Superbugs

[Spudz27]

Hey guy's,

Thought I would start a topic about superbugs, in particular c-diff which is becoming more and more virulent in aus everyday. I have been sick for over a year. In nov 11 I had my 4th heart op, but I got an infection in a heamatoma that was in my leg after the op. Anyway I was treated with every med under the sun, then sent home with oral antibiotics. I looked like death and ever since, I do not think a week has passed without me needing antibiotics.

Anyway 7wks ago I got food poisoning symptoms, but it was accompanied by severe pain. The doc said it was the antibiotics and persevere. 2wks later it was worse with bleeding etc, so the doc did a stool test and it was positive for c diff (clostridium difficile). Back on antibiotics for 10 days, only 4days later and on christmas day of all days where I had to drive 350km to see family, it came back. I was put back on the same meds for 10 days and the symptoms got better. Now 5 days on, it is worse than ever. So my doc being as good as he is liased with infectious disease experts on what to do. He even rang me at 10 last night, because he wanted the advice of a consultant not a registrar and the consultant was not on till 9pm. So now I have to go on a 6wk dose of a stronger med and if that fails, we have to look at a fecal matter transplant. Yep you read right, a healthy persons crap is mixed up and injected into the sick patients colon. This forces the body to create all new gut flora and should wipe out the c diff spores.

Now here is the info I want to make people aware of..... c diff is spread by the spores getting on the hand and being transmitted by mouth. Handwash like alcohol based rubs do nothing to kill them. The only thing to do is old school soap and water and even then your just washing them down the sink. It is worse in nursing homes and hospitals and is usually brought on by certain antibiotics killing all the good flora. We can live happily with c diff and never know we have it as it will happily co exist with your gut flora, it isn't until you wipe out the flora that it goes nuts. The spores produce a toxin, in mild cases you might get the runs and then it stops when the meds are stopped, In moderate to severe cases it causes inflamation of the colon, which causes pain, constant toilet stops, bleeding, fever, dehydration etc.

I am now in a case study into how it is spreading throughout aus, and the lady listened to mystory and said I have prob had it for years with the odd 1 day symptoms, but for whatever reason, now my body couldn't keep it at bay. So as you can imagine I am pretty sick at the moment.

I just wanted to make people aware that when you are on antibiotics, probiotics are very important, although I was taking and am taking probiotics and it isn't helping. If you are sick or on antibiotics and you begin getting cramps, runs etc that do not go away when ceasing the meds, get tested immediately. I went 3 weeks before being tested and kept taking antibiotics which made it worse. Now I am struggling to get rid of it. I prob picked it up in hospital and lived happily with it till just now.

Just wanted to inform people about this as it is a superbug, relatively new to aus and does not seem to be portrayed in the media like other superbugs do.