New and Confused
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 1:16 pm
Here is a little background on me:
27 year old female that has been a pretty healthy person my whole life. During my third trimester of my pregnancy (December) I got kidney stones and had to go to the hospital for them to monitor me and my baby because of the dehydration caused by vomiting. After two days in the hospital the pain stopped and I went home. I ended up back in the hospital a week or so later with kidney pain again, and was scheduled to have a nephrostomy tube put in the next day, so I stayed overnight at the hospital. I got the tube put in and went on my way. A week later I started having extremely frequent BM for a day, and then that night I was having WD every few minutes and stomach pains. I went to the hospital again first thing in the morning and they gave me IV fluids, took a stool sample, and stopped the contractions. I was still having WD and pain, but they discharged me and told me to go to my OB appointment later that day. I went to my OB office and she told me that I have c-diff. She prescribed me Flagyl for 10 days and a probiotic and a muscle relaxer to help with the pain so that I could sleep. I had my baby 3 weeks later, and had to have antibiotics due to an infection that I got from being in labor for so long. A week later I started having symptoms again and had a stool test done, and it came back positive. She referred me to a GI who prescribed me 125mg Vanco 4 times a day for 10 days. My symptoms were extremely mild this time compared to the first time, and I started feeling better within a day of taking the Vanco. A week and a half after I finished the Vanco I had my surgery to get my nephrostomy tube removed, kidney stones blasted, and stent put in and the urologist told me that I HAD to have one dose of antibiotics through IV since they were putting a foreign object in me. About a week later i started having the frequent bowel movements again followed by D. I called the GI and he ordered a stool sample that came back positive, so he is starting me on the 250mg Vanco and then going down to 125mg. I have some questions though because I had never heard of c diff before January and I’m so confused.
1. He told me that I don’t have to have any dietary restrictions. I see a lot of people on here alter their diet, is that because your stomach can’t handle the food? Or does it aid in curing the c diff? My symptoms are mild this time around and my stomach can handle anything right now, though I don’t have much of an appetite thanks to the depression that this has caused (started antidepressants last night).
2. What precautions should be taken during and after the infection? Right now me and my husband are using separate bathrooms, I bleach wipe the toilet after every BM, and I only use my towels one time and put them in a trash bag with my panties and pants until I wash those things separately. The GI said that if I’m a carrier that I need to do these things for the rest of my life, that I will need to carry bleach wipes with me to clean any toilet that I use in public, is this true?! That is what sent me spiraling mentally.
3. This is awkward to ask, but how do I continue to have a sex life with my husband? My fears of giving it to him and my baby have gone down a lot thanks to the precautions that I’m taking, but that is one thing that is still giving me anxiety.
4. Is it possible to NOT be a carrier? Like do some people completely get rid of it? Or is everyone always a carrier for the rest of their life? And if so, what does life after the infection look like?
I love my baby girl so much and I am thankful to have her and that she is healthy, but this has been the hardest 3 months of my life, and I’m trying to get through it and am hoping that life after this will be good again. I’m also hoping that the antidepressants that my OB started me on kick in soon. Any advice and encouragement is appreciated.
27 year old female that has been a pretty healthy person my whole life. During my third trimester of my pregnancy (December) I got kidney stones and had to go to the hospital for them to monitor me and my baby because of the dehydration caused by vomiting. After two days in the hospital the pain stopped and I went home. I ended up back in the hospital a week or so later with kidney pain again, and was scheduled to have a nephrostomy tube put in the next day, so I stayed overnight at the hospital. I got the tube put in and went on my way. A week later I started having extremely frequent BM for a day, and then that night I was having WD every few minutes and stomach pains. I went to the hospital again first thing in the morning and they gave me IV fluids, took a stool sample, and stopped the contractions. I was still having WD and pain, but they discharged me and told me to go to my OB appointment later that day. I went to my OB office and she told me that I have c-diff. She prescribed me Flagyl for 10 days and a probiotic and a muscle relaxer to help with the pain so that I could sleep. I had my baby 3 weeks later, and had to have antibiotics due to an infection that I got from being in labor for so long. A week later I started having symptoms again and had a stool test done, and it came back positive. She referred me to a GI who prescribed me 125mg Vanco 4 times a day for 10 days. My symptoms were extremely mild this time compared to the first time, and I started feeling better within a day of taking the Vanco. A week and a half after I finished the Vanco I had my surgery to get my nephrostomy tube removed, kidney stones blasted, and stent put in and the urologist told me that I HAD to have one dose of antibiotics through IV since they were putting a foreign object in me. About a week later i started having the frequent bowel movements again followed by D. I called the GI and he ordered a stool sample that came back positive, so he is starting me on the 250mg Vanco and then going down to 125mg. I have some questions though because I had never heard of c diff before January and I’m so confused.
1. He told me that I don’t have to have any dietary restrictions. I see a lot of people on here alter their diet, is that because your stomach can’t handle the food? Or does it aid in curing the c diff? My symptoms are mild this time around and my stomach can handle anything right now, though I don’t have much of an appetite thanks to the depression that this has caused (started antidepressants last night).
2. What precautions should be taken during and after the infection? Right now me and my husband are using separate bathrooms, I bleach wipe the toilet after every BM, and I only use my towels one time and put them in a trash bag with my panties and pants until I wash those things separately. The GI said that if I’m a carrier that I need to do these things for the rest of my life, that I will need to carry bleach wipes with me to clean any toilet that I use in public, is this true?! That is what sent me spiraling mentally.
3. This is awkward to ask, but how do I continue to have a sex life with my husband? My fears of giving it to him and my baby have gone down a lot thanks to the precautions that I’m taking, but that is one thing that is still giving me anxiety.
4. Is it possible to NOT be a carrier? Like do some people completely get rid of it? Or is everyone always a carrier for the rest of their life? And if so, what does life after the infection look like?
I love my baby girl so much and I am thankful to have her and that she is healthy, but this has been the hardest 3 months of my life, and I’m trying to get through it and am hoping that life after this will be good again. I’m also hoping that the antidepressants that my OB started me on kick in soon. Any advice and encouragement is appreciated.