C-DIFF SO CONFUSED

I dont really post much to the site, because all of this is still new to me, so i just read alot of the post. anyway my ? is my aunt has been really sick, she called me yesterday for me to take her to the ER so i did, the doc came in did a check over and called her doc to see if her poop culter came back , it came back and she tested postive for c-diff. Is this something that i can get if im in a flare right now. I asked the ER doc and he said if my immune system is down, then yes more than likley.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night with extreme cramps and pain in my belly and right side, chills, (i dont know about fever) just tried to lay still. I have been moving around a little this morning but im really scared to do anything.

Any advise would help greatly. This is a great site and there is alot of nice ppl here.

 

I have only done the tiniest research on this and like lemonhead said it can come on as a result of antibiotic use though I think you need to already have the spore in your tract.  It is also passed through the mouth such as if you ate food contaminated with c-diff.  I'm sure others here know lots more especially the incubation period.  There is website call cdiffsupport.com that has more info too.

I hope you feel better soon.

What you might not know is how long your aunt has had C Diff. It often takes a while for the symptoms to show up. You are more at risk because you have UC. Anyone with a compromised immune system is more succeptable. I had it last winter and had to be in Isolation while I was in the hospital. I was as sick as a dog too. Maybe you could mention this to your GI and he will have a stool sample done on you. It is diagnosed with a simple stool speciman. The results are available in 24 hours. I hope you don't have it and that you feel better soon.

I've never heard of anyone exhibiting extreme distress from a c-diff infection in less than a day, so I doubt much that your current sypmtoms are c-diff. All of what is written above is true of c-diff, it is spread by somehow getting the c-diff spores into your gut via oral means. I'd recommend you wash your hands after using the bathroom, and anytime after being with your Aunt or at her house for a while. It might also be helpful to use some of the hand sanitizers that have springing up over the past few years. I am prone to c-diff infections myself, and my GI recommends Florastor for people combatting c-diff. Apparently the strain of bacteria in Florastor competes with the c-diff for sustenance, plus Florastor is okay to take with antibiotics because the probiotics aren't affected by the antibiotics. And no, I am not a rep for Florastor, just a satisfied customer of it for a couple of years. I hope that you don't end up getting infected.  While it resembles bad cases of UC, the frequency and urgency I experienced were bewildering.  If your flare continues to get worse, and you begin to notice a really bad smell to your BMs that wasn't there before, you might want to talk with your doc. Good luck to you, and I wish a speedy recovery to your Aunt. Hopefully her case will be over with one round of antibiotics, and then life resumes as usual for her and yourself. 

PS  I'm including a link to a c-diff support site that I belong to, much like Healingwell.  Although the people in that forum are chronic sufferers of c-diff, there is a lot of good info to had there.  If I'm breaking a HW rule, my apologies, let me know and it won't happen again.

http://www.cdiffsupport.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=4