Recovering from C Diff: My Journey Back to Health

It’s been a month since I last wrote from the confines of my couch letting C diff work its magic on me. I am happy to report that today, I am feeling much better. At the time, it felt like I wasn’t going to recover and the next steps in my Skyrizi treatment became fuzzy. I can confidently say that I have never been that sick in my life and I truly do not wish C diff on anyone. It was like a UC flare but TEN times worse. IBD warriors are tough enough – we don’t need to be adding C diff on top of that!

Getting C diff was a harsh reminder that I am not in control all the time. Those of you that know me know that I like to stay busy. Sometimes that translates into not being able to say no to new things or take a break. My body was begging for me to give it rest, and I wasn’t listening. I kept pushing through and pushing through. Just have to get through this busy day at work. Just have to get through this trip. Just have to get through this semester. By the time I realized it, it was too late.

A few things that have been really instrumental in my recovery journey have been:

1. The introduction of a new probiotic, Florastor. This probiotic has been proven to directly counteract the bad bacteria caused by C diff. I noticed an immediate difference when I started taking it on day 8 of my antibiotics. I was already taking a daily women’s probiotic, but it did not include the specific strain that Florastor does. Since I believe it is a magic pill, I have continued taking it.
2. Taking a break from heavy exercise this month. This one was hard for me. I do four lagree classes per month at Peach Lagree (co-owned by my wonderful high school English teacher!) which keeps me in shape and strong. I really didn’t want to give this one up, but my body needed the rest. I have been taking walks and doing light workouts in the mornings to ease back into it. I can feel my body desperately trying to get stronger.
3. Clean eating! Not that I didn’t do this before, but I have been prioritizing protein and non-processed foods. I’ve been rotating between chicken, salmon, ground beef, and steak with vegetables and fruits and it’s keeping my stomach in line. No more sweets or artificial sugars and definitely no alcohol! My main goal is to gain back the 15 pounds that I lost last year.
4. Listening to my body and resting when I need it. Once I start feeling better, I want to take advantage of that time because I never know how long it’s going to last. During these times, I can go a little overboard. But there have been a few days when I just cancelled what I had going on and laid in bed to read. And I didn’t feel bad about it.
5. Reconnecting with old friends. I think community is such an important component to nurture when you have a chronic illness. Surrounding yourself with people who have the same morals and values as you and in a similar place in life can feel so powerful and uplifting.

As time has gone on, the big picture gets clearer. It is likely that I already had C diff for a while (probably since my birthday since I was struggling then thinking it was a UC flare). I was given a steroid to calm my symptoms which likely masked the C diff. And adding in my first Skyrizi infusion, right before Christmas, really tipped the scales, making my body explode. That is the only rational explanation I have for how this all happened.

I was allowed to get my second Skyrizi infusion last week because I had recovered from the C diff and had better precautions in place. I felt more prepared, but also deeply terrified that the same cycle would repeat itself. Thankfully, the infusion went well and I had no side effects to report. I only have one more infusion scheduled for February and then I will transition to the on-body injectors every eight weeks. The path is a little clearer now and I can feel Skyrizi doing its work, now that my body is giving it a chance to.

Thank you for all the prayers and support this past month. I have felt it, heard it, and it certainly has made a difference in how I approached the next steps in my care. I remain hopeful and determined to get back into remission!