C. diff affects us all.

As told by his mother I’ve had Baby M, who is currently in foster care, since he was 5 1/2 weeks old. Baby M tested positive for methamphetamine at birth, and was exposed to several other drugs as well; frequent and watery bowel movements have been a part of our lives since the beginning. I initially thought that was just a side effect of maternal drug abuse. But in August 2015, Baby M (then 9 months old) began having some very hefty,…

I was diagnosed with C. diff in March 2014 after taking ciprofloxacin for an infection, and then given Augmentin when the infection returned. After two pills, I became ill very quickly. I had nausea, vomiting and diarrhea between four and six times in the morning. At first, I was put on Flagyl, which made me much worse, so my gastrointestinal specialist (GI) switched me to Vancomycin. I was on Vancomycin for ten days, and the C. diff returned…

As told by his wife, Sandra. On August 14, 2015 my husband Robert was given Rocephin and Clindamycin intravenously because of a suspected elbow joint infection while in the emergency room of a hospital in Naples, Florida. The emergency room doctor did not try to aspirate any fluid from his elbow to see if he actually had an infection, or if it was just a flare up of gout. He had a history of gout. On August 29, 2015 he died in the ICU…

My name is Jill. I started my battle in June. I got C. diff after taking Clindamycin for a tooth infection. I knew I didn’t feel good, but I kept on going. I remember it was so bad that it felt like razor blades were in my stomach. The diarrhea was so bad that I was crying. The pain was worse than child birth or kidney stones. My husband took me to the hospital, and I stayed a week. I don’t really remember my first hospital stay. I was sent…

My C. diff experience began back in 2011 after developing two rounds of bronchitis and a tooth infection in a nine-month span. With no prior knowledge of C. diff, I gladly accepted the antibiotics to treat each issue without realizing the consequences. After a routine doctor visit, I mentioned that I was having some bowel issues: always feeling like I had to go and bloody stools, especially during or after exercise (whether it was walking or…

I am a pretty average American male. I have five children; two married with careers and kids of their own, one just graduated from college last summer and two are in college for at least another year. I have worked in environmental protection and industrial health and safety most of my life, including eight years as an Environmental, Health and Safety Manager for a multi-plant, international chemical company. I have developed and sold a few…

I was a very healthy mom and wife, working full time. In September 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. In November 2014, I underwent a double mastectomy with reconstruction, and I was prescribed the antibiotic Clindamycin. I was doing very well until December 2014. I had diarrhea and wasn’t feeling right. I was scheduled to start chemotherapy the day after Christmas. I called the Oncologist’s office numerous times to let them know. They…

My first infection started when I was barely an adult. I was sick for months before we knew it was C-diff. I had stomach cramps and abnormal uterine bleeding on top of my diarrhea and vomiting which confused everyone who was trying to help. The OBGYN I had been seeing had told me my illness was out of her scope and referred me to a GI. I would later learn he was one of two people in the state who could treat my degree of infection at that…

On January 5, 2016, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy boy. Two weeks postpartum I got Mastitis (a clogged breast duct) from breastfeeding. My doctors put me on an antibiotic. I took it for a week and a few days, and after the last dose, the diarrhea started. I called my doctor after a few days of awful pain and the never ending visits to the bathroom (which then had put me in the emergency room). So here we are now on March 30, 2016. I was…