A mom donated her feces to her son for DIY “poop transplants” to treat his Crohn’s disease. He put her poop in his rectum for over four years, and experienced her menopause symptoms.
A Canadian man found relief from his debilitating Crohn’s disease after undergoing a DIY treatment known as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Charlie Curtis, a man in his mid-30s from Toronto, Canada, resorted to this unusual treatment after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2006, which later developed into Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease is characterized by inflammation of the digestive tract, which can cause a range of symptoms such as diarrhea, fatigue, stomach pain, and cramps. After taking medication, Curtis’ condition worsened to the point where he was hospitalized and experiencing severe symptoms.
In a desperate bid to help her son, Curtis’ mother, Sky Curtis, contacted Thomas Borody, the director of the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney, Australia, who suggested that she donate her healthy stools to her son. Following testing for infections or diseases, the mother and son began the DIY “poop transplants” on Christmas day in 2008.
The process involved regular transplantation of healthy bacteria from Sky Curtis’ stool to her son’s gut. According to Sky Curtis, they did the procedure every day for a month, then every two days for a month, then every third day for a month, and once a month for three and a half years.
The unconventional treatment appeared to work, with Charlie Curtis reporting that he felt tingling sensations and a sense of improved health during the procedure. In 2019, he was symptom-free and off medication, sharing his success story with filmmaker Saffron Cassaday for the documentary “Designer $hit.”
However, Charlie Curtis did experience some unexpected side effects from the FMTs. He reportedly suffered menopausal symptoms such as sweating, hot flashes, and mood swings, similar to what his menopausal mother was experiencing at the time.
This surprising development led some experts to suggest that the donated poop may have transmitted high levels of hormones, resulting in the son experiencing menopausal symptoms. While FMTs are known to have potentially positive impacts outside of the gut, including improvements for conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease and alopecia, further research is needed to fully understand their effects.
It’s worth noting that fecal microbiota transplantation is currently only approved for treating persistent C. Diff bacterial infections, and the DIY approach undertaken by the Curtis family highlights the potential risks associated with at-home FMTs. As a result, experts warn of the risks associated with contracting diseases from donor stool, which are more common in unsupervised DIY procedures. Although this case provided Charlie with relief from Crohn’s disease, the treatment is not recognized by medical professionals as a safe and approved method for managing the condition.