Welcome to the DiffBiome programme

Beating recurrent C. difficile infection is not a matter of willpower; it is about restoring a collapsed gut ecosystem. This short introduction shows what to expect during the 90-day DiffBiome programme.

This handbook is your companion through the 90-day oral microbiota transplantation (FMT^[G]) treatment for recurrent Clostridioides difficile^[G] infection. In plain language – but without sacrificing scientific accuracy – it explains what happens in your gut and how you can actively support your own recovery.

The core idea is simple: antibiotics strip the gut flora^[G], while FMT restores it – which is why it can work where antibiotics repeatedly fail. Over the next 90 days we move step by step: from getting started immediately, through understanding the disease, to stabilisation and preventing relapse.

The treatment, however, is not just about taking a capsule. The 90-day programme has two parts of equal weight: the capsule, which puts back the missing bacterial community, and the change in the way you live, which gives that community a home. The delivered flora needs nourishment – above all fibre and plant diversity – along with fluids, sleep, movement and stress kept within bounds, if it is to settle in and stay. If you only take the capsule, you have done half the treatment. That is why the chapters on diet, hydration, sleep, movement and stress run alongside the capsule schedule throughout this book – they are not add-ons, they are the other half of the treatment.

You don't have to understand everything before you can start getting better. If time is pressing, begin with the Quickstart – in the most critical window it sets you on the right course within three days. You can read the "why" afterwards; the book's layered structure means everyone, from patient to treating physician, will find something useful to them.

FMT must be used under medical supervision. This book does not replace consultation with your treating physician – it helps you become an informed, active participant in your own recovery.