As a nurse, I had heard of C. diff and treated many patients with it. I never imagined I’d soon become a patient myself. In January of 2023, I was prescribed antibiotics for what I thought was a dental infection. Shortly after, I developed chronic, painful diarrhea. I could barely eat. About a month later, I ended up being admitted into the hospital for 3 days with nausea and the worst pain in my entire life. Finally, they gave me my answer: C. diff. I was started on 10 days of vancomycin. I immediately felt better. However, just 2 weeks after stopping the vancomycin, my symptoms returned with a vengeance. I was then prescribed Dificid, which was a miracle drug for me. I responded well again but 3 weeks later, relapsed again. This time, I had blood in my stool, sweating, nausea, and more pain. I was then placed on a 50 days taper of Dificid to try and kick my infection. I was able to eat more during this time period. I almost felt like myself again. But about 3 and a half weeks off the taper, my symptoms returned yet again. My mental health also struggled feeling like I’d never be able to beat thing thing. I had lost 50 lbs during my battle with c. Diff. Finally, after months of pain and trouble finding the right doctor and treatment, I finally found incredible GI and ID doctors. They recommended I try VOWST, a new FDA approved fecal transplant. I knew I must be pretty desperate to get my life back if this was the option I was considering. I took time off of work and in September of 2023, I took Vowst. I am now 9 weeks post treartment and doing great! I still can’t tolerate all foods the way I used to but I feel more like me again. And best of all, my symptoms haven’t returned. I never knew how horrific c diff could be until I was diagnosed with it. It has been the worst year of my life and yet I’m so incredibly grateful for modern medicine for giving me my life back. I even got to travel to Puerto Rico this year to celebrate being C. diff free!