Disaster. Worst decision of my life...

Kittycatty,

  I had C-Diff about 8yrs ago, I also contracted it in the hospital but mine was when I had pneumonia.  Unfortunately you can get C-Diff no matter what you are in the hospital for.  I was put on vancomycin, was on it for what felt like forever but eventually I started feeling better and the C-Diff was gone.  Fast forward 6yrs, I had lapband surgery but the lapband erroded into my stomach.  It had to be removed so I had surgery to remove it.  I ended up with three infections, 1 in the stomach cavity and 1 in two of my incisions.  Was put on antibiotics and had to let the incisions heal from the inside out, my husband played doctor every 12hrs, cleaning/packing the incisions.  It took a total of 3 months for my incisions to close.  They stayed sensitive for a quite a while but eventually I stopped noticing.  Now two yrs later I have had gastric bypass.  Why? Because I knew in the long run it was going to be the 1 thing that helped me lose the weight I need to lose to be a healthier me.  In the beginning I asked myself what the heck did I do? But I am now 9 weeks out, I have lost 50+ pounds, I am looking better and better with everyday that goes by.  I get complements on my weightloss all the time from co workers and friends.  I am so happy I did this last surgery.  I could have just forgot it all after having the complications I did but I didn't, I knew there was something better.  I hope you start to feel better soon and that the regret you have now goes away.  Just give it some time, you will have trouble remembering the pain you are now in and you will be so happy with the weight loss journey you are on.  You are in my prayers as I know C-Diff nor open incisions are fun!  God Bless

Thank you. Bad day today. Can't swallow the vancomycin or flatly for the c diff. Pain is awful and my infected incision is oozing. Ugh. 

Are you on liquid Vanco?  How often are the incisions being cleaned and packed?  Make sure when they are packing you they do a tight pack.  I noticed everytime the nurse did the packing, she wouldn't pack it tight enough and by the time I drove (1hr) to get home I was in so much pain I could scream.  My husband would have to repack it because the gauze would rub on the meat and cause it to be worse.  The doctor finally stopped having a nurse do it and he would do it instead (at my check ups once a week).  What do they have you on for pain meds?  How often?  Make sure you take them right on time because it is easier to keep your pain level down if it doesn't get too high.

I'm so sorry for your experience.  Try to hang in there and pay attention to your docs orders and your own body signals.

I was operated on this past Wednesday in a private clinic in Montreal.  I had no difficulties, the staff and facilities were fabulous and I flew home to Saint John, NB three days later, though Air Canada wasn't thrilled with the idea.  I started at 360lbs. (62 yrs. old) and 3 weeks later, I'm down to 327!  I too am diabetic but am not on any pills now as my sugars are low.

Please hang in there and things will improve.

I am sorry that you're going through this.  Unfortunately risks are inherent with surgery and you drew the short straw, my friend.

I hope they'll get this under control and you'll feel better soon  

Thx. I'm on vanco caps. I'm taking T3s every 4 hours. Fortunately I have a nurse coming to my house daily to do the dressing changes. I realize I'm just feeling low and really hadn't prepared for anything but a great outcome. I just hope w time things will turn around. 

Thank hank you to everyone who has responded. 

I have spent the better part of my last 8 years as nursing home nurse and understand the difficulty that C-Diff causes the aged body.  I can only imagine the difficulty that it is causing to your compromised health post surgery.  I know you are feeling heartbreak and resentment.  I know that healing can occur, be strong.  I know this path is arduous and it seems like something insurmountable, but lean on your friends, faith and will.

The one strong bit of advice I will give you is this... Maintain rigorous hygiene with everyone.  Anyone steps into your home, prepares your food, touches your clothing, or is around you must wash hands and use sanitizer.  Anyone that is leaving your place and going home to immuno-compromised loved ones needs to be aware.  By maintaining proper hand-washing and ardent disinfection  you can decrease your re-infection.  Getting it again or passing it to a loved one does happen.

When you get healthy consider taking florastor to balance your your GI flora, that will help prevent re-occurrence of GI infection.

I am so sorry to hear all the difficulty you have had.

I will share a little of my experience. I had my RNY surgery on 5/5/15. Was supposed to be 2 hour surgery and turned into 8 hours. I woke up in ICU on a ventilator for a few days. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought something like that would happen.  My complications were from a hernia repair I previously had and started bleeding out severely. My stomach is 4X bigger than doctor wanted but he had to close me up since my I started crashing. I don't know what the future holds for me in terms of weight loss. My last visit with my doctor was 9 days ago and I have lost 26lbs. I am still very weak but getting stronger every day. I see my doc. tomorrow and hope to have all 80 staples removed from my incision. However, I still wouldn't change my decision to have this surgery. I will just have to really work a little harder to loose weight. I know my complications are very different than yours. I wish you the best and hope positive changes come soon. 

Sue

thank you for sharing. I'm sorry to learn of your challenges. I think your positive attitude will play a huge role in recovery and weight loss. I wish I knew how to get back my positive attitude. I need to. As I feel so despondent. I was so excited going in to the procedure and now I feel the exact opposite. 

While led I don't wish a bad outcome on anyone. It is reassuring to know that I am not the only "short straw" out there. 

I wish you all the best in your road to health. 

I think once your infections get a little better it will help tremendously. I am 54 and don't rebound like I did before. LOL Hang in there. It must be incredibly frustrating but keep pushing forward and one day you will wake up and feel just a little better and will make all the difference. 

Sue