Kate's Story

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Kate'sMom
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Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 11:56 am

Kate's Story

Postby Kate'sMom » Thu Oct 02, 2014 10:36 am

I'm here because my 17 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with a c.difficile infection and I am typical worried mother who hates seeing her beautiful, active daughter suffering. Early August my daughter started complaining of slight pain in her lower right side and within a few days it was essentially debilitating. I took her to Urgent Care and they sent her home with a "take her to the ER if it gets worse" note. The next day we did go to the ER because I was very worried it might be appendicitis. At the ER they basically wanted to send her home with meds but no real diagnosis because they were reluctant to do a CT scan. Luckily I'm the mama bear sort and I insisted on some sort of testing which ultimately showed colon wall thickening and inflammation. She was given a very general diagnosis of colitis, anti-nausea med and percocet along with a recommendation for a follow up with a GI specialist. The next day we went to her pediatrician because her specialist (she's had an h.pylori infection four years prior) required a written doctor referral. By that evening she was in the ER again with extreme vomiting which was apparently due to the percocet. By now I'd done all kinds of online research and was worried it was possibly Chron's. All of this began right before she was supposed to start school and we made the decision to homeschool which thankfully I'm in the position to do. We suffered through the next few days until we got into the specialist (yay for cancellations and being able to make it 30 minutes away spontaneously). The doc wanted to test for multiple things before doing scopes to test for bowel disorders such as Chron's, etc. which I'm quite thankful for because she came back positive for c.difficile (which I was beginning to suspect due to my obsessive online researching while waiting for the results...I also think I irritated the doctor when the diagnosis came and I started spouting off possible treatment options lol). Anyway, she was given a 10 day course of metronidazole and I undertook the task of scrubbing my house top to bottom with bleach and ordering medical grade antimicrobial soap etc (have I mentioned I tend to do things a bit on the obsessive side). She finished the med but still has pain, diarrhea with the foul smell and now intermittent vomiting (during this time she also revisited her counselor she has seen in the past for anxiety issues because she was getting very depressed about her inability to do any of the things she'd done before). The orders were to wait three weeks after finishing the antibiotics and retest for c.diff again (I think she's testing for specific strain possibilities this time) and we have an appointment next week. I'm 99.9% certain she still has it given she still has symptoms. I just want my daughter better...it's heartbreaking to see her this way. It's even more difficult given that so few people know what it is or the severity of the infection. You say Chron's these days and most people know, but c.difficile? Nope. I'm very thankful to have found this site. Sometimes I want to vent or have a pity party and just have someone get why I feel the way I do. I'm scared for my daughter, but I'm also extremely proud of her. She's been proactive in taking care of herself, seeking emotional support when she needed it and doing her best to remain active and social when she felt up to it. And that's my story...or hers actually.

Kate'sMom
New User
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Kate's Story

Postby Kate'sMom » Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:14 am

Thank you! She just tested negative (yay!) although she's still having symptoms (boo!). Back to the specialist next week to figure out where to go from here. But I am optimistic. :)


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