C. diff affects us all.

I’ve had chronic diarrhea for over 3 1/2 months. After providing a third stool sample, the results came back positive for a C. diff infection. I’ve never heard of this and I don’t really understand how I contracted it. I’m not someone who has been prescribed or has used a lot of antibiotics. I have not recently, or ever for that matter, spent a lot of time in a nursing home or hospital. I generally spend my winters in Mexico and I am…

After menopause, I got five UTIs in one year. Each time I took ciprofloxacin and I got C. diff. It got so bad that my urologist would take me off the vancomycin that my GI doctor prescribed to put me back on ciprofloxacin. Finally, my endocrinologist put me on estrogen (vaginal route). My UTI stopped and so did my C. diff. The last time was ten years ago when I had shingles and took an antiviral medication. I have taken two probiotics every…

I am a C. diff survivor. In June 2021 I went to the ER for a kidney stone. I passed it at the ER fairly quickly ( it was a small one). They tested my urine and did blood work, and said I didn’t have an infection but put me on antibiotics. I took them for only three days and quit because they made me so nauseated. Three days later, I went to my urologist with pain in my lower abdomen. He did a cystoscope of my bladder and gave me 500 mg of one…

I was 14 years old when I contracted C. diff. I was out of town with a friend’s family and became very ill very quickly. I had severe hives all over my body as well. The family took me to the ER where we were. My parents were called and told to hurry if they wanted to see their daughter alive. They stabilized me long enough at the hospital, but because it was a small town my parents opted to hurry me home to our hospital. I was hospitalized for…

I first contracted C. diff in 2014 after eating at a restaurant and becoming very sick. It took over a month to be properly diagnosed, but I was treated with metronidazole successfully. In the spring of 2019, I contracted C. diff again; I had taken a round of doxycycline a month prior for a strep infection. This time I was put on vancomycin for two weeks. I completed the vancomycin, and within a week my symptoms came roaring back. My GI…

I was hospitalized twice for C. diff, once in June 2021 and then again in October 2021. I had no idea what C. diff was but I was in critical condition when I came to the emergency room. My electrolytes were so out of whack. My hemoglobin was at 5 and my potassium was so low, they were waiting for me to have a heart attack. The doctors gave me a blood transfusion plus iron and they monitored my diet. I was so scared that I was going to die. I…

Ironically, I was waiting for a call from Mayo Clinic to see a specialist who could help me with my MD pain. I was put on a 3-4 month wait list. During this time, my back pain progressively got worse and was accompanied by diarrhea and vomiting. I also had a hard time catching my breath. I was losing a ton of hair and my teeth were hurting. I lost 20 lbs over the course of 6 weeks and anytime I put food in my mouth, I had to spit it out right…

I got sick the day after Christmas 2021. I had fever, chills, lower right quadrant pain, and I was going to the bathroom 6 times a day. I had just finished Augmentin for a sinus infection. I went to the ER and they did CT scan and blood work. I was told I have colitis and was given Cipro and Flagyl then pushed out the door. I asked if the Augmentin I just finished caused this and the doctor said no. I started the new medications and I only…

About a month ago I went to urgent care for an awful UTI and I was prescribed antibiotics. The next day I was feeling worse than ever. I was sleeping over 13 hours a night. During the day I would sleep for 2 hours, wake up, cry, run to the bathroom, and get back into bed to cry myself to sleep. I felt like I couldn’t move without discomfort. I thought it was just a bad stomach bug. I ended up going back to urgent care to get a temporary…