# SIBO/IBS Treatment with FMT



## SIBOKid20 (Aug 8, 2015)

Hello Everyone,

I am currently halfway done getting FMT implants to treat SIBO/IBS. I have noticed the lack of data on using FMT to treat SIBO, so I am hoping (like a madman) that I have some good news to share with you all by the end of this. I'm sure you all know what having these kinds of symptoms daily is like, but I'll give a little background just in case.

I got sick three years ago with what I thought was a stomach bug, but it never went away. This was also three months after having taken two rounds of antibiotics, and right around the time panic attacks started creeping into my life. Basically, I went from having the best year of my life to having the worst three, and here I am, hopefully towards the end of it. My specific symptoms are methane dominant SIBO as indicated by lactulose breath test, and that means constipation. I also have the typical bloating after every meal, get full easily, often tired, mood swings from anxious to sad to who knows what all throughout the course of the day, all of which can be contributed to dysbiosis thanks to some new research (reading Brain Maker by Dr. Perlmutter highlighted these facts that I could already feel but didn't fully realize). My diet is limited to small amounts of chicken, plain white rice, and coconut oil. Anything else, especially anything with even a little fiber, ramps up the symptoms much worse than what I mentioned above. There is obviously much more to the story, and feel free to ask anything you want as I am here to help in any way, but I would rather focus more on the treatment at this point.

Anyway, after dealing with diet, mood, and acute physical symptoms for three years without answers, and with my golden years (this started my senior year of high school) becoming some of the worst of my life, I became a research fanatic and tried almost everything. Now that I have exhausted many things, I feel that FMT is one of the few things left to try that may help with my condition. I am at a clinic in England getting a 10 day course of FMT implants, and I am currently done with the first 5, and will be starting the sixth tomorrow. The first five days were extremely rough on me; I could barely get out of bed and my bloating and gas were worse than ever. These are typical symptoms for people undergoing FMT and they should subside a couple days after the treatment, however I still have five more (yay me ) I am going to do my best to keep you updated with how things are going for the next week of treatment and give at least weekly updates after that. IMPORTANT NOTE: Many people see testimonials that FMT can cure your illness after one treatment, or in a day or a couple of days. This is absolutely true and wonderful, but most cases do not work like that. Most people will have to be patient and enduring, and must do their best to stay positive. It's a bumpy road, but we can get through this. And for any of you with SIBO hoping that FMT will help: it definitely can, but it will take about 2-3 months. I don't know why this is, my hypothesis is that it takes that amount of time for the good bacteria to overrun the bad out of your small intestine and heal up the gut, but who knows. I don't expect to feel much better until November, and that is if this even works. I have faith, but honestly that doesn't make it any easier.

I was hoping to write my first post here after being successfully healed, but now I realize that discussing the process as well as the outcome as everything comes along may be the better idea. I just wanted to inform people what FMT can do for a person with SIBO, for a person who unfortunately didn't heal overnight, and for anyone suffering like I am wishing there was something they could do, if FMT is really worth it. Most people are doing DIY transplants, and I would be too if not for an amazing (like incredible unbelievably amazing) family and support system. Due to this, I also wanted to tell people about how professional FMT implants would affect a person so they have something to compare to.

Again, I have been suffering for years and know quite a bit about trying different methods and about the whole SIBO/IBS effect on one's life, or youth in my case, and I want to be able to answer any questions or help in any way I can, so ask away. Here's to hoping that we can finally get our lives back


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

Thank you for sending your message now. It is much more useful this way.


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## awaitressnolonger (Sep 15, 2015)

SIBOKid20 said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> I am currently halfway done getting FMT implants to treat SIBO/IBS. I have noticed the lack of data on using FMT to treat SIBO, so I am hoping (like a madman) that I have some good news to share with you all by the end of this. I'm sure you all know what having these kinds of symptoms daily is like, but I'll give a little background just in case.
> 
> ...


Any new developments?


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## SIBOKid20 (Aug 8, 2015)

UPDATE:

Sorry everyone, the past 6 weeks or so have been quite the journey. Anywho, the remainder of my treatments felt the same except for the last two, which I was able to keep in much longer. I attribute this to constipation however, seeing as I was eating more fat at the time. As the weeks went by I dealt with constipation still, going up to a week without a bowel movement. What I noticed was once I decreased the laxatives, I felt better and went more regular. It has now been about 6-7 weeks after the FMT, and there are two things I've noticed: I can have formed stools at times, and my mood is better. I feel less stressed and have more positivity, like I used to. The problem is that my digestion is the worst it's ever been, I cannot eat any fat without having steatorrhea and if I have too much of any food I will not digest it well. I have lost 20lbs from my already lean physique due to this and the digestive symptoms it causes. ONE THING that really helps is pancreatic digestive enzymes. They give me loose stool and cramping, but that is a blessing compared to the severe bloating, constipation, and gas eating anything other than chicken that I get without using them. No other supplement has been as effective as pancreatic enzymes for my digestive health.

As for right now I am in the middle of college, going for medicine, and that combined with trying to figure out my symptoms is why I haven't replied before now! I revently had an endoscopy with only mild inflammation to the stomach, but biopsies were taken of my stomach and duodenun anyway. I also had some blood work done and another (4th) stool test done to check my pancreas. I will let you know if anything conclusive comes back from these results, indicating that maybe something other than SIBO, or caused by SIBO, is at work.

As for the FMT, I would recommend it to anyone who has gut issues. It may not be the quick fix people make it out to be, but it can be helpful in the long run by replacing your gut flora with ones that will stay and repopulate your gut for the better. It may not heal your symptoms, but it could make them easier to deal with, and then you know the problem is something other than flora!


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

Thanks for updating. Take care of yourself.


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## DeterminedToGetBetter (Feb 1, 2014)

I have never head of FMT being used for SIBO. I thought the idea of SIBO was that you had to get rid of the small bacteria in the small intestine? Did you do some form of antibiotic treatment for that? Any use?

I got a positive hydrogen lactulose breath test, but I don't think the herbal anti-bac treatment I got worked (I still get bloated when I eat fodmaps).

I will have to work out what to do next.

Good luck to you.


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