Although my current battle with C. diff is relatively short (compared to other survivor’s stories I read) it was scary. In June 2026 I was infected with cyclosporiasis from a contaminated food outbreak in Michigan, which we deduced was the ultimate cause of my C. diff infection. My test results showed I was not only positive for cyclosporiasis, but I also was positive for two types of E.coli, sapovirus, and of course, C. diff toxins. Since Bactrim – the antibiotic recommended for cyclosporiasis – would only make the c.diff worse, I had to treat the C. diff infection first and hope my body would fight off all the other issues.

The doctors at the ER said someone could write a paper on my diagnosis as they had never seen all these issues at one time (not really what I wanted to hear). I failed the first 10 day vancomycin treatment, so we extended it an additional 10 days. Through that time I was hospitalized twice for dehydration. I couldn’t eat anything and electrolyte drinks made me sick. Every night I would wake up at 4am and have GI issues every 10-20 minutes until about 10am – it was awful. I’m a first time mother and my son was 10 months when I tested positive for c.diff. I was still nursing at the time, but due to the lack of nutrition and fluids, my milk supply dried up completely. I felt like my body completely failed me. No surprise, my mental health took a significant dive.

After the 20 days of vancomycin I finally tested negative for c.diff, but was still having issues. Tests showed I was still positive for cyclosporiasis. I was given bactrim for the parasite, while continuing vancomycin to hopefully keep the c.diff in check. Currently, I have 1.5 days left of my vancomycin and starting to feel human again. I’m sleeping through the night and slowly starting to reintroduce foods I couldn’t stomach during my infection, although my milk supply never returned.

I had never heard of c.diff before this and I wish I had. I wish I would have taken better care of my gut health prior to my infection – maybe the c.diff wouldn’t have proliferated then? Who can say. I think it’s important to spread awareness though; this disease can affect more than just individuals on antibiotics or the elderly (how it was explained to me via my doctors). I pray this is the end of my c.diff journey – fingers crossed!