Fecal transplant

I use the enemas. Luckily, I don't have a problem holding them in. Now that I'm doing better I often don't go until early afternoon! I hope that we both stay well and don't have to resort to needing a dirty diaper!

What if you just use a cloth diaper when you anticipate keeping the deposit.

I believe there are a few who do the procedure in Canada. Or the doctors who do the Cdiff procedure are interested in doing it on UC.
There's a doctor in Hamilton who was talking about the procedure. I'm not 100 per cent sure if they will on UC though. But it's worth investigating since it's close to home for some of us.

Hi Fruitgirl. I have also tried FT with success, but am unfortunately now taking Humira because of my axial IBD arthritis. After I tried FT, I had ZERO problems in the colon department.

1. How bad were your symptoms when you decided to do it?

I was coming out of remission and going into another flare. Lots of pain, some blood, and urgency.

2. How was it done? I read that the donor has to have testing done and wonder what all that involves. Did it require a hospital stay?

Used my wife as a donor. I know she has no dangerous infections, so I rolled the dice. I did the whole procedure at home.

3. Did your insurance cover it?

No.

4. How quickly did you notice an effect?

I think after the 4th day. I did 10 straight days of infusions, then an additional 3 days or so, a couple of weeks later.

5. Were you able to decrease your meds afterward?

I was able to taper off Lialda within a month. Then, no meds at all for the next 7 months, until I started Humira.

6. Do you think there has been a lasting effect?

I've had no UC symptoms since June 2010, when I started the FTs.

Good luck with your decision. Honestly, I'm not sure why more people haven't tried this.

runcycle said...
Honestly, I'm not sure why more people haven't tried this.

Me either. It's far less gross than spraying blood and diarrhea all over the toilet, far less embarrassing than having someone look up your butt, and far less risky than having sex.

Baggravation said...
what was the approx. cost?

Well, let's see....

about $4 for a pack of three Walgreens enemas, about $1.30 for a gallon of distilled water. Everything else I already had at home (latex gloves, empty plastic containers (for mixing), paper towels. You probably will spend around $6 to $10 bucks max.

How does that compare to other treatments?

I son't have any family, so the hardest part for me was finding a donor. But if you're lucky enough to have healthy family nearby, or are married, or have healthy children, you've got it made. Otherwise, you'll have to think of a way to breach the subject with a close friend. As I found out, everyone I talked to was very willing to help me and "donate", so I wish I had done it a lot sooner.

subdued, did FT cure your IBS as well?

Baggravation said...
Don't you have to get this done at the hospital? I don't think I would want to do this on my own. I heard that special people prepare these enemas and it's like a 10-day procedure at the hospital. I heard it's expensive as well. Did everyone here do this at home? :S

I guess you still haven't read the threads relating to FT here. Most members who have done it, have done it at home themselves (myself included). It's really nothing more than an enema. Only a few members have actually had it done at a hospital.
about $10 at home as opposed to major $$$ at a hospital. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Just make sure that your donor is very healthy. If you're not sure, you should have them tested. Also, they must not have used antibiotics in the past few months.