Dr. Lily Chen, DVM, joins Dr. Andy Roark to tackle one of the most frustrating cases in veterinary medicine: the chronic diarrhea dog that just keeps coming back for more metronidazole. From microbiome testing and dysbiosis to fecal transplants and the surprising behavioral changes pets can show after treatment, this episode dives into the growing world of microbiome therapy and what it might mean for chronic enteropathy cases in practice. If you’ve ever felt stuck managing recurring GI disease, this conversation might just give you a new tool for your veterinary toolbox. Gang, let’s get into this episode.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Dr. Lily Chen, DVM, CVA, IVCCP is the founder of Integrative Pet Wellness Center in Los Angeles and The Unicorn Vet, an education platform helping veterinarians turn microbiome theory into clinical reality.
Through her course, The Magic of Microbiome, Dr. Chen teaches vets how to make FMT and microbiome therapy practical, profitable, and implementable—because the science is solid, but most practitioners don't know where to start. She also hosts My Dog Is Better Than Your Dog podcast and believes the future of veterinary medicine is root-cause healing, not just symptom management.
LINKS
The Unicorn Vet: https://theunicorn.academy/
Dr. Lily Chen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.lilychen/
Integrative Pet Wellness Center: integrativepet.com
https://vetmed.tamu.edu/gilab/service/assays/canine-microbiota-dysbiosis-index/
Mentioned in this episode:
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Office Hours w/ Dr. Andy Roark
Inside the Uncharted Veterinary Community, Dr. Andy Roark hosts Office Hours where veterinary leaders can bring real-world challenges and get practical guidance from someone who understands the realities of practice life. These sessions give veterinarians, practice managers, and team leaders a chance to ask questions, workshop difficult situations, and gain perspective on issues like team dynamics, communication, burnout, and clinic operations. Instead of navigating leadership challenges alone, members get direct access to Andy’s insight along with the support of a community of veterinary professionals working through many of the same challenges.
dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
Welcome everybody to the Cone
2
:of Shame Veterinary podcast.
3
:I am your host, Dr.
4
:Andy Rourke.
5
:Guys, I got a really good episode today.
6
:My friend, Dr.
7
:Lily Chin is here and we are talking about
fecal transfers and microbiome therapy.
8
:guys, I've had a couple guests on
in the past talking about this.
9
:It's an area that I'm just getting
more and more interested in.
10
:I I think the potential for
leveraging the microbiome to heal
11
:patients is really incredible
and it's just fascinating to me.
12
:And Lily does a ton with this.
13
:she's a really neat
person as I talk about.
14
:She is a practice owner, of a practice
that just does a lot of holistic medicine,
15
:and this is a big part of what they do.
16
:And this is someone who's out there in
practice, Practicing what she preaches.
17
:And bring her a case, chronic
diarrhea, it's not getting better.
18
:and we talk about what fecal
transplant would look like and
19
:what she would do in her practice.
20
:And I ask her a bunch of questions almost
as if I was a vet who has not done this
21
:himself yet, almost as if, and, um.
22
:She's great.
23
:she breaks everything down.
24
:She explains what she's thinking
and why she's thinking it and
25
:how she looks at the cases.
26
:I left this feeling really interested in
another potential tool for my toolbox.
27
:So anyway, that was very fun.
28
:Okay, enough preamble.
29
:Let's get into this episode.
30
:Kelsey Beth Carpenter: This is your show.
31
:We're glad you're here.
32
:We want to help you in
your veterinary career.
33
:Welcome to the Cone of Shame with Dr.
34
:Andy Roark.
35
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
Welcome to the podcast, Dr.
36
:Lily Chin.
37
:How are you, my friend?
38
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: I am
doing great, Andy, how about you?
39
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
am, I'm doing great,
40
:because I'm here with you.
41
:I always enjoy you
seeing your smiling face.
42
:You and I have been good friends
for many, many years at this point.
43
:we really got close after the
pandemic, and so I get to,
44
:to see you and, in person, when we travel.
45
:You were at the Uncharted, conference
in Orlando recently, and you and I,
46
:we talked by phone and so anyway, you
are just someone that I so admire.
47
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Oh my.
48
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: you.
49
:For those who don't know you well,
you're, you are really specialized.
50
:you're just such a wonderful person.
51
:You are, practicing veterinarian.
52
:You are the owner of, integrative
Pet Wellness Center in Los Angeles.
53
:And, you are cool.
54
:You just do really neat stuff
and you practice medicine that
55
:I just look at from the outside
and I'm like, I don't like this.
56
:I love your holistic approach to medicine.
57
:You just, you are always learning
new things and trying new things
58
:and talking about new things.
59
:And so anyway, you are just someone who
you have made this practice the way that
60
:you want to make it and you practice
the way that you want to practice.
61
:And I just.
62
:I'm always just leave
inspired when I talk to you.
63
:So anyway, I have gushed all, all
over you and I'm sorry about that.
64
:But, I really am thrilled
to sit down with you.
65
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Oh my God.
66
:You should know that this whole
journey started because I went
67
:to that one uncharted event.
68
:From the beginning and that inspired
my whole journey of really following
69
:my calling and using my practice
as a sandbox to play with new
70
:ideas, and that's been amazing.
71
:So thank you, friend.
72
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
for saying that.
73
:Okay, so I have a case that I
want to run by you 'cause I think
74
:that this is gonna be your jam.
75
:And I'm a little bit at the end of, at the
end of my, toolbox, I'm in the back dusty
76
:corners of my toolbox looking around.
77
:So I have got this, 10-year-old male
neuter German Shepherd named Victor,
78
:who, he's about 120, 130 pounds.
79
:He's a big dog and he's a diarrhea dog.
80
:And he continues to have diarrhea and he's
been treated for diarrhea multiple times.
81
:The owners, have tried probiotics
and they just don't want to
82
:hear about it really anymore.
83
:they just want metronidazole,
but we've done.
84
:Metronidazole a couple of times,
and it always makes me feel guilty
85
:and I'm trying to be a good steward.
86
:But we've, we keep treating
this dog with metronidazole and
87
:now he's got diarrhea again.
88
:And my first thought was, I'm like,
we, are we gonna add Tys in here?
89
:are we doing steroids?
90
:And this just feels like a huge mess.
91
:And I've heard you talk about
cases like this, and so I wanted to
92
:bring this case to you and say, Dr.
93
:Lily Chin, how would you treat this?
94
:What do you do with this dog?
95
:If I'm like, feel like I
wanna, try something new.
96
:I think the owners will be up for
trying new things because they, I
97
:think they feel like they're doing
the same thing over and over again.
98
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Yeah, I
feel we see these cases a lot, right?
99
:Like they come in for the
same issues and me, okay.
100
:Work really well for.
101
:A time period, right?
102
:And then as you're seeing, it keeps
coming back because there's something
103
:happening deep inside the body.
104
:And what I've realized is that a lot
of drugs are so good at controlling
105
:symptoms, but they're not reversing the
changes that's happening deep inside.
106
:And a lot of times that's the
drugs are there to buy sometimes so
107
:that we can reverse those changes.
108
:If I see this dog, Andy, I would be
reaching for microbiome therapy and
109
:I'd be thinking about fecal transplant.
110
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
Okay, so te so tell me about that.
111
:So, I, I've talked to, I've had a guest
on before talking about microbiome.
112
:I heard about, fecal
113
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: I.
114
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
and I've had a number of guests
115
:talk about microbiome therapy.
116
:But, my first thought is
you do a lot of this right?
117
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: I do a ton.
118
:There's probably.
119
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
how did, how did you say the first
120
:time, how were you like, I think
we should do a fecal transplant.
121
:what was your decision to
start down this therapy path?
122
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Actually,
a client brought it to me, a very well
123
:educated clients in the human space.
124
:She looked up the research of how people
were treating Clostridium difficile.
125
:Cases and they were doing it in human
medicine, and she asked me, she's
126
:like, is this possible for my dog?
127
:It was a very similar scenario of her
dog having diarrhea over and over and
128
:would respond to drugs for short term and
it would keep coming back, and she just
129
:didn't want to keep going down this cycle.
130
:Over and over.
131
:So I looked it up at
the time that I started.
132
:There were very limited
information, but the client was
133
:on board and I wanted to try,
134
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: okay.
135
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
so I like try new things.
136
:So at the time you, the protocol was that
you would put the dog under anesthesia
137
:and you would prepare basically donor
material, fecal slurry from donor dogs.
138
:And you basically put it in like an enema.
139
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay.
140
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Then
you rotate a dog like sideways, so
141
:you would be on right lateral for
10 minutes, left lateral for 10
142
:minutes and sternal for 10 minutes.
143
:Then you would wake the dog up.
144
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay.
145
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Amazingly,
this dog that was having diarrhea for
146
:months and months and were not really
responding to anything long term.
147
:After the second or the third day,
mom told me the diarrhea was gone.
148
:was hooked.
149
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
so how many years ago was this?
150
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
Seven or eight years ago?
151
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
eight years ago, you bring the dog
152
:in, you put 'em under anesthesia,
and then you, give them basically
153
:a, an enema made of, a poop slurry.
154
:And then you ju and then you do,
and you flip 'em, you, you flip 'em
155
:side sternal and just leave them
under anesthesia for a half an hour.
156
:And then you wake 'em up and just, I
157
:guess you just send them out the,
like, you're like, I guess we're done.
158
:And then you send 'em out the door.
159
:Is that what that's like?
160
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
That was like that exactly.
161
:I was so skeptical.
162
:I was like, I have no idea.
163
:I was like, what is this?
164
:I just put poop inside the colon.
165
:And what, how is this supposed to help?
166
:But the, there was already quite a bit
of research on the human side, so I was
167
:interested to see how this would work.
168
:And when mom called me in two days, she's
like, the diarrhea is completely gone.
169
:I have not seen poop this beautiful.
170
:For so many months, I
was blown away, Andy.
171
:I was thinking, wow,
could this be possible?
172
:Could this just be a fluke?
173
:But from there I started
trying more patients.
174
:I would talk to clients and whoever
was on board and it was the right case.
175
:I just kept trying and started
developing my own protocols so dogs
176
:don't have to be under anesthesia.
177
:'cause I find that to be hard
for many families and many pets.
178
:So.
179
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
expensive.
180
:And then also, I don't like
having patients under anesthesia
181
:if, if I absolutely don't
182
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Yeah.
183
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
help me understand, like, you
184
:think about conditions like this,
why do you think this works?
185
:brought us to this space where doing
a fecal transplant fixes the problem?
186
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
I now have a lot more clarity
187
:to answer that question.
188
:If you asked me seven or eight
years ago, I would be not
189
:understanding it as much as I do now.
190
:But I've been tracking a lot of microbiome
testing, so we have testing now that will
191
:let you find out if a pet's microbiome
health is good or bad really, and.
192
:I think it works because you're basically
taking pets with really bad microbiome.
193
:Transplanting the good or balanced
or diverse microbiome back into the
194
:system allow the body to take it in,
so the system can normalize itself.
195
:The root of the issue for many
of these cases is microbiome
196
:imbalance or dysbiosis.
197
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
I'm the pet owner, and you say,
198
:Andy, your German Shepherd, Victor
has got a bad microbiome, I would
199
:say to you, we feed him a good food?
200
:Why does he have a bad bio?
201
:And so what are the most, what are
the common causes that you see?
202
:And maybe you never know, but.
203
:in a, German shepherd, that doesn't seem
to have a particularly stressful life.
204
:What, where does that,
205
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Yeah,
206
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
previous antibiotic use?
207
:what is that?
208
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: a
lot of, if they do have previous
209
:antibiotics use, that can definitely
set them up for microbiome issues.
210
:Sometimes just in living in today's world,
dealing with toxins in environmental.
211
:stressors that we might not always see.
212
:And while diets, we have so
many different diet choices.
213
:So diet is a hard thing.
214
:Even if a dog gets a really good diet, it
may not be exactly what that body needs
215
:to feed the right microbiome, because if
you don't know what microbiome they had
216
:to begin with, how would you know what's
the right food to grow or balance out
217
:the microbiome that they are lacking?
218
:Does that make sense?
219
:So that's what I'm seeing a lot of
times, and I do think our modern pets,
220
:because microbiome gets passed down from
generations and generations, there's been
221
:so many inflammatory triggers and issues
that we've managed with medication, but
222
:we have not resolved the root cause.
223
:Those things are being passed down.
224
:So many pet these days are not born
with the best microbiome to start with,
225
:and that may be the biggest issue.
226
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
so I've got Victor here and he is
227
:got diarrhea and he is 10 years old
and the owners are up for anything.
228
:And let's say that I, I
229
:haven't done this before.
230
:Let's say that fecal
transplant is new to me.
231
:Lily, would you start with microbiome
testing here or would you just say,
232
:Hey, let's try it and see if it works.
233
:Yeah.
234
:If you were me and you didn't have
that experience, would you start
235
:with the testing to get some guidance
or do you just throw yourself in?
236
:how would you sort of approach that?
237
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: I'll
start with microbiome testing because
238
:it will give you a lot of information
and maybe more confidence that you
239
:are treating with the right modality.
240
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
I like that.
241
:So what
242
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Yeah.
243
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
look like?
244
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
it's like a fecal test.
245
:You just have them drop off poop sample,
like how you run the fecal parasite test,
246
:but it goes to very specific labs to run
the microbiome testing and that's it.
247
:You just poop.
248
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
which lab do you like?
249
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
I use Texas a and M's.
250
:Dysbiosis index a lot, BDI labs
also has a very, very thorough, very
251
:good microbiome testing profile.
252
:And animal biome also has one that I
really like for profiling the bacteria.
253
:They all look at different
things, but I reach for the Texas
254
:A MM one as a screening test.
255
:The most is the easiest
to understand for me.
256
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
how do I use the information I get
257
:back from microbiome screening?
258
:do the best job I can if I
go for the fecal transplant.
259
:like how does that line up
260
:with the test results to, how
I choose my poop, du jour.
261
:Like how does, how does
that, how does that happen?
262
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: if you're
using a Texas a and m, they actually make
263
:it really easy, at least for me, is that
there is a, there's a good or a bad range.
264
:So basically the easy decision is that
if it's in a bad range, reaching for
265
:fecal transplant makes a lot of sense.
266
:A lot of times you will see that.
267
:Animal getting better.
268
:Clinically, you will, if you retest,
you should see that number getting
269
:better in the, more normal range.
270
:If it is in the middle, the grade
zone, then you have to look at
271
:that animal and talk to the family.
272
:A lot of times I do think if they
have clinical symptoms, it does make
273
:sense to go ahead and treat with.
274
:Fecal, transplant.
275
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay.
276
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
If it's in a good range, but this
277
:animal is having diarrhea and GI
issues, then there's probably a bit
278
:more digging that we have to do.
279
:'cause the issue is probably somewhere
else that we haven't discovered.
280
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay.
281
:Oh, I like that, that, yeah,
that, that makes sense.
282
:So when you move into the procedure and
you say, okay, let's say that we're,
283
:let's say we're in the bad range.
284
:Like just make it easy and just
say, Victor's in the bad range.
285
:We've got dysbiosis.
286
:We say, okay, we're looking at that.
287
:A lot of people, again, haven't done
this walk, walk me through the procedure.
288
:Like where does
289
:the transplant come from?
290
:just, yeah.
291
:me the, gimme the walkthrough.
292
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
The easiest thing to reach for,
293
:which I would recommend people
to get started there, is just get
294
:commercially prepared powder material.
295
:So Animal Bio is a company that I
use and they have their own very
296
:strict donor selection process
and screening and all of that.
297
:And they do sell the powder, basically
fecal powder to veterinary professionals
298
:you reconstitute with saline and
basically make what I call the poop.
299
:Smoothie or fecal slurry to
your consistency where it's
300
:very easily administered.
301
:So, and you get your red rubber catheter
and basically administer it like anima,
302
:but you want it to be a retention anima.
303
:So depending on the size of the
pad, there's usually guidelines
304
:on how much to draw up.
305
:And administer into the colon area.
306
:So imagine your red rubber catheter
going in rectally and as far as you
307
:can go for that animal comfortably and
administer the material and just come on.
308
:That's it.
309
:It's really not hard.
310
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay.
311
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: If
you've taken an erectile temperature
312
:or given anima, then I think
it's something anybody can do.
313
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
So you don't, do you roll
314
:them around like the old days?
315
:Like you
316
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
No, not anymore.
317
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: No.
318
:No, there's no rolling.
319
:Okay.
320
:All right.
321
:This is getting like Victor's
130 pounds and I'm not sure
322
:he is gonna be okay with me
323
:rolling him around after this.
324
:okay.
325
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: no.
326
:I found that's really not needed.
327
:You may have to repeat
the fecal transplant.
328
:I think the success lies in having
a protocol that works for that
329
:patient in smaller volume, but doing.
330
:A few, at least a few sessions, especially
for chronic issues, really is the key
331
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay,
332
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: rather
than large amount under anesthesia.
333
:I don't think that's, yeah.
334
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: talk.
335
:Talk to me about dosing then.
336
:so you're
337
:saying, doing smaller amounts more
frequently that, that makes sense to
338
:me to trying to imagine in my mind,
repopulating a microbiome and I go,
339
:well, it seems some more frequent
dosing as opposed to one event would,
340
:would maybe help us get traction.
341
:H how do you talk about that?
342
:So if you were talking to
ventures owners and they're like,
343
:we're on board with this Dr.
344
:Chen, like we, we wanna do this.
345
:understand what, what's going
on, we're gonna bring 'em in.
346
:what expectation would you set as far as
the number of times they're gonna come
347
:in, how long they're gonna see results?
348
:And then my follow up
question is going to be.
349
:how do you know if this, how do you know,
how do you know working and how do you
350
:know when it's, when it's not working?
351
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: So
the first conversation I have with
352
:the owner is that I tell them that if
we're trying to solve this at the root.
353
:and at the root cause basis is
that they have to be prepared.
354
:It's not a drug that they can just take
home and give, make the symptoms go away.
355
:'cause many of them have
been through that cycle.
356
:So I prep them and say,
Hey, we wanna do this.
357
:And the reason is that I want to
address what's happening in the body.
358
:I want to help the body heal
in a way that you don't have
359
:to rely on drugs over and over.
360
:Usually I have to see them.
361
:Every week or every other week for about
four to eight times what I prep them for.
362
:Usually by the second or the third,
they would see a difference already.
363
:It's very rare that by the second
or third infusion that people tell
364
:me there hasn't been any change.
365
:Usually it means that the
diarrhea has gone away.
366
:Sometimes after the first
one, it's worked already.
367
:And as far as time commitment, if
the team is trained, my team can do
368
:this in under five minutes, honestly.
369
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Yeah.
370
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
So it's very comfortable usually
371
:for the family and the pet to
come in and do that minimal prep.
372
:Sometimes we make sure that,
okay, if they haven't pooped
373
:earlier today, make sure they.
374
:Defecated 'cause it does
help to retain the material.
375
:And I can usually tell that
they're getting better by their
376
:clinical science resolving.
377
:But many times what's also surprises me is
people will start to notice other things.
378
:Usually it's behavioral things.
379
:Because imagine a dog having
diarrhea over and over.
380
:It must not be comfortable for them.
381
:So people will say, oh my God,
they stopped doing this thing that,
382
:whether it's chewing on their paws
or being anxious, not wanting to go
383
:out, not wanting to engage, or the
opposite, oh, they picked up this
384
:ball that they haven't played with
for a year, or they start doing this
385
:thing that I haven't done as a puppy.
386
:They start jumping on the bed.
387
:They have better energy.
388
:They stop itching
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:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
Really
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:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
and they're, yeah.
391
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
stuff that're like, yeah, they stopped.
392
:They stopped itching after we did the
393
:fecal transplants.
394
:You get those.
395
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Yeah.
396
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: So
when you start doing this and you say,
397
:let's say that this goes really great, and
so let's say let's, we've done, after the
398
:first dose, the owners might be placebo.
399
:They're kinda like, ah,
I think I'm feeling good.
400
:And then by the second one,
they're like, oh yeah, no, this is,
401
:we're definitely making progress.
402
:How do you side the duration
of treatment from there, Lily?
403
:Do you wait until until signs
are completely resolved?
404
:Then you say, great, we're,
I think we're done here.
405
:Do you wait until you feel like
you're making real progress?
406
:Then you say, we're gonna do two more.
407
:how do you kind of make that call?
408
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: So I did.
409
:refine the process well enough from
seeing so many patients and testing.
410
:That eight session is
sort of my magic formula.
411
:So if I don't know anything else,
if microbiome was bad and I want
412
:to make it good again, I say
eight sessions, then I retest.
413
:I retest about two to four
weeks after the eighth session.
414
:Then I look at that number and decide
again, do we need to continue or can
415
:we carry on with diet adjustments,
supplements and lifestyle changes.
416
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
let's say that we're not making the
417
:progress that we wanna make with Victor.
418
:And so I said, I was gonna ask
you this earlier, here it is.
419
:let's say that we're two weeks in and
we've maybe seen some improvement,
420
:but not significant improvement.
421
:do you hold the course?
422
:At what point do you reassess
and how do you reassess?
423
:Where does that look?
424
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: So
two weeks is actually fairly early
425
:in terms of reprogramming microbiome.
426
:So I usually, at this point, I cheer,
lead and say, Hey, we need to keep going.
427
:If you're not seeing a difference,
it means the body needs more.
428
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Yeah,
429
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
At this point, I say keep going.
430
:If it's two weeks in, if we'd done the
whole session and things have not changed.
431
:' cause I have not had one case like that.
432
:So
433
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: what?
434
:I dunno what that was.
435
:Me.
436
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
it might be hard.
437
:there's a paper that just came
out in JMA a couple months ago.
438
:It did show that repeated fecal
transplant decreased the clinical
439
:CY of chronic enteropathy.
440
:So it was really, when the article came
out, I was like, it was so good to have
441
:some validation of things I've been
seeing for the last seven to eight years.
442
:But I will say that what I've
also noticed is there are some
443
:patients that don't get better to
the point that we hope they would.
444
:Many times I find that they have
compounding issues usually because their
445
:vitamins or minerals are really off, or
they're carrying a really high toin load,
446
:then it's a completely different journey
in detoxing or to replenish their vitamins
447
:or minerals in a way that is going
to help bring that back into balance.
448
:But there's usually something else
in the body that isn't working.
449
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
Have you tried the oral fecal supplement,
450
:transfer system?
451
:What, what are your, what's
your impression of that?
452
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: I wanted
that to work so badly because that would
453
:make things easier for us and for people.
454
:What I would say is that after I've
been doing that for a while, I would
455
:keep retesting and there's some
pets, and with the families being
456
:so compliant, they would administer
it for three months, six months.
457
:Sometimes even a year.
458
:I don't see that the microbiome
has shifted in a way that is
459
:significantly better than before.
460
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay.
461
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Not
everybody, sometimes the clinical
462
:signs do get better, but when we go
in and retest the microbiome, I don't
463
:think the results are long lasting.
464
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038: Okay.
465
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
I think it can help.
466
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
you know, I've talked to people
467
:who, swear by it, and they
468
:really like it.
469
:So I was I was just curious what
the experience was in your hand
470
:and why you were still doing the,
the rectally administered approach.
471
:But yeah, I talk to different people
about kinda their different preferences.
472
:But I always like to know.
473
:So anyway, Lily, this
has been hugely helpful.
474
:I am honestly sitting here rolling
around the idea of getting my own
475
:dog's microbiome tested just because,
he's an interesting character.
476
:He licks and itches and I go, maybe this.
477
:Worth looking into.
478
:So anyway, thank you.
479
:Thank you for that.
480
:Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
481
:where can people find you online
if they're like, this is amazing.
482
:I wanna learn more about Dr.
483
:Chen.
484
:I wanna learn more about just,
around the science and fecal
485
:transplant and microbiome health.
486
:You're doing a lot of
lectures on this now.
487
:tell me where people can
sort of engage with you.
488
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038:
I hang out on Instagram a lot
489
:so people can find me at Dr.
490
:Lily Chen.
491
:They can find me at the Unicorn Vet or my
practice Integrative Pet Wellness Center.
492
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
Outstanding.
493
:Lily, thanks for being here guys.
494
:Thanks for tuning in everybody.
495
:I really appreciate your time.
496
:Take care of yourselves, gang.
497
:lily-chen_1_02-10-2026_131038: Thank you.
498
:dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:
And that's what I got guys.
499
:Thanks for being here.
500
:Thanks, Lily, for making time to join us.
501
:I hope you guys found this interesting.
502
:I just, man, I love medicine.
503
:I love the fact that there's new
modalities that we're finding
504
:and there's new technologies
and medications and approaches.
505
:I just, I'm just.
506
:Optimistic and positive about what
we're able to do today that we
507
:didn't even think of 30 years ago.
508
:And it's just, it's really an exciting
time from a technological standpoint.
509
:it's an exciting time to be a
vet and to be in vet medicine.
510
:So anyway, this has been really fun, guys.
511
:If you liked the episode, if you
enjoyed it, like subscribe, share
512
:to all those things, forward
the episode to your friend.
513
:If there's other vets, you're like, Hey,
maybe we should try this in our practice.
514
:Definitely feel free.
515
:Share the love.
516
:it's always great to, to have
new people find the show.
517
:So anyway, guys, take care, be well.
518
:I'll talk to you later on.
519
:Bye.