How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

We spend a lot of time talking about the bad news in this discussion group - here's the spot for the good news. If you've had c-diff and are now well, please tell us about it here.
franny
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How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

Postby franny » Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:06 pm

I am a 29 year old female and I contracted c diff 2 months ago. It all started when I traveled to Israel with my husband. We were out one day exploring the city and decided to get some pizza since we wanted to take a break from hummus and schwarmas, although we love 'em ;) So after eating pizza and going about our day, all was good... until that evening. We were at a friends house and all of a sudden, I felt nauseous, achy, fever chills, and overall just very unwell. So I thought I had caught the stomach flu or food poisoning. No biggie. The next day, I was camped by the toilet of our air bnb as I had a bad case of diarrhea about every 10 minutes. I was bed ridden and felt extremely weak. Thinking that it was just food poisoning, I tried sleeping it off, but that of course didn't work. I was miserable. Couldn't leave the house without feeling anxious about finding a restroom, let alone in a foreign country.

We were flying home to LA the next few days (thankfully!) and I traveled back with constant diarrhea which was probably one of the worst experience ever. It was about a 20 hour travel day (17 hours in the air) and, well... i'll leave it at that. Upon arrival, I was very thankful to be back in the comfort of my own home, but my symptoms were persistent and getting worse. At this point in time, I was loading up on electrolytes as I was losing a lot of fluid. I even lost 10 pounds in the process. I had a loss of appetite and yet again, had to be near a restroom at all times. I decided it was time to pay a visit to my family doctor. They took stool samples and drew my blood and off to the lab they went. I still remembering my doctor saying, "You're young! Shouldn't be anything too serious." The next day, I get a phone call from the doc's office. "We have your lab results, you need to come in immediately to pick up antibiotics. You have c diff." C diff? What's C diff? When I told my husband, he just about fell out his chair. Since he works in the janitorial sanitation industry, he explained that C diff is a very serious infection of the colon that is prevalent in hospitals and among young children, due to contamination of surfaces or direct contact. I had never contracted anything this serious, so I was very anxious about it. Even my doctor was surprised because she said that she only sees older patients contract c diff. and mainly in hospitals. I went back to the doctor's office to pick up the antibiotics and thus began my 10 day Vancomycin course.

During the course of Vanco (4 capsules a day for 10 days), I immediately started feeling better. I started to gain my appetite back, my bowel movement decreased significantly, and my stools begun to solidify. Hallelujah! After finishing the 10-day course. I felt like a brand new person. 5 days out from finishing the antibiotics... I started feeling sick again. I begun having watery stools and was making multiple trips to the toilet yet again. This was extremely discouraging as I really thought I was free of the infection. So I immediately scheduled another doctor's appt to find out what was going on. Well they said that the 1st course of antibiotics did not kill the infection completely and that I still had c diff. This news was upsetting because so many things were running through my mind: Is this something I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life? Will it ever go away? So they prescribed me yet another 10-day course of Vanco and reluctantly, I agreed to it. During this time, my husband and I did extensive research on things we can do to help with the recovery process, and after collecting information from forums like cdiffdiscuss, mayo clinic, and other sources, we discovered a pattern of success stories that stemmed from taking Lifeway Kefir, probiotic drink.

So during my 2 course of Vanco, my symptoms were going away again. But knowing that they came back after the 1st course, I was not confident that antibiotics was the solution. So I went to pick up Lifeway Kefir, LOTS of it (flavored and plain), and decided to give it a shot... it was a cheaper alternative than other treatments that I came across (i.e. FMT) so I thought, why not? I waited until I finished the whole 2nd course to start drinking probiotics because I figured Vanco would kill off all the good bacteria in Lifeway while I was still on antibiotics. I started drinking 32 oz a day of Lifeway Kefir for about 2 weeks, then 16 oz a day for another 2 weeks. So far, so good. This past month, I've been drinking a glass of Lifeway everyday and guess what?? I have been free of c diff since! I am so very grateful for all of information and experiences that c diff patients have shared online because it helped me find a cure of this terrible infection. Thanks to 2 courses of Vanco and a steady intake of Lifeway, I am 2 months free of c diff! Will return to update if anything changes. To all who are still looking for a cure: Don't give up. Do as much research as you can and listen to your body. You will eventually find something that works for you and it WILL go away!

Best wishes to all who are still enduring. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions :)

Silviaxo
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Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2018 2:16 am

Re: How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

Postby Silviaxo » Tue Jul 10, 2018 1:10 pm

Thank you for posting!! Where can you buy these life away probiotic drinks at?

Brook
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Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:07 pm

Re: How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

Postby Brook » Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:21 pm

I see they sell it at Target in the USA. Try to google where you can buy it. I may try this!

Ril
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Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:45 pm

Re: How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

Postby Ril » Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:42 pm

Thank you for sharing you experiences. Most people, generally 80%,get well after 1-2 courses of medication. I am happy you were one of those and are now feeling well. It is also important that you advocate for your own health and do what you can to help your recovery. I am glad you were able to tolerate that amount of kefir.
My best wishes for your continued good health,
Rita

franneh
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Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 1:24 pm

Re: How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

Postby franneh » Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:38 pm

@Silviaxo: If you are in the US, you can find Lifeway Kefir at WholeFoods or Walmart! Sometimes they go on sale too.
Last edited by franneh on Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

franneh
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Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 1:24 pm

Re: How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

Postby franneh » Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:40 pm

@Ril: Thank you for your kind words, Rita! Yes, Kefir was a life saver for me. I could feel my gut health improving as soon as I started drinking it. Hopefully my experience gives others hope that recovery is possible.
Last edited by franneh on Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

Storm
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Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:46 am

Re: How I beat C diff. Don't give up!

Postby Storm » Thu Aug 23, 2018 6:58 am

Thank you for sharing! Very glad to hear a success story! Keep going with the kefir, so the c diff is gone for good!


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