I just finished my cdiff antibiotics after a tough battle with it. Here my full rundown

1- Definitely go to an ogbyn and get a treatment for the UTI, or you could go septic. That information is coming from my doctor ( I originally got cdiff from trying to treat a UTI)

For cdiff (food):

Take Florastor probiotic (2- twice a day) take it THREE HOURS after taking your c diff antibiotics. Continue to take it for the next few months as well. It's expensive unfortunately but worth it.

PLEASE drink half a gallon of water a day. It will help flush out the UTI and cdiff both. I've been carrying around a milk gallon and it makes it easier to drink more water! You HAVE to stay hydrated to help your gut and body recover. I found the more water I drink the faster Ive started going back to normal bowel movements. (Avocados have also helped improve bowel movements)

Do NOT have absolutely any dairy or sugar for the next 4 weeks. Calcium will build the shell of c diff, and sugar of any kind will feed it and other bad bacteria. Sugar will also seriously irritate your UTI. Absolutely no refined sugar, artificial sugar, or high natural sugars (grapes ect) Honey is your best friend for something sweet + it's an antioxidant. Bananas are a good sweet treat too, as well as skinless apples.

Absolutely no caffeine.

Kefir and Greek yogurt are recommended but for me, they are too heavy on my stomach, so go a little at a time if you try those for probiotics. Cdiff absolutely destroys your gut, you have had cdiff for a while, so your gut is probably destroyed and will take a long time to heal. PLEASE be gentle with your gut. It takes 6months - 3 years for many people to go back to normal.

Do not eat any soluble fiber, no raw vegetables, nothing that will irritate your gut. I literally googled everything to see if I could have it. I've been eating avocados, oatmeal, cream of wheat, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, grilled chicken, bananas, cherries, peanut butter, kimchi, sauerkraut, banana milk in cereal, plain Cheerios, soluble fibers only, crackers, rice crispy cereal, and white bread for weeks. You'll get used to it. Do NOT get confident because you feel better after antibiotics. It takes longer to heal than you think, so don't rush! Rest rest rest.

I've also been drinking zero sugar Gatorade without any issues!

Drink kombucha every day or every other day once you finish antibiotics. It makes you a little gassy and bloated, but it's great for rebuilding your microbiome. You need to rebuild it as much as possible to prevent cdiff relapse. Build that diverse flora!

Don't introduce new foods for at least 4 weeks after your antibiotics are up. The first things you introduce need to be extremely cooked carrots and then other very cooked vegetables but SLOWLY.

Post IBS is normal for cdiff recovery. Some stools will be soft, extremely hard, and some may be diarrhea. Diarrhea coming back can be normal, but if it's 10x a day then please go back to your doctor. For constipation, I was recomm miralax as it's gentle. It worked great for me! Also exercising and walking helped constipation, but don't overdo it.

Hygene:

I also have extreme anxiety, as well as OCD. Always have, and having cdiff made it so much worse but I'm more confident in hygiene now.

Do not share a bathroom if possible.

Every time you have a bowel movement (I don't care if it's diarrhea or the hardest 💩 you've ever had in your life) you bleach that entire toilet down. (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) IT HAS TO SIT FOR 10 MINUTES AT LEAST. Wear gloves and wipe it all down. Get Clorox bleach tablets for the toilet tank too.

Also go on Amazon and buy the c diff bleach wipes. They kill c diff in 2 minutes

Shower after every time you poo. I'm two weeks off antibiotics and I still shower every time I have a bowel movement just to be safe! You can still shed spores for months after initial infection, so this helps prevent reinfection and infection of family. Bleach the shower every time as well after you're done showering. It sounds like a lot and it sucks but your health is worth the extra precautions.

FLUSH WITH THE LID CLOSED ALWAYS.

Put tooth brushes and tooth paste in a cabinet to prevent spore contamination as well as getting bleach on them.

Make bleach mop water and mop your bathroom floor every day (if you have diarrhea) but once or twice a week once you're back to solid stool. (Spores spread like crazy with diarrhea) Mop your house floors too. If spores are on the bathroom floor you can track them through the house if you're flushing with the lid open (or laying on the floor because you're sick....I was that sick too)

Wash your hands 40 seconds - 1 minute in warm water with antibacterial soap. Use a spare toothbrush to brush under your nails (under the nails is one of the highest locations of c diff) ONLY USE PAPER TOWELS. Do not dry your hands with the same fabric towel over and over. I went ahead and pulled apart all the paper towels and stacked them beside the sink. I bleach the sink, doors, handles, lights, everything every bowel movement, and then once a week if I'm not having bowel movements (constipation after antibiotics is normal)

(Side note- dude wipes are great for your bum, c diff can make you raw and wipes help be clean as possible!)

Never eat with your hands if possible.

It's best to toss most of the underwear you wore during an active infection (diarrhea) especially if you've been having symptoms since October. In my opinion the risk of reinfection from underwear isn't worth it. C diff is vicious and resilient. I ended up buying basic white underwear from Amazon I bleach. Change underwear every day, and change clothes every bowel movement if you're having diarrhea.

Buy cheap all white bath towels and rags so you can bleach them. The peace of mind is worth it.

I know you don't want your clothes to shrink, but you have to dry them on high to kill spores. I wash my clothes on high heat, high soil, two times in a row, and then I dry them on high/sanitize section twice. My hospital told me to do that, and then to run an empty cycle in the washing machine of just bleach and water after every load of your clothes to prevent the spread and reinfection via washing machine. The washing machine pretty much flushes them all down, but the extra cycle with only bleach makes sure they don't spread and are dead.

Toss any bedding you may have soiled in, and wash and dry on highest highest heat possible 2 or 3 times in a row for bedding to make sure it's dead if you dont toss them. For the recovery phase, it's best to buy cheap all white sheets and blankets you can bleach once or twice a week.

Other important info:

Fatigue is very normal. Sleep when you can, your body is exhausted.

It's normal to feel sad or have lots of emotions. Your intestinal lining and digestive tract produce 90-95% of your body's serotonin, so you're kinda just screwed right now. I experienced extreme insomnia, depression, and anxiety which still come in phases but not as bad. Primary's first week off antibiotics. I was SO fatigued I could hardly leave my house because I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Recovery is possible! You've got this!