View Full Version : Help! :( Pretty sure I have C. Diff - need reassuring experiences
Good morning,
I always come here when I'm about to completely fall apart and all of you help hold me together.
Recently I took a course of Clindamycin for a sinus infection. I had completely normal, formed stool while on it and on the last day had a few bouts of diarrhea. I was fine for about a week and then started developing stomach/intestinal cramps, very mucousy diarrhea, horrific heartburn, etc.
I went to my doctor and she had me do a rectal swab. The problem is, the first time I swabbed, I messed it up by accidentally pouring some of the liquid out of the little vial so I asked for another kit and did another swab. This came back negative for ALL parasites, bacteria, C. Diff, etc. She said she thought it was an IBS flare. I was so relieved but my symptoms didnt go away.
So on Friday I messaged her asking her if swabbing that area twice would have affected the test results and she said it could have so she had me do a stool sample this time. I turned it in that same day and now am awaiting the results.
I am losing it today because I noticed in the mucous there was blood. It doesn't feel like IBS at ALL and the WORST part of all of this is that I am a teacher and my first day back to work is TOMORROW!!!! We meet our students and parents. This is my first year teaching and I am also in school this year as well. This is so horrible. I've had the entire summer to deal with something lilke this but it's happening now.
My question is, does anyone have an experience with C. Diff where you ended up being ok and healing ok? I need to know that if it IS this, I can continue working while taking medication and that I will come through this ok. I am so horrified by the internet stories and every time I read the words "life-threatening," I feel like I'm going to throw up.
I need some comfort y'all. I can't be taking time off of my brand new job the very first week to see the doc again or have more tests run. Help. Crying over here right now.:weep:
My boyfriend had c.diff show up in some stool tests he had done a while ago. He’s fine. :D Don't google, it sounds like you probably don’t even have it anyway.
And now running a low grade fever of 99. My temp is usually 97.8 this time of the day. Freaking OUT!!!!!
If you were truly that concerned, you wouldn't be here posting and waiting for reassurance. I know in every case that I was seriously ill (heart attacks, bad colitis attack etc.), I went to the hospital or doctor and the thing is, I knew something was wrong. It wasn't Google, a mild raise in temperature or anything of the sort. I was in bad shape!
Positive thoughts
I don’t want to just rush off and expose myself to more germs and bacteria in a hospital setting. I emailed my doctor but it’s Sunday so I most likely will not receive a response today. AND I have a million things to do as we start school tomorrow - just can’t seem to focus and trying to get through this day. Was hoping people had some positive stories when it came to fighting off C. diff.
Was hoping people had some positive stories when it came to fighting off C. diff.
Darkside had a bout with that. He got pretty sick. He was treated and recovered. Like I said, if you were that ill, you wouldn't be wondering about it. You have your hands full with back to school prep so why not use that as a distraction and push through?
Positive thoughts
Update:
Still freaking out. This has been a week from hell. Last Sunday I posted because I had started to run a low fever and was having lots of diarrhea, gas, loose stools. If you read post above, I’m terrified of C. diff because I took clindamycin last month and it started 10 days after I finished the clindamycin.
On Monday night we had our meet the teacher night at school where I teach kindergarten. I felt awful all day long and barely made it through but managed to put a smile
On my face and push through. By 6pm when I got home I felt TERRIBLE. I went up to urgent care and they did a flu swab but it was negative and they said all they could
Do was give me something for the diarrhea. So on to the ER I went!!!! It was so traumatic. I missed my kids who I hadn’t seen all day and say in the waiting room crying because I just couldn’t believe I was sitting there going through this. I hate that place, but I was freaking out because I felt so terrible and needed answers. When I told the admitting doctor all of my symptoms he was concerned it was C. diff and told me “if it is, that’s not a goood thing.” :( it ended up being negative. AGAIN.
Finally, I found out I had been dehydrated. Which doesn’t surprise me because I could barely stomach to eat or drink anything all day. I couldn’t produce a stool sample
For a C-diff culture, so the NP had to do a fecal swab and boy was that fun. :( Luckily the fluids helped a bit but I didn’t get home and to bed until 2am and have been going non-stop all week until last night and today, i’ve been trying to rest. All week long though I have felt horrible, even though I’ve been pushing Gatorade and water. I feel like I have the flu. My face will get really hot, my eyes red, my body cold and shivering but my temps hasn’t gotten over 98.7. I feel terrible and I don’t know what to do. I’ve had three tests all come back negative for c-diff or parasites/bacteria, but I could argue that none were great samples to test. My bloodwork was all ok except for the dehydration and my platelets had dropped a lot which my doctor said was probably due to how the blood was processed. (But of course in my head I think Leukemka!)
I am crying in my bed feeling terrible, still having chills, while my husband takes my little boys out to have fun today. I have a giant bruise on my arm from where the iv was the other night and I just feel like an ill and depressed person when all I really want is to be playing with my kids and having fun with my family. I’m not noticing any more blood in my stool, I started a probiotic called florastor, and mostly my stool is semi-formed, give or take a few, but I’m still worrried I have C. Diff or some infection that’s not being addressed that’s causing all of these symptoms and making me feel so ill. Please talk to me. I’m in such a bad place.
Sounds like a really bad HA episode and you’re in the middle
Of it. I went through this a few months ago. Not the fear of cdif but loose stools. Mucus in my stool. Frequent stools. I mean I was convinced I needed a colonoscopy. I had a host of stool samples done and all was negative. My father had cdiff and he was horribly sick. I really DO NOT think you have that. You’re just caught in the viscious cycle of paranoia and getting yourself worked up about it which is resulting in panic and depression. I’m certai. You are fine but mentally you need to get yourself in a better space, and I say that with kindness. Go outside and take a walk or clean or take the kids to the park. Try to distract yourself. It will help. Wishing you well
This sounds awful, I'm so sorry. I know from people who have had c diff that your diarrhea is actually completely liquid - like not a bit of solid poop to be seen. I know people whose doctors have refused to even test if it wasn't 100% liquid, since there's no way it's c diff in that case.
Sounds like antibiotics messed up your stomach plus anxiety.
My father had c.diff when he was recovering from a heart surgery (he had to take a multitude of strong antibiotics because of the surgery wound). Mind you, he was over 60 (he is 70 now and fit as a fiddle, btw) and he was very, very weak because of the surgery - it was the beginning of his recovery. Even in that state, doctors said it was absolutely nothing to worry about and would resolve within ten days. That was exactly what had happened-they gave him some sort of antibiotic that specially targeted this bacteria and after couple of weeks the diarrhea stopped.
Now, he was an individual with a bad heart just recovering from surgery - he had a large stitched hole in his chest. If he managed to survive c. diff you will definitely manage it too. You might not have it in the first place and even if you do - you will be fine in a couple of weeks. Still, whatever the case, you need to work on your anxiety since it is a proven fact that anxiety can also cause diarrhea.
You are ALL so very kind. I have tried really hard today to perk up and feel better. I went outside with my family for a bit and ran to the store to pick up a couple of necessities but I really feel unwell. I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. That’s why I’m scared I have something more scary going on. My temp hasn’t gotten above 98.6 even when my face was hot, but my temp generally runs really low. I feel cold and feverish and have body aches. I’m scared because my platelets dropped by 80 in about two weeks. My doctor said most commonly that is due to how the blood was processed. If it was leukemia my white blood cells and neutrophils would be off, right??? The worst part is just not knowing why I feel this way.
Anyone??
I feel so lousy, joint pain. Tired, run down. I still have it in my head that it’s something terrible. I’m usually a very busy, energetic person. Could being dehydrated the other night make me feel like this for a whole week?? Still having to use the bathroom #2 almost after every meal but not a lot comes out. Could it just be that the antibiotics messed up my gut but it’s not c-diff?? I’m terrified it’s c-diff and I’m not being treated for it and it’s only going to get worse. :(
Well you don’t have cdiff, you have been tested 3 times. THREE!!
If you ha e a fever, then you maybe have a virus.
But I also think that you’re suffering quite badly from anxiety which is making your symptoms worse, and creating new ones.
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It doesn't sound like c diff, especially since your tests came back negative. If you're not pooping 100% liquid, it's not c diff. Antibiotics very commonly cause diarrhea. It's only rarely c diff, especially outside a hospital setting. Antibiotics combined with anxiety are wreaking havoc on your digestive system. Eat a mild diet of bread, bananas, rice, and apple sauce for a few days and let your stomach rest. Has your doctor recommended taking a probiotic? When I took antibiotics for strep a few months ago my doctor had me take a full 30 days of probiotics. If you're not, I'd call your doctor for a recommendation. You just need to let your stomach get back to normal. The anxiety is definitely making it worse. And, take it easy. Rest a lot and drink a lot of fluids. You will get through this.
Thank you so much for your replies. It’s so heart-warming to know total strangers are taking the time to try to cheer me up and encourage me. I love this community. Yes, I am taking some mega antibiotics for sure!!
I’m still worried about why I feel feverish and achey, like my body is trying to fight off something for 8 days now. Do you think my platelets could have been low because I took Motrin/Advil a few hours before?? I’m freaking out it’s leukemia or something because I was running a low grade fever weeks ago as well but had sinus issues and that’s why I took the antibiotics. The low grade fever went away after a steroid shot but now it’s back again accompanied with these stomach issues.😩
I recently had slightly elevated platelets and googled to see what it means. It's my understanding that you get high platelets from infection and cancer, not low. So, your doctor is probably right that it was just the lab. If you had a terrible infection your platelets would be high.
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