Caitlin M
I ended up with C. diff after being treated for diverticulitis. I contracted Covid eight months later and had severe diarrhea. I knew instantly that it was C. diff, I am a nurse and have taken care of many patients with it. My heart sank when I saw the positive results. I was treated with Dificid initially due to being allergic to vancomycin. I had three fecal transplants at a local hospital sourced from OpenBiome but they all failed.
I then went to Indiana University to see Dr. Monica Fischer. I received another FMT and oral capsules at the same time. I still had symptoms after but negative tests. I then went to Mayo Clinic. The physician there said he wanted to do FMT again with their bank of stool because it has more cells. I have been negative for 3 months now but I do now have Crohn’s disease and I have left nursing. I cannot safely return to my profession.
I have severe PTSD. I knew the entire time every single outcome I could have. I am a mother of three young children and I still live in fear daily. I am here to say you have to fight for care. FMT is life saving. Doctors are trying to get OpenBiome to be able to give stool to all hospitals again. I am currently helping too. Mayo Clinic can and will do FMT. Boston will. IU will. You have to keep asking and fighting! I will spend the rest of my life fighting for others to get the care I received. I will fight until it’s the standard for everyone. I hope someday I can live without this paralyzing terror.
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…
