Terri G.
I had recent surgery (laparoscopic) for endometriosis. After surgery, I was told to take cefuroxime. I was given three pills. I took all three and by the second one, I knew I was very sick. I returned to my OBGyn several times and told I had “anxiety” about returning to work. I relayed my symptoms of extreme lethargy, nausea, low grade fever, and unable to keep any food down. The worst was the diarrhea. It went on forever and at the height of my illness I was having 30 or more bowel movements a day. The doctor didn’t think it was serious and I began to notice I was having pus coming from my sutures and an overall feeling of not being well.
After the third visit to my doctor’s office, he relented and gave me a stool sample. It was after this test I was diagnosed with C. diff. It was more than 10 days after surgery and many trips back and forth. I was referred to a gastroenterologist as my doctor said he didn’t treat C. diff. I went to the new doctor and well, let’s just say he wasn’t doing it for me. I had an initial reaction to Flagyl and was prescribed vancomycin which gave me a similar reaction. I ended up in the ER of my local hospital for the reaction (hives and low blood pressure) and was told by the ER doctor I needed to seek the advice of an Infectious Disease doctor.
The Infectious Disease doctor was my Angel of Mercy. He did not give up and worked with the pharmacist to have vancomycin compounded and began me on a 21 day course. It seemed to take forever and I was left with lingering anxiety and doubts about contracting C. diff again. I learned to be my own advocate and to not accept no for answer if I feel I have an issue. My last bout with it was in 2006 which caused an autoimmune reaction and left me with rheumatoid arthritis for the rest of my life. I am careful about ingesting antibiotics and kind of a germaphobe now. I wish I had never heard of Clostridium difficile.
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…
