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Trying to recover from a c. diff infection (Clostridium difficile)
Digestive Health | Last Active: Apr 11 12:22am | Replies (545)Comment receiving replies
I had c-dif for the first time in 2019 and was a wreck. My GI Dr put me on vancomycin and it cleared up the c-dif. MovIng on to this year. Three weeks ago I got my second bout of diverticulitis within the past 4 1/2 months. They put me on augmentin and now I have c-dif again. My colonoscopy in Jan showed I had a tortuous colon and the GI dr couldn’t do the full colonoscopy and I wound up also having a virtual colonoscopy. Bottom line is that I’m an anxious wreck. Any health related thing sends me down the rabbit hole. I see a psychiatrist but I’m too afraid to take the meds he prescribes. I’ll be 64 next month and never thought I’d wind up like this. It’s bad enough the c-dif sends me to the bathroom, but I also have BMs related to the anxiety. My GI Dr has me on vancomycin. I can’t remember if it gave me as my side effects two years ago, but I’ve been on it for a couple of days and feel a little jittery/weird. Don’t know if it’s the vancomycin or just me being crazy anxious. Has anyone had this side effect or what side effects have you had? Also, what routine do you use to make sure your bathroom and house stay free of c-did?
Replies to "I had c-dif for the first time in 2019 and was a wreck. My GI Dr..."
@judy, I had cdiff 2018. Vancomycin. On top of IBS-D, and fecal incontinence..... some days now its one roll of toilet tissue a day. Only thing that stops it is Imodium. Any antibiotic did and does give me double duty diarrhea and when having diarrhea not supposed to take Imodium..
About making sure bathroom and house c-diff free: I bought a book about it from amazon but wish I hadn't as it scared me .... I actually went bonkers trying to follow what she said to do. Actually, it was a prelude to what we we are doing since
Covid first struck.
Obviously, main thing was bathroom.... and mainly what I used was ratio of 1 teaspoon bleach to 1 cup of water, multiplied by ratio. Thin rubber gloves and I have a stock of white face cloths which I only used for myself... so wet the cloth with the bleach mixture and wiped everything over that bleach wouldnt ruin, including door knobs, light swithches.
What some people forget is the handle of the toilet brush and the flap to flush the toilet, anything that is touched before washing hands. However when first got it and the book , I spent almost five hours wiping everything down that was plastic, counters etc, tv channel changer, phones, until I felt I was going to pass out with exhaustion.
I had 3 piles of laundry; kept my clothing separate from husband's and kept my soiled articles separate from other piles. I ruined some black slacks as got bleach on them. Beautiful summer but didn't put clothes on line once... used the hottest setting on dryer and of course ruined some more clothing.
Anyway, I later heard of others who had C.Diff who just made sure their hands were washed with soap and water before eating and cooking.... or preparing food; similar to what we are now doing through Covid. Covid is more scary as we cannot see the virus.... but with c.diff we know its mainly in the bathroom....so toilet, bathtub, shower, sinks and taps would be my main concern. I went overboard though and didnt visit neighbours. Cancelled cleaning company. I was quite ill. Of course now there are many types of wipes and sprays in the stores for Covid which will also kill C.Diff but bleach is cheap just dont use it too strong and open windows etc.,per the instructions on bottle.
Odd thing is, there are many many people walking around (or were before covid) and serving us food etc, and they had c.diff and either don't do anything about it or don't know they have it, so I would say be extra careful using someone else's bathroom, and especially public washrooms and washrooms in doctors offices etc. Good luck with it all.... hope I have passed on some helpful info. I got it after 6 antibiotics in 5 months and I think I may have picked it up in hospital bathroom. J.
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Yes, definitely had side effects, was full of anxiety and depression, thoughts of dying. I'm off and on vanco for 11months. Hang in there, we're here to support you.