Artwork for podcast The Cone of Shame Veterinary Podcast
396 - HDYTT: Fecal Transfer for Chronic Diarrhea
14th May 2026 • The Cone of Shame Veterinary Podcast • Dr. Andy Roark
00:00:00 00:26:30

Share Episode

Shownotes

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:

Sign up for the Early Career Newsletter here!

Uncharted Practice Manager's Summit

Last Chance to Register is June 1st 2026 - Tell your managers! Registration is only $199 and they can save 20% with code MANAGER

Register for the Practice Manager's Summit here!

Learn more about Simparica Trio here!

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.

Register for Office Hours here!

Transcripts

Speaker:

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

389

:

dr--andy-roark-_1_02-10-2026_161038:

Really

390

:

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.

Follow

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube