I had C. Diff in July of 2024, treated with 10 days of Vancomycin. Although I have not had a recurrence (yet) I do have PTSD from the C Diff and aftermath (developed post-infectious IBS, malnutrition, lost approx 30 lbs., possible leaky gut and possible fatty liver from the leaky gut) Probiotics turned things around for me and allowed me to start eating again (ProBioMed 250 (for a few weeks in the beginning), Visbiome (currently) and Florastor (currently)). I slowly had to reintroduce food and build up to normal amounts. My local doctors all say the same thing, “You’ll probably be fine as long as you don’t take antibiotics again, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics.” Great. I get frequent UTI’s that have to be treated with antibiotics. Therefore now I obsess about everything I put in my mouth and scared to death about needing antibiotics in the future. I read that it’s not just antibiotics we need to worry about, but also antivirals and antifungals. I started working with Dr. Sabine Hazan and her lab ProgenaBiome. She analyzes stool samples and gives me the breakdown of what good and bad bacteria is in my microbiome. This is quite pricey, but I feel that my life depends on fixing my gut. Dr. Hazan gave me a list of things to AVOID (for 18 months) while I am on her protocol of supplements improve my gut which include AVOIDING COLON CLEANSES, LAXATIVES & ENEMAS. In my personal case, I will not be doing any colon prep or colonoscopy in the near future, unless it is medically necessary. I just don’t think my microbiome has recovered enough to survive being washed out at this point in my recovery.

Prayers and best wishes to everyone who has suffered from this horrific infection.