Who is a good candidate for fecal transplant?

I have been reading about the successes (and failures) of fecal transplant and am seriously considering trying it myself. I think I'm at the end of the road with conventional medicine choices since I can't tolerate AZA and remicade/humira are not available in the UK for UC (only for crohns).

I've now been flaring on and off for two years since my baby was born. I have a lot of bleeding and urgency (and sometimes diarrhea), but am managing to go about my day-to-day business without too much difficulty. I've managed to prevent endless declines into steroid treatment through diet (SCD/Paleo with some modifications) but just cannot manage to achieve 100% remission.

I have the possibility of doing fecal transplant because my daughter (who is just two) is not yet out of nappies and I would feel safe using her without doing the expensive screening. I can't see anywhere in Europe that is prepared to support FT and can't afford to go to Sydney. I won't be able to take antibiotics in advance so will have to rely on a very strict diet.

Does anyone know if there is anything that distinguishes those who experience success with FT and those who don't?
Is FT the best choice for me now or is there something else I should be considering that has good success rates?

I don't think there is currently any "good candidate" test - except maybe not flaring too bad. Sounds crazy, but I think banana girl got declined at a clinic in PA because her disease was too severe.

There may be a point in a year or so where yo could get a gut microbe profile and then some percentages on the chances of FT working.

But, you do have a good available donor. I would consider giving it a try.

Post Edited (DBwithUC) : 11/29/2012 11:10:34 AM (GMT-7)

Good point. The question would be if the gut microbes were fully populated.

Babies are definitely out. But a 2yr old should just be entering the good zone, and will only get better over the year. I think a lot of development occurs by 3 months:

www.medicinabiointegrata.com/doc/probiotici/Microflora%20intestinale%20nel%20bambino.pdf

... but I can't readily find a guideline for completing development.

I understand members of the same household are discouraged, but I think this applies mostly to closely related adults.

I do read that the mother's microbiome diversity, manner of delivery, and even breast/bottle feeding can change the timing of a child's gut microbe development.

Maybe it would be best to wait another 6-8 months.

OK, so I can see that my daughter might be a little young for this, but I don't have obvious other options since my husband's gut was wrecked by salmonella poisoning 7 years ago. Thinking about it, he might benefit from FT himself!

I guess the problem with waiting until she's a little younger is: (1) she'd be toilet trained and often out at pre school by then, rather than at home with me or relatives; (2) I really want my health to improve enough to have another baby as soon as possible!

Pluot - thanks for heads-up on Remicade. I will ask my GI, though I must admit it isn't particularly appealing to me based on everything I've read on here.