Debbie's Case History

[debdee]

In January of 2010, I had a horrible cough and lots of congestion. The doctor diagnosed me with bronchitis. I was given 14 days of Clarithomycin. When the symptoms persisted, I was given 14 days of Augmentin. Then 6 days of Azithromycin. Looking back I should have stopped after the first Rx didn't work. I think it was viral, but the doctor kept telling me it would be okay and it wasn't too many antibiotics. I didn't know much about them, and had never heard of c.diff, so I just kept taking the antibiotics prescribed because I wanted that awful cough and mucus to stop. I had loose stools while on the antibiotics in January, but no D. Then in February I had terrible nausea, flu like feeling, weight loss and terrible insomnia. I went back and told my doctor and she said that I should be happy I'm loosing weight and that I must be depressed. I was not overweight to begin with, and becoming too skinny very quickly! Also, I was not depressed, but very sick. Finally I switched doctors and the new doctor looked at the list of antibiotics I was on, and said that we needed to test for c.diff. I asked him what that was because I had never heard of it. I brought my stool sample in and it came back positive. When the doctor said that the treatment would be an antibiotic called Flagyl, I panicked. I asked him if I should take probiotics at the same time and he said it would be a waste of money. Since the first doctor had told me to take all the antibiotics in January, I was determined to do research this time to make sure I was doing the right thing and not taking more antibiotics and causing more problems. I found information on the internet that said people that didn't have D, could possibly get over c.diff by just waiting. I also found internet information that Flagyl had terrible side effects. So, I went to a naturopath to seek a second opinion. She said that if I took the Flagyl, I would cause even more problems.... possibly getting e coli and other intestinal problems etc... etc... Since I didn't have D, I listened to her. I spent thousands on herbs and hydro therapy. The nausea, weight loss, ear ringing, insomnia, flu feeling etc.. etc.. kept getting worse. I stuck with her for 6 weeks and then I went to the lab and dropped off another sample for a c.diff test and it came back positive again. After delaying treatment for 6 weeks, I finally started the flagyl..... for 7 days. I was so scared of antibiotics, that I found a doctor that would have a donor tested and give me a stool infusion via colonoscopy. Two weeks later I still had c.diff. No D, but still all the other symptoms. During the months prior, I was tested for many other diseases and conditions etc.. etc.., but only c.diff kept coming back positive. So after the infusion in June, I tested positive again in July. Then I took the 14 day of Flagyl that was prescribed. Two weeks later, I tested positive for c.diff again. The doctor then gave me 14 days of Xifaxan. I had another donor tested and did home infusions. This was successful until I started mega dosing vit C because I became constipated. Then I relapsed with c.diff again in November. In mid December I took 14 days of Xifaxan again. Both courses of Xifaxan were much easier for me to take than the Flagyl and I actually felt better while on those. Flagyl made me feel worse. Anyway, I took Xifaxan for a second time in December for 14 days. Then I did another series of home infusions with a tested donor. Since my donor had a busy schedule the infusions were split throughout the month of January. In between infusions, my donor took a mini vacation to the Mexican border. Two weeks ago, I did another stool test and it came back c.diff free for the first time in a year, but also came back that I had a parasite. In the other stool tests I had taken earlier in the year, I had tested negative for parasites. I can't say if I got the parasite from the infusion or picked it up somewhere, but now I have to take antibiotics to get rid of that.
So, that's where I am right now.
My story makes me sad, and I was waiting to post until I had a happy ending, but I felt I should post this to possibly help others that are going through a similar situation.
I feel that by the time I found out I even had c.diff, I had had it for three months and was feeling so sick and sleep deprived, that I made some very bad choices. Another complication that threw me off was no D. But, I still made a bad choice by not taking the Flagyl as prescribed in the first place and delaying treatment. It was unfortunate that I listened to the naturopath and not my new doctor. I was so scared and confused. Then being so scared of the antibiotic, I made another choice that can be risky by going right for a colonoscopy infusion. Expensive mistake and probably not a healthy one. Then I did take the Flagyl and I guess that was right, but I was down to 117 pounds on a 5'10" frame. I was so skinny it hurt to sit or lay down. The flagyl didn't help at that point. When I took the Xifaxan in September, that did suppress the c.diff and I was able to gain 10 pounds. I'm not sure if the home infusion I did was a mistake or not, but I know that I should have been more cautious. My decisions did not work well for me. Getting a good doctor I could trust, would have been the best thing, and also taking my time to make wise decisions and not reacting out of fear would have been better too. I just know that at the time, I thought I was doing what was best. Hind sight always seems 20/20.
At this point, I tried natural herbs to get rid of the parasite, but it doesn't seem to be working, I have nausea and starting to loose some weight again. Instead of delaying treatment like I did with c.diff, I'm going to take my doctor's advice and start taking the Tinidazole he prescribed. I hope the parasite will be gone soon and that the c.diff stays away! I'm hoping to post a happy ending soon!