FMT preparation beforehand? Colon cleanse, bowel prep, fasting. When dealing with an irregular donor. Procedure

[YepSerious]

I intend to conduct an FMT with my toddler's stool. I've been told I should have a totally empty colon, ideally doing something like a Miralax colonoscopy prep. Unfortunately, my toddler isn't regular. Sometimes he goes daily, sometimes once every three days. And the colonoscopy prep has some pretty precise timing.

I'm already underweight and have two young ones, so potentially fasting 2-3 days while I wait for him to poop isn't my first choice... Any ideas for other options? I could potentially give him some prunes (or Miralax) to help encourage a bowel movement (or would that disrupt the quality of his sample)? Or is there another method that might achieve similar results for me, but could happen faster? Advice welcome! Thanks very much for your time!

 

[Michael Harrop]

or would that disrupt the quality of his sample

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Most likely, yes.

The wiki has a section on FMT prep: https://humanmicrobiome.info/fmt/#before-the-procedure

I've done countless FMTs from 13+ donors and I don't do any prep since I haven't found it to be needed or useful.

 

[YepSerious]

Interesting. I recently did a consultation with Davide Patti, a microbiome researcher in Barcelona (see an outdated video of his here). He said he's worked with 50+ people to do them, and, at least at present, this is what he believes to be necessary for greatest effect. But I suppose it will be much easier (and I won't have much to lose) if I don't do the prep...

 

[IsthmusSIBO]

Interesting. I recently did a consultation with Davide Patti, a microbiome researcher in Barcelona (see an outdated video of his here). He said he's worked with 50+ people to do them, and, at least at present, this is what he believes to be necessary for greatest effect. But I suppose it will be much easier (and I won't have much to lose) if I don't do the prep...

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So, did it work?

 

[Mercad]

While i still haven't done an FMT (I will). I have quite a bit of experience with water enemas and retention enemas. If you dont want to "prep" before retention. Some tips... do the best you can in getting a good night sleep, which contributes to everything else next....having a quality bowel (naturally removing anything that needs to go). A solid bowel movement day of, will facilitate space for a retention enema. Do not eat anything heavy before the retention as it will create a sense of fullness, making it harder to hold.

Since the human body is a high percentage of water (nope not saying all water). Body needs to be hydrated to even remotely work correctly. Food for thought, paramedics en route to hospital will setup an IV with saline, for so many situations (basically they are hydrating the patient). Why? Because by simply hydrating the body, this stabilizes the patient (in just about any situation there in), allowing time to reach ER and address the situation.

One thing that works well, is doing a mono-fruit diet...say 48hrs-72hrs leading up to retention enema. Watermelon is a easy go to, very hydrating (its mostly water with minerals). Fill up as much as you want, I'd even say push yourself to eat 90% fullness. This creates a sense of fullness, thats hydrating to you, in turn creating an urge to have a BM.

Since we all have gut issues (that's why we are here, right). Mono-fruit diet for window of time prior to, helps lower inflammation in the gut, giving space for a BM as well. Just sharing...