# Does anyone have expierience with fecal transfusion



## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi All,I am a newbie on this forum.I have been sick for 8 months now. Started with a collapse (septicaemia??) in December 2005 when I went from 100% well to ill in 0.4secs. I was taken to hospital where I spent the next 3 days being treated with broad spectrum anti-biotics. Whilst in hosptial and for the 3 weeks following my release I suffered from diarrhea the likes of which I didn't know was possible - porridge consistancy with mucus and a little blood.After leaving hospital my GP tested my stool and gave me another dose of anti-biotics. My stools were positive for the parasite blastocystis hominis which my GP did not treat.Three weeks after leaving hospital my diarrhea cleared up. Five weeks after leaving hosptial the stomach pain and bloating begun. I went back to my GP who diagnosed a stomach ulcer based on my symptoms and promptly gave me another round of anti-biotics, which did not help. I was then scoped top and bottom and nothing was found (including no ulcer!)By now it was April 3 mths after the initial incident and the brain fog and dizziness started. I begun researching on the internet as I no longer trusted my doctors and as a result made contact with Jackie Delanie of badbugs.org. I obtained the meds for a Blasto infection and took them.Since taking the meds my symptoms of bloating and stomach pain has reduced (not gone) but the dizziness, brain fog and tiredness remain.I am now a patient of Dr Tom Borody. I had an appointment with him last Thursday and even though my latest round of stool tests are negative for everything (including parasites) Dr Borody beleives it likely that I am an inbalance of bad bacteria - probabaly something in the Clostridium family. Dr Borody has proposed a 10 day course of anti-biotics followed by a 10 day program of fecal transfusion. I am booked to have this procedure at his clinic in September.Does anybody have any expirience with this procedure, or perhaps any other sugestions.Thanks,Alex


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

Thank god you are in good hand.There is no treatment for IBS,take the HPI and pray that it works.Some people with infflammatory bowel disease has reported to be cured by this.


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Hi Alex I have sent you a Private messageGilly


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## 20786 (Aug 2, 2006)

What is HPI?


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## Talissa (Apr 10, 2004)

Hey Alex,Last year, I read of some peeps experience w/ it on this bb~~http://www.cdiffsupport.com/phpBB/viewforu...659e8ac38f55365


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## Pete (Jan 20, 2000)

Does any doc in the US do this or is Dr. Borody in Australia the only one?


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Talissa, I checked the C.Diff board. It has some excellent success stories, thanks. I'm looking forward to my treatment in September.Pete, I think Dr. Borody will work with OS patients. I suggest you contact him and see what can be worked out:http://www.cdd.com.au/index.html


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi All,I contacted Dr. Borody's clinc today to speak with the head nurse Sharyn about my treatment. One possibility we discussed was having a tube inserted into my nose and down into my small intestine. During the 10 days of treatment this tube would be used to deliver the donor poo into my small intestine. In addition on day 1 I will have a colonoscopy to distribute the donor poo all through my colon and days 2-9 I will have daily donor poo enemas. This according to Sharyn is the most complete form of fecal transfusion.The nasal delivery tube is optional and obviously not going to be very comfortable, especially having it for 10 days. It does seem to make some sense however - delivering the donor poo to where the pathogens are.Any suggestions?


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

That's makes sense.If you are cured,Dr.Borody is a genius.I have been thinking of HPI for a while but since the clinic is so far away it's not simple.


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Good luck Alex!Please let us no how the treatment goes.Gilly


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Thanks Gilly, I will certainly let u know how it goes. I have already started the antibiotics in preperation for the transfusion next week.


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## 14787 (Oct 25, 2005)

Alex,Good Luck with the HPI, please do repost as soon as you can with results. Thank God for Dr. Borody! We now have hope. My Son has UC and had his colon removed in '98, but the j-pouch has had chronic pouchitis ever since.Can you Please Please Please ask Dr. Borody if doing this procedure for a person with J-Pouch due to UC is advisable, and would he do it at his clinic ?Ted Kyletkyle###earthlink.net


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

> quote:Originally posted by Alex T:Thanks Gilly, I will certainly let u know how it goes. I have already started the antibiotics in preperation for the transfusion next week.


Alex,I hope you get great results with your treatment. You mentioned a 10-day course of antibiotics prior to the transfusion. What are the antibiotics prescribed and what is the dose?


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## Pete (Jan 20, 2000)

I happen to know it is rifaximin


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Pete Rifaximin isnt available here so Dr Borody prescribes rifampicin.Gilly


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## 14787 (Oct 25, 2005)

if you want to read the instructions for Home Infusion download them here, http://nexusofsteve.com/News/hpi/


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi All,I have completed my 2 weeks of treatment. During those 2 weeks I felt VERY ill, the treatment was certainly causing a reaction within my body. During this time I found it very difficult to remain postive.This is not an overnight cure, but I am now starting to feel a little better and I have noticed a minor reduction in some of my symptoms. I expect it will be some time yet before I am 100% well, but I am am feeling quite hopefull now.In regares to the antibiotic I did take rifampicin.Ted, I am sorry, I did not see your post prior to seeing doctor Borody so cannot answer your question. I suggest however that you call the clinic and ask to speak with the head nurse Sharyn (she is in charge of the HPI section of the clinic). I dare say that she will be able to answer your question.So if you have any questions please ask. I'll keep you updated with my progress.Just on the subject of C.Difficle infection - Sharyn adavised that they have 100% cure rate using the HPI protocol at their clinic.Regards,Alex


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

Did you took the "gastric pipe"?Wishing all the best for you.


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

I was not able to tolorate the nasal tube, so had it remove shortly after it was inserted.


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

The thing is too never give up because there is hope if you find a treatment that works.You're brave Alex.I hope you will feel cured soon.


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Hi Alex Thats great that its over and I really hope you feel much better soon.Did the clinic suggest any reason that you felt so ill? I guess just all the upheaval going on? Thanks for posting back,you really have( as Spasman said) been brave going through it all.good luck Gilly


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi All,During the treatment I felt terrible, especially on the second week. All of my symptoms increased especially my brain fog, bloating and stomach pain. I was also feeling very sick and having panic attacks. Now however I am strating to feel better (in fact I have been back on my bicycle for the last 3 days).Sharyn (the nurse from CDD) advised it was quite common to feel worse during the treatment as the new bacteria and the old are in conflict, this results in more toxins being relased into your body







I'm certainly not brave, just desperate







. The daily enemas r not too taxing, its no were near an invasive as having an operation and compared to the daily trials of this illness it's nothing.Anyway if u r interested I'll keep reporting in on my progress. I feel quite optimistic now.


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

Yes please let us know man!


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi All,It's now 1 week post treatment. I have had a mixed week. At times I have felt quite well I have been riding my bicycle again going to the beach and generally living a bit of my life. At other times though I have felt quite unwell - stomach pain, bloating, brain fog (I hate the brain fog) and just a feeling of being unwell.As I said this is not an overnight cure, I expect this will take a couple of months maybe longer. So for the moment I will work with what I've got.Alex


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Hi Alex Hope youre continuing to feel better.Did you start immediately eating the high fibre diet they recommend? That would also take a bit of getting used to after years of avoiding fibre due to d. Good luck Gilly


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi Gilly,D hasn't been a real issue for me since early this year. I still sufferred from episodes of D maybe once per week b4 my treatment, but that was all. Since the treatment (for 2 weeks now) I haven't had D at all - so perhaps that's cured?Anyway week 2 has had it's ups and downs. I continue to suffer from brain fog, hot and cold sweats, stomach pain, minor bloating, minor panic attacks, depression, dizzyiness when standing, white tongue etc. The strength of these symptoms various from hour to hour.This Monday I return to work after 4 weeks absence, I'm not ready so that is going to be difficult. But as I said I don't expect to be better any time soon so I guess I have no choice. Perhaps it turn out to be a blessing to be forced to do something else for a while.I'm also trying to keep my diet as natural as possible avoiding dairy, wheat and processed foods. I am trying to eat organic (although the cost is very high) and eat many vegtables raw.Regards,Alex


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

We will find our way out of this.Hopefully in a near future.


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Hi alex,How did your return to work go?hope you are continuing to improve.Gilly


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi Gilly,I have extended my sick leave by another 4 weeks, becuase I was (am) just not ready to return to work yet.Things r still slowly improving. I still have not had D since the treatment and the brainfog is slowly reducing. I continue to have good and bad days.My GP has got be started on antidepressents, I was always against these but my anxiety and depression are really becoming a problem.I have also now recruited a biochemist. She has a lot of expirience treating these conditions. She has arranged testing for food sensitivities and liver funtion testing.I WILL beat this!


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Its still early days.Easy to say be patient but it will probably still take more time for your gut to settle down.Anyway no d. is a good start.good luck Gilly


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## gilly (Feb 5, 2001)

Hi alex Hope youre feeling OK and improving still?Good luck Gilly


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi Gilly,I am slowly improving. I still have a way to go, but things r looking up.I am curently working with a biochemist. I have had a food sensitivity test done and a liver function test. I was found to have sensitivities to most grains, diary, eggs and some beans and 1 of my phase II liver detox pathways was not functioning within range (not even close). This means I am probaly sufferring from heavy metal poisioning as well. My biochemist and drawn up a plan for my diet and the supps that I need, I report to her daily. i also avoid chemicals etc.This path back to health is so long, but I'm certianly not going to stop until I get there. My aim is to be back to wellness and fitness to complete the 250km around the bay in a day bike ride next October.


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## 17900 (Apr 28, 2007)

Hi Alex, How are you doing. I'm new to this and wanted to see how things going with you. I'm hoping that there a hope for the cure with your efforts.


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## 13429 (Apr 30, 2007)

Hi Alex, Yes, how are you doing now? you were very lucky to be able to go to Australia. Wow. I am very interested in the treatment and in talking to you, if you see this can you please email me. Thanks, hope you are doing well


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## 23173 (Aug 6, 2006)

Hi,Many things have happened since I had the fecal transfusion performed. After the transfusion I felt no better. As I stated in an earlier post I begun working with a biochemist. A blood test revealed that I had a strong IgG response to dairy and to a lesser extent Wheat and Soy. So I have eliminated these foods from my diet - this helped. A couple of months after the fecal transfusion unhappy with my progress we decided to get a stool test done by a lab in Melbourne which investigated bot the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The results were very bad:94% of my aerobic bacteria was Strep of which 59% was type A Haemolytic Strep and 16% of my anerobes were Clostridium - clear evdidence that for me the Fecal Transfusion had been a complete waste of time - or perhaps even made the problem worse. So I took another course of antibiotics.I have notice that I am sensitive to chemicals, so I have eliminated as far as practical all chemicals from my life. Including all processed foods. I also take a number of supplement to support my liver and other body functions which need a little help.I am certainly a lot better now than I was 6 months ago. I am back to working full time, although I work from home. But I still have some way to go to get back to what I was.Looking back now I would NOT recommend the fecal transfusion, you do not know what is being put into ur body. Everybody has a balance of good and bad bacteria. When the donor poo was transplanted into me it might just have been the bad bacteria from the donor that prospered in me and not the good bacteria.Alex


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

Well this sucks!I want to say that you are very courageous to have been to this experimental treatment.I would have done the same thing if i was in Australia.Infusion are really effective for c-difficile infection but less with IBS.I don't want to contradict what you think of the situation but maybe it's the antibiotics you took prior to the infusion that makes things worst in the end.Antibiotics are known to cause bowel disturbances and some people get more IBS type of symptoms with them.I suspect Rifaximin or Erythromycin to have makes my sigmoid colon worst since last year when i took them.My sigmoid colon has more difficulties to evacuate gas and get really bloated.Basically like a snake who eat a mouse,you can see the distention where the mouse is.Slowly i try to cope with this worsening of symptoms but it's difficult.When the gas leave the pressurized sigmoid i often get false diarrhea.I have had these symptoms for a while but as i said it is definitly worst since i took these antibiotics.The sigmoid exacerbation happen almost every day and make the daily jod outsidethe home hard to keep.Hopefully in the near future,a new treatment will help us to cure and NOT make us worst!


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## 13429 (Apr 30, 2007)

Hi Alex !Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate it. I am going to be doing the infusions for c.difficile. I'm sorry to hear they did not help you. I wish there was more research on this topic. Interesting info about the bacteria. Im in the US and clearly the Aussie doctors are far better than the GI's we have here. Did Dr. Borody help you with this after the infusions, or is that all they do there? I am willing to travel to Australia if I have to. Not sure if they are taking new patients, and if it's worth it because you can do the infusions at home by yourself right? Ok, thanks, all of you thanks!


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

river,i don't know if it could help but here one link:http://www.fecaltransfusionfoundation.org/


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

I have read this thread with much interest and concern for what everyone's been through.My doctor wants me to start a course of Rifaximin, and I am most concerned that:1) this isn't necessary, and that2) it's going to make things worse.I'm having a flareup of all the IBS sysmptoms from constipation quickly going to diarhhea.Currently working with doctor to treat it with diet, bentyl, glycolax when needed, etc.But, I am MOST hesitate to start on course of antibiotics.I had a lab test for a stool sample. I haven't gotten the results back yet, but my doctor wants me to take the Rifaximin regardless.Should I do this? Signed don't know what I should do here,Evelyn


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

SeekingHope&InfoFor what reason did your doctor give you for wanting you to take Rifaximin?Did he mention SIBO? Or is it for another reason. If its for sibo, I would be tested for it first personally.Just fyi on bacteria in IBS in general.FYITreatment for Bacterial Overgrowth in the Irritable Bowel Syndrome http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/145/8/626also"Gut Bacteria and Irritable Bowel Syndrome By: Eamonn, M. M. Quigley M.D., Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, IrelandBacteria are present in the normal gut (intestines) and in large numbers the lower parts of the intestine. These "normal" bacteria have important functions in life. A variety of factors may disturb the mutually beneficial relationship between the flora and its host, and disease may result. The possibility that gut bacteria could have a role in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may surprise some; there is indeed, now quite substantial evidence to support the idea that disturbances in the bacteria that populate the intestine may have a role in at least some patients with IBS. This article presents a discussion of the possible role of bacteria in IBS and various treatment approaches."Do bacteria play a role in IBS?The possibility that gut bacteria could have a role Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) may surprize some; there is indeed, now quite substantial evidence to support the idea that distrubances in the bacteria that populate the intestines may have a role in at least some patients with IBS. What is this evidence? It can be summarized as follows:1. surveys which found that antibiotic use, well known to distrub flora, may predispose individuals to IBS.2. The observation that some individuals may develop IBS suddenly, and for the first time, following an episode of stomach or intestinal infection (gatroenteritis) caused by a bacterial infection.3. recent evidence that a very low level of inflammation may be present in the bowel wall of some IBS patients, a degree of inflammation that could well have resulted from abnormal interactions with bacteria in the gut.4. The Suggestion that IBS maybe Associated with the abnormal presents, , in the small intestines, of types and numbers; a condition termed small bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)>5. Accumaliting evidence to indicate that altering the bacteria in the gut, by antibiotics or probiotics, may improve symptoms in IBS.For some time, various studies have suggested the presence of changes in the kind of colonic flora in IBS patients. The most consistent finding is a relative decrease in the population of one species of 'good' bacteria, bifidobacteria.However, the methods employed in these studies have been subject to question and other studies have not always reproduced these finding. Nevertheless, these changes in the flora, maybe primary or secondary, could lead to the increase of bacterial species that produce more gas and other products of their metabolism. These could CONTRIBUTE to symptoms such as gas, bloating and diarrhea.""We still don't know the exact role bacteria has in IBS. More research is needed."http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/currentParticipate.htmlThere are problems seen in IBS that are not related to bacteria. At this time IBS is NOT a bacterial infection.


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