I was prescribed antibiotics for an ear infection and later another course of antibiotics for what my doctor suspected was SIBO. Six months later, while on a trip to Paris, I remember feeling like something was wrong with my gut. These weren’t the typical ulcerative colitis symptoms I was used to experiencing.

On another trip, I developed loose, watery diarrhea that wouldn’t stop. When I got home, I had severe stomach pain. I suspected I had C. difficile because I had read about it in What Doesn’t Kill You: A Life with Chronic Illness – Lessons from a Body in Revolt by Tessa Miller. I got tested, and it was indeed C. diff. I tested positive for toxin B by PCR, and it was enough to cause some of the most unpleasant symptoms I had ever experienced.

After a course of vancomycin, the C. diff came back. I was then prescribed Dificid, and it seemed to knock it out, as it does every time. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of a years-long journey with the infection.
Six months after the birth of my first child, I started having symptoms again. I was tested, but the lab kept rejecting my samples, and when the lab did accept a test, the results came back negative for C. diff. I thought maybe I had a severe case of food poisoning. After multiple trips to the emergency room, I finally tested positive for C. diff again and was prescribed another course of Dificid.

During my second pregnancy, I dealt with both an ulcerative colitis flare and another C. diff infection. This was especially frightening because I wasn’t sure if my baby was going to be okay. At first, I wasn’t taken seriously in the emergency room. I was told that I was merely colonized with C. diff and would not be given any treatment. Eventually, I sought help from my OB-GYN and gastroenterologist, who took my concerns seriously, and I was prescribed another round of Dificid.

After the birth of my second child, I began experiencing C. diff symptoms once again. I tested positive again. At 10 weeks postpartum, my family and I drove four hours to receive Rebyota, an FDA-approved microbiome therapy. For months afterward, I struggled with post-infectious IBS and a UC flare, but the C. diff has not returned.

I’m not sure why I’ve faced so trials with this infection, but I am grateful to be alive. There were many moments when I felt like I had close calls and wasn’t sure how much more I could handle.

At my lowest point, I signed up for Peggy Lillis Foundation’s Peer Support Network and found comfort in connecting with someone who understood what I was going through. That support reminded me that I wasn’t alone.

Today, I know there is hope. My journey with C. diff has been long and difficult, but I want others facing this infection to know that they are not alone.