Terrified

[Ktk3]

I’m a 37 year old mother of three beautiful children. I received my C Diff diagnosis last May. Although this group has been invaluable to me, this is my first post. I’m hoping I’m one of the lucky ones who recovered after one successful treatment, but this past week has been a rough one. My symptoms started back last Thursday and while some seem better some seem worse. I didn’t present with typical C Diff symptoms the first time, and it took months for a correct diagnosis. My main complaints were pain in my chest, pain under my left rib cage, nausea and vomiting, weight loss, zero appetite, insomnia , rapid heart beat, and tremors. I was drinking a stupid amount of pepto bismol because I thought I had a stomach ulcer. I think it may have masked some of the more common symptoms. I’m almost 7 months out from finishing my c diff treatment. I haven’t been on antibiotics since and I take 2 Florastor and 1 women’s 50 billion probiotic a day. Sometimes I switch out the women’s probiotic for bio-k. Has anyone had a stomach bug after C Diff? Did it take longer to recover? Has anyone relapsed this far out? C Diff scares me half to death. I’m terrified of giving it to one of my kids. I get online and start readying and I start thinking the worst. I just want to see my kids grow up. I’m going to my GI tomorrow. Should I be concerned about a false positive this far out? I can’t believe I might have to start back from square one. Anyone with c diff scare that turned out negative? Any words of encouragement would be very much appreciated as I’ve seemed to let my nerves get the best of me.

[NanciT]

Hello ktk3 and Welcome to the site Please read the first thread for all new posters

It's good to follow up with your GI. I can't really respond in reference to your symptoms but will tell you when I did get the Flu post cdiff it was much worse. I also was one who had vomiting with CDIFF which is unusual and made my cases difficult to diagnose.

It's been several months for you and if you were doing well, this could be a "bump" in the road. I always suggest following with your GI, Post IBS can be difficult and may be what you are dealing with. The Pepto would have an impact if you had D, than won't test unless the sample is D.

Hope you feel better soon

NanciT

[LHutz]

What are your current symptoms? Do you have diarrhea? Most doctors will not treat you for c. diff unless you have a positive c. diff test plus at least three diarrhea bowel movements a day for three consecutive days. In fact, labs will only test stool samples for c.diff if they are diarrhea samples and reject any samples that aren't.

It's also my understanding that once you finish treatment and make it to 3 months without c. diff symptoms, you have passed the time marker for a recurrence and if you get it again after that point, it would be due to a reinfection and not a recurrence of your prior infection.

[AllisS]

Ktk3, I've read your post a couple of times but am still unclear on what your current symptoms are that you're concerned about. It doesn't sound like you have C. diff any longer. At this point, if you were to become infected with C. diff, it would be a new illness, not a relapse. C. diff isn't easily transmitted to others in the household as long as you follow common-sense hygiene measures, the chief one being to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after bathroom use, prior to preparing food or eating, and when coming home from having been "out in the world."

I don't think you need worry about survival -- or living to see your kids grow up, as you put it! The chances of a young, otherwise healthy person such as yourself not recovering are miniscule. Most people do recover from C. diff; those who don't tend to be very elderly or to be suffering from major medical conditions that complicate recovery.

The amount of probiotics that you're taking sounds high. Keep in mind that probiotics themselves can cause GI symptoms; many people can't tolerate Florastor. You may want to try reducing your probiotic regimen -- maybe take one vs. two Florastor per day and eliminate the women's 50 billion (not sure what that is, but it sounds hefty).

[roy]

Sometimes I remember a version of something that Bobbie often said.
If it dont quack like a duck it's probably not a duck!
Some people post that they never had typical symptoms, they got treated just because a test says they have c.diff.
I compare that to a Dr telling me I have measles but I dont have spots!
It's a lazy Dr that says c.diff is the cause when the symptoms dont match the diagnosis.
It can be normal to test positive and the cause of your problems can be totaly unrelated to that test result.

[Ktk3]

Thank you all for the reassurance! I’m normally a level headed person but since c diff, I’ve been a bit of a train wreck when it comes to my health. I am having watery d on and off about two or three times a day, but not every day, since last Thursday. Mainly after I eat. Last night the gas pains were so bad I actually considered the idea that I had appendicitis. I have no fever. My appetite was ok yesterday but bad today. I’m a little shaky in the AM and PM but I also haven’t slept well in days. I should mention my oldest has come down with either a mild stomach bug or food poisoning from a bad salad since I posted this morning. Maybe that’s all this is?! I tried to start drinking kefir when this first started and I think it made things worse. I may have over done it. Maybe I’ll try to back off the probiotics. It makes sense with the timing of my episodes.

I’m just cleaning my bathroom with Clorox with bleach for now. I’m the only one using it until I know what is going on. My youngest sleeps with me but I have stuck him and my husband in the guest bedroom until I know what this is or isn’t. I have a doctor’s appointment with my GI tomorrow. I don’t know what to do now. I don’t know if I’m a duck or a chicken!

[Medena]

Hi there!

Yes cdiff can mess you up emotionally and mentally. But you should listen to your instincts. If you feel something is very wrong, go get yourself tested. But be aware that post infectious IBS is a very very real thing with cdiff, even for us who used to have the guts of steel prior to this experience.

[Ktk3]

I just thought I would update. I saw my GI this morning and she thinks my CDiff is back. I was on flagyl the first time and she said this was a poor antibiotic to fight CDiff but they have to prescribe it first for insurance to cover vancomycin. She went ahead and prescribed the vanco but told me to wait for test results to pick it up. She said I could continue taking my probiotics while on vanco. She also said there was a chance this was just post infectious IBS. She was very reassuring and said I was young and healthy and that there was no reason antibiotics shouldn’t knock this out. She also told me they do fecal matter transplants and they have great success with them. She told me it wasn’t that contagious and to practice good hand washing but not to worry about the kids. I think it was a good visit. I know no matter the test results, I’m in good hands.

[sammyp]

If you're 7 months out from you last treatment this would be a reinfection, not a reoccurance. It would be very unlikely for CDiff to come back out of the blue 7 months past treatment without a catalyst like antibiotic use. You're probably experiencing IBS, a GI bug, or food poisoning - all of which are much more common than CDiff is, even for those who have a history of CDiff. I read that you got tested - I'd be hesitant to treat off the results alone if they are positive. We can test positive for Cdiff long after treatment ends without actually having the disease. If your symptoms worsen, I'd consider it but again, 7 months would be a reinfection not a reoccurance and that seems highly unlikely.

[beth22]

My pcr test has been positive for two and a half years since I got out of the hospital and had taken antibiotics. I have not treated and won't unless I get D.

[Ktk3]

My test was negative! I’m so happy I don’t know what to do with myself! Thanks again for all your support. I can see that testing can be such a slippery slope. If it had been positive , I would have been left with a very tough decision. Again, all your stories and questions have been invaluable to me through having c diff and struggling with the IBS afterwards. Thanks so very much.

[sammyp]

So happy to hear about your negative test! I hope your symptoms continue to improve and this is just a bumpy IBS flare for you