Vicki's Case History

[Vicki D]

I got c diff in Dec 2003 from taking Ceflex (a cephalosporin) for a sinus infection. I had also taken an antibiotic four months prior to that for a root canal, and forget to mention that to my Dr. But I had no knowledge of the potential danger of taking antibiotics too often.

I started having diarrhea several times a day, and called the Dr. I was told the flu was going around, and I should just take immodium AD to stop the diarrhea. I took it and got even worse. I had a fever of about 103 and started going to the bathroom every hour. After about of week of this, I went into the Dr. office and they decided to test me for c diff, and the test was positive for Toxins A & B.

It's hard to believe, but I was happy with that diagnosis! I thought it was good to know what was wrong, and assumed the Flagyl they prescribed would clear everything up. Well, not quite. It's been long enough now that I don't recall the dosage of meds I was taking, but took Flagyl about 10 days. 3 days after I was off it the diarrhea came back, and I tested positive again for c diff. This time I was referred to a GI specialist and he put me on Flagyl for a month. A few days after being off it (I think 4 days), the c diff came back and I had terrible pain in my intestines, so I could hardly breath, and was almost doubled over in pain. I tested positive again. At my worst I was having diarrhea every 15 minutes, had 103 fever (again), rapid heart rate, extreme weakness and fatigue, and felt I was approaching death. I was never hospitalized, however. I recall one day I was going to try to go into work, but didn't have the strenth to get from the sofa to the coat closet (across the room). By the time I had my coat on, I knew I was too ill to go any further, and I just sat down and cried. I had never lost my health to this extent ever before. I was very frightened.

He then prescribed vancomycin along with Questran (supposed to bind the c diff toxin) for 6 weeks. I felt pretty good while on the medication. But just as happened in the past, it came back, and I got another positive test.

Due to the information I obtained on this web site, along with the info I got from Kelly Karpa's book "Bacteria for Breakfast", I decided to pursue getting a fecal infusion. I started calling the Dr. in Australia to have them send the enema kit and instructions to do the infusions at home. Due to the time difference and difficulty getting someone there to call me back, I decided to also try the Duluth Clinic, because I had read about results from their treatments. I was told Dr. Aas had retired, but they would try to find out who was taking over these treatments. In a short time I was given the new Dr.'s name and number.

It didn't take long after that before the Dr. called me at work and asked me a few questions to determine if I qualified for the treatment. He said I sounded like a good candidate, and I had 3 positive tests, which was required. He sent us the list of tests for the donor to have done (my husband). Once those results came back fine, I was able to schedule an appointment for the treatment.

I had the treatment 6/7/04 and was well immediately. I never needed to take another vanco. I did continue taking probiotics for about a year. I had a case of diarrhea the 4th of July after the treatment and panicked that I had c diff back, but I didn't! Probably the pizza I ate that weekend irritated my system. I had the c diff test, because I was supposed to get a test a month after the treatment anyway, and it was negative!!!!!

The diarrhea never progressed, it went away after a few bouts.

I have been well every since (I am writing this 2/10/06), which makes it 1 year and 8 months.

If I were ever to contract c diff again, I would not hesitate to get the infusion again. It was an unpleasant hour, but I know I could handle it again.