A man from Toronto, Canada, named Charlie Curtis, who had been suffering from debilitating Crohn’s disease, found relief through a unique treatment method involving his mother’s feces. Curtis engaged in DIY “poop transplants” for over four years, during which he inserted his mother’s poop into his rectum. Surprisingly, he also experienced his mother’s menopause symptoms as a result. The treatment, known as fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), is not approved for treating Crohn’s disease and is typically performed under medical supervision. However, due to the lack of approval, Curtis and his mother decided to carry out the procedure at home.
FMTs usually involve a doctor collecting feces from a healthy donor and blending it with a saline solution. In approved procedures, the mixture is then inserted into the recipient’s gastrointestinal tract through an enema or taken orally. The healthy bacteria from the donated stool is absorbed by the recipient, replenishing the gut bacteria that may have been depleted due to medication or illness.
While FMTs are currently only approved for treating persistent C. Diff bacterial infections, Curtis and his mother took the risk of attempting the treatment for Crohn’s disease at home. However, performing an at-home FMT poses the risk of contracting diseases from the donor stool, as stated by Dr. Amy Shah, a gastroenterologist.
Curtis was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2006, and later developed Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease causes inflammation in the digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon. Symptoms of Crohn’s disease can vary and include fever, diarrhea, fatigue, stomach pain, and cramps. Despite medication, Curtis’ symptoms worsened to the point where he was hospitalized and had to use the bathroom up to forty times a day.
In search of a solution, Curtis’s mother reached out to Thomas Borody, the director of the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney, Australia, who suggested using FMT as a treatment. Following thorough testing of her stool, they began performing the transplants on Christmas day 2008. The frequency gradually decreased over time, but Curtis continued to receive new stool donations each time.
The DIY treatment proved successful for Curtis, and he eventually became symptom-free and was able to stop taking medication. However, he did experience unexpected side effects from the FMTs, including sweating, hot flashes, and mood swings, resembling his menopausal mother’s symptoms. Borody mentioned that the donated poop contains high levels of hormones, suggesting that Curtis may have absorbed hormones from his mother’s feces. However, this theory has not been scientifically proven.
While FMTs have been associated with positive changes beyond gut-related issues in some cases, such as improvements in social responsiveness in autistic children or alleviating symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, further research is needed for FMT to be approved as a treatment for other health conditions. Curtis’ case remains anecdotal, and it is important to note that performing at-home FMTs carries the risk of disease transmission from the donor stool.
