I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Months

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.
Lisa33
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I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Months

Postby Lisa33 » Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:07 pm

As I sit here shoving handfuls of pirate booty down my throat while I work, I figured it was time to post my story in success stories. This is living proof that you will indeed get back to “normal” and enjoy foods once again. I didn’t want to post in success stories too soon as to jinx myself, but I am now over a year out and think it’s time to bring some hope to others.

First and foremost, I really want to thank the people who really got me through this awful illness. Bobbie, Carol, Bea, Beth, Roy and Anne – you really were my crutches during that awful time. Not only did you provide the support that I needed, but you educated me on an illness that I have never even heard of until it happened to me. This site is really a Godsend, which is why I wanted to reciprocate and give back to others by agreeing to be a moderator.

Secondly, I also recognize that my case was not nearly as bad as many others that are on this site. I consider myself lucky and in the majority when it came to curing c-diff. However, recovery was not so easy.

My journey actually started in August 2014, when I was sick for about 3 weeks with what was probably a viral upper respiratory infection. I had severe laryngitis, congestion and sinus pressure. I did not have a primary doctor at the time, so I went to urgent care. Since I was sick for 3 weeks, he said it’s “probably” a sinus infection, and prescribed Cefdinir, the generic of Omnicef. I have never taken this antibiotic before. My mindset when going to the doctor was always that I hoped that they give me an antibiotic, and if it goes away, great. I was never educated on the consequences of over-treating with antibiotics or the consequences of taking them. I grew up with antibiotics being ok. Hell, antibiotics saved my life when I was 16 years old with Bacterial Meningitis. I took the Omnicef for the prescribed time period. To tell you the truth, I don’t even remember if it got rid of the illness or not.

Two weeks later, BAM, it hit me! It was a Wednesday night, and that’s when it started. However, it really didn’t kick in until the next day. I went at least 20 times. At this point, I thought I had a stomach virus. My daughter, who was then 3, was at school. I work from home. Well, I didn’t get much work done that day, as I spent the day in the bathroom. Same thing the next day. Same thing the next day. I knew at this point, it was time to go to the doctor. I wasn’t able to eat, and was just staying hydrated. I had felt really sick. I had googled all night and pretty much self-diagnosed myself with c-diff. I went to the first GI doctor that I could get into ASAP. She is no longer my doctor, but at the time I was desperate. She took 3 stool samples (the old fashioned way) and tested for c-diff and other pathogens. I learned later from this board that 1 PCR was the way to go. Anyway, I tested positive and was put on Flagyl. I believe it was a 10 day course. I forced myself to eat the BRAT diet and my main focus was to stay hydrated. I tolerated the Flagyl enough to get through the course, and I thought I was cured. I felt back to normal and pretty good. I went back to eating normally and everything. I did take VSL-3, ate yogurts and drank Kefir.

Then two weeks later, BAM, it hit me again! I was in a full blown relapse. I was retested, as my doctor really wasn’t up to date on c-diff. It was positive, and she started me on the Flagyl again. I should also point out that I was still having symptoms late on the first course of Flagyl, and she retested me while on Flagyl. Obviously that was a no-no, and I tested negative. The Flagyl did NOT agree with me at all this time! It was like poison in my body. I was completely nauseated 24/7, zero appetite, very fatigued, foggy, oral thrush, and just awful. The dr made me endure this for 9 days. This was also during Halloween, and somehow I dragged myself to my daughter’s school parade and went trick or treating. I barely remember any of it. It was this site that had educated me on vanco, and I pushed for it. After 9 days of complete hell, I was finally switched to vanco. Within 24 hours, I felt so much better. All of the side effects from the flagyl went away. I felt pretty good on the vanco. I did a 14 day course that ended in mid-late November. That is what cured me.

Recovery was definitely a roller-coaster ride for me. There were some really tough times when I thought I was relapsing. Early recovery was the hardest. To this day, BM’s are not pre-c diff. I have a “new normal” now. I never took probiotics before c-diff, so I’m sure that causes some change as well. In early recovery, my BM’s were still very frequent and inconsistent. I added Florastor, and took 1-VSL 3 and 1-Florastor per day, along with eating yogurts and drinking Kefir. I kept to a bland diet for a while. I suffered from nausea in the mornings for quite some time. I definitely had post-infectious IBS. I was sure that I was relapsing during the first month of recovery several times, and was retested once. I was negative to my surprise. The IBS lasted a while. I also suffered from this constant flu-like feeling. I was always extremely fatigued and achy. I sought out an internal medicine doctor that also practiced functional medicine. She did a complete physical and blood work-up. I was deficient in Vitamin D, so I added supplements for that. She recommended that I go gluten free for a while to see if that helped with my overall GI health and with boosting my immune system. I was desperate to feel better, so I tried it. After 3 weeks, I really started to feel an improvement. My energy level really came back, and I started to feel good. I continued with the gluten free diet for months after. I still try to stick to it during the week. As time went on, the IBS days got less. It took me 8 months to have only 1 BM per day. Now at 14 months post vanco, I still get bouts of IBS, often triggered by stress and nerves, but they are fewer and farther between. Mind you, I never had IBS or any GI issues prior to c-diff. When I get these bouts, of course the anxiety of c diff comes back. But I remind myself that it’s most likely just IBS, and things will improve in a few days. My IBS is usually in the morning hours and is accompanied by nausea and lack of appetite. I use the “3 Day Rule” as my gage. Although my IBS has lasted longer than 3 days at times, symptoms never got worse, and at some point always got better.

There were a couple of positives that came out of this God awful illness. One is that I virtually met some very smart, caring and lovely people on this site. The second is that I eat sooooo much better now. I cook almost every night, which my family is grateful for. :-) But, I cook cleaner and healthier. I take what we eat more seriously now. And lastly, I am well-educated on c-diff and antibiotic use.
The hardest part of going through c-diff was trying to be a mother to a 3 year old while feeling so deathly ill. I have a great husband who did whatever he could to help the situation. Other family members didn’t really understand the severity of it, and treated me like I had a cold. I had to beg for help with my daughter at times. I did what I could to be a good mother, but still had the guilt of not really being present for her. I was sick the entire Fall of 2014, and really didn’t start to feel better for several months after. But I pushed through. I cleaned properly and still cooked and did what I had to do because I had no other choice. You can’t let the anxiety of c-diff take over. Nobody in my family caught it.

For all of you who are still suffering, just know that you will get through this. You will get well, and you will be able to enjoy life and food again. The real healer of this illness is time. The more time that goes by, the better you will feel, and the less anxiety you will have. I had to learn how to have patience with this illness. It takes time to feel better, but you all will. Even the ones who have relapsed over and over and over have been cured eventually. My heart goes out to all of you who have had to endure this illness for long periods of time. Look to those who have shared experiences for support.

My only hope is that they come out with SER-109 or something soon, so that c-diff sufferers don’t have to live in fear of any future antibiotic use any longer.

Lisa

georgina
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby georgina » Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:38 pm

Thank you for posting your success story Lisa , it really lifts up the spirit when the thoughts that you will be doomed for the rest of your life haunt the mind.I love reading success stories,hopefully there will be more to read!

Bobbie
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby Bobbie » Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:39 pm

Congrats, Lisa. You have "given back" threefold as a moderator and poster. We wish the best for you and your family.

A great success story!

saraht
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby saraht » Thu Jan 07, 2016 7:45 pm

Congratulations Lisa! Glad to hear you are over a year c.diff free!! It's wonderful to hear isn't it? Stinks that we all have had to go thru this in the first place, but I have met some wonderful people on this site, and have gotten "wiser" from it. I now try to lend my words to others who have no idea what this is, or find "poop transplants" gross.

I too hope one day we have a for sure cure so none of us have to worry about antibiotics. So here's to you for being over a year free of this nasty beast, and hoping that these new cures will make this a thing of the past.

-Sarah

NanciT
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby NanciT » Fri Jan 08, 2016 12:32 am

Lisa!

So great to see you posting here and telling your complete story! It helps so many to read the true journey, gives hope to see what one CAN go through with this illness and yet you made it through all the up's and down's.
Happy you are doing well!!
NanciT

beth22
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby beth22 » Fri Jan 08, 2016 2:32 am

Yes, thanks for posting. I can't imagine having to take care of a small child with this illness. It was hard enough for me to go to work each day and teach other people's kids, but at least I could go home and lie down if I needed to. Thanks for all you do on the site as well.

Lisa33
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby Lisa33 » Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:25 am

Thank you all for your kind replies, and thank you all for your support over the past year. You are all such caring, giving and compassionate individuals.

sevla
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby sevla » Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:26 pm

Thank you for posting, Lisa - and congratulations!
These stories give hope to many still fighting cdiff and others in recovery.
You have also been a great support for many of us that need help from the wonderful people on this site.

Lisa33
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Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:45 pm

Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby Lisa33 » Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:28 pm

Thank you so much, Sevla. It's so nice to hear from you. I hope everything is going well for you, and life is back to "normal." :-)

Jackie25
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby Jackie25 » Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:36 pm

Congrats, Lisa! I'm so happy for you :) you have always been such a huge help and offered me such valuable advice from the moment I joined this site. One year, I can't wait to see that day and post in the success stories as well. Today is exactly 6 months free of c diff for me believe it or not.

Your an amazing woman I pray you continue to heal and never have to deal with the beast EVER again! Bring on the SER109 and any other cure they'd like to offer :) lol can't get here soon enough!

Lisa33
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby Lisa33 » Tue Jan 12, 2016 10:47 am

Thanks so much Jackie for your sweet words. And Congrats on your 6 months! That's really awesome! You are well on your way now.

Maddy
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby Maddy » Tue Feb 09, 2016 11:54 pm

Thank you for posting a hopeful story, it's very encouraging.

Dukiemom
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby Dukiemom » Wed Feb 10, 2016 7:50 am

Thank you for such a wonderful story and congratulations!

ramu
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby ramu » Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:46 pm

Thanks for posting this. It was really helpful and raises my spirits.

iamsick
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Re: I promised that I would post at 1 Year....It's Now 14 Mo

Postby iamsick » Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:12 pm

Wow Lisa, what great success story. Very up lifting. Thank you for sharing!
Teresa_68


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