Hello all. I am a sixty three-year-old woman who, 4 years ago, had a very severe case of C diff and lost 40 pounds. As you can imagine, I am terrified of this super bug, as I spent four months in isolation from my family and friends, was treated like a crack addict because of my looks, and fell into a severe depression.
13 days ago, the same symptoms started. Severe D 6-10 times day including nighttime incontinence, with nausea and a low grade fever in the afternoons. Then yesterday morning, the symptoms abated. I have been symptom free for 24 hours. I am now hesitant to take in my specimens for testing. My question is this: Does anyone on this forum recall having this happen to them only to have the symptoms recur and eventually test positive for c diff? Please understand I am not asking for medical advice, only for your experience. Thanks.
C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
Hi and welcome to the site. Please read the first forum for more information for new posters.
It is possible that you got a flare-up of c difficile, but it is also possible that you have a virus or some other pathogen. The only way to tell is to test, but if you test, I would also have a stool culture done to rule out other pathogens. In the news there are the reports of people getting salmonella from eating melon, etc. You might have picked up something else. I got campylobacter after c difficile, probably from undercooked chicken. The symptoms were the same.
It is possible that you got a flare-up of c difficile, but it is also possible that you have a virus or some other pathogen. The only way to tell is to test, but if you test, I would also have a stool culture done to rule out other pathogens. In the news there are the reports of people getting salmonella from eating melon, etc. You might have picked up something else. I got campylobacter after c difficile, probably from undercooked chicken. The symptoms were the same.
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
Thank you for your reply. I did go ahead and take my samples in to be tested.
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
If you have not had any risk factors it is probably not c diff.
A word of caution-
Depending upon your dr’s level of expertise, if you are not seeing a GI dr, make sure you do not get treated for a positive c diff result in the absence of a positive result for c diff toxins. Many people are c diff positive, especially if you have had it before and been colonized or developed antigens, and a dr who is less knowledgeable wants to treat that positive result.
Regardless, If you are no longer having symptoms, you do not need treatment.
Enjoy good health.
A word of caution-
Depending upon your dr’s level of expertise, if you are not seeing a GI dr, make sure you do not get treated for a positive c diff result in the absence of a positive result for c diff toxins. Many people are c diff positive, especially if you have had it before and been colonized or developed antigens, and a dr who is less knowledgeable wants to treat that positive result.
Regardless, If you are no longer having symptoms, you do not need treatment.
Enjoy good health.
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
Thanks so much for your reply. I do have a GI doctor who has many years of experience treating c diff. I will keep your advice in mind. Take care!
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
Hopefully it's not c-diff again. Absent of any antibiotic use, it very well could have just been a virus. Since the symptoms went away, hopefully that's what it was.
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
Hopefully not c.diff.
Why were you isolated for 4 months?
That's not protocol for someone with c.diff!
If the half million Americans who get c.diff as a disease every year spent months in isolation the hospitals would not be able to cope!
If the SIXTEEN MILLION carriers who are all potentialy "contagious" had to be isolated the country would shut down!
Someone gave you very misinformed information if you think you were so contagious that you had to isolate from family and friends!
That figure is correct, there's at least 16,000,000 people walking around with c.diff and it does not make them sick.
Why were you isolated for 4 months?
That's not protocol for someone with c.diff!
If the half million Americans who get c.diff as a disease every year spent months in isolation the hospitals would not be able to cope!
If the SIXTEEN MILLION carriers who are all potentialy "contagious" had to be isolated the country would shut down!
Someone gave you very misinformed information if you think you were so contagious that you had to isolate from family and friends!
That figure is correct, there's at least 16,000,000 people walking around with c.diff and it does not make them sick.
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
Thanks For your reply. By isolation, I meant that my family avoided me like the plague. My sister had gotten on Internet and saw how contagious this disease is. Also, I got ushered out of a doctor's office when I told him that I had c diff. ( He was a rheumatologist.)
By the way, my symptoms are back in full force this morning. I'm a little disheartened. I will just have to wait and see what the test results are.
By the way, my symptoms are back in full force this morning. I'm a little disheartened. I will just have to wait and see what the test results are.
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
I can't believeit! The urgent care that ordered my tests cannot find the results and refuses to call Quest Labs. Unfortunately, I live in a state where I cannot request those lab results myself until after 7 days. The results are also supposed to be forwarded to my GI doc and my primary care doctor, but that has to be done by the urgent care doctor. It will not be done by Quest Labs, and it will happen if the urgent care can't find them.
Also, as I was browsing through my lab results, it dawned on me that I was very recently prescribed an antibiotic for a UTI. I had been really sick and it couldn't be avoided. ☹
Also, as I was browsing through my lab results, it dawned on me that I was very recently prescribed an antibiotic for a UTI. I had been really sick and it couldn't be avoided. ☹
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
Does Quest not have a patient portal online in your state, where you can just view the results? That's what we have where I live.
Anyway. CDiff is not something to be messed around with, as I'm sure you know from past experience, so I would call the urgent care again and press them as to why they won't get you the answer. Don't see how they couldn't potentially be liable for laziness if you were to get really sick; it's not your fault that they lost the results.
Also, sorry you were treated that way by the rheumatologist and your family. At least you can fire the rheumy (we're stuck with our family ;) ). Very unprofessional of the specialist.
If you are symptomatic and suffering, go to the ER. They can get test results fast. Don't beat yourself up about the ABX use for your UTI. People have had to treat them here many times, and they often did not get a recurrence from it, but sometimes using them can't be avoided.
Anyway. CDiff is not something to be messed around with, as I'm sure you know from past experience, so I would call the urgent care again and press them as to why they won't get you the answer. Don't see how they couldn't potentially be liable for laziness if you were to get really sick; it's not your fault that they lost the results.
Also, sorry you were treated that way by the rheumatologist and your family. At least you can fire the rheumy (we're stuck with our family ;) ). Very unprofessional of the specialist.
If you are symptomatic and suffering, go to the ER. They can get test results fast. Don't beat yourself up about the ABX use for your UTI. People have had to treat them here many times, and they often did not get a recurrence from it, but sometimes using them can't be avoided.
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Re: C Diff Recurrence Or Paranoia?
That sounds like what happened to me when I went to urgent care in February, but it was not a stool sample, but a throat culture. The urgent care never did find my results, but they were sent to Quest and I was able to get them from quest. You can try and call Quest to see if they ever received them. If they did, they will most likely not give you any results, but you can ask them to fax the results to your GI or to the Urgent Care doctor. I would probably ask them to send the results to your GI.
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