Anne
I was given many antibiotics throughout 2013, as I kept having urinary tract and bladder infections. My Urologist misdiagnosed me. He told me that I had interstitial cystitis, but I actually had a kidney stone. He never required me to have a CAT scan; he only did a cystoscopy. This didn’t even show the kidney stone that I had because the kidney stone was beyond what the cystoscopy showed.
After I had the kidney stone removed, the Urologist prescribed Keflex. It was then that my nightmare with C. diff began. The Flagyl did not clear up my C. diff infection, so then I was put on Vancomycin. I was actually put on Vancomycin twice since I kept testing positive for C. diff. I lost 20 pounds while I was sick; I was down to 95 pounds. I was begging the hospital to help me and keep me, but they kept sending me home.
I had a really hard time keeping food in me. My husband kept forcing me to eat. I think I would be dead if he wouldn’t have forced me to eat. In the mean time, the doctors put me on Promethazine for my stomach, ten milligrams of Valium because my anxiety was so high, and Florastor, a probiotic. After three months of taking these pills, I slowly got better. At one point, I could hardly walk to the kitchen–and I have a small house! I’m a really active person, and this just knocked me down.
Now, I’m back to ballet and my stomach is fine. I return to my job next week. I am still taking probiotics everyday, as well as the ten milligrams of Valium. I will continue to take these until I feel like I don’t need them. I guess I’m still in shock that I beat C. diff.
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…
