I had my gall bladder removed in 2015. Ever since then, I’ve had chronic GI issues. So it was not really too bizarre that I didn’t know I had C. diff in October of 2024. I had taken clindamycin for an ear infection in August of 2024, not knowing that the medication was known to cause C. diff. Fast forward 6 weeks later, and I found myself being a little lazy one day, not feeling 100%. Maybe I had a low-grade temperature, but I wanted to go to the gym and just walk on the treadmill because I had just laid around all day. I had been on the treadmill for about 15-20 minutes walking at a low speed, not pushing it at all, and I started to feel a little nauseous, so I stopped and went over to the weights. About 5 minutes later, I had an unbelievably bad upper abdominal stomach ache. Now, I’ve had 2 kids, and the way I describe this pain is just as bad, if not worse, than contractions!

I went to the restroom and into a stall and sat down to catch my breath. I started to get dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. I called my husband and told him to get to the gym immediately. In the meantime, there were 2 girls in the locker room with me, and I asked them to get somebody at the front desk because I felt like I was going to pass out. They called the ambulance and it got there pretty quick, thank goodness! I was in the back of the ambulance, and they checked my vitals and did a mobile EKG which showed a slight….i don’t even know what to call it other than a “blip” in the printout, but nothing that would indicate a heart attack at all. I was starting to feel a little better, so I told them I’d just go home and rest. They wanted me to go to the ER, and when I looked at my husband with that “I-will-be-fine” look, he said, “nope, you’re going.” So, off to the ER we went in the ambulance.

I felt so dumb as I was feeling better and didn’t want to take up space and time in the ER when there were other people that had, in my head, “real” emergencies. The ER took me right away thinking I was having a heart issue of some kind, and they did bloodwork right away. The stomach pain was still there, but it was so much better than when I was in the gym. I was ready to just go home and get into my comfy pj’s and go to bed. The doctor came in with the results of my bloodwork and said, “you aren’t going anywhere…your ALT is 950 and your AST is 875.” The tropic test was normal, so they weren’t concerned about my heart anymore. They were stumped by my liver enzymes being so high, so they admitted me and did every test and scan one would get for liver issues. Everything came back normal! It was just the enzymes that were crazy high! The gastro doctor came into my room and asked me a bunch of questions and ordered more blood tests for other infections. Again, everything came back normal. I was a mystery to them!

The gastro doctor then wanted to do some testing on a stool sample since I came in for not only the “blip” on the EKG (which they decided was probably just not accurate as it was the EKG mobile device) but for the belly pain, too. About an hour after they did the stool sample test, the doctor came in and said, “you aren’t just one big surprise, you tested positive for C. diff!” I was given vancomycin in my IV, and then I had to take it orally 4xs a day for 14 days with a taper towards the end of the regimen. She still wasn’t convinced that the high liver enzymes were caused by the C. diff, but as soon as they got to a little over 200, they released me from the hospital. I had been in there for a total of 3 days.

They tracked the infection back to the clindamycin I had taken 6-8 weeks earlier for an ear infection. I have chronic diarrhea from not having a gall bladder and now may have EPI, so that C. diff symptom isn’t out of the ordinary for me. I didn’t have any high fevers, but I had been fatigued a bit. I just thought I was fighting off a bug of some sort. So…..I’m not quite sure how long I had c. diff, but I’m thinking I had it for a bit of time as it got to the point of having a horrible stomach ache and almost passing out! Interestingly enough, nobody in my family contracted it from me. That’s probably because I am so hyper vigilant about washing my hands throughout the day anyway!

Having gone through the C. diff episode, I’ve been tested for C. diff at least 3 more times as when I feel like I’m having any out-of-the-ordinary GI issues, I’m always afraid I have c. diff again. It’s not an experience one can forget. I even had a friend cancel plans when we were supposed to visit her after I had finished my oral antibiotics because she was afraid I might still have it. It made me feel so bad. It made me feel like people thought I was “dirty” when I’m the cleanest person ever. I know she didn’t mean to make me feel that way, but it’s hard not to feel that way. The whole C. diff illness is just a crappy (pun intended!) illness. But, there are a couple of medications that are available now to prevent recurrences, and that gives me peace of mind. Luckily, I did not have a recurrence, but I know people have multiple recurrences and my heart hurts for them. If you are one of those people, I know you didn’t want this infection, I know you are not “dirty,” and I know you will be ok. You are seen and loved!