r/cdifficile

I was in the hospital twice in the last two weeks due to severe diarrhea, nausea, fever and vomiting. The second visit they took a stool sample and today I got results on mychart. One says: "C Difficile tox, pcr
POSITIVE: C difficile tcdB nucleic acid detected by RT-PCR." The other says: "C DIFF AG + TOXIN
INDETERMINATE: Reflex testing to molecular method"

What does this mean? Am I supposed to call the hospital?

I was wondering what everyone’s opinions are if I still have some stomach cramping. I had diarrhea for 3 days about a month ago now and was on vancomycin 4 times a day for 10 days. I no longer have any diarrhea but my stomach still hurts. This infection has been scary and I have no idea how I contracted it (I’m 21 and read it was mostly in older age groups & brought on by antibiotic use, however I got c diff out of nowhere and hadn’t used antibiotics in over a year) I’m just wondering what everyone thinks I should do about the pain, is this a symptom that c diff is still active?

Hi friends,

I had a UTI 2 months ago and successfully took Macrobid without relapse. I currently feel like I have another UTI, and going to get tested shortly.

I’m nervous about a second round of Macrobid in just a couple of months. Has anyone done this before? What antibiotics have you taken successfully post c diff?

I'm currently a little over halfway through a pregnancy. A couple of months ago, I started to get a rash on my nose, which was misdiagnosed as cellulitis. Because of being pregnant, I was told that the antibiotics that would typically be given for the condition weren't options, and was given three rounds of pregnancy-safe antibiotics, the last of which was clindamycin. After finishing the clindamycin, I was told it was actually rosacea, i.e. not bacterial at all.

All that to say, a couple of weeks after I finished the clindamycin, I was diagnosed with c diff. I was given vancomycin, started feeling better within a couple of days, finished out the 10-day course, and was hopeful I'd be in the group of folks who don't relapse.

Unfortunately, it's now about two weeks later, and I've started to get some of the same symptoms, although they're not severe at this point. The doctor told me that for relapses, they don't retest, they just go by symptoms, and she proceeded to prescribe me a 12-week vancomycin taper.

In twelve weeks, I'll be nearly at term, pregnancy-wise. By the time I give birth, I'll have been on some kind of antibiotic for over half my pregnancy. I don't love the idea of going into labor so soon after finishing a very extended course of antibiotics, for a lot of reasons, and I've lost a lot of trust in the doctors I've been working with after how poorly I feel like the whole situation was handled.

Given my symptoms are still pretty mild (stomach upset, Bristol type 5 or 6 a couple of times a day), is it crazy to just give myself a little time of eating lots of fibrous veggies and fruits, pounding fermented foods, and taking Florastor to see if anything changes? Normally I'd just take the damn antibiotics, but I kind of feel like unquestioningly taking too many antibiotics got me into this situation in the first place, and it feels like once I start the treatment, it'll be harder to stop it. But I also worry about a possible infection getting stronger, or causing permanent damage to my intestines.

Thoughts? I'd ask my doctors, but in addition to not having the most faith in them at the moment, they're really slow to respond to any questions I have. I feel like this forum has given me more useful information than the medical professionals at this point, so hoping there might be some helpful advice in here.

Hi!

My story starts with tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy that took place on June 2nd, it’s been a rough surgery where I’ve spent 5 days in the hospital, getting IV meds and antibiotics.

As I got discharged, the doctor prescribed me with Clindamycin, 600 mg twice a day for 6 days. My last dose was on June 11th.

My first diarrhea episode started on June 18th and since then it’s been on and off. I go 2-3 times a day, it’s either loose or watery, I tried to take probiotics and some Imodium, but it doesn’t really make any difference. I suspected that it might be c diff and went to get tested with GDH + toxin test, 3 days later both were negative.

Currently I am having left sided discomfort, my belly is hard and my stool is yellow and it’s either mushy, watery or barely formed. I changed my diet completely (went to rice, banana and stuff), but still, even with the changes the stool is not formed entirely. With any kefir or yogurt attempts, all I get is diarrhea and couple of days ago I’ve had one episode of green mushy stool.

Honestly, it drives me crazy not knowing what the hell is going on with me, since I’ve never dealt with this kind of discomfort longer than 2 days. The worst part is that this freaking test turned out to be negative and I’m not sure it’s c diff or something else.

Has anyone had similar issue, timing, stool colour and left side discomfort?

I am the point where I tried all of the OTC options available to me and I don’t know how to proceed next.

Okay here is my story to date. Got c diff after cefixime for a UTI. Was on four days of Flagyl and it was giving me crazy side effects so the doctor switched me to Vancomycin. Finished that course a week ago (Friday) and was feeling totally great.

Then on Tuesday at midday, I randomly got chills and proceeded to have a bunch of Bristol 5-6 stools over the rest of the day into the night. Got a fever. Went to ER at midnight and got an IV. By morning I was feeling much better without further treatment. They did a stool sample while I was there was was negative for toxins, positive for PCR.

Because I was feeling better, fever resolved, was having more formed stools, my doctor said we should wait and see what happens next before restarting Vanco because it could make everything worse if I don't have c diff. We are going to touch base next week. An additional factor is that my mum has a stomach bug and my doctor thought I might have caught that.

Today (Friday), I have started having loose BMs again, not totally watery, but Bristol 6 with lots of mucus and maybe hints of blood. Also some tenesmsus. I had about 3 BMs first thing in the morning and then another loose one in the afternoon.

It has crossed my mind that maybe it isnt c diff anymore, but that my colon is particularly rundown and irritated and struggling to recover for some reason. Do I maybe need to get checked for an underlying condition like IBD before restarting Vanco?

Wondering if anyone has any experience with a similar pattern.

Thanks!

Ps - taking a break from Florastor and BioK+ today just to rule those out as irritants. I might have been pushing my gut too hard. Will see if that helps.

Pps - not sure if relevant, but the day I started to feel better I also started my period, like 4 days earlier than expected.

Day 4/5 of antibiotics (cefalexin) have been experiencing the worst diarrhoea it’s completely liquid and mucus about 10-15 times the last two days. Started taking probiotics hoping it will help. My other symptoms right now include:

- bad headache and body aches
- shaking and shivering
- fast heart rate
- cold and hot flushes
- nausea that comes and goes
- don’t feel like eating anything at all

Could it be cdiff ? Should I go to the doctors at all? I’m not sure …

End of May I was put on amoxicillin for a sinus infection. After finishing I didn’t get any better so I was put on augmentin, I wasn’t improving so they did another round. I started to develop horrible cramping, almost passed out from the pain, and diarrhea where I was just putting out tissue and blood. I came back positive for cdiff a few days later after being misdiagnosed as gastritis at the ER….

I started dificid on Monday night and experienced over 5 days of constipation due to taking Bentyl for my cramps. Now my diarrhea is back and my cramps are worse. I can’t do anything, go anywhere, I haven’t even worked in weeks. This is NO way to live and I’m constantly upset and anxious. I’m at my wits end and I don’t know what to do. I saw my GI yesterday and she just told me to finish the meds and if I continue to have diarrhea I need a fecal transplant, and I’ll be on pre and probiotics the rest of my life. I’m deathly scared of recurrence, I have IBS so how am I going to know what is cdiff and what isn’t?! I ask my doctors and they just have no answers. Aren’t there clinical trials using immunotherapy now? Isn’t there another option? Please give me any advice to get through this! Thank you so much!

Edit: also, does anyone else feel like a leper? I am so afraid to get someone sick (I’m a nurse and I know how it spreads so I am so scared) even with careful handwashing. I don’t want to be in public or do anything cause I’m scared that I’ll have cramping and diarrhea and then I could possibly spread it.

Hi everyone, 22 M who was diagnosed with c. diff after treating h. pylori. After my h. pylori treatment, I was at 178. Today, I am at 200 lbs 😵‍💫. This has happened within the span of a month, and I am very particular with my diet. I am a huge gym goer, and I track my calories, so I cannot imagine that this is 22 lbs of actual weight. I am lucky in the sense that I can still workout and dance with relatively high energy post treatment. Does anyone have any insight at all? I see a lot about weight loss, but not a lot about weight gain. I don’t have any information to really help me unfortunately. I’m also an actor/dancer and how my body looks and feels is a huge deal to me, so this is causing a lot of physical and mental distress. Thank you! :)

After 2 rounds of Vancomycin back in February, a hospital stay and sepsis end of March, a round of Difficid, another Vancomycin taper AND a $20,000 fecal microbiota transplant a couple of weeks ago...the gastro doctor just called and said I'm STILL testing positive for C.Diff. 😡😡😡 They said I have one of the most stubborn cases they've seen. Send help....I'm over it.

On June 16, I started taking Augmentin for an ear infection, prior to June 16 I did have amoxicillin for the same infection but stopped halfway through to switch to Augmentin.

While on the admin, I started to have loose stools, which I thought was just a typical side effect. And the following days, I continued having loose stools more frequently and the past three days I have had up to 16 in a day. I went to the doctor. They never even tested my stool and said they were very confident it was c diff. I started the medication two days ago, but I’m still having loose stools just very less frequent.

So I guess my question is when does it get better and how do I clean my house or what do I clean my house with?

Update: any food recommendations would be helpful!

Hey guys, I'm about a month post-vanco, or just about. I was dealing a lot with switching between normal bowel movements and an occasional episode of diarrhea for a while, but now I've officially gone a week without a single bowel movement.

I'm taking miralax as per a doctor's instructions and praying that it works lol, no more white rice for me because I think my over dependence on it to calm my stomach+ skipping meals was what caused this.

My temp leave from work is about to end so now I'm just worried about all the gut problems I have now that have left me unable to leave my house for almost two months now. I just want this to end already.

Update one day later: finally had a BM, I'm planning on doing a low fodmap diet after this and just avoiding common IBS irritants. No more only eating white rice.

Venting. I am a fairly healthy 48 year old in the U.S. who went through 3 rounds of c.diff in 22/23. Still have gut issues, plus an ongoing fear of the next time I have to take antibiotics.

My poppy who is in Canada, who is also diabetic and on dialysis for 3 years now, spent about a week in the hospital three weeks ago where he was treated with strong antibiotics for a “mystery blood infection”. Well, he started getting sick a few days ago and got taken by ambulance back to the hospital with high fever and severe diarrhea where they confirmed c.diff positive.

He has been there for a few days now, on IV and oral vancomycin but when my mom starting asking questions prompted by me, they started telling her it’s no big deal, not deadly just messy, no need for special diet afterwards.

I was thinking back to my first round and how I wasn’t even advised for follow up care to take probiotics. I just don’t understand how there can be such lack of knowledge in hospitals!!

Has anyone here taken bactrim post infection? If so how long after infection and did u get a reoccurrence?

How many of you experienced formed stools when you got diagnosed with c diff??

Today is my 7th day of vancomycin and my doctor told me that this might be enough in my case

Do u think I should insist in the last three days or should I trust my doctor?

Hey guys,

So I had reoccurring c-diff back in 2024 and it wasn’t until I had Rebyota via enema back in November of 2024 when I was finally back to normal and better than ever.

Today, I got a message from my doctor after having a rash on my right labia for quite some time and them swabbing it and it turns out I tested positive for a pseudomonas infection which is apparently very antibiotic resistant and requires strong antibiotics which could bring my c-diff back.

I’m debating making an appointment with my primary care doctor and asking for a prophylactic vanco prescription to take along with the antibiotics so I never have to go through this again.

Thoughts?? I’m genuinely worried because I’m afraid of losing my job over getting another c-diff infection because this happened before.

Hi everyone,
I’ve had c diff three times within the last two months. Each time I was treated with vanco, but unfortunately it kept coming back.
Yesterday I had an fmt in capsules at the hospital. Since yesterday I’ve been having diarrhea. My doctor told me this can happen after FMT, but I’m still feeling a bit worried.
The thing is, during the week before the FMT I wasn’t having any diarrhea. I had to do a full bowel prep the day before the procedure, and I feel like that’s what really threw my gut out of balance.
Has anyone else experienced diarrhea right after capsule FMT? If so, how long did it last?

i had c-diff over 8 months ago, still dealing with some days where i'm hunched over in pain. i have wayyyy more good days than bad but when those bad days hit, i am MISERABLE. what do you all do for your pain? i just bought IBgard to try but it's soooo expensive. has anyone else on here used IBgard and it has helped them? i also smoke the devil's lettuce whenever the flares hit, it offers relief in the moment but it gets bad again in hours.

He confirmed what the gastro told me that these doctors prescribe Flagyl (metronidazole) but that doesn’t do anything for cdiff so that was such a waste of time! If you get cdiff go to a gastro asap because general Drs just don’t know about this some don’t stay up to date since they aren’t specialists. Once they switch me to Vanco I felt better. And he says the Vanco can’t be just 7-10 days that’s not enough time it’ll just come right back and I get vowst at the end of this long dose of Vanco and hopefully that’ll work.