Lawrence
y name is Lawrence, and I am 28 years old. In November 2012, I was 24 years old. I went to the doctor for a staph infection in the form of a boil. My doctors prescribed me clindamycin to kill the bacteria in the infection. About a day or two later, I started to feel like I had a stomach bug. After a couple of days of having what I thought was just a stomach bug, I quit using the clindamycin. However, little did I know, it was much worse. I tried taking Pepto-Bismol to try to calm my stomach down, but nothing seemed to work.
I was driving an eighteen-wheeler at this time with a trainer. We had driven from Texas to Arizona, then up to Ohio and back down to Arizona. By the time we got back down to Arizona, I had nothing but chunks of blood and puss coming from my stools. At this moment I told my trainer, “I have to go to the hospital.” So I called a cab and went to Chandler Regional Hospital in Chandler, Arizona.
It was about one week from the time I first took the clindamycin to the time I made it to the hospital. The hospital ran stool and urine tests and found that I had C. diff Colitis. Here is a little bit on my medical history: I was very healthy before I took clindamycin. I had recently been in boot camp for the Navy. I had been given penicillin in the past with no reaction. I could run a mile and a half in ten minutes and in 45 seconds do 80 sit-ups and 60 push-ups. I had also ridden bulls for the past twelve years prior to being diagnosed with C. diff.
After being in the hospital for a week, I was released to go home. It took some time for everything to get back to normal. I was still having flare ups for the next year. I am now proud to say that I am now feeling a lot better and everything is back to normal.
Other Stories
-
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…
