About a year ago, I was admitted to St. Paul’s hospital for what would later turn out to be a rather severe pneumonia. I don’t really get sick very often, so for me to suddenly be bed ridden after only two days of feeling bad was a very strange event. In fact, looking back I sometimes wonder if what I really had was pneumonia, or if that was just a symptom of what I actually had.
I was going over my medical records a few months ago, and found all the reports from St. Paul’s. When they admitted me I was in pretty rough shape. I had a massive fever, low oxygen in my blood, and I was so dehydrated that my blood was taking up far less volume than it normally should have. I also could hardly breathe, which turns out was due to half of my left lung actually collapsing.
Somehow during my stay in the hospital I acquired a superbug called Clostridium Difficile. It’s a nasty little bugger, and it causes your intestines to become inflamed. It’s extremely difficult to treat, and many people who end up getting it need to eventually get part of their colon removed to treat it.
The first line of defense for treating it is a drug called Flagyl. Flagyl is used to treat anaerobic bacteria, and it has a lot of nasty side effects, one of which is that it can react violently with alcohol. In terms of the latter, I learned the hard way that it’s not something you should mess with. After Flagyl the only drug that has a chance against it is oral vancomycin. Vancomycin is one of the strongest antibiotics available and is typically only given out against life-threatening ailments as doctors are trying hard not to let bacteria build up resistance to it. In fact, in the United States vancomycin is a controlled substance for that very reason.
Unfortunately for me, after two rounds of flagyl and one round of vancomycin, I was still symptomatic. At that point my doctor suggested I stay off antibiotics for a while just in case the antibiotics were contributing to the problem (which is quite possible with this infection). So I spent the next two months battling it on my own, doing the occasional check-up with my doctor to make sure I was still ok.
Thankfully, after around six months of treatment, I finally was tested C. Diff negative. Unfortunately though the flora in my intestines had been massively disrupted, as well as many digestive enzymes most people have. The good news is that this should eventually work itself out naturally. The bad news is that it takes a lot of time. In the meantime though, I’m currently slightly lactose intolerant since battling C. Diff. destroyed most of the enzymes in me that deal with lactose. But hopefully in the not too distant future everything will be back to normal with regards to that.
There’s growing concern nowadays that hospitals can actually make you sicker than when you went in. In my case, given that my condition was already borderline life-threatening, I really had no choice. But I walked out with one of two superbugs, and spent a good six months battling it. Even a year later, I still feel some of the effects from a year ago, and it’s not a period of time I would really like to relive. But the good news is I’m pretty much all over it.
Duane Storey is a Vancouver-based photographer, writer, traveler, and entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of BraveNewCode, a web design & development studio that focuses on professional WordPress plugins. 
Glad to hear you’re over the infection Duane. I have had Flagyl prescribed to me, and that’s one of the reasons why I trust Mexican doctors MUCH MORE than I trust Canadian doctors. Sometimes, I’ve had to fly back to Mexico in order to have my doctor see me, and I have very little faith in the Canadian health system. But I shouldn’t complain!
Hopefully the lactose intolerance doesn’t interfere with the nacho eating!
So glad that things got better eventually, even if your body’s still getting back to normal–I think we were all pretty worried for a while there! Here’s to the end of that year, and good riddance to it!
Have you thought about seeing a naturopath. They may help you get back to your pre-lactose intolerant days. Maybe taking probiotics and digestive enzymes might also help!
I had the same problem, only I hadn’t been in a hospital or on any antibiotics and I got C Diff. I battled with it for 5 months and now I’m lactose intolerant. If I might ask do you still have those problems or is your lactose intolerance getting better? after 19 years of being bale to eat milk products it takes a while to get used to not being able to handle them.
I’m still not where I was before getting c. diff, but I’ve definitely gotten better. I can handle milk mostly, I just sometimes still get a slightly upset stomach. I found that artificial sweeteners, especially Splenda, set me off now, when before they didn’t.
Interesting – the reason I found your site is I’m wondering wht the after effect are. I fear I’m now lactose intolerant and sensitive to other foods of which I cannot pinpoint. Anyways – it took me two rounds of psychosis inducing Flagyl (seriously – i was a mess) and 2 rounds of Vancomycin (miracle drug) to rid me of this horrible illness. I caught C-diff in the hospital when I had my child. Basically almost 3 months later, I was finally ‘well’.
wow!! I got c diff back in feb.. started with dizzy spells…long story..finally went through 2 antibiotics to test neg… I am 5 4 and use to weigh 140..now 110… I still cant gain weight?? Does anyone know why? I eat anywhere from 2500 cal to 3000 cals a day.. I eat pretty much what I want: except choc., bacon, and chinese food (triggers) and no more artificial sugar either…so double mint gum is the only gum I found that I can chew ( yeah ) Anyway, I need to gain weight…muscle is coming back, but no fat??
I was so disappointed when my diarrhea returned after flagyl and after vancocyn. (March 2010) The dr. was about to put me on another round of antibiotics. I suspected that my stomach would never get back to normal if I kept taking antibiotics, so I asked him if I could try to get well on my own with pro-biotics and Prilosec. He said okay, and I have gradually returned to almost completely normal. I have no idea if the c-diff is still growing in my body, but if it is, I have very few symptoms. I never weigh myself, but I don’t think that I’m losing weight anymore. (June 2010) I hope this helps someone. Sheila
I was hospitalized Oct.26/09 and spent most of the next 8 months there..I was give liquid vancomycin and when finally I got to leave hospital was put on the vancomycin capsule..the doctor has been weaning me off of it over the past two months..all seemed ok for a week and 2days..then 9 days after being off vancomycin, I now have diahrea again..seeing my doctor tomorrow..I am really fed up with this problem..there must be a complete cure for me out there..??
You should look into Fecal Bacteriotherapy. It’s one of the only known high-success rate “cures” for c-diff. It sounds gross, but it’s a naturalistic way to combat c.diff. Basically they take the stool from a relative, process it, then give you an enema with the solution. It basically repopulates your stool with all the good bacteria that you need to fight c. diff. The problem is finding some place that can do it. I know there is a place in Calgary, Canada that can do it, but not sure anywhere else.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_bacteriotherapy
I also caught C. diff in March 2011, without ever being on antibiotics or being “sick” before, but I’m a nurse, so I’m exposed to it a lot in the hospital. I can’t imagine the folks above managing it for months on their own! I found in completely debilitating — I’d think “Oops, gotta go to the bathroom” and practically be incontinent before I could even get there. I’ve also gone through the whole Flagyl/Vancomycin/probiotics/yeast tablets/yogurt regimen with two relapses; I’m on a Vancomycin taper right now, and hoping the C. diff won’t come back.
Anyway, I seem to be suddenly lactose intolerant as well, which is weird because my whole life I’ve been the Dairy Girl. I’ve always eaten lots of milk and cheese etc. I suddenly don’t know what to eat anymore. Interesting to see that others have experienced the lactose intolerance, too. Makes me feel a little less crazy. Thank you! I SO HOPE I can go back to dairy at some point!!
Hi-
I am another one of those c-diff folks…on Thanksgiving weekend 2010, I began having symptoms. My story is like all of yours-flagyl, vanc, flagyl, yeast overgrowth, small intesine overgrowth, flagyl, vanc, and so on goes the cycle. Here we nine months later and I feel as though I am still stuck on a crazy fair ride and can’t get off!
I too am now lactose intolerant. I have noticed that sugar and dairy really set me off. It makes sense since bacteria feeds on sugar, and most dairy products are pretty high in sugar. For those dairy lovers out there, I find that the lactose free milk and coffee creamer is not bad. I also can’t tolerate Activia yogurt as it really causes abdominal cramping; however, the Greek yogurts don’t seem to bother me near as much. Strange, huh? Thanks to Duane for posting your story. It is encouraging to know that when you are walking this c-diff journey, you are not alone.