Importance Of A Healthy Gut
The microbiota, or flora, inside your intestines is essential for keeping out carcinogens and toxins, promoting healthy digestion and absorption of nutrients, and supporting our immune system which acts as protection from a plethora of viruses and bacteria, as well as auto-immune diseases. It is recently believed that 70% of our entire immune system resides inside the gut biome. What a critical function it is!
Antibiotics, as we all know, are wonderful in killing harmful bacteria. Inadvertently, many antibiotics also kill the good bacteria in our gut, leaving room for more harmful bacteria, like c-diff to multiply.
By the time you have a c-diff infection, the entire gut biome is out of balance and unable to regain itself. Typical treatment for c-diff consist of taking even more antibiotics. In healthy stool, there are estimated to be 100 trillion strains of essential gut bacteria. Probiotics are a helpful way of regaining some good flora and can be consumed in many ways: pills, fermented foods, raw cheeses, but many times the body simply isn’t able to regain itself through the damaging cycle of recurrences. Recurrences are becoming more common, and with each one it makes c-diff harder to kill and another recurrence more likely. The best way to regain a natural, healthy and balanced gut biome is by getting FMT.
FMT And How It Works
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is a recently FDA approved treatment for recurrent c-diff infections. If you’ve ever had a colonoscopy, you’ll know exactly what to expect!
To begin, if your doctor doesn’t provide donor stool, you will need to find your own. Tests will then be run on the donor’s stool for pathogens like HIV, syphillis and other infections but most places will let you run these tests locally. FMTs are generally administered via colonoscopy, so you will undergo a colonoscopy prep. The healthy, life-giving stool is then placed inside your colon during the colonoscopy procedure, which will slowly populate your intestines with good bacteria, pushing out c-diff.
You don’t even see the poop. It’s that easy.
The average cure rate for FMT is over 90%. If another treatment is needed, the average cure rate is 98%!
Post FMT And My New Approach To Antibiotic Use
Depending on the severity of your c-diff infection, healing time post FMT will vary. Some feel immediate relief, while others see improvement over time. With my own story, I had so many recurrences that I was developing Crohn’s disease so my recovery took several months. Others, like my daughter, improve more quickly.
Avoiding antibiotics is recommended, but not always possible. In my case, 5 years post FMT I have not taken antibiotics, and neither has my daughter, 2 years post FMT.
If you do become sick, give your body a chance to fight before taking antibiotics.
- A fever isn’t a bad thing. Fevers raise your body’s temperature which makes certain harmful mircobes unable to reproduce. It also increases your immune system defense.
- Your body is designed to ‘remember’ each pathogen (virus, bacteria) it encounters. If your body fights it off without antibiotics, your immune system will have a higher defense to the same pathogen later.
I am not against antibiotics, or treating a high fever. But as a culture, our first defense is to take fever-reducing medication and head straight to the doctor for antibiotics. Because of my c-diff history, the doctors took the wait-and-see approach. I can recall several times that I was able to fight off sinus infections, UTIs and sore throats without any antibiotic treatment.
Sweden takes a wise and conservative approach in treating patients with antibiotics. They also have the lowest rate of antibiotic resistance. Their population struggle with the same ailments as we do, however many times are able to fight off infection without antibiotics.
Traditional C-Diff Antibiotic Therapy VS FMT Risks
Below, please find a list of risks and side effects from the most commonly used antibiotics for c-diff treatment, versus FMT risks and side effects.
Vancomycin Risks/Side Effects:
More common
- Bladder pain
- bloating or swelling of the face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet
- bloody or cloudy urine
- convulsions
- decreased urine
- difficult, burning, or painful urination
- dry mouth
- fever
- frequent urge to urinate
- increased thirst
- irregular heartbeat
- loss of appetite
- lower back or side pain
- mood changes
- muscle pain or cramps
- nausea or vomiting
- numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or lips
- rapid weight gain
- shortness of breath
- unusual tiredness or weakness
- unusual weight gain or loss
Less common
- Change in the frequency of urination or amount of urine
- difficulty with breathing
- drowsiness
- weakness
Rare
- Hives
- redness or other discoloration of the skin
- scaling or welting of the skin
- skin rash
Incidence not known
- Black, tarry stools
- bleeding gums
- blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
- blurred vision
- chills
- confusion
- continuing ringing or buzzing or other unexplained noise in the ears
- cough
- diarrhea
- difficulty with swallowing
- dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position
- fast heartbeat
- feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings
- feeling of fullness in the ears
- hearing loss
- itching
- joint or muscle pain
- loss of balance
- lower back or side pain
- pale skin
- pinpoint red spots on the skin
- puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
- red skin lesions, often with a purple center
- red, irritated eyes
- ringing or buzzing in the ears
- sensation of spinning
- sore throat
- sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips
- sweating
- tightness in the chest
- troubled breathing with exertion
- unusual bleeding or bruising
More common
- Agitation
- back pain
- blindness
- blurred vision
- burning, numbness, tingling, or painful sensations in the hands or feet
- changes in speech patterns
- confusion
- convulsions
- decreased vision
- depression
- dizziness
- drowsiness
- eye pain
- fever
- hallucinations
- headache
- irritability
- lack of coordination
- nausea
- seizures
- shakiness and unsteady walk
- slurred speech
- stiff neck or back
- trouble speaking
- unsteadiness, trembling, or other problems with muscle control or coordination
- unusual tiredness or weakness
- vomiting
- weakness in the arms, hands, legs, or feet
Less common
- Black, tarry stools
- blood in the urine or stools
- body aches or pain
- chills
- clumsiness or unsteadiness
- difficulty with breathing
- ear congestion
- feeling of pelvic pressure
- frequent or painful urination
- loss of voice
- nasal congestion
- pinpoint red spots on the skin
- runny nose
- skin rash, hives, redness, or itching
- sneezing
- stomach and back pain (severe)
- unusual bleeding or bruising
- vaginal irritation, discharge, or dryness not present before taking the medicine
Rare
- Bleeding gums
- bloating
- chest pain
- constipation
- cough
- dark-colored urine
- fast heartbeat
- indigestion
- loss of appetite
- painful or difficult urination
- pains in the stomach, side, or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back
- sore throat
- sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth
- swollen glands
- yellow eyes or skin
Incidence not known
- Blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
- bloody or cloudy urine
- burning while urinating
- continuing diarrhea
- continuing stomach pain
- diarrhea
- feeling of warmth
- increased volume of pale, dilute urine
- joint or muscle pain
- loss of bladder control
- red skin lesions, often with a purple center
- red, irritated eyes
- redness of the face, neck, arms, and occasionally, upper chest
- redness of the skin
Rare
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Belching
As you can see, the difference between FMT and conventional antibiotic treatment is staggering.
Injustice
I know first-hand how debilitating c-diff can be. Nobody should ever suffer the way my daughter and I did, and the way tens of thousands have before. Not only debilitating, it is deadly, killing around 29,000 people per year.
I am saddened, moved to tears that this disease has destroyed and ended so many lives. I’m appalled that a couple cases of the swine flu have our country shaking in fear, yet a growing, deadly superbug remains basically unknown. Why? Because it used to only affect the elderly in nursing homes? Aren’t they important, too? And now that it’s morphing to affect young healthy people, like myself and my two year old daughter, is it morally or medically ethical to allow us to die when there is a known cure?
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