Where did C Diff come from

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kayron
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Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 6:40 pm

Where did C Diff come from

Postby kayron » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:03 pm

I have been trying to find some good information about the origin of C Diff. I know you can get it from taking antibiotics and from patients in the hospital or nursing home. Is it an antibiotic bacteria? I know we are now looking at the community. Is it from our food, water or animals? I know they have looked at the acid blocking drugs too. Do any of you think that some people's immune system breaks down and causes you to obtain it. I have read articles about the connection of depression and/or antidepressant medication contributing to it. I know that most of you have gotten it from taking antibiotics. Maybe there isn't a solid answer. It seems that there is not much awareness of this bacteria as I had never heard of it until I came down with it. There seems to be a certain stigma that follows C Diff. It makes me feel like a leper. I was thinking back in the days of my mom and she was given so many antibiotics because of sinus infections and she never came down with it. My mother passed away in 1996 at the age of 71, but it was not from C Diff; it was from cancer.

My gastro doctor told me (he is 66 yrs old) that he and another doctor discovered it in the 1970's. I assume this was while he was in medical school.

Before I came down with C Diff, I had a lot of pressures in my life and was under extreme nervous tension. I would feel like I was trembling inside. I was taking Neurontin. My psychiatrist that I see thinks that it was a break down of flora that was contributing to my tension and vice versa. She compared it to a garden with flowers and the weeds taking over it. I was extremely "C" during that time and I took 3 laxatives and then the cramps started and would not go away along with the other symptoms, and I ended up in the ER and the CT scan said I had Colitis. I did not know until a couple of months later that it was C Diff. No one ran a culture test on me. My life and the way I think about things now are totally different. I have become more of a germ phobic and actually scared of going out in public. I do believe that our brain and gut are connected.

If anyone has any information or can provide me with a link to some information, I would be so appreciative.

beth22
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Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:23 pm

Re: Where did C Diff come from

Postby beth22 » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:38 pm

There is a link somewhere here that Roy posted in the media section about brain/gut connection. I can tell you that this last time that I tested positive it was after a very stressful situation and another time as well. I guess when you get very stressed, it runs down the immune system and leaves you open to illness. When I first got c diff, I was C too. In hindsight, I wish I had not treated it with vanco, but I did because my doctor at the time insisted and I did not know any better. I had been on antibiotics, but the year before, I'm pretty sure it is what I had and it left on its own when I started eating more yogurt. I did not realize the probiotic connection at the time.

I have read articles that c diff is on most people's shoes, on women's purses, etc. It has been found in pork I recently read too, which is disconcerting. I hope that by cooking the meat thoroughly it is killed off, but I don't know. Bottom line is many people have it in their system, but it is harmless unless it overgrows and becomes an active infection. I know I have never been the same since I got it though. I guess I never got rid of it completely. My immune system checked out fine on all the lab tests, but stress is a factor for me for sure.

kayron
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Posts: 72
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 6:40 pm

Re: Where did C Diff come from

Postby kayron » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:50 pm

Thank you Beth. It has always been said that stress runs your immune system down. I have had people around me for months since I have been sick with the C Diff and they don't pick it up. Very strange and scary bacteria. I have taken my probiotics tonight. They are a important to us.

amyc
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Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 8:15 am

Re: Where did C Diff come from

Postby amyc » Wed Jul 13, 2016 10:00 pm

Clostridium bacteria live in the soil. The spores are likely everywhere, just like thousands of other pathogens that we contact every day. I'm sure if you swabbed grocery cart handles you'd find C diff spores, among lots of other nasty bugs. I'm sure the same thing goes for airplane seats and seat buckles, money, and public computer keyboards. We are surrounded by pathogenic bacteria and viruses every day, and normally we never develop any diseases from them. For most people antibiotic use is required to develop C diff disease, but in some cases like yours it just happens. We all get what could develop into cancer cells every day in our bodies, and our immune system kills them off. People who get cancer rarely have any obvious reason for developing it, and worrying about why can be very destructive to the psyche. I know you had no antibiotic use before you got sick, but really I recommend you try to focus your thoughts forward rather than backwards, because you won't ever find a satisfactory answer.


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