First time post about
my diagnosis and path leading up to my experiment with FT. I am relatively newly diagnosed, so I do not have the decades of horror stories to draw from like some of the unfortunate members of the board, but my heart truly goes out to those of you who are suffer from this terrible disease.
I had a series of community acquired MRSA infections between Sept 2009 and Feb 2011 that required repeated courses of antibiotics to knock out. Unfortunately the antibiotics wrecked my colon and by July I was in the middle of my first severe UC flare; cramps, bloody poo and all the fun stuff that comes with it.
My GP referred me to a GI and I was diagnosed with UC September 2011 via colonoscopy. After my diagnosis I was put on Lialda, but after a week I began to have a severe reaction to the medicine that landed me in the hospital with pericarditis, a rare side effect of Lialda that my doctor had no clue about
, where I contracted a C. Diff infection and required heavy IV antibiotics.
The only suggestion my GI had was to try various other drugs. I told him I wanted to look at options, and he said my only other option was to have my colon removed which I later found to be a bold faced lie. I began doing research into probiotics and alternative treatments using medical journals.
When I presented my findings to my GI he refused to consider that my UC may be caused by an imbalance of intestinal flora caused by the antibiotics I took for my MRSA infections. At which point I realized he was a complete idiot with no intellectual or professional curiosity. He does not keep up with UC studies or clinical trials and does not even read the medical journals produced by
medical associations where he holds membership!
After my hospital stay I tapered off of prednisone and refused to take any further drugs from my doctor.
Using a low carb diet, VSL#3, Saccharomyces Boulardii, Omega-3 fish oil, and Co Q10-- I managed to maintain the remission started by the course of prednisone until I started slacking on my diet this past month and started seeing the beginning symptoms of a flare.
This has caused me try FT, which I consider to be the nuclear option of UC treatment. I am for the most part following the oft discussed Borody protocol minus the antibiotic prep with my wife as the donor.
Equipment:
A 6 pack of 4.5 oz fleet saline enimas
A qt of pedialyte mixer (we figured the electrolytes and small amount of dextrose would make the bacteria happy)
An old blender we retired (going to give it to my former boss when we are done with it
)
My wife (bless her heart) produced and prepared the "package". One word of advice, academic understanding of the process is far, far different from the stinky reality. Thank goodness she has greater control over her gag reflex than I do.
I cleared myself of gas and poo on the toilet then self administered the entire "package" standing nude in the shower, no real problems once I was able to psych my self past the ick factor. I then tidied up with a bit of TP and made my way to the bedroom to start what I call the rotisserie process of laying with an elevated hiney with 30 minutes on each side (left, back, right, belly).
Tips:
Remember to remove the little rubber bit inside the lid before use or it will plug up at the moment of truth.
Do not fill the bottle all the way to the top, you do not want it to geyser when you pull off the cap.
Prepare everything in the bedroom before you administer, you do not want to be up running around after you
Outcome:
After the first treatment (at about
6pm), I had a complete relief of all symptoms with the exception of some safe flatulence. I was able to retain the mixture, no poo at all bloody or otherwise for the entire rest of the day (18+ hours).
I administered a 2nd dose at noon the next day when it became available. Again no poo, but some gassy feeling and wet flatulence.
It took nearly 2 days (42 hrs) after my first FT to develop a poo (down from poo after every meal). The poo was well formed and solid though fairly small with a small trace of bright red blood which is much better than previous which if you will pardon the imagery was more like ketchup.
3rd dose to be administered when available tomorrow (will update).
Due to work schedules we plan to administer FT in sets of 3 (Fri, Sat, Sun) every weekend for 1 month then every other weekend for another month then once a month going forward to make darn sure the new flora colonize in my colon.
One question I have not seen an answer to on these threads is what kind of diet should the
donor have to optimize the FT?
Post Edited (Smurfy) : 4/1/2012 10:51:30 AM (GMT-6)