I have been surrounded with poop so much in the last 6 weeks, I could scream! I have talked about it, examined it and taken enough samples of it to last me a lifetime.
It is true, Elizabeth has CDiff-AGAIN! Or perhaps it never really went away from her last bout in late April. Either way, the infection is there. This is what she was JUST hospitalized for. She also took a larger dose of antibiotics for a longer than normally prescribed amount of time. And still, it is there, taking residence in her poor intestines three weeks later. Grrr!!
Last Thursday I took a stool sample to the lab as is protocol. With CDiff, you take the course of antibiotic, wait a week and then take a stool sample in for testing to prove that the CDiff has cleared. Anyway, I took it in last Thursday. By Saturday, Liz started complaining of stomach pain again and saying that she thought she thought the CDiff was back. Yesterday, the nurse called to tell me that results were in and Liz is testing positive for it. So frustrating!!! Of course, Liz is her doctor's only patient to have recurring CDiff. Poor baby.
Normally, she would start on a dose of Flagyl, an antibiotic used to treat CDiff. With her last course of Flagyl, used last month to treat the CDiff it became obvious that she is allergic to it. Frustrating because the 4 other times she as had the infection, she did fine on the Flagyl. I have learned, though, that your body may not show an allergy or intolerance to a medication at the first (or second or third...) course of treatment. This is also frustrating because there are only a few drugs used to cure CDiff. She will start on Vancomycin and then go to Cholestyramine. Hopefully her body will react to the medication over the next 24-36 hours. The next step would be admitting her to start iv antibiotics. Liz's Gastroenterologist is trying hard to treat her as an Outpatient, which I appreciate. We'll see how she does...we DO NOT want to go back to the hospital!
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