Like many I had diarrhea issues during TCHP 6 cycles 3 weeks apart. On the last cycle, diarrhea started the day after. I put up with it like usual and used loperimide but on day 5, I found that I was loosing more fluid than I could taking in.
So, I went the the nearest hospital for I/v fluids, I was away on holiday. I could see this was a bad situation, I had to travel home wearing big pads.
So I went straight to my hospital A&e near home. I was given more fluids I/v and blood and faecal sames were given. Quickly they determined I was suffering from clotridoides difficile colitis. I had 6 nights in hospital and received vancomycin for 10 days.
The problem didn’t completely resolve. Unfortunately I waited a few days and then I was back in hosp for another 6 nights. The next treatment was 14 days of vancomycin and 5 days of metronidazole. I recovered however I suffered another recurrence 5 days later, recurrence is a characteristic of c.diff.
This time, I went straight to A&E in day one. The hospital stay was 4 nights. I was prescribed vanco to go home with, my electrolytes were topped up too.
By this stage, with chemo and diarrhea effects, I had lost about 17kg, reducing me to 57 KG body weight.
As it stands now, recurrences are the problem. Antibiotics clear the infection and beneficial gut flora but not the spores which cause the recurrence. The recurrence can get away in the absence of normal flora.
Apparently the next line of treatment is a Faecal Microbiota Transplant FMT from a donor. To avoid ending up back in hosp with c.diff, there isn’t much option other than accept the FMT from the hospital microbiology department. It’s quite a big thing (idea) to cope with but if that gives my colon a chance, before it’s ruined and has to be removed, it’s a small matter to contend with and so the colonoscopy and transplant will go ahead in about 2 weeks. We expect this and a timely antibiotic treatment, to arrest this dreadful bacterial infection which was oppertunistic due to the chemo effects.
During this current Antibiotic regime, I had breast surgery one week ago, a bilateral therapeutic mamoplasty. The right side was affected by BC and the left side was reduced to match the right side. Right side had the original lump removed, 2 lymph nodes removed through the lumpectomy incision and also a larger area of calcifications were removed. The surgeon did a fab job creating Wise Pattern incusions on both boobs. It’s healing well with no pain. I was in hosp for 2 nights and had nothing draining at the op site. I am now one week after surgery and dressings ( which look like flexible cellotape) come off in one week.
So chemo, c.diff and surgery has been a lot to cope with but I have made it out the other side. After the FMT, I still have radiation and 3 weekly Trastuzamab until the end of the year.
I wish you all every success, stay strong and and enjoy what you can. Thank you for this forum, it has been an enormous help.
I live in New Zealand.
but I’ve found another thread covering that. Interesting about the eating too much.