CDIFF after childbirth

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Medena
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Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2018 4:25 am

CDIFF after childbirth

Postby Medena » Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:46 am

Hi everybody!

I just wanted to share my story in hopes to give mental support to anybody going through the same, and perhaps somebody can find some information from here useful.

So, I got cdiff shortly after delivering my first child in December 2017. They gave me Zinat antibiotics to treat an infection of stitches, and what followed was 3 weeks of horrible diarrhea. Being a new mom and caring for my newborn alone, I couldn't run to the doctor's office asap, and honestly, I was thinking this was something I ate, or just tiredness and stress-related issue, that it will get better soon...
Well, you must have guessed.. it didn't get better. So off I went to the doctor's, a GI specialist who told me I've got an infection, but he never told me the name of my infection. He gave me metronidazole. I followed up in another hospital where a GI specialist explained to me what I have (because 2 weeks after metronidazole I was still positive..). They told me to wait a bit since I was getting better, and to come back in if the symptoms worsen. They did, so I went to the er and got oral vancomycin. At that time, I have found this forum, which was so helpful.
I started taking kefir like INSANE. And some other probiotic pills (I never choose the brand, just gulped it). I never had a positive test ever since, thank God.
But, I've had so many horrible symptoms for the next 4 years really. I would have urgency and consistent morning diarrhea. My stools were rarely, almost never formed. I would get severe abdominal pain from time to time. And one on the CT scans, they saw intestinal intussusception.
I've done colonoscopy, gastroscopy, many ultrasounds, CT and MRI scans, double-balloon enteroscopy, capsule endoscopy, countless blood and stool tests...
With all this, I would have some GYN issues as well, like bleeding between periods, which made me think of endometriosis.
I've visited dozens of GI and OBGYN doctors, only to be told again and again this was stress and basically, to relax.
I've been told that even the intussusception they saw once was probably nothing.
Finally, in November of 2021, I saw a very experienced OBGYN doctor, a german specialist who was one of the first to perform laparoscopy in the world. She heard my story and told me I need an emergency diagnostic laparoscopy.
I was scared to do it, but I trusted her completely. And I am so glad I did.
She found many abdominal adhesions in my abdominal cavity, some were connecting together the intestines with other organs and the abdominal walls. There were three partial intestinal obstructions. One adhesion of the intestine is still left because it would be very difficult to remove it without damaging the liver and spleen, but it is not normally causing obstruction, and when it does, now I know exactly what is going on at least.
Basically, what I've been told is due to a severe abdominal/intestinal infection in the past, I've developed all these adhesions causing me so many unpleasant and even life-threatening symptoms in the last 4 years.
I am so lucky, thankful, and glad I've had the pleasure to find a truly experienced expert to have believed me and helped me when no scans would show the problem, the diagnostic laparoscopy has - and the doctor knew it would and helped me.

I feel so much better now. Most of my symptoms are gone, thank God. I do have a very minor IBS - sensitivity to fructose now, but all my symptoms were definitely not due to post infectious IBS or stress, the way other doctors told me many times, just to get rid of me.

I've had antibiotics prior to my surgery, together with metronidazole, and no recurrence. I've taken kefir and enterogermina probiotics occasionally.

The moral of my story is, when you know something is off with your body, don't let them tell you otherwise. Be persistent until you find someone expert and wise enough, who believes you, to properly diagnose you and treat you!

Thanks for reading :) Have a good day everyone!

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