Fecal Microbiota Transplant ~ Halfway to What?

We are on Day 5 -- the halfway point. What does halfway mean? Are my symptoms halfway to getting better (in which case I'm not going to see much difference at all)? Am I soon to reach some critical tipping point at which everything swings to the positive?

I am beginning to realize neither of these extremes is true. I am not going to come away empty handed, but nor am I likely to achieve a winning touchdown. At least not yet. According to the clinic directors, about one third of patients have a significant response by the third day. One third are "slow burners" who take weeks to see results. And about one third go away and never see improvement. This sounds all-too-familiar. We had the same proportions of responses within the CCSVI community. 

Anyone living with multiple sclerosis or any chronic disease knows the meaning of uncertainty. We LIVE it every moment.

I believe halfway in terms of my fecal microbiota transplant treatment means uncommitted, neutral, even ambiguous. A stalemate would imply that's as far as I will go -- game over. I think it's still to be determined if I will benefit from this treatment. My body is reacting to the intrusion of the daily transplants plus the physical challenges of the environment. It is (I am) slowly weakening. The stairs were even harder this morning. I fell going up the last two steps -- you know the ones -- where the railing runs out.

I slumped forward on the landing with my legs (again) awkwardly beneath me. Dr. Bill kindly got me a chair from the waiting room. Landon steadied me as I used the chair to climb to my feet and walk into the clinic for my fifth appointment. Dignity saved. Again. 

I got some goods news from my pre- and post treatment vital signs. My blood pressure has been low the past 4-5 months. The Wahls diet can definitely lower blood pressure and I had already cut my BP pill in half over a year ago -- three months after starting the diet. My doctor and I debated eliminating the need for medication altogether a couple weeks ago and decided to keep me on a minimal dose. Starting the FMT treatment caused my blood pressure to rise a lot. Today, for the first time in a week, my BP was back to its normal, low levels. I started the week over 50 points higher on the systolic measure. That's one positive note. Either I'm more comfortable in the clinic surroundings now or my gut is settling down. I'll take it either way. 

I told the nurses right from the start of today's session that I was doubtful I could hold my transplant in very long. I don't quite know how to describe the mixed feelings I get while trying my utmost to stop myself from losing it. The treatment room has a private adjacent washroom, but that almost makes it too easy. However, the nurses move my walker away when treating me and often leave it out of reach until my 30 minutes are up. So I can't really make a dash for the toilet if I wanted to. That leaves worry over the other option...losing it without making it to the washroom. Then there's the cost factor. Each transplant costs me almost one thousand dollars. I don't want to flush it before the microbes have a chance. I tried really hard not to let these thoughts preoccupy my mind while the clock ticked. In fact, each day I visualize positive feelings welcoming my new microbes to my body. I smile. I whisper "welcome!" I imagine them migrating to their new home and attaching to my colon walls. Peace.

The nurses came in and massaged me so the transplant (which is about 100 mL of liquid) moved all the way along the one metre length of my colon. They rolled me to my right side much sooner than usual and raised my feet slightly to reduce my urgency. It worked. I got through the 20 minute minimum and made it all the way to 30 minutes. Small victories!

We headed out straight away on a 3 hour road trip to join up with four of my lifelong friends and their partners for a relaxing weekend. Landon pulled into roadside services for just one pit stop for the three of us. That's pretty darn good considering we had trillions of new microbe hitchhikers on board!