Bowel Moments

Meet John C.- From Ulcerative Colitis To Building A Stool Tracking Device


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A ninth inning ballpark burger. Days of relentless diarrhea. Then blood. John Capodilupo’s ulcerative colitis diagnosis didn’t arrive slowly, it hit like a truck, and it sent him into a crash course on what living with IBD really demands. We talk through the early fear and uncertainty, the 28-day hospitalization, and the chaos of juggling treatment while also battling infections like C. difficile and CMV colitis. John also shares his experience with fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) for recurrent C. diff and why the microbiome still feels like one of the biggest unsolved stories in gut health.

From there, we connect the dots between health data and better decisions. John helped build Whoop, the wearable built around continuous physiological tracking like heart rate variability and sleep, and he explains what longitudinal data can reveal about stress, recovery, and early warning signs. We dig into how sleep disruption and subtle body signals can show up before you’re sure whether you’re flaring or just paying the price for Taco Bell.

Then we get into Throne, the smart toilet monitoring system John now co-leads as Chief Product Officer. Throne clips onto the toilet and uses computer vision and sensors to track stool and urine trends passively, aiming to reduce guesswork, improve symptom recall, and open the door to research like flare prediction, medication durability, and future screening signals such as blood detection for colon cancer. We also cover the “real life” questions: multi-user households, cleaning, cost, and a privacy approach built around de-identified data and opt-in research.

If you’re curious about ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, IBD tracking, gut health technology, or the future of smart toilets, listen now then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review.

Links: 

  • Throne's website
  • Fun article about the founding of Throne
  • Buy Throne for $50 off!  or use code ListenToYourGut

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Bowel MomentsBy Alicia Barron and Robin Kingham

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