Karen's Case History

[klt03301]

47 years old. I had a hysterectomy at Duke Hospital on 2/20/08. The bowel prep prior to surgery was very harsh, and I was still going the next morning at time of surgery. Completely wiped everything in my gut out. Was given prophylactic antibiotic prior to surgery. Released 2/21/08. Went to ER same night for elevated temp and difficulty breathing. Was given more antibiotics. Had CT scan of abdomen w/contrast. Had to take 4 doses of 60mg Prednisone b/c I'm allergic to dye in contrast. Everything OK. Was told to lie flat on my back b/c the gas they used during surgery had traveled upward, was pressing against my diaphragm, causing diminished lung function and elevated temp. Did this and I was fine. They stopped the antibiotics. Went home the next day. On 2/26/08, went to ER after being sick for 2 days...diagnosed with C Diff. Never had it before. Couldn't take Flagyl due to peripheral neuropathy it caused some time prior to that, so took Vanco 250mg every 6 hours for 18 days. Gave me terrible acid reflux and could not eat while on it. Felt better at the end of it. 10 days later, D started again. Back to the ER. Another round of Vanco 125mg every 6 hours for 10 days. Stopped the D, but I only had it once and it's my belief I just had an IBS attack, b/c other than that, did nothing for me. During this time, I panicked, and decided to see Duke ID and GI doc. Had sigmoidoscopy in 4/08 but was on Vanco at the time. Nothing found, no C Diff, no toxins, everything looked good. Docs said no more vanco...wanted me to rebuild my good intestinal flora. Still miserable. Survived on crackers and pedialyte for 1 1/2 months. Lost 20 pounds. Had to stay with my Mom for a few weeks because of fatigue, mental confusion, inability to eat, pain and depression. I had been on Nortriptyline 25 mg each night for fibromyalgia and IBS, but docs took me off b/c it slowed down my gut. That made things much worse. After the first dose of each vanco (both were liquid in the ER), D stopped and I went in the other direction. Couldn't go and it was severe. Struggled off and on for 4 months, trying different probiotics and homeopathic rememdies. Those helped, but one probiotic I could not tolerate. Started eating very bland foods 4/08 along with Kefir and yogurt and worked my way up. It was a roller coaster ride. Started drinking Ensure to put some weight back on. Thought I was over it and then would have bad days. Saw my GI doc each month and he kept telling me it would take time to feel better. I thought I still had C Diff, but took numerous tests, all but one after 10-14 days off meds...all negative. Felt so bad, still couldn't believe I didn't have it. My PCP dropped me...guess I just got too complicated for her. Found a better one. Had many symptoms during those 4 months, severe mental confusion, lower abdominal and back pain, chills but no fever, random bouts of sweating, very odd sensations in my intestines, severe nausea and bloating, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, low blood pressure. Some of these could be attributed to dehydration. Had to go to ER 3 x just for rehydration. Turned a corner at 4 months; more better days! Now in my 5th month and doing well. Have great days and few bad days. Gaining my weight back. Energy level is excellent. C Diff left me w/a fissure that was causing severe rectal pain, but being treated for that. Just posted my success story. Will have to be half dead before taking any more antibiotics, and even then, doc told me I'd have to take vanco w/it to try to prevent C Diff again. He also told me to try to avoid them for at least 6 months to a year after C Diff. Tummy is not the same and don't know if it ever will be, but I'm so much better I'm not going to complain. Best of luck to all of you...you will get better with time!

[klt03301]

I've been C-Diff free since 4/08! I've taken 7 rounds of abx since then (2 ten day rounds of Augmentin/Amoxicillin) and the others were Macrobid for chronic UTIs since C-Diff. Doc put me on an estrogren cream which has helped tremendously. Augmentin was last year from July-September. I tripled my probiotics while taking the abx and for several weeks afterward. Prior to C-Diff and the probiotics, these abx always made me so sick. Not any more, to my surprise. :-) I demanded cultures of all urine samples given - won't take abx w/o proof I need them. My only complaint is that sometimes I feel I have a UTI, and don't. A minor irritation, though. Had all kinds of testing done; everything's fine.

Here's the great news:

My gut feels better now than it did before C-Diff. I didn't have to take vanco w/my abx for UTIs. I can eat anything I want and even things I couldn't prior to C-Diff. I believe it's b/c of the probiotics I take...don't really know, but I'm very lucky! I was a big raw veggie and fruit person prior to C-Diff and I didn't think I'd ever be able to eat those things again. Someone here gave me some excellent advice: eat a large variety of foods, which I didn't do prior to C-Diff. I'll do this for the rest of my life. For some reason, since having "the beast", I crave spicy foods and I eat them often.

I've continued to exercise and this has helped tremendously!!!! Great for the body and the mind! I couldn't during active C-Diff, but it didn't really take that long to get back to the level of fitness I was at.

I recently re-married after 28 years of being divorced. Was seeing a man who wasn't supportive during my battle, so I dumped (pardon the pun) him. I found a wonderful new fella and maried him! There IS life after C-Diff, and it's fabulous!

Took me a good year or a bit longer to feel like myself again. Many, many days were spent crying, worrying, fearing that I'd never get over this mess, or get it again. If not for the folks on here, I think I'd have wound up in a psych ward. Psychologically, it did a number on me. A special thanks to Roy for setting me straight when I was in such a dark place. :-) I snapped out of it!

Nortriptyline has been a wonder drug! There's nothing wrong with taking a low dose of this or something similar to ease your physical pain and depression and it increased my appetite. I didn't take it while having active C-Diff, though, b/c it tends to slow the gut. I did take valium during active C-Diff, but not often. It helped so much! Xanax was like taking a sugar pill - no help to me.

I now need to lose a few pounds, after being unable to gain weight for some time. Back to my morning coffee (no decaf), which I missed terribly.

All in all, life is SWEET!

Karen

[klt03301]

Just wanted to let everyone know how things are going. I must say, life is GREAT! Been C-Diff free since 4/08. I've now taken 9 rounds of antibiotics since C-Diff, all but one were for positive cultures of UTIs. The most recent was for Strep Throat in 2/2011. Ended my 10 day prescription of Amoxicillin without any problem. So far, so good, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I haven't taken any vanco while on these abx, which I was told by my doc I would need to do.

I triple my probiotic intake while on abx, and continue this for several weeks. Fortunately, I'm one of the lucky ones who can tolerate 6 florastor daily w/o side effects other than acne, and I also take 6 Mult-Flora Source (2 each four hours before/after abx.) I've written this before, but prior to C-Diff I couldn't tolerate abx well at all due to upset stomach and nausea, but now they cause me no trouble. I do believe the probiotics are what's helping. There were also some foods I couldn't tolerate, but boy, can I now! I can pretty much eat anything, and I enjoy a salad each day. No more IBS, which I had prior to C-Diff. Pretty amazing!

In hindsight, I would definitely have asked my doctor for a replacement of the anti-depressant (Nortriptyline) I had to come off of during active C-Diff due to gastric slowing. I became extremely depressed and should have been on something that didn't have this side effect.

My husband and I are going to London in April to celebrate our 1st anniversary, and spending the actual date of our wedding in Paris. We are so excited and very happy! Of course, there's a little nagging thought in the back of my mind that C-Diff will roar it's ugly head while we're there because of the Amoxicillin I recently took, but the excitement of the trip is uppermost in my heart and mind. If it happens, I have the most supportive husband I could ever have hoped for and things will be okay. It's funny how I'd been in a long-term relationship with someone when I got C-Diff, and he wasn't supportive, so I ended our relationship, only to find a man I can count on for anything and marry after 28 years of being divorced. I'm almost 50, and loving my life! C-Diff was a nightmare, but it changed my life for the better in more ways than one.

[klt03301]

Just wanted to update:

I've now been c-diff free for 3 years, 7 months! Wow, time has flown. Haven't taken abx since my last update. Have bronchitis; doc immediately tried to throw abx at me, which I refused. I keep my young grandson often, and pick up whatever he does. Have had bronchitis since c-diff and not taken abx...took longer to get well, but I'll take that any day rather than risking c-diff again. I've taken numerous abx since c-diff for UTIs and Strep, w/o relpase. I am a LUCKY woman! I always give myself 3 weeks w/bronchitis recovery, and if at any time things get really bad, I'll call the doc. So far, it's always cleared by itself. Been sick for a week and already feeling better. Fortunately, I don't work, so I don't feel the need to get better ASAP so I can return to work. I just rest and drink plenty of fluids and continue to take my probiotics. Still able to eat whatever I want and still eating a wide variety of foods.

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm doing fine! :-D I have a new grandson, Conor, who was born at 26 weeks, but he's doing very well. He came off both ventilators w/in 48 hours and is breathing room air; a miracle, really! He's in the Duke NICU. I pray for Conor and my daughter daily; he' s supposed to come home in January. I've only been able to see him once, because I got sick. If anyone reading this believes in prayer, I would appreciate yours for him. He isn't out of the woods by a long shot.

Best wishes to everyone!

Karen