C. diff affects us all.

In May 2020 I got strep throat. So I was prescribed antibiotics. After 10 days, my strep seemed to have cleared up. While on the antibiotics, I started to develop diarrhea. I wasn’t too concerned because this had happened to me before. Usually, once I finished the medicine, it would go away. However, 3 weeks went by and it hadn’t stopped. I was thinking perhaps I had an allergy to something like lactose. So I started cutting dairy out. This…

When I was 33, I had to have a hysterectomy due to endometriosis. For the next 9 years, I was treated by several doctors for IBS and was even hospitalized for Colitis at one point. But not one single doctor in all that time thought to test me for C. diff. When the pandemic hit in 2020, I was to the point of pooping blood and couldn’t get in to see my doctor. So I chose to see a GI doctor instead. He finally sent me for a full panel of stool…

Last year, just as the COVID pandemic started to break out, I felt pains in my head, I felt dizzy and I was tired. I went to see the doctor and I was told to go and get some blood tests done. They found out I had glandular fever. This was bizarre, as I have had the same boyfriend for the past 5 years. My immune system was weakened by this infection. A couple of weeks later, I got bitten by a spider. The bite caused lymphangitis (inflammation…

In 2018, I had surgery to remove a brain tumor. Five weeks later, I had a brain infection and they had to do another surgery to remove part of my skull. I was sent to a care facility, Park Manor of Tomball, to receive my IV antibiotics three times per day. Two weeks into the stay, I had terrible stomach pain. I couldn’t eat went to the bathroom many times a day. I talked to the doctor and begged them to test for C. diff but they said no. I had…

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 Vancomycin failed, B) a course of Dificid failed, and C) an infusion of Xinplava in coordination with a taper down course of Dificid failed. At that point I received a Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT)…

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 one of them. I was hospitalized for a week and continually told the staff that I had not had a solid bowel movement. I also told the infectious disease specialist that saw me in the hospital and I told…

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’ve been through rounds of various antibiotics and am in pain almost every day. I’m hopeful that new research and advocacy will bring better awareness and new treatments for this illness.

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 lasted approximately 5 months with 2 recurrences. I was given Flagyl twice and Vancomycin but I did recover and became functional. So grateful for this time although it did leave me with IBS symptoms…

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 worsening symptoms, I finally made an appointment with my doctor. I was prescribed antibiotics and didn’t have any issues. A few weeks after that, my symptoms worsened again. I was hesitantly prescribed…