Fecal transplant. Yup, you guessed it! Someone else poops, you take it and immediately put it in your arse. There's a little more to it but that's the basic gist. I guess the only thing more disgusting would be to eat someone else's poo or snort someone else' poo (no joke) though hardy anyone recommends that. Though if you get dysentery in an area of the world that has camels, that link above will help you out in a crunch.
FMT (fecal microbial transplant) was a technique developed mainly to treat patients with C. difficile infection which is quite horrible and even deadly. The bacteria colonizes the human colon, kicks out almost all other bacterial strains and releases a toxin that destroys the lining of the colon which causes horrible and destructive symptoms. Anti-biotics have been known to not be able to cure C. diff, however if you empty out your gut as if you're preparing for a colonoscopy/endoscopy and then take on an enema of a healthy donor's fresh poop blended with saline solution then the C. diff will be taken care of. Fight fire with fire.
FMT has been expanding in popularity not only to folks with C. diff infections but also folks how have upset their bacterial balance at some point during theirs lives due to excessive or long term anti-biotic use or some other upset event such as giardia, parasites, dysentery drinking river water, etc. As long as you can find a healthy donor with no food allergies or sensitivities and they're willing to give you their fresh poo then you're good to go.
Some would say IBS can be boiled down to the presence of bacteria in the small intestine sufficient enough to produce noticeable gas and thus the patient reports symptoms. Therefore adding more bacteria to the small intestine is not going to help. However, adding a proper bacterial fingerprint to the large intestine without going through the small intestine seems more logical.
Does it work? It cures C diff., it makes many folks feel better but at this point I am not able to write that it is curative for the average IBS patient. The purpose here is to be helpful so PLEASE, by all means prove me wrong and point me in the direction of success stories where someone was lactose intolerant or gluten intolerant and then went through with an FMT and later was able to eat dairy and wheat without a problem. Or someone who had incurable diarrhea and after an FMT was cured. I'm all ears. Again, I've heard many stories about FMT making people feel better for even a few months but symptoms and issues seem to return. I've made it a point to focus this blog on CURATIVE means and methods and have tried to specifically stray from mere recommendations for feeling better or minor relief from symptoms.
Once again I have no interest in position taking so I'm all ears if a reader can point me to reports that FMT has been curative in anything other than C. diff cases or other harsh infectious cases. IBS is considered by many to be a non-pathogenic bacterial imbalance and/or overgrowth especially involving the small intestine which in healthy folks is mostly free of any type of bacterial presence in any appreciable amount.
However, I went through with an FMT and I will most likely try it again after I've done a few more months of liver flushing. The most comprehensive summary can be found here. Again we find a fairly intense protocol that is quite cheap! A $15 blender, a $5 enema bag, some water, some salt and a healthy donor's fresh poo (free).
Instructions are simple:
FMT (fecal microbial transplant) was a technique developed mainly to treat patients with C. difficile infection which is quite horrible and even deadly. The bacteria colonizes the human colon, kicks out almost all other bacterial strains and releases a toxin that destroys the lining of the colon which causes horrible and destructive symptoms. Anti-biotics have been known to not be able to cure C. diff, however if you empty out your gut as if you're preparing for a colonoscopy/endoscopy and then take on an enema of a healthy donor's fresh poop blended with saline solution then the C. diff will be taken care of. Fight fire with fire.
FMT has been expanding in popularity not only to folks with C. diff infections but also folks how have upset their bacterial balance at some point during theirs lives due to excessive or long term anti-biotic use or some other upset event such as giardia, parasites, dysentery drinking river water, etc. As long as you can find a healthy donor with no food allergies or sensitivities and they're willing to give you their fresh poo then you're good to go.
Some would say IBS can be boiled down to the presence of bacteria in the small intestine sufficient enough to produce noticeable gas and thus the patient reports symptoms. Therefore adding more bacteria to the small intestine is not going to help. However, adding a proper bacterial fingerprint to the large intestine without going through the small intestine seems more logical.
Does it work? It cures C diff., it makes many folks feel better but at this point I am not able to write that it is curative for the average IBS patient. The purpose here is to be helpful so PLEASE, by all means prove me wrong and point me in the direction of success stories where someone was lactose intolerant or gluten intolerant and then went through with an FMT and later was able to eat dairy and wheat without a problem. Or someone who had incurable diarrhea and after an FMT was cured. I'm all ears. Again, I've heard many stories about FMT making people feel better for even a few months but symptoms and issues seem to return. I've made it a point to focus this blog on CURATIVE means and methods and have tried to specifically stray from mere recommendations for feeling better or minor relief from symptoms.
Once again I have no interest in position taking so I'm all ears if a reader can point me to reports that FMT has been curative in anything other than C. diff cases or other harsh infectious cases. IBS is considered by many to be a non-pathogenic bacterial imbalance and/or overgrowth especially involving the small intestine which in healthy folks is mostly free of any type of bacterial presence in any appreciable amount.
However, I went through with an FMT and I will most likely try it again after I've done a few more months of liver flushing. The most comprehensive summary can be found here. Again we find a fairly intense protocol that is quite cheap! A $15 blender, a $5 enema bag, some water, some salt and a healthy donor's fresh poo (free).
Instructions are simple:
- Have your donor lined up and on a whole foods, high fiber diet for two weeks before the planned FMT date. The goal is for the donor's poo schedule to be predictable and daily.
- Empty your gut: Miralax and Dulcolax the day before.
- Have your donor poo into plastic wrap over the toilet bowl.
- Harvest about 1/4 cup of poo and put it directly into your blender which should already be filled with about 250 mL of purified water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Blend for 30 seconds or until complete liquefied (any chunks will clog the enema bag).
- Cinch the tubing with the plastic piece so the poo does just start flowing out of the line then pour into the enema bag, squeeze air out of enema bag and hang bag on towel rack a few feet higher than the floor.
- Lay on the floor slightly on your left side and elevate your arse with a pillow. Take a deep breath, relax.
- Insert the lubricated enema bag tip into your rectum.
- Un-cinch the tubing and allow the poo to flow into your arse.
- Take it slow and cinch the tube to slow things down if things seem to be progressing too fast.
- Move onto your front side after 5 mintues of holding all the poo on your left side.
- Move onto your right side after 5 minutes of being on your front.
- Get to a toilet after 15 mintues (if you can last that long) and let loose. You may have to go a few times over the next hour or so.
Now you've done the grossest thing you've (probably) ever done! It might take a week or even months for you to feel "normal" again but the idea is that now you've given yourself a healthy, balanced bacterial fingerprint that will hopefully thrive in your colon and create a healthier environment and increase the functioning of what your colon is supposed to be doing for you.
MY ONE CAUTION is that to your body you have just completely swapped out your bacterial fingerprint that you've developed since birth and that is a BIG DEAL. Not many folks have reported many issues with FMT, however I would recommend eating a completely HYPOallergenic diet for a few weeks to a few months after performing an FMT to allow your body to adjust to this new bacterial balance. Some say immediately go high fiber after FMT but I would add just go easy on the allergens. I immediately noticed I was very sensitive to the same foods children are sensitive to: eggs, soy, etc. And I'm not talking "intolerance," I'm talking "allergy" just like children can have: all-out histamine reaction that can land you in the hospital.
MY ONE CAUTION is that to your body you have just completely swapped out your bacterial fingerprint that you've developed since birth and that is a BIG DEAL. Not many folks have reported many issues with FMT, however I would recommend eating a completely HYPOallergenic diet for a few weeks to a few months after performing an FMT to allow your body to adjust to this new bacterial balance. Some say immediately go high fiber after FMT but I would add just go easy on the allergens. I immediately noticed I was very sensitive to the same foods children are sensitive to: eggs, soy, etc. And I'm not talking "intolerance," I'm talking "allergy" just like children can have: all-out histamine reaction that can land you in the hospital.
Also, if you've done an FMT and have anything to report, please comment below. I'd love to hear more about this since it seems to be gaining popularity. I've done it myself but I can't say that it made a huge difference and I'd love to be proven wrong.
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