FAQs

Your FMT Treatment

What is the aim of the FMT treatment?

The aim of FMT treatment is to rebalance your gut microbiome so you can benefit once again from having a healthy balance of microbiota to get your life back on track!

What can I expect during treatment?

Treatment with FMT is individual, and changes or adjustments to pre-agreed plans or approaches are sometimes made on a case-by-case basis; we are guided by outcomes and individual reactions. Your progress is monitored daily and recorded each morning before the day’s treatment commences.

Is the FMT process painful?

The FMT procedure at Taymount Clinic is a completely painless procedure.

How long does it take to see an improvement in my condition?

It really varies with each individual; the length and complexity of issues are important to remember as well as the person’s condition.

Do I need to change my diet or eat a specific diet before coming for my FMT treatment?

There is no need to change anything before attending for treatment. It felt that this would be added stress before the treatment to change diet prior to attending. Patients will get individual coaching and advice during the treatment in order to feed the new microflora and encourage diversity.

What is the preparation process and why is it important?

The colon needs to be prepared properly for the FMT procedure as this ensures the most effective FMT treatment. Patients are given three different options for preparation, and this is to ensure that the colon is as clean and ready as possible.

Can you treat children?

Under United Kingdom law, only pediatricians holding a current medical license can treat a child under the age of 18 years. At this moment the Taymount Clinic CANNOT treat children under the age of 18 years under any circumstances. It is a highly emotive subject and we fully understand parents’ desperation when they contact us for advice, but FMT is still in an ongoing research phase and UK law has a strong view on parents who may attempt a non-clinical and “experimental” home treatment on a child.
Currently, our clinic in The Bahamas has a resident paediatrician in the team and Dr. Thomas is happy to consider patients for treatment between the ages of 4 and 18. Each case is considered on its own merit through consultation and of course, travel to The Bahamas would be necessary for any treatment programs offered.

Nutrition/Lifestyle/Other

Can I exercise during the program?

Do not plan vigorous or hard exercise during the program time; take long, leisurely walks and yoga or Pilates if that is your normal habit. But if you go to a gym, do the gentler exercises and steam, sauna and swim. The aim is not to stress the body, not to stimulate the peristaltic action of the bowel, particularly following the implant treatment. The emphasis is always on rest, relaxation and plenty of sleep.

Can I experiment with different foods during my treatment?

During the program, experiment carefully with different foods. One at a time, gently try a little here and a little there, and keep a diary of everything you eat, along with some comments and observations. A daily journal can be really helpful to notice subtle and gradual changes.

Will I receive dietary advice?

We give dietary advice towards the end of the program as it is often unwise to change too many things at once and your body is getting used to the implants for the first few days. During your program, there is time for discussion with your FMT Nutritional Therapist, to give you tools and information about diet, how to feed your new microbiome and other ways to maximize your health.

Will I be able to go to work or sightsee during the treatment?

It is advisable not to plan any vigorous exercise whilst having the treatment as your immune system is adapting to the newly inputted microbiome. Soft exercise such as pilates, yoga and meditation sessions are more preferable as they are relaxing and not strenuous. Furthermore, heavy exercise can stimulate peristalsis and create a bowel movement sooner than is required.

Do I need to be local to the clinic?

If you are traveling any distance to get to the clinic daily (and we do recommend that you stay locally to avoid the stresses of traveling against the clock), aim to be there in good time and take time to sit in the waiting room, just to unwind and de-stress. This also allows for any traffic delays and does not disrupt the clinic timetable or your peace of mind when you arrive. Make sure you get lots of rest, lots of sleep and are as calm, relaxed and de-stressed as possible during your treatment program. Please note the clinic is closed from 1.30pm to 2.30pm each day, to allow for staff lunch break.

Donors

Is Taymount Clinic regulated?

The implant manufacturer has a license to manufacture medicinal products i.e. the Faecal Microbiota Suspensions used for the FMT Treatment, as given by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency). We are therefore governed by the Government to which regular inspections take place to ensure that we are in compliance with the Regulations and ensure that patient safety is met. This includes them going through our process, procedures, and storage to which they are satisfied with and therefore in compliance.

What medical history are the donors asked for?

Donors complete a comprehensive questionnaire which goes into details about their medical history for example, if they currently have or had any health issues, operations, procedures and/or medication/antibiotics and this also includes family history. This is reviewed to decide if they can become a donor or not. Donors are not accepted who are currently on medication. And they need to be free of any medication for a minimum of 3 years. Every month they fill in health declarations to declare they did not take any medication.

There is no guarantee that the donors will remember all their medical/medication history for example, if we are going back 10/20/30 years or so, therefore their word must be taken when they fill out the questionnaire.

They also are obligated to inform the implant manufacturer of any changes in their health and wellbeing and lifestyle which may affect them being a donor with us at any point.

Are the donors vaccinated for Covid-19?

There are currently no unvaccinated donors. However, testing for covid-19 is carried out on the stool and assurances can be given that products are free from Covid-19 RNA.

With regards to Covid vaccines, it is up to the individual donors themselves whether they have the vaccinations or not.

Donors are not accepted or rejected based upon vaccination status.

Checks for COVID-19 RNA in the stool samples are also carried out and any positive detection means that the implants are destroyed.

The implant manufacturer is regulated by CQC and follow the rules and regulations in terms of the vaccination frequency and period before accepting a healthy donor. Current studies showed that there are no available data for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the faeces of individuals who have been vaccinated if exposed, and of the risk of faecal–oral transmission of the virus. Additionally, the COVID vaccine does not carry spike proteins as in the virus itself. The mRNA vaccines are produced by using a new technology and they have a laboratory-made material to get a proper reaction to produce defensive cells in the body for the protection from COVID infection.

Is it possible to pick my own donor? Can I request a male/female/younger/dairy or gluten free etc donor?

Unfortunately, patients are not permitted to pick their own donors. Donor selection by our FMT implant supplier is a rigorous process which guarantees quality and safety.

Do you take further measures to guarantee the maximum degree of safety from this point of view?

The implant manufacturer quarantine the product for a minimum of 3 months or maximum of 6 months and the donors are tested throughout this period to ensure that they do not develop any sickness, for that reason we can say the product are pathogen free. Blood screenings are also performed on the donor to check that they are in good health, by looking at various profiles in their blood.
When we do blood tests on the donors every 3 months this is to ensure that no latent or slow showing diseases are found and to also ensure that donors are healthy.
Each month the implants produced are checked for 22 pathogenic material commonly found in the Gastrointestinal organ as well as for Covid-19

Any positive results in any areas to which is of contravene to our criteria, then the implants are destroyed, only implants which have passed will be released from this quarantine period.

Storing the product at -80 degrees stops the activity of the microbiome, therefore not as to spoil the product. At this temperature it does not effect the efficacy as reactions are stopped.