Side effects of big-time antibiotic therapy... Cure may be worse than the problem... Suggestions please!!?

Question

Here's the story... 80 year old woman at high risk for postoperative surgical infection. On major IV antibiotics... going off antibiotics is NOT an option. Causing diarrhea and PERSISTENT nausea and dry heaves. We are already giving her acidophillus with each meal. Nausea means she can hardly eat and is becoming malnourished... which of course effects her ability to heal. Dr. is giving her anti-nausea meds, but they are only marginally effective. Diarrhea is another issue, but not as directly a problem in her overall recovery. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Answer 1

Sounds like she's got herself a case of Clostridium Difficile which is common with long term and high antibiotic use.

Have you tried ginger for the nausea?  Keeping offensive smells away?  Also push fluids, ice pops or water ice seem to work well for me when extremely nauseated. I would so much worry about her eating as I would her becoming dehydrated!!

Hope this helps!!

Holly RN

Answer 2

Get her some good weed and a vaporizer (heats the weed until it releases THC, but not carcinogens and hot smoke).  She'll be eating in no time.

Answer 3

Since there is diarrhea, the first thing is to get her off all the dairy products.  You didn't say how you were getting her the acidophillus, but one of the best ways to replenish depleated gut bacteria is with organic live culture yogurt, that also includes lactobacillus as well.  Aside from that, there shouldn't be any other dairy.  For the nausea, one of the best tricks I've found is ginger.  She can nibble bits of candied ginger, sip flat ginger ale, or you can make a ginger tea using the fresh ginger or even powdered ginger(though fresh is best).  Making ginger tea with fresh ginger, use the stuff in the jar that's already smashed up, or grate a piece about golf-ball sized.   Steep it in hot water, about 2-4 cups worth depending on how strong you want it or she likes it, for 5 minutes.  You can sweeten it as she likes- sugar or honey, just not any of the fake sugar.  Cooled to lukewarm, she can sip it.    Ginger often settles woggy bellys when nothing else will.  As far as eating, it has to be pretty much low to no fat, and in very small amounts each time until her stomach settles a bit.  Soft boiled eggs, baby rice cereal or the cream of wheat/rice, bananas, applesauce, and the old standby soda crackers usually stay down.  You can also crush one child's chewable vitamin tablet and add that to any of the nibbles of food.  That should help cover her most basic vitamin requirements, and in crushed form will be absorbed the fastest.  Heaves are usually helped most by gettting small amounts into the stomach, and then keeping a small amount in there all the time.  You will want to avoid just about all the spices, and anything the slightest bit acidic.  If she has a particular food she's craving, see about getting a bit of it.  For some odd reason, the elderly folks will tend to hold down a food they crave, even when it flies in the face of what you think would work.  The sports nutrition water based drinks are also an option, there is even vitamin enhanced water now.  Try broth based soups, made with low fat or no fat broth, with pureed veggies or veggie bits and noodles of all sorts.  Just take it slow, and eat small amounts at a time.

Answer 4

This is where cannibis comes in.  Get her some..