C.Diff free for two years now

[oilsgirl]

I've been meaning to do this for a while, so here's my story!

I got c.diff. five days after I gave birth to my first child in August, 2005 at the age of 35. During the birth, I had a spontaneous fourth degree tear which would make the coming c.diff. even more horrible than it would otherwise have been. The immediate c.diff. culprit was massive IV Pennicilin, but that came on the heels of months of Amoxicillin for UTIs during pregnancy. I had a round of amox. every month for the first 6 months of my pregnancy and I'm sure that really messed with my gut flora over a long period of time. Then the pennicillan (which I can't spell..LOL) did me in, even though it usually is fairly safe in terms of c.diff.

I went for three weeks before diagnosis, due to errors at the lab (they kept testing for giardia...the fools) and the 'your body's a mess in general postpartum' attitude at my midwife/OB office. I lost over 40 pounds in those three weeks and was trying to breastfeed and was gravely sick - I couldn't eat or drink (and was lactating!), I was having palpitations (sure my electrolytes were in chaos), I could not care for the baby, and in retrospect, I should probably have been hospitalized. There were a few nights I felt sure I was going to die.

Finally, they gave me Flagyl which helped a bit, but also made me so nauseous I couldn't eat (and meant the end of breastfeeding). I switched my care to my GP then and she put me on a month of vancomycin -- 4x250 a day. I was very lucky since she knew about c.diff. and she told me that it often took more than one round of vanco to kick it and not to be overly worried if I relapsed. I never got 'good' after that first round, but I could eat and function (though I was still good friends with the bathroom). About six weeks later, I relapsed and she put me on a 6 week course of vanco, same dosage. I then tapered/pulsed off that using the protocol I found on the site. I had horrible PI-IBS, though, and she referred me to a GI about 2 months after the end of the vanco. I had a colonoscopy (all results normal) and he told me that the PI-IBS was very normal and that he expected me to get better over time, though it might take a year or more to get somewhat 'normal'. Because I have mitral-valve prolapse, I needed antibiotics with the colonoscopy and he gave me a shot of gentimicin (spelling again) and an IV of vanco to cover me.

Twice in that first year post-c.diff. I had infections and needed antibiotics. The GI had suggested Zpacks since he thought they had less impact on the gut flora and while I sweated through those two Zpacks, I did okay. I took my Culturelle and survived with just a couple days of loose stool on the first Zpack (you can imagine my terror) and nothing at all amiss on the second.

The PI-IBS improved a bit and then was my constant, steadily annoying companion. Various foods set it off and sometimes I just had a spell for no apparent reason. I lived by the 3-day rule. This went on for over a year, and then this past fall, about a year and a half after the end of my last vanco, I suddenly improved dramatically. I have no idea what happened. Nothing changed in my diet or life or anything. I just suddenly stopped having the food-related reactions and went from having lots of days with multiple stools (2 to 3 at the most) to once a day nearly every day. I've had a few spells, but it's now rare instead of regular. So, I'm thankful that my GI was right and the IBS seems to be resolving. Just a month ago, I needed an antibiotic for a UTI and took 5 days of Bactrim (scared the whole time). I took the Culturelle with it and afterward and I'm doing great so far -- no problems. This is a 'new normal' for me, but it's one I can live with and be thankful for.

I am so thankful for this website and this community. You were here for me when I was really scared and no one else around me knew how awful and frightening c.diff. was. I take the 'safer antibiotics' list with me everywhere and give it to my doctors. I have become a complete freak about hand-washing, especially in medical settings. And I have told everybody who will listen about c.diff.

C.Diff. took the first few months of my time with and joy over the birth of my first and probably only child. I have almost no memory of the first month of her life. But I did come out the other side and I'm doing great now and thank God and thank you for helping me through it. If you're in the throes of C.Diff right now, please know that you can get through this and that even if you are very sick right now, you can beat this and get better.

peace and healing to you all --
Sharon

[Bobbie]

Sharon,
Glad the site was helpful & you are doing well now.

[Nancy1]

Sharon,
It is wonderful to read your success story. Hurray for you, for beating cdiff, for beating IBS, and for surviving antibiotics! That's great. Reading success stories was one thing that really kept me going during my early days of cdiff. Thanks so much for posting yours.