Fmt success - my story

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.
jG43
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Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:52 am

Fmt success - my story

Postby jG43 » Fri Sep 20, 2019 11:00 pm

I am a 43 male in Texas. In Nov of 2018 I contracted c-diff after taking clindamycin for a hand laceration. About 3 weeks after finishing the clindamycin I got bad d. I was lucky that I was only sick for about a week of fever with d 5 to 6 times a day but I did not have to go to an er. After about 6 days I felt awful and lost weight. I went in to a local urgent care and dr ran pcr test that showed cdiff and prescribed Flagyl. Symptoms cleared but I felt awful on the medicine. Relapsed about a week later. My personal doctor prescribed vanco for 10 days. Relapsed over Christmas holiday on vacation. Doctor prescribed a 8 week vanco taper pulse and referred me to a wonderful GI who had cdiff before himself and had done a lot of research on fmts during residency. After relapsing after taper, GI prescribe 10 days of Dificid followed by fmt with donor from openbiome on March 19. My GI only did a fmt via colonoscopy based on a pcr test after several days of bad symptoms (blood and copious d).I was back to work a day after fmt. I guess one positive thing was my GI said my colon looked healthy although I still had some inflammation from the toxins. My GI told me that a fmt he did in Nov of 2018 basically saved the life of a patient of his who had one of the worst damaged colons he had ever seen. I ate a very bland diet and had some stomach pains and a few scary bouts of d for the first 8 weeks but I continued to get better. The advice I got from this website was a Godsend. My GI said I was in the clear at my 12 week follow up but I really did not feel that I was fully in the clear until 4-5 months post fmt. My GI told me that it may be a year or more until my gut truly returns to “normal” I am now 6 months post fmt and feeling like I did before all of this. I am eating unrestricted and enjoying the foods I used to be able to eat. Grilled chicken and potatoes was my diet for many months. Every month post fmt I got stronger. I slowly introduced foods back into my diet. I have to be careful with red meat. I have gained most of the 15 pounds I lost. Looking back in last Christmas I really felt that I would never get past this illness. It took a mental toll on me as much as a physical toll. I am still worried about if I will need to take antibiotics in the future but I will cross that bridge when I get there. I will NEVER take clindamycin ever again. For those dealing with this you will beat it. It just takes time and patience for the body to heal. My GI did not recommend any probiotics after fmt and I not currently taking any. I just try to eat as many probiotic foods that I can, eat healthy, exercise, and drink plenty of water. I also have been adding back fiber with fruits and vegetables. I am staying away from alcohol for the time being. I finally had Mexican food for the first time in almost 9 months. Thank you to all of you who gave me support through this journey. If there is anyone who has questions about fmt or openbiome please contact me. I would be happy to help you in any way I can.

JG43

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