C. diff affects us all.

I ended up going into the ER after being sick for over 12 days from food poisoning in October of 2018. I had gotten tested for bacteria and parasites which came back negative. The doctor told me they couldn’t find out what was making me sick for so long, so he offered me a 3-day dosage of ciprofloxacin and metronidazole or wait it out for a couple of days and come back. Of course, I chose to take the antibiotics because I wanted to get better as…

My struggle with C. diff began in January of 2013. I had been suffering from chronic diarrhea and weight loss, as well as severe pain and nausea. Like most people who have never heard of C. diff, I thought I had contracted a stomach bug. Well as the days turned into weeks, I went to my local primary care physician. He thought maybe with my depression and anxiety I had an ulcer so he sent me a referral to a gastrointestinal (GI) specialist. I saw…

Long story short, I contracted C. diff from 4 rounds of Clindamycin due to my very first root canal. I had it for 7 months. I went in to urgent care when it first started and they gave me an EIN test that came back negative. A few days later I went to my doctor and they did a PCR test which came back positive. I was on Vancomycin 4 different times. My symptoms range from nausea 24/7, severe intestinal cramps, diarrhea, extreme…

I am a 70-year-old man living in North East Maine. I have had multiple surgeries for mostly orthopedic issues, with three of the surgeries resulting in full-blown C. diff, caused by antibiotics to prevent infection. Before my last surgery, my physician consulted with the hospital Infectious Disease Committee, who advised that I take Vancomycin for two days pre-op. The result was no C. diff post-op, and we won’t know if this is coincidental or if…

I contracted C. diff after being prescribed Clindamycin for strep throat. I never felt quite right while on the antibiotic, but my battle really started about two weeks after finishing the Clindamycin. I am allergic to Amoxicillin but had taken Azithromycin years before with no ill effects. My doctor did not communicate with me about any of the “black box” warnings, nor did he go over any of my previous health histories. There was no review…

In 2018 I had just started my first year of university. Not even a month went by when I woke up suddenly one morning with the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life. I knew something was wrong when I began to vomit. I went to the hospital, and they told me I was just constipated and sent me home. On the next day, I went to a different hospital and they told me the same thing. On the following day, I celebrated my 18th birthday projectile…

My sister died from C. diff on February 22, 2018. She had been in the hospital for a respiratory infection and was intubated and on massive amounts of antibiotics. When they took her out of a coma she said her belly hurt. After her hospital stay, she was moved to rehab. In rehab she could not maintain her oxygen levels and was sent back to the hospital. She continued to complain about her belly pain. I asked several times to have her tested…

On December 25th, 2017 I came back from Paris with a horrible travel bug. The day after I landed I went to Urgent Care because my primary care doctor was off for the holidays. I initially decided to go to Urgent Care only to get some fluids because I was feeling so dehydrated but the doctor convinced me into taking an antibiotic to kill anything that could be upsetting my stomach after traveling. He wrote me a prescription for Cipro and sent me…

My story started 11 years ago at the age of 46. I was healthy, happy and had a rewarding career. While waiting for an oral surgeon which was several months away my dentist prescribed a drug called clindamycin. I have never been allergic to any drugs before because I never took any. One month after completing all the RX I started having stomach cramps and my stools looked small and thin, I was getting dizzy and feeling sick, and hot and…