Another FMTer

Well, folks, I've joined the ranks of those trying FMT for healing. I've done my homework, and researched it to death, to make sure it's a good thing to do. There's little down-side, and plenty of potential up-side, so I went for it. Finding a donor proved more difficult than I thought. We started with my wife, but found she has a parasite that is common in the local water. She's asymptomatic, but there's no telling what that parasite would do inside the gut of a colitis patient. So, we talked to a good friend who agreed, passed the tests, and now we've started.  First FMT was yesterday.  Our friend isn't a big person, so the "donation" was small, but hopefully sufficient.  It only made 1/2 a cup of slurry, maybe 2/3c. From what I've read, this probably isn't enough to induce healing fast. So, maybe I have to do more of them to get the same effect...we'll see. And hopefully I can change over to my wife as donor soon, since she took some flagyl to get rid of the parasite.  Oh, and my friend donor came back with pretty low amounts of "good guys". But, apparently it works, since our friend is "normal".

Preparation of the stuff went fine. I did the ziplock bag method. Actually tried the blender method the previous day, though with a very small donation. It was so watery (I added waaay too much saline) and such a small amount that I opted to not administer it, fearing I would lose it right away. That was probably a good choice. Today's was much thicker (more like paint). Also, with the ziplock method, there is less to clean up--a definite bonus. I had to work at it a bit for a couple hours to retain it. I've heard laying down helps, so I did. After the couple hours, though, things were fine. I got up and went about life as normal. The FMT definitely stirred up something, though, because for that couple hours, my gut was much more active than usual.

Anyway, since the donation was in the afternoon, I retained the stuff for 14 hours, which should be pretty good. Today's bowel movement didn't seem any different than any other day, so I'm not sure how far up in there I got the slurry to go. Only time will tell, I think. I may have to do several more before I try a new food to see how things are going, especially if I'm not getting it all the way around the colon. In case you're wondering, I'd say I'm basically in remission, with diet alone. I go once a day, and it's usually pretty normal, except there's no odor. And my diet is extremely limited. So, the only way I can tell if things are improving is to try a new food. First up: tomatoes (yeah....I can't even have tomatoes at the moment).

Is there any benefit to doing this while in remission versus if flaring? Just curious..

I've done my research on the time-after-antibiotics-to-be-eligible-to-be-a-donor. From what I can tell the abx are out of the system in fairly short order....a few days to a week, maybe two on the outside. It's the microbiota that takes 6+ weeks to get back to a reasonably stable state.

http://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2012/12/11/gutjnl-2012-303184.full

But that doesn't mean its back to "normal". Looks to me like 6 weeks is a minimum. Borody himself seems to be moving toward longer and longer times. Based on his research papers, he started at 6 weeks back in 2003, and is now up to "never". I think his success is enabling him to be very selective. Question is, what's the minimum, and what's strongly advisable? I'm guessing its a sliding scale, and nobody really knows just yet.

But, I think it also depends on exactly which anti-biotic. Vanco, I'm told, is like a nuclear bomb, whereas flagyl is, perhaps, a conventional bomb (I'm no expert, though). So, hopefully my wife wasn't totally messed up by the flagyl. Anyway, we're doing a second round of testing on her to make sure she's good to go.

Just been on flagyl and, due to it, I got candida on my tongue that is taking ages to shift. Make sure your wife watches out that she has no sign of candida oral, vaginal and between toes/under nails, as there can be a mild growth that persists

FMT #2 was Wednesday. The procedure went a bit better. Hate to say I'm getting better at blending poo, but, well, it is what it is. Held #2 for 9 hours. So far, I'm having a hard time seeing change or improvement. BUT, I'm already basically in remission doing diet alone. So, changes will be hard to see. Plus, I'm doing FMTs several days to a week apart (due to schedule coordination challenges). My first choice donor isn't eligible yet, but when she is (wife), we'll be going to daily FMTs for a week.

One other interesting tidbit to add--I took the Interfase biofilm busting enzymes for four days. Got up to 3 pills at a time, and saw absolutely no changes. I'm really surprised at that. Wondering if anyone else has taken Interfase, and had a hard time getting any reaction?

By the way, my Dx is microscopic colitis (specifically, lymphocytic), in case anyone's interested. AFAIK, I'm on the only MCer to be trying FMT and hoping for a cure.

way to go gz -

FMT #3 was Saturday. Procedure went well, and the donation was larger this time than previous two, so I actually think I got a good amount. Still having a hard time seeing any improvement, though. Again, I'm basically in remission on diet alone, so improvements will be hard to see. Yes, I'm using an enema bag--same one as Dr Briggs used/recommended. I assume it's disposable. They're cheap enough I'm not gonna wash & re-use it (how would you wash the tube?)

I've been watching the RS thread, and so have added navy beans to my diet. Doing it as a food trial, so going very slowly (1 teaspoon a day so far, 2 days). No significant changes as yet. Last time I ate beans was over a year ago. Things are quite different now, so I'm not sure if I would have reacted to them w/o FMT or not.

Based on today's bm, though, I'm really thinking I need more RS, and/or FMT. I'm doing both at once, and I know it's not a scientific approach. But since I'm most interested in my own healing, well, I'm going to put "perfect science" on second fiddle. Still waiting for primary donor to become eligible so I can do an FMT shock and awe campaign.

I got lucky last night, and got an unexpected, um, donation. Man, what a demented mind I have now...getting lucky....sheesh. anyway, did #4 last night. All was well.

Also last night found out that my primary donor is now eligible. Wow, I've never had that kind of good luck in one night. And now I am completely convinced I'm demented. But, anyway....

Did #5 this morning. First-ever morning FMT. Procedure went fine, but retention was a challenge. I held it for an hour, then lost part of it, probably half or maybe a bit more. So much for the shock and awe campaign. And to top it all off, I forgot my RS Navy beans in my lunch. Looks like my luck has run out really fast.

Hopefully can try again tomorrow.

FMT #7 today; fourth one in a row. Larger volume (same as #5), but this time I had no problems keeping it. The key is to make sure I lie down for about an hour after the procedure. So, all in all, the entire thing takes about 1.5 hours (I'm getting very pooficient).

Yesterday's initial promising results did not recur this morning as hoped. But I continue to hope for improvement anyway

Well, this is getting a bit monotonous. FMT #11 today. I skipped yesterday, and things were pretty much back to my usual today. Hmph. Not sure I like that. Everything went fine. Have successfully added navy beans to my diet. Can't attribute it to FMT, and can't say FMT had nothing to do with it. So, gotta try another new food to see how things are working. On to tomatoes!

Hi GutsZilla,

Congratulations on giving FMT a shot. It sounds like you've got a good starting point to go from. I was able to successfully use Fecal Microbiota Transplants to treat my case of Ulcerative Colitis after over 12 years of illness which became resistant to almost all treatments except Prednisone, which lead to my doctor's concluding I needed surgery.

Some questions:
Did you do some sort of colon cleanse before starting the FMTs, or maybe fast for a day or two to clean most stool out of the colon? This is key so the bacteria can move their way up the colon.

Also for the enemas, I know it's a process getting used to making these work, however did you try lying on the left side to administer the enema then rolling onto your back, then right, then to back again with your hips elevated? This is helpful because it can help the mixture travel farther up the colon.

I can say in my case I ended up doing them for 5 weeks and also had success from drinking protein shakes after learning the protein levels in my body were lower than ideal for active healing. I also needed drugs to control continued inflamation while doing the fecal transplants and for some time afterward. However if you aren't having any increased symptoms it sounds like it's probably un necessary. While it took some time I have been almost completely free of all symptoms while not taking any drugs for over a year and a half now while also not significantly restricting my diet. So while this can be a hassle, in the end it is worth it!