Started Fecal Transplants this week..

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that I started Fecal Transplants finally! I am extremely excited!!
First of all it took me about 4 years to find a healthy donor that was willing to do it and who passed all the tests. Secondly it took me a long time to find out from the doctors how to do it. Then I had to convince my hospital to do the first transplant via colonoscopy, and now I'm doing it at home struggling with the day to day disgustingness of it. But I guess when you have been as sick as I have I just keep visualizing what ive been through and it makes it easier.

It's day three now, so day one was the colonoscopy and they blend up the poo so it is the consistency of a thick shake, put it in a syringe that attaches to the colonoscopy tube and then insert it into my terminal ilium area. I had to take two imodiums first and do the normal colonoscopy clean out prep. I was really lucky and the mixture stayed in all day. Normally most patients leak it out straight away.

Day two-
I picked up my "donation", mixed it in a big glass jar with saline with a hand held blender, until i thought it was runny enough. I then used an empty and clean FLEET enema bottle. I poured some of the contents of the jar into a funnel, into the enema bottle. Got a huge extension cord so I could do it outside. As i did it i visualised the worst days ive had and i managed to get through it fine. I washed up all my utensils outside, then put on some relaxing music and took myself into the bathroom to insert the enema bottle. Using the fleet enema bottle is ten thousand times easier than using a normal enema kit. My colon is a mess so inserting anything hurts. At least with the fleet the tip is really long and skinny. Ok so in the bathtub i go, lay on my left side and insert the enema bottle. Um crap nothing came out. I pull it out take a look and see that it is blocked. Use my hands to get out the chunk of poop. yuck! I then insert it and try again and get about 5ml in. Then another blockage. I get out a chunk of food again and try one more time. Ok it blocks again and I give up. Day 3 I buy a strainer. the 5ml comes out about 2hrs later. felt a bit weird.

Day 3-
Ok I did exactly the same thing as day 2 but i used a strainer on top of the funnel. Then the funnel got blocked when the enema bottle was about half full. I gave up and decided to just do half a bottle. I figure i need to get my colon used to holding liquid in it anyway so plan on building myself up to the full enema bottle. Ok so back in the bath tub, turn the shower on this time so I have hot water going over my legs and tummy. Insert the enema and squeezed- it went in no problem. The hot water was nice on my tummy. I layed with my legs up on the side of the bath and let gravity do its work. It didnt come out. All day though I have felt strange gas pains, but its weird because it doesnt feel like normal gas, more just little uncomfortable bubbles. I assume this is due to the die off effect- the fact that my bad bacteria is getting its arse kicked by my donors good bacteria.

Ok a little bit of my history. I have had colitis for about 4 years. It has been terrible since june 12. I was in hospital every week, lost heaps of weight and looked like a skeleton. I couldnt barely pick up my daughter and had to get people to help with her. I was in terrible pain all the time and pooping myself constantly. In September my gastros said my intestines were severly damaged and beyond repair. They said my only option was to have surgery and take out my whole intestine. I started infliximab with only a little relief. In October 2012 some local acupuncturists said they could help me and offered to treat me for free. They came daily to my home and hospital and put needles in areas aimed at decreasing the inflamation and stimulating my bowel to work properly. i gave myself the deadline that if i wasnt better by christmas i would get the surgery. Christmas came and I was slightly improved so i decided it was worth giving my acupucturists more time. Each month i improved slightly but was still having accidents multiple times a day up until about last month. I did find that with the acupuncture my pain decreased significantly though. about 3 months ago I got a test to check if my body had created antibodies to the infliximab and instead it showed that there was none in my system! They increased my dose and I got significantly better. Still wearing diapers though! I then went on a holiday and had a relaxing week and since I returned I have felt heaps better. Another infliximab injection at the higher dose and i got better again. by this time the blood had decreased from cuploads a day (a year ago) to now barely nothing. And thats when my doctors finally agreed to the fecal transplant and my donor was in town and everything else is history. In the last 2 weeks before i started fecal transplant i havent worn a diaper and had nearly no bleeding.

ok enough from me.. any questions let me know. I'll try to keep updating but pretty busy so probably wont be every day. xx

good luck and hope you will be in a long long remission soon

Day 4 & 5 I did normal poops! Well close anyway. They were still skinny. Worked out doing the enema works a lot better after going to the toilet and it stays in longer. Now I lie in the bath tub with my feet up and the overhead shower hot water running on my tummy. It's like a little massage, relaxes me, and washes away anything yucky..

Adventureuc you did 8 FTs right? Every day or was there time in between? Did it help?