C Diff patients often think they they are recurring with C. difficile infection, and we are not here to tell you what is happening in your particular situation.

Be aware that "C Diff" and its treatment can:

- destroy your good and gut bacteria

- harm the lining of your colon

- change other aspects of your health

So, once the C Diff is no longer producing toxins, you might experience symptoms such as cramping, semi-formed stool, etc. but not have an active "C Diff" infection.

On the other hand, C Diff is known to recur in a certain percentage:

Recurrence rates, articles per Google search on Sept 28, 2025.jpg

It is my hope that C Diff recurrence statistics will be greatly reduced by educating ourselves about good prevention, treatment, and recovery practices including diet. Please consult your doctor about whether you are experiencing a recurrence or have something else or nothing to worry about.

Post-infectious IBS

IBS means "Irritable Bowel Syndrome". This means that there is not a specific antibiotic for your set of digestive symptoms. The reality is that what happened to you before, during and after C Diff has wrecked your gut. You might also have pre-existing issues, but "post-infectious" IBS means that it happened after your infection. There are things you can do to get better; to recover, and to restore a more normal gut.

Recovery factors

The following are based on:

- Karl's experience with "C Diff"

- discussions with others who have or had "C Diff"

Recommended practices during/after "C Diff" to avoid recurrence:

1. Avoid unnecessary antibiotics

2. Maintain good hygiene and contact measures

3. Regain your strength/weight as needed (e.g. re-learning to digest proteins if needed, consider digestive enzymes for a time)

4. Rebuilt a healthy gut microbiome using probiotics and diet

5. Return to good sleep and mental health (consider sleep/mental health aids and a support group

6. Have fun!

Food

During C Diff, I had a lot of sweet potatoes (great for nutrition, helped keep me from having diahrea, and soothing on the gut. They are also a probiotic. There were orange or purple ones.) I also tried different kefirs (probiotic yoghurt drinks). After C Diff, I still did these but started working on adding back other foods that I lost the ability to eat. I worked closely with a dietician and a food support group.

I avoided caffeine, alcohol, sugar, fat, salt and spice for a long time during and after C Diff. I also couldn't tolerate fibre very well (salads, legumes). When re-introducing foods, I would try a half serving one day and if it went well, a whole serving the next day. Sometimes I had to try a few times before I was comfortable eating something.

Digestzymes helped me digest food after C Diff. I couldn't really digest food for a while.

I also took "SON Formula" protein pills VERY OCCASSIONALLY after C Diff. I was so weak and underweight that this helped me start gaining my weight back.

I had a lot of soups when sick with C DIff but my priority after C DIff was to try to get my weight back. Other people might not have this problem because I was fit to start with, and my approach was to starve the C DIff and overwhelm it with probiotics. If I didn't eat, the C Diff didn't eat, but that made me lose a lot of weight and almost die.

Antibiotics

This is not medical advice.

Don't take antibiotics for any ailment unless necessary.

Take the lowest duration of antibiotics possible.

Stop a course of antibiotics when your body is telling you to do so.*, **, ***

*After being clear of C Difficile, I had an inflamed colon but was testing negative for C Difficile infection. I was prescribed Cipro & Flagyl, and my stomach was in sharp pain when I took the first one or two doses, so I stopped. I was not prescribed any further antibiotics. At that time, I would rather have died than take further antibiotics, because I felt that the four courses of antibiotics I had in two years, ending with C Diff treatment, caused me great harm, although I believe that antibiotic treatment did kill C Diff in my case. I was preparing to do a home fecal transplant, but did not have to do so because I recovered--slowly.

**My friend was prescribed Amoxiclav for a small bedsore, and felt he should stop after five days, but the doctor told him to finish the 10-day course of antibiotics. My friend was diagnosed with a C Difficile infection, and as a bodybuilder lost over 17kg.

***Five years after C Diff, I went to the dentist to have a wisdom tooth removed (I became sick with C Diff when I requesting an alternative antibiotic after my first two wisdom teeth were removed). I had to decide whether to take the antibiotics that were prescribed, or not.

When you must take antibiotics research antibiotics that have the least chance of causing recurrence (for example, some people who have had C Diff ask what antibiotic is OK to take for a urinary tract infection)

Mental health/sleep

[Work in progress.]

Have fun!

Did you do something you enjoy, today?

While I was recovering from "C Diff", I made sure I had enough strength at the end of each day to play my guitar. Since it was during Covid, I created a Facebook group called "Karl's Facebook live", where every night I would record myself practicing or playing a Christian worship song. This allowed me to express my faith, sing, and show that no matter what, you always have something to enjoy.

What can you do, to give thanks for today, or at the very least enjoy something today?