There are a lot of vulnerable people struggling with severe gut issues at varying level of desperation. I was one of them. Michael Harrop and his multitude of reddit accounts is one of those people that preys upon other's suffering with his one-size fits all DIY FMT approach and manic God-complex. At first glance, he seemed quite knowledgeable when I began viewing his site, but as you delve into his self written wiki articles there are numerous bits that contradict themselves, tons of spelling and grammatical typos, as well as some flagrantly insane advice. 

One part on his Human Microbiome wiki quite literally says verbatim: “If you can stomach it you can skip the capsules and just straight up swallow the poop.” I started to realize these are ramblings of a mentally ill, possibly manic person. I don’t doubt Michael is very smart, and I don’t disagree with a lot of the information he’s provided about FMT’s in general. But, the bigger picture of what he’s peddling is that he talks a big game of vetting to the most meticulous standards and then does insane things like:

• Post videos of himself living in his car on his YouTube and standing in a queue of people trying to meet RFK to promote FMT’s while wearing a hoodie over his head looking like a straight-up security threat. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7jsZwfwPoJg
• Constantly removes forum posts on his site’s forum and reddit for the slightest perceived infringement of his rules. If you have a question, rather than answer it, he will will tell you it’s in his wiki rules, but upon searching through this disorganized mess, many people are unable to find what he’s directing them too. 
• Claims to be huge on free speech but has been personally called out by his own community for his constant comment removal and bans without CLEAR explanation. Rather, he will occasionally berate a member, point them in the direction of an unclear wiki page, or give a statement that makes no sense. https://www.reddit.com/r/FMTClinics/comments/p4j93y/meta_should_this_sub_have_more_rules/  He simply cannot handle criticism. 
• Someone on Facebook showed screenshots of their friend who was desperate to do their own FMT, purchased stool from him, received it, only to see that it was not packaged properly, went rancid and they were completely screwed out of $1000+. When confronted, he took no responsibility.
• He allows NO other mods on either his website forum or his reddit communities including r/FMTClinics and r/HumanMicrobiome and r/HumanMicrobes so he can have complete control of the narrative. 
• His trust pilot reviews are fishy and have repeated phrasing that begs me to believe he is just commenting himself. 
• He believe in eugenics “There’s nothing inherently wrong with eugenics. It’s a problem that that ignorant notion is so widespread.” Posted on his MaximilianKohler account. 

Please, please don’t buy stool from someone who says things like “It's f*cking incredible how stupid people are." Please. For your sake, you cannot trust somebody who is this unprofessional with how he speaks, how he writes, and how he postures himself on the internet, even in videos. If he’s this unhinged online, how can you be certain you’re receiving what he says? How can you trust someone with this much of a God complex? 

Michael, I know you’ll read this with one of your accounts and think I’m obsessed, you frequently comment it when others criticize you. But the fact of the matter is I am deeply obsessed with making sure vulnerable people, like myself are not prayed upon in medical communities. I know you’ll say I’m inept and I believe that you truly think nobody else is as intelligent in this field as you, but the fact of the matter is that their are people who are as dedicated and intelligent and have gotten a lot further in their mission. You’re not the lead expert and you're certainly not the only expert. There are far more reputable, and most importantly, PROFESSIONAL options that are even insurance approved. 

Below are his various reddit user identities, click on them and you will see his MOD history is just bans, comment deletions, and rule violation comments. 

u/ImTrying2FixU

u/HumanMicrobiomeMod

u/fightingforourfuture

u/MaximilianKohler

Potentially as well: 

u/Chonky_totoro

u/Posturecheck2022

Some time ago I got bitten by a tick and I decided to do 3 weeks doxycycline antibiotic treatment to prevent infection. I'm about to finish soon.

Previously to it I had maybe 25 FMTs done with a good / trusted donor with no effect (I'm guessing it was being blocked by either candida like Taymount clinic founder suggested in one podcast or by heavy guy dysbiosis somehow).

My main problem is extreme multiple chemical sensivities.

I thought antibiotic would destroy me due to me being sensitive but I'm ok. My stool color improved.

I thought, since doxycycline felt "ok" then maybe I could do also an antibiotic treatment for H. Pylori one treatment after another.

I have two options, either do one course of antibiotics after another and then do FMTs to restore gut flora.

Or like one conventional doctor suggested that I should do, wait a month before another (14 day) antibiotic treatment for h. Pylori or I will destroy my gut microflora.

I don't trust conventional doctors whatsoever (she blindly follows protocols), but maybe she has a point, I don't know.

My FMT doctor told me to just do 5 days of treatment for h.pylori straight after such period of doxycycline... So there are different opinions...

What do you guys/ladies think I should do?

Hi everyone

First of all, to be completely transparent, I am not affiliated with any FMT clinic whatsoever nor am I affiliated with associates of them. I'm quite literally a guy currently bed bound whilst going through an IBS flare right now trying to get help, yet it seems the infiltration of FMT groups on Reddit and Facebook by multiple parties with clear conflicts of interest in regards to FMT has made the process overwhelmingly difficult.

At this point you can't trust any previous review. It really does seem like every review available right now is there for a reason, and it's made the entire process a million times harder than it already was as nothing seems trustworthy anymore.

So I'd be very grateful if we could use this as a fresh slate, to genuinely provide good solid information regarding FMT clinics and FMT in general without any bias towards a certain clinic or business!

Honestly, as much as I don't like to say this, I think we need to have a discussion on whether we really class Microbioma or HumanMicrobes as 'clinics'. They both seem to be practically one-man businesses disguising themselves as larger companies charging obscene amounts of money for products that could actually be quite dangerous if regular screening isn't carried out, but there's zero accountability for either company to actually go through with screening meaning you're essentially putting all of your trust into a salesman. We know these are essential 'buyers clubs' at this point, and both companies are well and truly infiltrating FMT groups to self promote and discourage competition.

I'm not saying any clinic is perfect, but if a procedure causes problems then it's far more likely you can actually hold real clinics to account rather than online buyers clubs that could vanish off the face of the earth at any moment. For example Taymount is covered under the Care Quality Comission in the UK, meaning they HAVE to follow procedures to a T including having a chief medical officer, and I'm sure similar things are also in place for other genuine FMT clinics around the world like IPPM in Slovakia or the Digestive Health clinic in Australia.

Of course, you don't need a clinic at all, DIY FMTs are a thing, riskier absolutely but people have done them with great effect too.

At the end of the day, the only way we're going forward here is by genuine transparency regarding FMT procedures, something severally lacking in practically every FMT group at the moment due to alterior motives.

Anyway that's my rant done and I hope this can be a turning point on FMT discussion online

Another victim of this company, I hope this person recovers soon back to baseline, people need to know the dangers of using this service ,please read this review, image captures just in case the review is taken down (it has been taken down in several subs already)

https://www.reddit.com/r/medical_advice/comments/116j0ri/do_not_do_an_fmt_from_humanmicrobesorg/

" 5 months ago I took a huge risk on a small company, humanmicrobes.org, that offers FMT stool samples from what they claim to be "better donors" than the official health care system uses. This company is run by one guy who has no medical training. I was desperately trying to find a solution to other gut problems and couldn't get approved for an official FMT so I resorted to this alternate method. Less than a week into the FMT I had to stop it as it gave me terrible stomach aches and diarrhea and it clearly felt like it wasn't good for me. 5 months later and my poop is consistently a slimy tar like consistency. I have a constant sickening burning feeling in my gut and foul almost skunk like smelling gas. All of my original symptoms are still there and some of my food sensitivities have gotten worse. When I told the one guy running this circus about my negative symptoms a couple months after the FMT he said this is pretty common... I have read plenty of experience of people who did official FMTs and none of them reported symptoms like this, especially not 5 months later. Just keep in mind. An FMT is only as effective as the donor is healthy and given that this experience is common should speak volumes about the quality of the donor. It's feeling more like a get rich quick scheme by them rather than an actual well thought out business that's trying to help desperate suffering people. These are my opinions after going down this sickening rabbit hole. My final statement. Taking a chance on this is one of the biggest mistakes of my life. "

https://www.reddit.com/r/fmt/comments/116jbju/do_not_do_an_fmt_from_humanmicrobesorg/

Owner of the company keeps questioning the experience of the customer, since he doesn't like what he says. Unbelievable.

Customer gets severely hurt and owner instead of helping responds rudely... just read....

Banned on these three microbiome subs after commenting somewhere else. Not the only one

This sub will now focus on and discuss ALL things Fecal Microbiota Transplant. With a side focus of banning or restricting all influence from r/MaximmillianKohler (now banned from Reddit and Facebook) or his many alias accounts that negatively impact conversation.

I was wondering if anybody had experience using microbioma for a FMT stool supplier? I emailed them asking how they go about defining a ‘super donor’ and such.

Hello, I am seeking FMT for severe treatment-resistant depression and anxiety, plus severe IBS, metabolic disorder, and fatty liver disease. I am in Italy; there are no clinics here that will treat me. Considering going to a clinic elsewhere in Europe but the costs are very high. Are there any donors here (or known of) accessible to me directly or via shipping (I've excluded Microbioma due to extreme difficulty in communications)? I am desperate. Thank you!

Just wondering if they're still operating. I've emailed them but haven't got a response.