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Comment by rkhassen9 | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if simply taking antibiotics at some point, clearing everything out and repopulating the flora could help?

My guess is no - that something in the system is triggered by the fecal transplant but that gut flora isn't the main source, but it would be an interesting thing to look at. I'm not in this field and do not know how to mine this data or properly posit the question, but maybe something along the lines of: "How many people who have taken a strong antibiotic in the last 10 years get alzheimer's vs people who have not taken any antibiotics?" Seems like this data should be out there, right?

Maybe someone who works with this kind of data or research can weigh in. Can you imagine if the cure is that simple? Just take strong antibiotics at an early stage....!?!

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Fecal transplants are used to repopulate the gut of someone when necessary - for example after strong antibiotics! You can use flora of someone living in your household, as you probably share a lot of flora by being in the same environement and sharing food.

Edit0: Not "you can use" as in "do this at home" but in the sense of "it's an option your healthcare provider might offer. I worded it odd.

C Diff was in a recent Southpark Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENEBRFOVuXI

The spice must flow.

N=1. I had various digestion problems, probably due to gut flora imbalances. After several years of trying to fix the problem with diet changes suggested by my doctor (more fiber), I traveled abroad and came home with a very nasty food borne illness.

After one Z-pack and several days of being "backed up", my gut was suddenly back to normal and has been fine since.

Rebooting fixes so many problems.

Just don't reboot every year, or multiple times per year.

You can cause worse issues than you started with!

Can you explain Z pack and backed up?

"Z-pak" is a dosage of the antibiotic Zithromax, or Azithromycin, taken as a "pack" of pills over the course of 5 or more days.

I'm guessing backed up means constipated

> I wonder if simply taking antibiotics at some point, clearing everything out and repopulating the flora could help?

For some GI issues, this is actually a real solution used today. I learned about it from a SIBO diagnosis, which is treated with antibiotics and dietary changes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_intestinal_bacterial_ove...

I wish it were that easy. I've had sibo for 3 years now, originally methane sibo, took 2 rounds of xifaxan and neomycin and 3 rounds of xifaxan alone and now still have hydrogen sibo. I've tried many other herbal treatments, done a ton of tests, tried probiotic loading to overcome it, but nothing seems to have really worked. Worst part is eating the same meal, for every meal, day in and day out because it's the only food that doesn't give me issues.

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