In 1999, I had a cold or sinus infection and was on antibiotics. The infection was still in full swing after 10 days, so the Doctor Doubled my prescription to 1000 milligrams of amoxicillin. This cleared up the cold or sinus infection and also caused more problems: I ended up with the diarrhea for 3 weeks, severe cramps, diarrhea, and even to the point I thought I had to go and all it was a few flakes. Each week it got worse. When the third week rolled around, I was at work, and I couldn’t even stand up straight anymore and the following day I was home on a Saturday and got the shakes and chills so bad that I ended up in the emergency room. They wanted a urine sample. I said what about a stool sample. They said, “No.” Well, I insisted. They ran some emergency tests, did blood work up, and then I was admitted to the hospital for five days.
My doctor came to see me the next day. He had me scheduled for a Colonoscopy. So we had to go through the routine of getting me cleaned out. I was so irate by the time we were almost done. This time they gave me something to drink and then Cod liver oil. That was gross. Every time I went to the bathroom I could smell that sweet sickening smell of Cod liver Oil. Never again. I even told them to forget about the test. That I was not going to have it done. I felt sorry for the nurses but, I was in more pain, and you know how your butt burns when you keep on going and going, well it felt like it was on fire, so they gave me some save that cooled the area but, you have to touch the area in order to apply it. Then they made sure that disinfected my hands really good.. Well, guess what I also couldn’t smoke in the hospital, so that made me even more crabby. I felt sorry for the nurses, and did apologize the next day when I was feeling better.
The next morning was the Colonoscopy. Like usual I was put to sleep, and sent back to my room when they were done. My doctor came to visit me after the test and told me that he could see nothing. Everything was fine. Ok, then why was I in so much pain. He did not know. The doctor told the nurse I could go home. I got dressed, my family was there to take me home, and all of a sudden the nurse comes running in the room and told me I could not leave that the doctor had called. She then left. Well I tell you, panic set in. The looks, on my husbands, my son’s and his fiancé at the time, even startled me more. We sat in the room with me all dressed and ready to go for 15 minutes. It was the longest 15 minutes in my life. I am thinking Cancer.
The Nurse finally came back in and said that the Doctor prescribed some medication for me. She then told me that from the stool sample that I insisted they take, that the culture came back that I had C-Deficille Clostridium. I had no idea what that was. She said that I had been on antibiotics for quite some time, going from a lower dose to a higher dose. She told me that you have good and bad flora in your intestines. The antibiotics can kill the good flora and the bad flora builds up toxins in your system. The medications that were prescribed were Flagyl (that a couple years later was taken off of the market). The other was Metronidazole. He put me on these for a month. While I had in the hospital I been was running a fever, by the time I would go home it was a low grade fever. I was also given a sealed cup and told that I had to take a stool sample into the hospital lab when I was finished with my prescriptions. Thank God the test came out negative.
Upon seeing my doctor again, I also had flush a coating on the tongue that is a yeast infection, and I had dryness and itching on the top of my hand, which he gave me a salve for. This was also yeast infection, caused as a result of the C-Deficille Clostridium. I told the Doctor that I would rather have a Colitis attack than have C-Deficille Clostridium again. He said you did have a severe Colitis attack. I quickly retracted my statement. From then on when ever I had to take antibiotics I would also have to call the Doctor to get a prescription for Flagyl that I would have to take along with the antibiotic to help prevent another case of the C-Deficille Clostridium. With my intestinal problems I am more susceptible to getting C-Deficille Clostridium.
Just a note. C-Deficille Clostridium can be picked up in bathrooms, nursing homes, hospitals. I had to make sure that I disinfected my hands and anything else that might have touched body waste. Cause if a person even touched a drop of waste on a faucet and put their hand to their mouth they would get C-Deficille Clostridium. I made sure I washed the toilet seat, the sink and the faucet and re-rinsed the bar of soap good when done. There was no way I wanted anyone in my family to get this condition.
