Skip to main content
International

Yanick


I am a 36-year-old woman living in Québec, Canada. I am a nurse. I’m married, and I have a little girl of sixteen months. My spouse has two other children.

After my emergency caesarean delivery on May 19, 2016, I had to take antibiotics due to medical complications (I had curettage and a uterine infection). I received antibiotics intravenously, and then I went home with Clavulin for seven days. Diarrhea started after my delivery, and I thought it was related to all the changes related to childbirth and the antibiotics. So, I waited a month before worrying when I saw mucus in my stool.

The doctor did some tests, and I was diagnosed with C. diff. I was already very stressed and anxious since childbirth, but then I started to have panic attacks. Next, my doctor prescribed Flagyl for fourteen days. I relapsed three days after the end of treatment, and he then prescribed Flagyl for fourteen more days. I again relapsed ten days later. After two rounds of Flagyl, my doctor prescribed Vancomycin in decreasing doses.

The Vancomycin worked, so my doctor had me continue taking Vancomycin over a long period of time. I have been taking it on and off for sixteen months now. My stools are always different. I never had abdominal pain, and I never had a fever. I’m still fine. The worst was my anxiety; I was afraid of complications and of dying. With all the fatigue and hormonal changes following a difficult childbirth, it’s hard to stay positive. Now I am much better mentally and physically. I take Zoloft to help me manage the anxiety. I recently finished another Vancomycin treatment, and also just completed treatment with fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) pills. I’m feeling good now!

Age


36

Gender


Female

Length


MORE THAN A YEAR

Source


Hospital Acquired

Other Stories


  • Mira

    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…
  • Length: ON AND OFF FOR 5 YEARS

    Beth W.

    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 completio…
  • Length: 1 YEAR

    Mollie Lauck

    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 …
  • Length: 5 MONTHS

    Ken Fredrickson

    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…
  • Length: 8 MONTHS

    Jan

    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…
  • Dr. Melissa Geraghty, Psy.D.

    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 w…
  • Length: 19 MONTHS

    Cassie Padilla

    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…
  • Length: 3 YEARS

    Julia

    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’v…
  • Length: 4 MONTHS

    Sue

    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 o…
  • Howard

    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 V…