I did a fecal transplant - results

[dyllanmurphy]

FYI: I don't have CFS. I have some sort of autoimmune/inflammatory connective tissue-like disorder (undiagnosed/no objective clinical basis) with many overlapping symptoms, like muscle weakness, weak joints, paper like skin w/ slow healing, pallor, heart palpitations, trouble sleeping, brain fog, exercise-induced stupor basically (probably caused by some kind of hyperammonemia) etc. etc. No fatigue.

I wanted to see if there was a chance my symptoms were due to taking antibiotics that put me into some sort of long-term malabsorption or immune dysregulation or some other system dysfunction associated with dysbiosis.

The process: hardest part is finding the donor by far. Some people just have an aversion about the idea that's hard to shake. The actual process was quick and easy. Ran it through a blender, strained, added lukewarm water, put it into an enema bottle, sat on my back for 30 minutes while it percolated and swished around.

Got some mega gas for a couple days. Directly after I felt this kind of fuzzy calm/happiness that lasted for a couple hours.

The final perspective a few weeks later: mood swings lessened, I feel less irritable, my head doesn't feel "on fire" anymore, less food sensitivity (the day after having some sugar prior to this I'd feel spaced out, depressed, angry, pressure in head), brain fog reduced somewhat.

I feel like if I repeated the procedure (some people do it 10+ times), the fog would improve more, but wouldn't go away completely.

The other musculoskeletal and systemic symptoms did not improve.

I'd recommend this to people who started having issues after taking some antibiotics or anti-microbials. Those medicines can wipe out critical "good bacteria" in the gut, which can lead to all sorts of issues. Some people used FMT to cure their CFS completely. Based on my experience, it's not a cure-all but if the original "cause"/problem originated in the gut, the FMT is an important thing to try.

 

[Learner1]

@dyllanmurphy Thank you for sharing your story. Hope you don't mind some questions:

1. How many times did you do this?

2. How long ago? Has anything changes over time?

3. Huw did you find a donor? How old was he/she? And how did you screen the donor?

4. What country are you in?

5. What type of diet did the donor have?

Thank you. I know people who are interested in doing this, but have had trouble finding donors who didn't have microbiome issues themselves.

 

[Bansaw]

I'd like to know how you found a donor too.
My doctor advised me doing this by myself at home because some people have perforated (injured) themselves in that area. But she is thinking of starting her own FMT procedures, so don't know if she was just trying to get me to go with her method or not.

I'd always thought of selecting a donor on, of course, their health level and vitality, but also their genetic background. I.e. I'm Celtic/European origin, I wonder if it makes sense to find similar donor. Or, does it not matter... Just thinking out loud.

 

[dyllanmurphy]

@dyllanmurphy Thank you for sharing your story. Hope you don't mind some questions:

1. How many times did you do this?

2. How long ago? Has anything changes over time?

3. Huw did you find a donor? How old was he/she? And how did you screen the donor?

4. What country are you in?

5. What type of diet did the donor have?

Thank you. I know people who are interested in doing this, but have had trouble finding donors who didn't have microbiome issues themselves.

1. Once. I feel like I need to get back on some real treatment first, but I'll get back to fecal transplants at the end of the treatment.

2. I got it done about 3 weeks ago. The changes I mentioned have pretty much lasted.

3. I don't want to reveal any details about my donor, but I'll talk about some principles: similar age (or younger) is probably better, same gender is probably better, but both of these aren't dealbreakers. Great health of the donor is the primary prerequisite.

You can find guidelines for what to screen the person for online. I'll just point out that under certain conditions, you can forego some/all of the screening. If you know the person well and know they're very low risk, or they're a close family member, etc.

4. US.

5. Don't really know too many details other than the person is of good health.

 

[dyllanmurphy]

I'd like to know how you found a donor too.
My doctor advised me doing this by myself at home because some people have perforated (injured) themselves in that area. But she is thinking of starting her own FMT procedures, so don't know if she was just trying to get me to go with her method or not.

I'd always thought of selecting a donor on, of course, their health level and vitality, but also their genetic background. I.e. I'm Celtic/European origin, I wonder if it makes sense to find similar donor. Or, does it not matter... Just thinking out loud.

Finding a donor is an extremely personal thing, if you're looking in your social circle. It's hard to think about who would be down to help and not get embarrassed. Once you find someone and they're cool with it, that's the hardest part.

I used an enema bottle. Those are over the counter, and don't require medical supervision when used for that purpose, so I don't see why it'd be needed for this purpose. It just goes in 1 or 2 inches, and it's pretty narrow. Just be gentle and careful and you'll be ok.

Genetic origin does not matter, I'm guessing.

 

[Daffodil]

anyone thinking of doing this, please join the FB FMT groups. lots of info.

 

[Daffodil]

I'd like to know how you found a donor too.
My doctor advised me doing this by myself at home because some people have perforated (injured) themselves in that area. But she is thinking of starting her own FMT procedures, so don't know if she was just trying to get me to go with her method or not.

I'd always thought of selecting a donor on, of course, their health level and vitality, but also their genetic background. I.e. I'm Celtic/European origin, I wonder if it makes sense to find similar donor. Or, does it not matter... Just thinking out loud.

May I ask who your doc is and if she allows long distance consults? i am looking for someone who knows about FMT....

thank you!