is this really c diff?

[s_hop119]

4 weeks ago I passed out on a boat in the middle of the lake. I was taken to the hospital where they told me I was dehydrated and had klebsiella in my urine. I took cefdinir and macrobid for 10 days. exactly a week after my antibiotics were gone..my fever spiked from 99-103 within an hour. the whole time I was on the antibiotics I felt as sick as I did the say I passed out 2 weeks prior. I went to the ER where they diagnosed me with c diff due to antibiotics. but, the way I'm feeling is how I have felt from the beginning. as I read over symptoms I'm finding a few of my symptoms, but some that aren't listed. I frequently have hot flashes, dizziness, and I cannot be in or around heat. does this sound like c diff? or do you think there is more going on?

[s_hop119]

thanks! I was tested for c diff before the flagyl was started. then took flagyl for ten days (last dose last night) I have bleated everything you can bleach. haha door knobs candles anything I might have touched. I've heard that c diff made you feel pretty bad. but I've felt horrible through all of this!! which is why I think there may be something else goin on. we will see. now that my antibiotic is done.

[singwithkatie]

One more thing! Please see an infectious disease specialist, just to get as much info as possible. :-)

[singwithkatie]

Thanks for correcting my late-night description of the antibiotic/c-diff connection. I have decided from now on I will not try to simplify to write a short answer.

Also, sorry for all the auto-correct...it is driving me crazy.

I'm glad to see other people like yourself  know a little about clostridium difficile. I ask one favor. Just because most people don't die, doesn't assume some don't come very close or do die. Canada has had a big problem with c-diff deaths. Hey, it was named the difficult clostridium for a reason!

I just want people to be aware that even if you aren't badly affected by it, you could unintentionally pass it to someone whose immune system is weak. My Crohn's was doing better until I developed pseudomembranous colitis from c-diff. I survived by having my colon removed, but still battled c-diff in my small intestine for 6 months after...most people think it's only in the colon, but once you don't have one, your small intestine starts doing the roll of the colon, including harboring bacteria.  

[singwithkatie]

If you are currently on a regimen of flagyl, a stool test won't be accurate. Hopefully, the flagyl is kicking c-diff's butt and the remaining symptoms are the normal things you would experience after having your electrolytes and nutrition out of wack. After you are through with your treatment, your doctor is supposed to do repeat stool studies. If this was all from c-diff, don't push your body too hard. It takse a little while to get your body in balance.

Please make sure you take precautions by bleaching in your bathroom. C-diff creates anaerobic spores that can live on environmental surfaces for up to a year.

If you need any more help regarding c-diff, please feel free to message me. I don't want what happened to me to happen to someone else if it could be prevented.

Blessings.

[patient915]

I would recommend that you retest for C Diff but that you also look for other reasons you might be having these symptoms.

[s_hop119]

I'm not. but stil have fatigue weightloss headaches and extremely dizzy all the time

[patient915]

You are completely correct, my mind blanked when I wrote that.  Are you still having diarrhea?

[s_hop119]

metronidazole is "flagyl" an that's what I have been taking. a stool sample was done properly and I tested positive on all for c diff. the flagyl was started but I finish the flagyl tomorrow and still feeling the same (dizzy, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss, extremely tired!!) just no fever. that's why I was wondering if it may be something else..or does. diff really make you feel this sick?!

[patient915]

I just wanted to correct a couple things.  You can't "get" c-diff from antibiotics.  Antibiotics kill off the good bacteria in your colon, which makes you more susceptible to getting C Diff.  Also, don't worry about the "deadly" thing.  It is rarely rarely rarely deadly.  Also flagyl is not the drug of choice for C Diff.  The 2 drugs that are almost always used for C DIff are metronidazole and vancomycin.

[singwithkatie]

You can get c-diff from antibiotics and it usually causes a lot of abdominal pain, and liquidy, dark stool. It is extremely contagious if you don't take the proper precautions. You should be on an antibiotic like flagyl to start with. Are you on anything? Dehydration naturally occurs from cruft due to the extreme amounts of diarrhea. Please talk to your doctor. If not treated properly and taught how to keep others safe, it can be deadly. I taught it for 3 years and almost died. Sorry to sound so dramatic, but it is a really bad thing to be infected with.

Also- just because your symptoms don't clearly point to c-diff doesn't mean you don't have it. Stool studies prove it

[CalGal]

In order to be diagnosed with C. diff, you'd need to have 3 stool samples examined for the presence of the toxin(s) put out by the bacterium. And the symptoms of C. diff include diarrhea with a very characteristic smell - some describe it as 'something died.' If you weren't diagnosed via stool testing, please ask to have that done. You didn't mention the ER putting you back on antibiotics - was that done? And if you were put back on antibiotics, I hope you're working with an infectious disease doc because C. diff can be extremely problematic to treat and get rid of. Please follow up.

[patient915]

Welcome to the gastroenterology community!  Do you have severe diarrhea?  WIthout diarrhea, it is almost impossible that you have C Diff.