Possible Relapse? Need advice

[Msj31]

Hello everyone! Sorry in advance for the long post. It’s my first post, and hopefully I’m doing this right! I had C Diff about three weeks ago, and it was a pretty severe case. I am a 28 year old female that had no gut issues prior to C Diff, but ended up getting it after taking clindamycin for a sinus infection. I ended up getting admitted into the hospital and staying there for a full eight days (vanco treatment “failed” and we ended up using Dificid and it was a LIFE SAVER!!). I was so dehydrated and in so much pain, as you all know C Diff is horrendously atrocious and not kind on the body. I’m sorry if this is TMI, but I got the worst hemorrhoids and a very large fissure during this hospital stay that are still causing me pain three weeks later. Things were getting better in the last two weeks. I was discharged, quarantined at my parents house to keep my 8 month old safe, and have been home with my husband and baby for about a week now. I’ve had normal bowel movements since the dificid kicked in, but yesterday morning I woke up needing to have diarrhea. I didn’t immediately feel nervous about a relapse because I know the body can fluctuate after C Diff. It was my first day back at work, and so I pushed aside the bowel movement issues and went to work. I ended up not being able to work a full shift (I’m a nurse, but a relatively new nurse, and my job is physically demanding). I went home and continued having diarrhea. I think I went maybe 6 times yesterday. This morning I woke up and had diarrhea again, and I’m really starting to get very nervous about a relapse.

For context, I currently have a cold that I got from my daughter bringing daycare germs home. Also, the night before the diarrhea started, I had eaten pasta with cheesy sauce. I originally figured it was just the cheese that had messed me up (I plan on now completely cutting out dairy, I wasn’t really educated or warned about the dangers of dairy or gluten intolerance). But now I’m not so sure. I also take Florastor at night, but am going to start taking it twice a day beginning today. Just looking for advice, a shoulder to lean on, something. I feel so depressed after C Diff and just want normality back in my life. It just feels like one thing after another right now, and it’s been wearing me down. I don’t even remotely feel strong enough to go through C Diff again! I only finished the Dificid maybe a week ago, and I’m worried it’s too early to test for C Diff. Any advice and/or kind words are appreciated. Thank you all, so glad I found this site for some support. This condition is incredibly isolating and lonely.

Much love,
Mallory

[roy]

Sorry but that sounds like a typical relapse.
Most Dr's would not test again and would put you back on meds.
No test needed if symptoms are so obvious.

[beth22]

It does sound like a relapse to me as well. Some people have done a Dificid taper and I would ask your doctor about doing that if they put you back on meds.

[Msj31]

roy wrote:
> Sorry but that sounds like a typical relapse.
> Most Dr's would not test again and would put you back on meds.
> No test needed if symptoms are so obvious.

Roy,

Thank you for your reply. I somewhat expected this response, but a big part of me dreaded to get this response as well. This whole experience had finally started to feel like it was going to get better and now it just feels much more hopeless than before. C Diff certainly causes so much mental and emotional anguish. I reached out to my GI doctor. Hopefully we can figure out a game plan there. I kept trying to tell myself, “oh on Friday I only went 3 times, so it can’t be C Diff.” Or, “I don’t have the abdominal pain and it doesn’t smell like C Diff”. I’ll let the doctor tell me what he thinks and hopefully we can do a Dificid taper or something of that sort.

Thank you again,
Mallory

[Msj31]

beth22 wrote:
> It does sound like a relapse to me as well. Some people have done a
> Dificid taper and I would ask your doctor about doing that if they put you
> back on meds.

Beth,

I certainly will ask. I just reached out to him after reading the replies here and explained my symptoms. Just trying to justify in my head of it NOT being C Diff again because it was such a miserable experience the first go around. Hoping it doesn’t get as bad as it was then. I appreciate you reading my post and replying. It’s nice to have an online support system of people who understand how C Diff impacts the body, mind, and soul!

Thank you again,
Mallory

[beth22]

It may not be c difficile. PI-IBS can be a problem or you could have picked up a virus, but the only way to know for sure is to test. See what your doctor thinks.

[Msj31]

beth22 wrote:
> It may not be c difficile. PI-IBS can be a problem or you could have
> picked up a virus, but the only way to know for sure is to test. See what
> your doctor thinks.


Yes, just got a kit today to test my stool to see if there’s a virus of some kind. I had a normal BM this morning so I think it was something in passing. We are also scheduling a colonoscopy in the next week or two just because of my pain level (possible fissure that is failing to heal). Hoping to return to work and return to being a better mom and wife soon! This is kicking my butt, no pun intended!

[beth22]

Hopefully you will be better again soon. Let us know how things go.