Want to help people like me who have C-Diff? Sell your poop!

You can earn up to $13,000/year!

You can donate blood, plasma, eggs, and sperm. Why not poop? Yes, your feces are perhaps your greatest untapped monetary resource. Thanks to a nonprofit organization called OpenBiome, you can cash in to the tune of $13,000 a year -- and save lives while you're at it.

Since 2013, OpenBiome has been processing and shipping loads of it all over the country. The frozen stool is administered to patients who are very sick with infections of a bacteria called C. difficile. The bacteria can cause extreme gastrointestinal distress, leaving some sufferers housebound. Antibiotics often help, but sometimes the bacteria rears back as soon as treatment stops. That leads to a miserable, continuous course of antibiotics.

By introducing healthy fecal matter into the gut of a patient (by way of endoscopy, nasal tubes, or swallowed capsules) doctors can abolish C. difficile for good. Finding a donor is tough business, and some patients grow so desperate that they treat themselves with fecal matter from friends and family. That's what happened to a friend of OpenBiome's founders, inspiring them to open up the first nationwide bank. So far they've shipped about 2,000 treatments to 185 hospitals around the country.

(Yeah, sooooo not doing that! I'd rather suffer thanks! LOL I believe my doctor went about things a different way, but definitely would skip this treatment if it were ever suggested. *shudders*)

There's a catch: You don't just have to be healthy. You have to be really healthy. OpenBiome's donation procedure may be as easy as your standard bowel movement, but the selection process makes giving blood look like a walk in the park.

"It's harder to become a donor than it is to get into MIT," joked co-founder Mark Smith (who would know, as he got his PhD in microbiology there). Of the 1,000 or so potential donors who've expressed interest on his Web site over the past two years, only about 4 percent have passed the extensive medical questioning and stool testing.

The screening process can cost up to $5,000 -- so when someone makes it through, Smith and his co-founders hold on tight.

In all honesty though, if it helps very severe sufferers, worse off than me, I think it's great. Who knows where the technology can lead us. Maybe they can learn to isolate the bacteria in the feces and replicate so that eventually it won't gross people out, AND it will be easier to reproduce. Hopefully anyway.

I think I have what they are looking for.
when I pass a firm one, I think I'm doing something wrong. Just good diet. It might burn a little if I get Carried away on the peppers, but usually 2-3 bombs a day on average. Like clockwork. Food in, food out.

I actually think this is kinda cool. Some researchers came up with a way to use something that everyone is disgusted by and goes to great lengths to get rid of. I wonder...could they go to sewage treatment plants and find what they need before it's all processed? They've probably thought of that already.

a reply to: Anyafaj

Gives a whole new meaning to ESAD.

But yah, add a little yeast to dough, add a little compost to a new pile of it. Add a little yeast to brew. And add a little poop to the gut. Hitler ate poop pills.

Bulgarian Peasant Feces

a reply to: DAVID64

I wonder...could they go to sewage treatment plants and find what they need before it's all processed? They've probably thought of that already.

Actually that would spread disease. You have to get the poop 'fresh'.

originally posted by: DAVID64
I actually think this is kinda cool. Some researchers came up with a way to use something that everyone is disgusted by and goes to great lengths to get rid of. I wonder...could they go to sewage treatment plants and find what they need before it's all processed? They've probably thought of that already.

That was my thought too. I have IBS and my daughter is autistic, so we both have C-Diff. All I could think was "OMG, this is so cool! Ugh! Disgusting! Awesome! Gross! Can you imagine how many lives they've helped? Can you imagine the guinea pigs who tested this before they found a pill that DIDN'T like sh**? Literally? I don't know, if I don't stop thinking about this, I'll make myself sick. So cool though!"

LOL

Don't probiotics help at all? There are some really advanced ones with nanotechnology delivery methods.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
Don't probiotics help at all? There are some really advanced ones with nanotechnology delivery methods.

I take them if I remember. I have a pill weekly kit, but most probiotics have to be refrigerated. I have memory problems from a cyst in my brain. I usually stick the probiotics on the door, and take my nightly meds, then my morning meds, but forget the probiotics are even there. Eventually you have to chuck them out because they expired. If I could find a probiotic I could stick with my nightly or morning meds, it would make my life sooooo much easier. I joke one of these millennium I'll remember. LOL (I would put them right in front, but when my daughter visits, she moves things around on me. She lives in a group home and visits on weekends.)

a reply to: Anyafaj

I've got leukemia . Do you think they would accept leukemia poop?

originally posted by: thishereguy
a reply to: Anyafaj

I've got leukemia . Do you think they would accept leukemia poop?

Somehow I doubt that one.

Please accept my well wishes and prayers that you get better soon!

a reply to: Anyafaj

lol, thanks. i was just using my dry humor. they probably screen for things, if you know what i mean.

a reply to: Anyafaj

This place being a conspiracy site I will pull you a good one for you (no pun intended). C. difficile is caused almost exclusively by antibiotics use. Why do you think it is called Clostridium difficile, difficile in french mean hard, this bug is very hard to cultivate, it is a slow grower.

If it invade your colon, it is because antibiotics have wiped all other usefull and no so usefull bacteria that were able to compete with C. difficille, in fact, C. diff. is so lousy that it normally stand no chance against the normal guts flora, but once properly installed, the situation change dramatically. It is able to produce toxin to stay dominant.

This bug is found almost everywhere and many peoples have it in small number w/o any effect. It is found in soil and this is why its spore is so resistant. Those alcohol gel for hand wash everywhere in hospital will kill the bacteria but induce sporification, and the spore will survive and disseminate everywhere.

The only solution I know (we beat the bug once) is to stop offending antibiotics. There are some antibiotics more problematic than other and some can help, but not used alone.

Our solution was to stop COMPLETLY all offending antibiotics, started using a probiotics called S. boulardii, started using an oral antibiotics called Vancomycin in a "pulsed" way. Never use Vancomycin by IV, Vancomycin oral have the caracteristic of very poor absorbtion into the blood stream, it mean it will stay where we want it to act, in the guts.

The "pulsing" is a couple days taking Vancomycin, then a couple days without. The theory behind it is that while C. difficille is being "offended" by the Vancomycin, it start to convert to spore to resist agression. The rest time is to stop sporification mecanisim, allow to flush them to the toilette and allow also C. difficille to stop its defensive actions and convert back to a vulnerable status to Vancomycin.

I'm horrified yet pleased they have found the strangest way to help this disease.

Poo. who woulda thought?

originally posted by: thishereguy
a reply to: Anyafaj

lol, thanks. i was just using my dry humor. they probably screen for things, if you know what i mean.

Yeah they do.

They mention it in the article. I have a very sarcastic, dry humor as well. Sometimes a funny one too.

originally posted by: PeterMcFly
a reply to: Anyafaj

This place being a conspiracy site I will pull you a good one for you (no pun intended). C. difficile is caused almost exclusively by antibiotics use. Why do you think it is called Clostridium difficile, difficile in french mean hard, this bug is very hard to cultivate, it is a slow grower.

If it invade your colon, it is because antibiotics have wiped all other usefull and no so usefull bacteria that were able to compete with C. difficille, in fact, C. diff. is so lousy that it normally stand no chance against the normal guts flora, but once properly installed, the situation change dramatically. It is able to produce toxin to stay dominant.

This bug is found almost everywhere and many peoples have it in small number w/o any effect. It is found in soil and this is why its spore is so resistant. Those alcohol gel for hand wash everywhere in hospital will kill the bacteria but induce sporification, and the spore will survive and disseminate everywhere.

The only solution I know (we beat the bug once) is to stop offending antibiotics. There are some antibiotics more problematic than other and some can help, but not used alone.

Our solution was to stop COMPLETLY all offending antibiotics, started using a probiotics called S. boulardii, started using an oral antibiotics called Vancomycin in a "pulsed" way. Never use Vancomycin by IV, Vancomycin oral have the caracteristic of very poor absorbtion into the blood stream, it mean it will stay where we want it to act, in the guts.

The "pulsing" is a couple days taking Vancomycin, then a couple days without. The theory behind it is that while C. difficille is being "offended" by the Vancomycin, it start to convert to spore to resist agression. The rest time is to stop sporification mecanisim, allow to flush them to the toilette and allow also C. difficille to stop its defensive actions and convert back to a vulnerable status to Vancomycin.

Yah, I have C-Diff. I found out the hard way after getting sick once and being put on yet another antibiotic and reacting very severely to it. Won't go into the nasty details. Needless to say, doctor diagnosed me and essentially only specific antibiotics after that. But once in a blue moon, she'd forget, and I'd be fine, don't know why. My body is seriously messed up from being used as a pharmacy guinea pig for the last 28 years, so I'm sure that has helped tremendously! Between numerous surgeries and medications a body scan showed that my body is quite literally in it's 90's, even though I'm only in my 40's. Um, yeah me I guess? Just live each day the best I can I guess and work through the pain.

a reply to: Anyafaj

That's a sad story but you know, there is ways to heal ourself and beat the pain.

For the doctor and medical establishment, don't hold them in too high estime, I now consider them a bunch of moron... The problem is not the medical knowledge but the human applying it. The way we discovered the method I'm talking about was by reading official study on the subject.

Here I'm taking care of someone real sick that had problem with chronic pain (one problem among many others). The pain is now completly gone since about one year and no medication involved. And don't worry, I don't want to sale you anything or represent some sort of sect of any kind. Our solution was a simple diet, that's as simple as that, but a very strict one. But for one person constantly suffering and ultimatly contemplating death as the only liberation, a strict diet is nothing...

This diet will get rid of urinary infection that anything before had not succeded. The catch is that you have to stay on this diet indefinitly or else the pain and infection come back within a day (or less) of excursion. The good new is that you have noting "special" to buys except little bit of materials specific to diabetes suferrer.

ETA: I hope it is clear the diet I'm talking about is not the same things as the Vancomycin pulsing I talked previously. About this diet efficiency against C. diff. I don't know, the C. diff. event was much earlier than when we started the diet "things". Anyway C. diff. have never come back and this is several years ago.

If I had C-Diff, I wouldn't take any crap from the doctors.

A little bentonite clay would clean me out and I would have to start all over again. Maybe some Kimchi to help with the second part.

A person could also use activated Charcoal too. The thing with C-diff is that it can also populate the sinuses so cleaning the gut doesn't always work, you need to find a way to clean the sinuses too or it will just come back..

originally posted by: PeterMcFly
a reply to: Anyafaj

That's a sad story but you know, there is ways to heal ourself and beat the pain.

For the doctor and medical establishment, don't hold them in too high estime, I now consider them a bunch of moron... The problem is not the medical knowledge but the human applying it. The way we discovered the method I'm talking about was by reading official study on the subject.

Here I'm taking care of someone real sick that had problem with chronic pain (one problem among many others). The pain is now completly gone since about one year and no medication involved. And don't worry, I don't want to sale you anything or represent some sort of sect of any kind. Our solution was a simple diet, that's as simple as that, but a very strict one. But for one person constantly suffering and ultimatly contemplating death as the only liberation, a strict diet is nothing...

This diet will get rid of urinary infection that anything before had not succeded. The catch is that you have to stay on this diet indefinitly or else the pain and infection come back within a day (or less) of excursion. The good new is that you have noting "special" to buys except little bit of materials specific to diabetes suferrer.

ETA: I hope it is clear the diet I'm talking about is not the same things as the Vancomycin pulsing I talked previously. About this diet efficiency against C. diff. I don't know, the C. diff. event was much earlier than when we started the diet "things". Anyway C. diff. have never come back and this is several years ago.

I had my cousin try and sell me on the "Kevin Treudeau(sp?) olive oil diet" to "cure" my daughter's autism. Yeah, ok. Now mind you, my daughter was 9 at the time, with the mind of a 4 year old. We had taken her to Red Lobster for dinner. She was coloring on the placemat they give kids and dropped her crayon. My daughter crawled under the table to get it after being told not to worry. My cousin then said my daughter didn't belong in public, she needed to be institutionalized since birth since she obviously didn't know how to behave in public. Now I was pissed. My daughter had been saying "please, thank you, etc..." her crime, was behaving like her mental age of 4, and crawling under the table to get a dropped crayon. So for that, let's go back to the 1920's and lock her up for good. I'll get right on that! Needless to say it took me awhile to talk to her again without being mad. She always had something to sell. My family and their "get rich quick schemes" to "heal" my daughter or I. They considered me lazy because I refused to pay the hundreds of dollars it would cost to get in on these schemes that would inevitably fail. Oy!

I've had some very challenging doctors in the past that make me question my sanity and my patience. But I recently found a really good one that I plan on sticking with for a long time. My last one was such an idiot h kept trying to prescribe me medications I was allergic to! Even though it was written in bold on the folder he was carrying in his hand, right there I front of him! Seriously, how stinking stupid do you have to be????If it says allergic to Neurontin due to swelling of tongue and throat, don't stinking ask me "How about we try Neurontin for pain?" Ummm, how about I don't stinking think so! Allergic to Ambien, causes hallucinations. "How about we try Ambien for sleep?" Ummmm, how about let's not and say we did! Some real morons out there! Apparently reading is NOT fundamental!

a reply to: Anyafaj

The Trudeau guy is a fraudster I think...

The diet I'm talking about is something serious, however I never understood why no one is interested by it. Even my mate was uninterested, it took a lot of pressure from me to make her finally try it, and now she's "converted" and tell loud and clear that she will never stop it...

This diet was first used to cure untreatable epilepsy, it is neuroprotective and its byproduct are toxic to many bacteria but used as food by the human body. This is official science, not some voodoo.

originally posted by: PeterMcFly
a reply to: Anyafaj

The Trudeau guy is a fraudster I think...

The diet I'm talking about is something serious, however I never understood why no one is interested by it. Even my mate was uninterested, it took a lot of pressure from me to make her finally try it, and now she's "converted" and tell loud and clear that she will never stop it...

This diet was first used to cure untreatable epilepsy, it is neuroprotective and its byproduct are toxic to many bacteria but used as food by the human body. This is official science, not some voodoo.

I know I have changed my diet somewhat already. I'm a bit limited as to what I can and cannot eat. Feel free to add me and PM me the diet. I'll look it over and it I'm able to, who knows, maybe I can add a few things here and there until I can add more and more as I go. Unfortunately, my body is attacking itself badly and has been for 28 years since a spinal surgery.