Changes in relatives' BMs since I had C.Diff?

[firefly]

Hi all,

I've been lurking on this site since May of 2018, when I was infected with C. Difficile. I am a 19-year-old girl who caught this disease after being misdiagnosed twice for abdominal pain and was prescribed two separate courses of the horrible amoxicillin for a "bladder infection". After learning it was actually appendicitis, I was put on amoxicillin for the third time to prepare me for surgery. This combination of broad-spectrum antibiotics, being in hospital, and getting surgery made me vulnerable to this debilitating disease that I never even knew existed. That's when I discovered this forum, which helped me an incredible amount through my recovery, so thank you all for sharing your experiences and tips. I am now 7 months post c. diff and am left with a new 'normal', consisting of IBS, certain food intolerances, and, like most of you here, an eternal phobia of hospitals and antibiotics.

Now, to the question. Ever since my infection with c. diff, I have noticed a change in my 20-year-old boyfriend's bowel habits (yes, we talk about this stuff). Back when I was carefree and healthy, he would go once a day or every second day (the same as me), and could hold if it was inconvenient to go right then. Now, he still has normal days where he goes only once, but he's also been having days where it's twice or even up to five times a day. Never diarrhea, but not exactly formed either. He also talks about an intense urgency to go, which he never used to have. There have been no changes in his diet as he eats mostly the same thing day in, day out.

Coincidentally, boyfriend had to get his wisdom teeth removed on the same day that I got appendicitis, so he and I were both on amoxicillin, suffering together. Except he simply got diarrhea while on the antibiotics and went back to having normal, formed stools soon after. I, on the other hand, progressively got worse with M, and that's when I got the diagnosis for c. diff.

As soon as I found out, I made sure not to go to his house as I was afraid of infecting him and his family, but he still came to mine for company and support as I was mostly bedbound for the week after my surgery and needed help getting up (I wanted to give my parents a break). This means he would have been somewhat exposed to my germs, even though I stressed for him to wash his hands after seeing me and before eating, and he never actually got c. diff himself. So now I am wondering:

- Is it possible that c. diff got colonized in his gut flora (but never caused an infection) after being exposed to the bacteria?
- If so, would the colonization have caused a change in his bowel movements, like it did for me?
- Or, could his short course of amoxicillin have changed his gut flora and thus bowel habits?

Has anyone else experienced something similar with their own relatives or caregivers?

[LHutz]

If he had C. Diff there would not be any days where he only made 1 or 2 BMs a day. He'd be running to the toilet a lot more than that. He might have food allergies or IBD, but it does not sound like C. Diff.

[AllisS]

Hi firefly, welcome to the site. Please read our guidelines for all new posters when you have a chance; it's the first thread in the intro category.

It's certainly true that C. diff tends to make one wary of antibiotics and medical settings. However, the former -- when prescribed judiciously (often they are not) -- can be life-saving, and hospitals are sometimes places of healing despite their drawbacks. (Sorry if that sounds preachy.)

This isn't a medical site but rather a support site, so I'm not qualified to give definitive answers about your boyfriend's situation. That said, any change in bowel habits should be checked out by a doctor, since occasionally something serious can cause this. The pattern that you describe doesn't sound like C. diff, which is characterized by profuse, watery diarrhea at least three times per day for at least three consecutive days.

[beth22]

I would suggest to your boyfriend that he have stool tests done. Not just for c difficile, but also a stool culture and a test for ova and parasites. Might as well see if there is anything there. There are other bacteria out there too. This way you would know more what you are dealing with.