After several months and a 25 lb weight loss I have finally been diagnosed with cdiff as the cause of my stomach issues. I don't know much about it except I probably got it from two back to back antibiotics I used in March/April and that the treatment thus far has been horrible. Very strong antibiotics made especially for this that are making me feel terrible. Just wondering whether anyone has been diagnosed with this, what treatment you had and how it was and whether it worked and finally whether you had a reoccurrence? I am excited to finally have a diagnoses but am having a hard time keeping an eye on the light at the end of the because I feel horrible! :-( Positive recovery stories especially welcome!
Thank you so much for all your helpful responses! I was diagnosed by a stool sample. The Flagyl was horrible and I couldn't keep it down....started vomiting and having complete food aversion at day 3, which wasn't safe. I started on Vancomycin (sp?) after four full days on Flagyl and it is a lot more gentle. I am feeling pretty good! A little tired but no stomach aches and I have an appetite. I go back to my gastro on Monday and I'm assuming he will re-test my stool and see where we are at. Hopefully, this this is long gone!! It has really been a lousy six months but I think I am starting to see an end here....I hope! My doctor did not mention probiotics, but I am eating a lot of yogurt and will bring it up to him at my office visit on Monday. Thanks again for all of your infomrative responses!!
From what I have gathered it is a quick recovery. I was on Flagyl, which is apparently a cure, but it had the warning it could cause it. or maybe it was the other antibiotic I was on. All I know is I was a yogurt addict for four months, just to be safe, and I am fine now.
The people that die from C diff are usually critically ill patients!!!!
Very treatable. Just wondering why it took so long to diagnose. Hang it. It will get better.
Make sure you are on a probiotic...not sure which is best, but I bet a google search will point you in the right direction. I have a friend that had this multiple times, and a few that were so bad that meds were not even helping. It was the probiotics that got her through it. Bring it up to your Dr, but don't rely on them. Do your own research and start taking them!
I was hospitalized for nearly a week on IV meds. but it went away and did not return.
A dear friend had this last month so I researched for her. Make sure you are on a probiotic. If you have more than one bathroom make one off limits to the other members of your family. Close the lid on the toilet before you flush (so to not aerate particles). Use paper towels instead of cloth and wipe down surfaces regularly with a germ killing spray (I use teatree oil and water).
You're exactly right that the antibiotics induced your condition. It is very contagious but I think if you've had this and nobody else is showing symptoms that's great.
I would stay on a probiotic for at least 6 months. Personally my family stays on probiotics. Your gut controls a huge part of the immune system so keeping it balanced is important.
Blessings!
L.
ETA: J.--by no means did I mean to alarm you, but not only critically I'll, compromised people get C Diff. It's on the rise in a MEGA way, usually because hospitals don't want to $pend the money to handle it correctly. It can spread like wildfire through hospitals from person to person and possibly 1 in 3 of us are carriers!
Original:
Every 2 minutes someone dies of C Dif.
It is very serious!
I'm sure you are healthy enough to fight it--be glad!
They will likely test and re-test you for 6 mos. to a year.
Be glad you're not in a hospital right now--that's where it runs rampant!
Best!
Hopefully they gave you clear instructions on how to not spread this to your family members? It's very, very contagious.
I've had lots of elderly relatives with c.dif and they all recovered despite having other health issues. It is serious but people who are otherwise healthy tend to recover. A treatment that really worked for my husband's grandmother, who was 94 when she had a really fierce bout of this, was IV immunoglobin (IVIG) treatments. Another newer treatment is fecal transplant, where they colonize your colon with healthy fecal matter from a donor- sounds unappealing, I know, but it's supposed to work really well without the nasty side effects of the antibiotics.
Make sure that you're on a clinical strength pro-biotic during all of this. I forget what my GMIL was on but it was something only available by prescription, not the kind you pick up at the store yourself. That can really help to offset the side effects of your new antibiotics and lessen the chances of recurrence.
Hopefully this will be short-lived and you'll feel better soon!
