer, so yes, if you actually have C.dif, you should at a minimum be cleaning your bathroom, particularly the toilet, frequently with strong disinfectants, and you should be treated with some serious antibiotics. If you have C.dif-caused diarrhea, there is a very specific, eggy smell to it that is completely unlike any other elimination you've had in your life (TMI, I know, sorry). Here's a link to the Centers for Disease Control's webpage on the bacteria: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/id_cdiffFAQ_general.html

I can give you one piece of advice. After trying every preparation under the sun, the only thing that finally got my gut back in tune with itself was taking yogurt cultures, also known as acidophilus or lactobacillus acidophilus. They started me on them in the hospital, you can get them in capsule form at most pharmacies--they keep them behind the counter because most must be refrigerated. They really straightened me up, and any time the smell came back, I would just go back on the acidophilus for a week, and I did fine.

Here's another webpage of a guy with personal experience, and he mentions the yogurt cultures, as well: http://www.cdiffsupport.com/aboutcdiff.html

There's also a good article here.