C. diff affects us all.

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 saga I’ll try to condense here. I’ve always had IBS-C so this was very unusual. I thought the diarrhea would pass, but when it didn’t after a few weeks, I saw my primary doctor who ordered a stool…

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 significant diarrhea, stomach tenderness, nausea, and loss of appetite. I went to my general doctor and he suspected a bacterial infection called C. diff (I’d never heard of it). He ordered a stool…

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 was physically very hard on me. I ended up on Bedrest at 33 weeks and though appreciative, had frequent testing and checkups to ensure my baby and I were well. There were concerns through the Pregnancy…

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 completion of this 7-day course, I started to get chills, uncontrollable diarrhea, and lost a significant amount of weight. I went to the ER twice where I was told it was food poisoning and both times prescribed…

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 after the C. diff diagnosis and was instantly feeling better. He’s one of the fortunate ones. In March of 2020, I became very ill. I had what seemed like a sinus infection and C. diff, and told my…