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[honeybun]

Over the past couple of days my 91 yr old mother has had a couple of bouts of really bad diarrhoea. She has been on antibiotics off and on for the past 8 weeks or so for recurrent bladder infections.
From reading online this looks to me as if it could be C diff. There is a stool sample going off today so I am not really sure how long the results will take. I do know this is highly infectious. How do I get over the huge importance of cleanliness as she is confused at the best of times.

Any thoughts ladies as if it is c diff I really don't want to catch it.


Honeyb
X

[Joyce]

Not sure HB, it could be, but there are also several nasty tummy bugs going about. My son's GF has been I'll with one of them & youngest granddaughter has been hit with second bug in 3 weeks.

C Diff or bug, rules the same. Clean hands with soap & water. Be extra careful with your mum. You can't watch her all the time. Wash, wash, wash. Make sure her loo is disinfected, towels boiled. I expect you know all this having done food hygiene.

[Tinkerbell]

Is she still on the antibiotics?

I ended up on antibiotics last year for 12 weeks and got several episodes of diarrhoea during that time and it took a couple of week to settle down even after i finished them.

I wonder if this is your mum's problem.

[honeybun]

She is off the antibiotics now. She has not been out really to catch anything and this has just come out of the blue. The thing that makes me think it's C diff is it stops and she is fine and then starts again. The district nurse who asked for the sample I suspect thinks the same as she told her it was most likely a bug in the bowel which could be treated with antibiotics.   

C diff can occur for up to 10 weeks after stopping antibiotics it would seem.

I hope I am wrong but it does seem a bit of a coincidence. Although she has had bowel troubles in the past and the slightest thing sets her off.
Maybe it's something else completely. She has no bloating or weight loss so heaven knows.
It does make her very week though.

Honeyb
X

[Joyce]

I hope it's not HB! At least the district nurse is on the ball & had a sample sent for testing. Not sure how long it takes for results though, but if anything like salmonella about 2/3 days. Her surgery should be able to keep you right.

[Taz2]

Does she have the same symptoms as your husband when he had it Honeybun? The one thing I remember from when my dad caught it was the dreadful pain that he and the other five patients in his ward suffered. It was truly excrutiating!  Also the smell from C.Diff diarrhoea is very distinctive - not like ordinary diarrhoea at all. He also lost a stone in weight within ten days. It didn't start and stop.

Taz 

[honeybun]

His was caught in hospital Taz. He is the most stoic person I know who never ever complains. He said he had stomach pain and was running for days and days. It said on the NHS website that it can come in waves and stops and starts so I really don't know. The district nurse seemed to suggest it could be. Mum gets very confused as who said what and when. I may have got ahead of myself here. Started with one and one and made six.
By the time we got hubbies results back it had stopped. They tested again and he was clear so he had no treatment at all. He was easier to manage as we had two bathrooms and the one he used was off limits to everyone else. I do remember we had a holiday booked and were not sure if we were going to be able to go. We did make it but he was very washed out for a while afterwards.

I think I would rather she had this than any other nasties. Don't know what it is but she is quite poorly with no appetite at all. The runs have stopped so we shall see if it starts again. Fingers crossed.

Honeyb
X

[Taz2]

She's been having bouts of this for some time hasn't she. It will be good to get it sorted. Has the doc run any other tests before now?

Taz x

[honeybun]

No tests despite repeated requests. Maybe it's nothing more than a very old body that's wearing out. I do hope it's something that could be sorted though. I do know she won't have anything more than an xray done. She is just so old and cope with much now.
Oh happy days just thinking of the clearing up.

Tell you one thing ladies. There is no way I want to live to her age.

Honeyb
X

[tink]

Hi Honeybun,

It could be C diff but needs strong antibiotics to clear it up. my dad has dementia and is doubly incontinent he has a catheter in and frequently gets urine infections, as a result he is on antibiotics regularly. He gets C diff a lot because of this and ends up in hospital, antibiotics destroy the good bacteria in the stomach allowing the C Diff (which we all carry ) to flare up. I read just recently that probiotics drinks and porridge are good at replacing the good bacteria when taking antibiotics.

Tink

[honeybun]

She seems better today so perhaps I jumped to conclusions. The test has gone in so at least we can find out what is going on if anything. Perhaps it's just because she is old. Everything else is wearing out and slowing down so perhaps the bowel is too. It's hard to watch her become so dependant and frail. After all every thing has been working for 91years, stands to reason I guess that things don't work so well.

Sorry to hear about your dad tink. It must be very hard for him and for you.

 

Honeyb
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[tink]

Thanks Honeybun,

yes Dad went downhill after an operation to remove a brain tumour, he was only 65, after the operation he was fine then he has radiotherapy which exacerbated the vascular dementia. H would have got dementia anyway but not till he was a lot older. he is 70 now, its hard for my mum who looks after him. I do what I can but I have Multiple Sclerosis so can only help a little. OH is brilliant though.

Tink

[oldsheep]

Hope it's not C Diff. When will you hear? They should come back to you quickly if it is.

OH has had it. I had to use bleach cleaner in the bathroom. Otherwise just normal soap and water etc. If your immune system is ok, you shouldn't really catch it.

[honeybun]

Should have updated. Tests were clear. We got the GP in as she refused to go to the surgery.
She has been given pills for her overactive bladder which the GP said may well help the overactive bowel.
She has now had every test known to mankind. Does she think this is enough..ummmm nope.

Honeyb
X

[CLKD]

What else does she think she is entitled to in the way of tests?  Does she want something to be diagnosed which would = treatment?