Sara W.
I believe I caught C. diff in the hospital while having trauma surgery on my left knee and tendons from a bad fall on icy stairs. I also returned to the doctor’s office many times after the surgery; I could have caught it in that building. Having been in so many doctor’s office buildings and emergency rooms in the past few months, I felt that one of those places must have been the source of my infection.
There was a period of two weeks where I had severe diarrhea that seemed to have a life of its own. Greenish liquid thickness just came pouring out of me. After a week or so, my doctor saw me and wanted to get samples for cultures in a lab. My husband brought the cultures right into the lab, meanwhile the eruption of diarrhea continued. I cleaned up my bum with wet wipes that are flushable, started to wear Attends, and I would wash my hands three times to be sure they were clean.
At the height of this infection, blood started pouring out of me when I would use the bathroom; it was a bloodbath in my toilet. This occurred on Mother’s Day—so we cancelled all plans. On Monday morning I called my doctor and told them about the bloodbath, and they said they would return my call after they talked to the lab. That call back was when I first heard of C. diff. Yes, I had this nasty infection that is easily spread. There could be spores on someone who touched something where you sat or whatever, and then you’ve become ill too.
My doctors put me on Flagyl, 500 mg every eight hours, and I also took three probiotics in between. I never lost my appetite and always stayed well hydrated. I continue to eat very well and have two big drinks in front of me now (spring water and ginger ale with ice) as well as a big container of alcohol gel. I have taken a solid shower with lots of soap, dried off and put the towel in the laundry right away, used the Decitin for all the rawness on my bum, put on a new Attends, changed my nightgown several times a day, washed my hands again from touching the towel, and changed my sheets to one sheet in half (I change my sheets daily too). Tomorrow I will start the disinfection process of my home with a bleach product. This infection is very scary, and I hope the antibiotic works! Blessings to all.
Other Stories
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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 … -
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… -
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 … -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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…
