C.Diff: How I Fought This Illness and Won
Posted: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
by Krista Aman-Widgren
Gospelflier
It was a beautiful spring day in Arizona and a very busy day at work. I was scheduled for the closing shift in the Bed and Bath department at JC Penney and we were having a big sale. There was a nasty cough going around and almost everyone had gotten it. I had managed to avoid getting sick, but was starting to develop a sore throat. By the end of the night I was coughing. Within two days the cough went deep into my lungs and I was coughing up yellow phlegm so I knew I had bronchitis. It was after hours so I called the on-call physician rather than going to the ER.
A few days after finishing the antibiotics I developed some mild diarrhea which turned into severe diarrhea for three days. Thinking it was something I ate, I went to the pharmacy to buy something to help with the symptoms and asked the pharmacist what to buy. The pharmacist said “You shouldn’t buy anything if you have had it that long. You should see a doctor.” It was a Sunday night and I got scared so I drove myself to minor emergency.
Minor emergency was chaotic. I waited for five hours and made trips to the bathroom every 15 minutes, getting weaker and weaker. When I asked how much longer they said they didn’t know. Finally I gave up and went to the ER. After a two hour wait, I was taken into a room where a male tech attempted to start an IV, but was unable to find a vein because I was very dehydrated and depleted of electrolytes. He called in a nurse, who made two attempts and was finally able to get a good vein. The nurse took blood and stool samples. A phlebotomist also had to stick me additional times to get blood cultures to make sure I didn’t have an infection in my blood stream, so in all I had been stuck by needles nine times that evening. The doctor decided I had an intestinal infection and prescribed an antibiotic. “How did I get an intestinal infection?” “Oh, maybe something you ate.” The doctor hypothesized.
Two days later, I was resting on the couch, not feeling better at all. There was a message from a nurse at the hospital asking me to call back ASAP. I phoned her and she informed me that my tests showed I had C. Diff. “What is C.Diff?” She told me that C. Diff is Clostridium Difficile, a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract. “Have you been on antibiotic therapy recently?” She asked. “Yes, I have.” “C. diff. lives in your intestinal tract. Usually people get and infection of C. Diff. when the antibiotics they take for an infection wipe out the good bacteria in their gut and it lets the bad bacteria flourish. ““How are you feeling?” She asked me. “I have a fever now, my abdomen hurts a lot, and the diarrhea is no better.” She said. “You need to come back in and have us give you the first dose of a different antibiotic and IV fluids. Then you can go home. You should start feeling better after that.”
My husband drove me back to the ER and I was given another course of fluids, some morphine for pain, and a dose of Flagyl. The doctor also gave me a prescription for Vicoden for pain. I was to take the Flagyl for 2 weeks and follow up with my doctor. I took time off work and rested, followed up with the Nurse Practitioner ten days later. I was not feeling any better. I was to have follow up lab work and stool cultures done and they showed everything looked normal, but the symptoms were not improving and I was concerned. “The C.Diff is gone!” She argued with me. “Your lab work looks fine.” “I am not feeling better. I still have symptoms. I am in pain! How can it be gone?” I was in tears. She called my doctor who told her “Extend the Flagyl for another week.”
I finished the Flagyl and was feeling better, but within three days of finishing the medication the symptoms came back. I went to the ER and they decided to switch me to Vancomycin because I was severely dehydrated and depleted of electrolytes again.
The course of antibiotics kept the symptoms at bay for two weeks. I returned to work and my supervisor, Laura asked me “Are you better?” ““Yes.” I replied, But something didn’t feel right. I was nauseated, had joint and abdominal pain, and just felt fatigued. Then one night I woke up very sick and started vomiting and having diarrhea that smelled like a barnyard. I was throwing up thick yellow stuff. By early morning I was so dehydrated and exhausted I knew I was in danger. My husband came home from work and I said “Chris I need to go to the hospital. I think it’s back.” Chris said “You have been on so many antibiotics for C.Diff, it should be gone.” But he drove me.
The doctor took one look at me and said “I think you should be admitted, but that is up to you.” I looked at him like he was crazy to ask and said “Yeah, put me in the hospital.” So I was admitted for four days and they gave me massive amounts of IV fluids and electrolytes. As a regular regimen I had IV Flagyl, Vancomycin by mouth and a special powder that binds the toxins put out by the C. Diff bacterium. C. Diff is highly infectious. During my stay at the hospital I was given a private room with “Contact Precautions” in place. Anyone who came in the room had to wear a gown, gloves and shoe coverings on their feet. They had to take them off at the door. All equipment had to be either reusable or wiped down with bleach and I could not leave the room until my stools were free of infection.
They sent me home with oral Flagy and Vancomycin for 2 weeks and I was to follow up with my doctor who referred me to a Gastroenterologist. I had lost 12 pounds. My doctor referred me to Dr. Yee who was able to see me in three weeks. As soon as the Flagyl and Vancomycin ran out, the C. Diff came back. I was put back on the double prescriptions and called the G. I. doctor, frantic. “Can she see me any sooner?” The nurse said she would see what she could do and called me back later that day. “Dr. Yee can see you tomorrow morning. Can you get here?” It was a hour and a half drive to Flagstaff, but my husband made arrangements with work and we drove up there.
Dr. Yee* was a small Chinese lady with quick hands and a no-nonsense attitude. She listened to me and asked questions about my problems with the illness. “I am going to put you on a new medicine called Xifaxan. It is usually used to treat traveler’s diarrhea, so but it is great for C. Diff because it stays in the gut. You will take it for 6 weeks. I want you to take the probiotics Acidophilis and the yeast Sacchromyces boulidari. If this doesn’t work we will do a fecal transplant.” “A fecal transplant?” I asked, incredulous . “A fecal transplant is where we take healthy stool from a donor and transplant it into you. The donor’s good bacteria will take over in your gut.”
My insurance did not want to pay for the Xifaxan because it was being prescribed off the label use. So I had to pay for it out of pocket. The prescription was $200. We purchased the prescription and later had it reimbursed. The acidophilus I found at Albertsons and the Saccromyces I found online. The Xifaxan worked, thankfully. I did not want a fecal transplant!
A subsequent Colonoscopy showed no long term damage from the infection, although I did have Eosinophilic Colitis, which is a type of allergic inflammation sometimes caused by infection. Most of the time C.Diff is killed by Flagyl, but in some rare cases, such as mine, people get what is called C. Diff colitis or Pseudocolitis. The bacterium makes large yellow colonies or plaques inside the intestine which blocks absorption of water and nutrients and causes fluid loss, inflammation and pain.
The best ways to prevent C. Diff is to take probiotics during antibiotic use, wash your hands after using the toilet with soap and warm water, only take antibiotics if absolutely necessary, and always see your doctor if you have had diarrhea for more than three days.
Since C. Diff is so hard to destroy once it makes a spore, it is best to try to kill it in the vegetative state. Bleach works best. Spores are only killed with high heat, such as autoclaving or some acids. So if you do run across a person with diarrhea, always clean it up quickly to prevent the possible spread of C. Diff., wearing gloves if possible.
It took a year to recover from the bout of C. Diff. I took the Sacchromyces for a year, was told to never take Ciprofloxacin again and still have problems with abdominal pain. I could have lost part of my intestine or have even died so I consider myself blessed by God to have found a talented GI doctor who knew what to do and who acted quickly.
*Names changed to protect their privacy.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Hello Krista, I am sorry about your cough which turned to a series of relative unwell situations thereafter. Sometimes if we rely too much on medicines with just a cold or cough (they are common) we might get into complication. Right now, I am coughing due to the sudden changes of weather here but it's in an ending stage (my cough)
I don't use a lot of DRUGS. So I think Dr.Yee has wonderful remedies.
There is one book titled : Death By Prescription by Ray D. Strand. Check it out.
Hi Krista.
I have felt for years that antibiotics should only be used in life threatening situations. I've been lucky and haven't had need of an antibiotic in over 18 years. I've been sick, yes, but I've survived them without recourse to medication.
I knew someone years ago who contracted MRSA and had to go on an intravenous antibiotic regimen. I told him he should eat yogurt every day. He did not and suffered many intestinal complications.
You are lucky that you finally found a doctor with some common sense. In my opinion, there aren't that many of them.
Hugs,
Dianne
P.S. thanks for joining my fan club!Yeah. It is really scary all the drug resistant strains of bacteria that are developing due to overuse of antibiotics. :(
I've had two bouts of c. diff. now and this current one didn't clear with vancomycin, flagyl or rifaximin. I just started doing the fecal transplants and have to say that it's pretty darned easy and from what I've read a whole lot more effective than antibiotics. I hope you never relapse but if you do and the antibiotics no longer work you should seriously consider this option!I am really sorry you had to deal with C. Diff twice! I am so glad the fecal transplant is working for you :) Get well and God Bless. I hope you are on Probiotics to prevent further relapses of C. Diff.
Krista, I really appreciate that you shared this story.
It is very close to my experience. I have just spent 5 days in the hospital under care of a wonderful specialist, and on Vancomycin.
I have been searching for some advice, espec. as to when it would be safe for me to return to work at a childcare center, where I work with babies. Your's is the first positive story I have read, and it does give me more hope.
The dr. said I would need to stay home for 2 weeks, but I'm still concerned, because I work with vulnerable infants. I'll just now proceed with faith in my dr. and in the medication, as well with due caution.
Thanks!
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