Also, C.Diff. bacteria is present in soil--Have you been doing a lot of gardening this summer without wearing gloves? (This was something I wasn't aware of until recently, either)...
By any chance, have you recently had a recent "screening/routine" colonoscopy?
I am 52, had C.Diff. two years ago this October after antibiotics and also exposure to my Mom, who had a very resistant strain of C.Diff. at the time.
I had a colonoscopy in June of this year (for rectal bleeding) and my gastrointestinal system got very messed up about 5 or 6 weeks later--including mucus (which I've never had except when I've had C.Diff., severe diarrhea, stinky stools, cramping and gas pains to beat the band, etc.) I believe I had a mild case of C.Diff. based on my symptoms, but the rapid test (which has a high false negative rate) indicated I did not.
I couldn't figure out how I might have gotten it again, as I had not been on any antibiotics and my Mom has been C.Diff-free since April 2009. So I did some more reading....Found out that the bowel evac prep for a colonoscopy test disturbs the balance of good bacteria and like antibiotics, is a risk factor for people getting C.Diff. who have had it before. (Many doctors don't know this.)
The other thing is, once you've had C.Diff., you're more prone to getting it again. You could have been exposed to the bacteria spores somewhere and not even known it--in a public restroom, maybe something a patient touched and then you touched. This is not to scare you, but we C.Diff. survivors have to be extra careful with scrupulous hand washing (2x the birthday song) or we're apt to get it again. (The spores can survive on surfaces for as long as 3 months!) Also, sanitize your bathroom(s) at home with bleach because people can carry the bacteria and not be sick.
I take one Florastor tablet daily and one probiotic pill just to try to keep my system in balance, and probably will for the rest of my life. Plus I eat yogurt with live and active cultures every day, and plan to continue this as well.
Good luck,
Yvette
Thanks for the website. I did read it. BUT....I have C-diff and have NOT been taking antibiotics. There is so much more to this than I can find. All websites basically say the same thing...antibiotics cause C-diff. They didn't in my case and I'm trying to figure out why I got it. I am in good health and always have been. Most sites also talk about not taking Loperamide. My MD had me take small doses of it so I could function...once I was diagnosed. He said recent studies show it does not affect the outcome in most cases that are already diagnosed and being treated with Vanco as long as you are still deficating. But, again...thanks!
Here is a good link that gives some info about C-Diff
http://www.cdiffsupport.com/aboutcdiff.html