Amy
I was diagnosed at the age of 42. I woke up one morning with stomach pains and couldn’t eat or drink for twelve days before going to hospital. They did all kinds of tests, and ultimately said that I had Colitis. They prescribed Flagyl, but I just continued to get worse and was admitted to hospital. During my stay at the hospital, the doctors performed all kinds of test–colonoscopy, endoscopy–but nothing was found.
I started feeling a little better, so my doctors released me. Two days later, I was peeing blood and back to lying in the fetal position. I was sick again. I kept going to the hospital to get hydrated and have EKGs done because my heart rate kept going up. I thought that I was dying.
Finally, an ER doctor suggested that I see an Infectious Disease doctor. Numerous tests showed that I had C. diff. So, they put me back on Flagyl, and again, I continued to get worse. I was admitted to the hospital for a second time, and I was put on Vancomycin and Flagyl together. I finally felt better only to have it come back three more times after numerous tapers of Vancomycin.
I found a doctor who performs fecal microbiota transplants, and I was successfully cured in December of 2014. I still live in fear every day of C. diff coming back. I lost 30 pounds, and the disease affected so many parts of my body and mind. I can no longer eat red meat, and I still get nauseous from time to time. I also still deal with headaches every day.
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…
