C-Diff and Holding it in?

[T_Anna]

Is it possible to have c-diff and be able to hold it in a few days?

 

DS15 has his most severe OCD in relation to the bathroom. He will only oh once a week and it is surrounded with rituals. He goes to the bathroom after dinner on Sunday evenings. The past two weeks he has been suffering cramps and "not quite making it" to the bathroom on time. Last week it was Saturday afternoon. And the same thing happened last night. Sorry to be gross, but he didn't make it to the bathroom and I had to clean a spot up outside the bathroom door. It was very loose.

 

He had an IVIG on Thursday and Friday and last night was in obvious abdominal pain. This is his 5th IVIG and he has never had a bad reaction.

 

My question:

Can OCD have such control that even with diarrhea, you could try hold it in?

 

Also, he won't come out until he is completely "clean". The past few weeks it had become "drastically" longer and longer while everything else has gotten much better.

 

Thanks as always,

T.Anna

Edited December 14, 2013 by t_anna

[qannie47]

I cant imagine him be able to hold it. These things seem to take on a life of their own and no matter how bad one would like to hold onto it, I just cant see that it would be possible. Maybe their is something in his diet that is slowing down his bowels?

[T_Anna]

He's proven in the past that OCD can be stronger than his bowels. He would go only once a week (Sundays) even when he was on laxatives and fiber, he would have cramps, but still not go.

 

The integrative doctor wants to work on gut more aggressively in the voming weeks, maybe that will be the trick.

 

T.Anna

[qannie47]

wow. I confess I do not have a lot of first hand experience with ocd. Do they also treat ocd thru gut issues? btw...how is school

[JoyBop]

I don't think that it would be possible to hold it in if it were really cdiff. Cdiff diarrhea is explosive and quite severe. Many people end up in the hospital with it. I'm not suggesting that he doesn't have something going on but my guess is that its not cdiff if he's only going once a week.

 

I'm sorry he's having such difficulty with this. It sounds like a horrible thing for him to have to face. I hope the doc is able to help heal his gut.

[Missmom]

I don't know about holding it for that long, but last year i was having cramps and loose stools but nothing terrible. I also was only going every couple of days and sometimes it was relatively normal looking. I thought it was irritable bowel. I went in for a colon scope and they tested for c diff.. Sure enough it was positive. After all I have read about c-diff I would never have suspected that as I never felt that bad. I guess mine was a pretty mild case. Anyway, I took flagyl and it got better in a couple of weeks. I think depending on each individuals gut I think it can be controlled and sometimes not recognized. I would ask his doctor to test for it. It is a pretty simple test and I can't imagine a doctor saying no. You just provide the stool sample. Wait until he has another incident and take that stool sample in. Often times they won't even run the test on solid stool.

 

I sympathize with you and your family. Living with OCD is difficult for everyone in the household. I hope things improve.

[T_Anna]

Thanks

 

School update. I spoke to someone with inside information who said the school is very committed to calling CPS regardless if he is enrolled or not. The same person said that the school is doing research now instead of before the meeting.

 

On Monday I am bringing in Childhood Interrupted by Beth Maloney and will pursue a time to have a conference call with the author and the school. The strategy is to help them understand the illness better and to state my position clearly. I want to be aggressive without burning bridges as I have two more kids going there. This way any "aggressive" ideas will be coming from the advocate and not me.

 

In advance, I sent the school some links to different sources about this illness. I have also started some waves within the school community and among my friends. It will be interesting to see if anything is mentioned on Monday.

 

Btw, the new book is really amazing, even for those of us who already think we know so much. I

 

T.Anna

Edited December 15, 2013 by t_anna

[JoyBop]

Early, mild cdiff can start with cramping and a little diarrhea but if left untreated it will eventually get explosive and watery. The problem with the stool testing is that there are many false negatives. Sometimes you can get up to three false negatives before getting the positive. So you many have to have him tested several times if it persists. I also wanted to mention that sometimes when kids hold it in, they can create constipation which can cause a clog in the system. Then the sludge and other particle that are left shoot around the impacted stool giving the appearance of diarrhea when in fact its a result if constipation...just a thought.

 

Good luck at the meeting!! Well be thinking of you. So glad Beth is going to join you.

[dcmom]

T Anna-

 

I highly recommend the three wk intensive outpatient program at USF to help deal with the OCD.

[T_Anna]

Thanks DcMom. I have spoken with Dr.Storch several times. His opinion is that a teen needs to be "ready"...we will get there but are not there yet. Dr.Storch did not think he sounded ready. USF is a definite choice since I'm in Tampa every few months anyway for work.

 

I have to say that the most encouraging words I've heard were from Beth Maloney. They were simple: "He will get better, he will go to college."

 

The past few days DS had a rough time with thoughts. I have been reading newspaper articles to him (nothing related to illness or shootings though) he has begun to form a very comprehensive understanding of politics and world events. He also has a deep understanding of Obamacare and it's failures. My point, is that his brain is mending, his memory and empathy are back, he just needs to shake off a few more things. I'm just wondering about the gut.

 

Would anyone suggest trying FLAGYL for 10 days and seeing if things improve??

 

T.Anna