Kristen
I contracted C. diff after taking antibiotics that I was prescribed to kill a parasite I picked up in Cancun, Mexico while on vacation with my hubby. I returned from Mexico with diarrhea, nausea, and horrible pain. I was prescribed Flagyl. Then my symptoms got worse, and I was prescribed Xifaxan. I was then hospitalized and diagnosed with C. diff. Then I was put on Cipro. Things got worse: I had diarrhea up to 30 times a day, I was so dehydrated that my face started to sink in. I had no control of my bowels. I pooped everywhere: in the shower, while driving, while sleeping…I then started to wear diapers so I could actually leave the house.
Then, as if I wasn’t sick enough, I broke my foot getting out of my car at a gas station. While I was on crutches and the C. diff was rapidly worsening, my doctors put me on Vanco for fourteen days (four times a day). This exacerbated things until I was at my rock bottom sitting in diapers in my house for four days.
I was hospitalized for the fourth time for six days begging for a fecal transplant. My doctors found an infectious disease doctor to do the transplant, which was very archaic. My ten-year-old daughter was my donor. She was not screened or tested at all. We had to buy and bring in a blender and metal strainer. The doctor mixed the fecal matter and saline in the bathroom of my hospital room. It was delivered via NG tube up my nose—and I was completely awake for this procedure horrible!
My next three months were pure hell with more trips to the ER thinking it was back. Turns out it was just the recovery process. Other illnesses I have include Panic Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome from my foot break—which I need to get regular spinal lumbar nerve blocks for—and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from childhood and adult sexual, physical, and mental abuse. I currently have a Urinary Tract Infection and tested positive for E. coli. I am on an antibiotic.
It has been the worst year of my life. Luckily, no one else in my family has gotten C. diff from when I was sick. It completely changed me, and I am not the same person I was before this happened. I have been so sick that I prayed to be hospitalized and put on morphine so I would not have to deal with the pain and would have a nurse right there to take care of me. I am a stay at home mom of two and have missed out on the last year of their lives being so ill.
Other Stories
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Mira
In December of 2019, my husband got sick with C. diff. It was after he was prescribed antibiotics for what they thought was a case of diverticulitis. In hindsight, it’s clear he may have simply had C. diff all along. He was treated with vancomycin… -
Beth W.
My story began in 2018 when I went to see a colorectal surgeon for the incision of a thrombosed hemorrhoid. In order to ‘prevent’ an infection, the surgeon prescribed me both Amoxicillin 800mg 2x daily and Vancomycin 500mg 3x daily. Upon completio… -
Mollie Lauck
My Husband and I were expecting our first child. We were so very excited. My Pregnancy was complicated to begin with- I was considered “Advanced Maternal Age” and had Hypertension and Gestational Diabetes. Though it was a labor of love, Pregnancy … -
Ken Fredrickson
I’m 62 and generally healthy, I’ve never had an intestinal issue. I went to the ER on Jan 2, 2023 and a CT scan revealed Diverticulitis. They sent me home with a 2 week course of antibiotics. Four days after completing the antibiotics, I developed… -
Jan
I am a healthy active older woman. On March 1, 2019 I had an explosive episode of diarrhea, out of the blue, no idea what caused it. The smell was indescribable, like nothing I had ever experienced in my long life. That was the beginning of a long… -
Dr. Melissa Geraghty, Psy.D.
At the start of 2018 I was diagnosed with C. diff. I never really heard much about C. diff outside of people acquiring it in a hospital setting or people of advanced age contracting it. Oh, was I wrong. After being sick for about 8 weeks with w… -
Cassie Padilla
As a nurse for 35 years I thought I knew a lot about C. diff but as a patient I’ve discovered I knew NOTHING about C. diff. I have had 2 episodes of C. diff in my life. The first was in 2017 following (prophylactic) antibiotics after surgery. That… -
Julia
I’ve been suffering from this infection for the past few years. When I was first diagnosed, I was shocked and thought this was something that only the elderly suffered from. It’s been 3 years since my first infection, and I still suffer daily. I’v… -
Sue
I had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and was given SO MANY antibiotics in the hospital. I was also given Protonix for the acid reflux that resulted from all the antibiotics. Looking at the list of risk factors for C. diff, I fit every o… -
Howard
While many of us who battle C diff have quick success with the usual antibiotics, the purpose of my entry here is to emphasize the high rate of success of the Fecal Microbiota Transplant. My C diff experience was such that A) a lengthy course of V…
