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Think of it, in the words of Science News, as the "Brown Cross." OpenBiome, started by grad students, has the distinction of being the nation's first stool sample bank, and its creators make a convincing case that it's long overdue. Consider that about 14,000 Americans die each year from a gastrointestinal infection known as Clostridium difficile.
Your gut normally has enough bacteria to fight the c.diff bacteria and keep it from growing. Using antibiotics not only gets rid of bad bacteria but it also gets rid of the good. C.diff bacteria can only be killed with certain antibiotics so when you wipe out all that good and bad bacteria, the c.diff basically has free rein and grows. In mild cases, just stopping whatever antibiotic it is that caused it may help along with a probiotic. In other cases, the antibiotic flagyl is first prescribed but if it doesn't work, vanco is then tried. My husband got c.diff twice. In both cases, he was able to get rid of it in the first round with a 2 week program of flagyl 4x a day and a good probiotic. Some people aren't so lucky and fight it for months. Re-occurrences happen in about 20% of people and that chance increases each additional time you have it.
The disease itself and the antibiotics to treat it are harsh. First time my husband had it, he lost 20 pounds in one month because he was just so sick and tired all the time. The infection was severe and he had to be hospitalized for a week so he could have IV antibiotics. A fecal transplant is basically a last resort. (Thank goodness he never needed that!) The feces contains the needed good bacteria to help control the c.diff and fight it. Now this is something that many would say just sounds disgusting and they could never imagine doing. Deal with c.diff long enough and how horrible you will feel and you just might reconsider! Imagine having absolutely no energy. In severe cases, extremely watery diarrhea 10+ times a day. You are so tired and nauseous that you can't eat. Your day consists of sleeping and hoping you make it to the toilet in time but often don't. You have no life except for those 2 things. I think after months of dealing with that, a person might want that fecal transplant. I'm glad that someone thought to make a feces bank as I imagine it would be quite embarrassing asking friends/family to donate their poop!
Billy_J- Part of the problem with probiotics is that not everyone is told about them. I only found out through my own research online. The infectious disease doc never mentioned them. Yogurt does contain probiotics but I chose pills for my husband. When looking at them at the drug store, there are many to choose from. The key is to pick the one with the highest amount of good bacteria in it. I stood there and compared all labels and it was actually the drug store brand that had the highest amount. Used it both times and worked like a charm. My husband is a dialysis patient and someone else at the center got c.diff while in the hospital. Nurse at dialysis asked which probiotic we used and then recommended the other patient try it. Worked for him too. (If anyone is curious, Walgreens Super Probiotic. One pill a day.) Anytime a person takes any antibiotics, a good probiotic, whether it be yogurt or a pill, should be included to help keep your system balanced.
My mother just had this procedure today. Hopefully, it works.
C. Diff is one nasty bug. Both parents have had it for months. My father got it after an appendix surgery which was preceded and followed by massive doses of antibiotics. And whether or not she picked it up from him or just being in the hospital who knows. They treated him with flagyl and it seemed ok but then it came back a few days later.
Two rounds of vanco fixed it for him so far. But, when she came off the second round she was very ill. They put her back on the vanco and started testing family members. Dad ruled out since he had C. Diff; sister who was around them tested positive and ruled out even though she has no symptoms; other sister ruled out due to having antibiotics within the last three months. That left me and grandchildren. Due to logistics and assuming I might test positive as well having been around them and that possibly the grandkids would be healthier one of them volunteered.
My mom was having none of the stranger donations lol. Although, Im sure if we exhausted myself and the other grand kids we would have gone that route because she was at the end of her rope and cant take the vanco forever. She was always on probiotics and doing yogurt. None of that helped.
Hopefully this will. In the meantime, it's fodder for lots of humor that keeps her laughing.
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