C. difficile – Are your guts ever normal again?

@patts i feel your pain i was in the hosp the whole time i had cdiff but it finally cleared up after 4 weeks. So life got back to normal when i got home. But ill tell you im not taking any chances. Now when i use public restroom i have my butt pack with clorox wipes and clean prior to use. Hand washing a must. Plus there having me do prevention by taking vancomycin 3 day a week as a maintenance dose. Good luck hopefully it will be over soon.

@patts I know EXACTLY how you feel. Last year, I was going through the same thing you are. I got Cdiff from taking Clindamycin for a sinus infection. Unfortunately I went for almost two weeks thinking I had Ecoli and didn't go to the doctor. The Ecoli scare from eating romaine lettuce was going around at the same time as my first bout. My first bout was in May and my last one was in October. I went through doses of Flagyl, Vancomycin (twice) and even did the pulse and taper of Vanco for 6 weeks and finally took Dificid last October. The Dificid was terribly expensive and I understand why they don't prescribe it first. I had decided a fecal transplant would be my next option. If the Vancomycin doesn't work for you, I would suggest that you try Dificid. I know exactly how you feel as I spent most of the summer in our home or backyard. I cleaned everything in our home from light switches to wiping down handles of everything I touched. I sleep with a pillow between my knees and after my 3rd bout, I tossed out that pillow thinking maybe it was contaminated. I truly became paranoid because of that dreaded Cdiff. Something I had never even heard of prior to May. My gastroenterologist suggested I take Florastor has it has S. Boulardii. Hand washing is key. I was around family members during all four bouts of Cdiff and my husband, daughters and grandchildren did NOT get it. It would be interesting to know if anyone on this site has ever infected other family members. I know it runs rampant in nursing homes because of contact but I've not heard of any cases in individual homes. I was happy I found this site where I could discuss my "woes" with others who truly understand.

@patts I know EXACTLY how you feel. Last year, I was going through the same thing you are. I got Cdiff from taking Clindamycin for a sinus infection. Unfortunately I went for almost two weeks thinking I had Ecoli and didn't go to the doctor. The Ecoli scare from eating romaine lettuce was going around at the same time as my first bout. My first bout was in May and my last one was in October. I went through doses of Flagyl, Vancomycin (twice) and even did the pulse and taper of Vanco for 6 weeks and finally took Dificid last October. The Dificid was terribly expensive and I understand why they don't prescribe it first. I had decided a fecal transplant would be my next option. If the Vancomycin doesn't work for you, I would suggest that you try Dificid. I know exactly how you feel as I spent most of the summer in our home or backyard. I cleaned everything in our home from light switches to wiping down handles of everything I touched. I sleep with a pillow between my knees and after my 3rd bout, I tossed out that pillow thinking maybe it was contaminated. I truly became paranoid because of that dreaded Cdiff. Something I had never even heard of prior to May. My gastroenterologist suggested I take Florastor has it has S. Boulardii. Hand washing is key. I was around family members during all four bouts of Cdiff and my husband, daughters and grandchildren did NOT get it. It would be interesting to know if anyone on this site has ever infected other family members. I know it runs rampant in nursing homes because of contact but I've not heard of any cases in individual homes. I was happy I found this site where I could discuss my "woes" with others who truly understand.

I had c diff In January. I isolated myself from my kids and grandkids for fear of infecting them. Finally I saw an infectious disease specialist
At NYPresbyterian Hospital. She said you are only contagious when you have
Active
Diarrhea. She also said that c diff spores are in many places though of course most
In hospitals and in people with active c diff diarrhea. She said many babies before the age of one year carry it but do not
Get it. Bottom line message was that most people can cope with regular density of c diff spores unless they have the 3 risk factors for c diff. This was very comforting to me.
But everyone needs to be protected
From high density of spores
As
In hospitals and person with active c diff diarrhea.

I had c diff In January. I isolated myself from my kids and grandkids for fear of infecting them. Finally I saw an infectious disease specialist
At NYPresbyterian Hospital. She said you are only contagious when you have
Active
Diarrhea. She also said that c diff spores are in many places though of course most
In hospitals and in people with active c diff diarrhea. She said many babies before the age of one year carry it but do not
Get it. Bottom line message was that most people can cope with regular density of c diff spores unless they have the 3 risk factors for c diff. This was very comforting to me.
But everyone needs to be protected
From high density of spores
As
In hospitals and person with active c diff diarrhea.

@annapocono If you don't mind me asking, what are the 3 risk factors of cdiff?

I too had cdiff in 2015 after taking clindamyacin. Tried different probiotics and the only one that worked for me was one by Advocare. Not in stores so I had to find a rep on the internet who I could buy it from. Cdiff is not fun. I have been back to normal after taking it. Cannot remember how long I took it. 1-2 months?