My mom has chronic CDIF since January this year. (3 confirmed lab tests & 4 times treated with vanco + flaje antibotics ). She has been in and out of hospital, then acute rehab, then back to AL. Not to mention multiple falls and has alzheimer's, PAD, COD, spinal stenosis, degenerated disc disease, 2 reputured discs, incontinencence, depression, cannot hear, drop foot and signs of parkinson as well. This last time she was in the hospital for the longest time, 8 days, prior to release. Every trip to hospital is getting longer and longer stay. We have seen a specialist, who suggested a higher dose of antibotics and/or fecal transplant (I know gross). The transplant (donor required) is a procedure done as colonoscopy. My mom cannot go through the "prep" work of colonoscopy, since she is so weak. She is on the higher dose of antibotics, plus the probotics, now. There are experimental frozen fecal pills- yaks...but cannot find any physcians who would treat her in that manner.
How can an elderly individual continue to be on an antibiotic for CDIF?
It's horrible what my mother is experiencing and I am at my 'wits' end on what to do with this situation. Any advice is appreciated.
My mother's treatment was one of the first and she did not have to "drink" anything. It was done via tube into the digestive system. The donor may or may not be a family member. A family member's microbiome (gut bacteria) may be too similar to that of the person getting the treatment for it to be seriously effective. If you are in the US an option to get frozen standardised samples might be an option.
Consider talking to her medical team about how she would benefit from the treatment and what she would want before putting her through it. The treatment has a high success rate and it may clear up your mother's infection but it sounds like she was suffering a lot before she even got the infection.
After rounds of antibiotics and hospital stays, he did get the fecal transplant that has stopped the cdiff. However, he is now in such a weakened state, he has no quality of life. He is barely walking and just sits in his recliner all day sleeping mostly and watching a little tv. Back and forth to the bathroom and out to car for trips to dialysis is all he can barely manage to do. Has been on oxygen 24/7 for about 5 years. What is the point of this? His mind is even starting to fail now.
IF he gets any worse, he has to go to a nursing home. I cannot take care of an invalid with all the other things I have to do running a ranch and it isn't my obligation, he does have some long distance family. I told him that a few days ago. He knows if he falls again he has to go to a nursing home, the doctors told him that.
Now he has fluid around his left lung and heart. He thinks he will be much better once that is drawn off. It's always another treatment that he thinks will improve his health. Meanwhile, his health continues to decline, rapidly over the past 12 months.
I do have some great neighbors that can take him into town to dialysis right now. But Where does it end?
C.diff will be hard to eradicate as your mother has compromised immune system as well as multiple comorbids that make her a susceptible host.
The only treatment I know of is the fecal transplant. And that may not work but may be worth a try. Colonoscopy prep will be difficult. There also are diet plans for c.diff you can look up on the Internet & use as guidance.
This is such a hard situation and I wish you the best of luck.
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