# Advice please



## XxJustMexX (Dec 11, 2008)

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, but I didn't see any other section for SIBO. I am a 25 year old female who has been battling with tummy issues for at least 23 of those years. Test after test I was labeled with IBS. About a year ago I tested positive for SIBO after I recommended the breath test to my GI. She didn't really have anything to tell me. It was basically a "there's nothing we can do". We tried an antibiotic, but I forget which one. It seemed to help a little. I've used the internet as my doctor. When I stick to rice, rice products, corn products, meat, some fruit and some veggies - I am ok. One can imagine how boring that is. I often fall off the wagon and deal with the consequences - sometimes diarrhea, lots of gas, bloating and pain from being so bloated. I started ALIGN and hope it will help, but if I stick to the strict diet, I wouldn't know. Can anyone make any recommendations? I read that there are a lot of false positives. What else would be a reason for feeling better if I stick to the strict diet? Every test I've taken has been negative. I am so frustrated! I live in New York. Long Island. Can someone recommend a doctor? Someone recommended one in NYC, but driving all the way out there for what will be many visits is costly. Unfortunately every time I see a doctor I get the run around. Any diet recommendations? Propbiotics? Miracle cures?


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## Hester (Jul 5, 2009)

You will find a lot of info on this board. Many people test positive for SIBO, just as many have it and test negative. I would be encouraged by your dietary modifications and symptom resolve. One in four people cannot tolerate dairy. You might very well be one of those. But this isn't just "milk". It is all cheese, yogurt, ice cream as well as butter and the casin and cassinate and whey in packaged foods and some bread/bakery goods. I cannot eat any of that except some very aged cheeses in small quantities I substitute with soy ice cream and fresh products (no packaged food that have "mixes"). Additionally, some people are gluten sensitive and not just have sprue. I do not know if you have had a biopsy or blood tests for gluten intolerance. That could also cause long term suffering. There is a new theory that it is not just the "gluten" but the modified genetically engineered grains fed to our livestock and in most of our wheat and corn products causing an IgG sensitivity. Hence, your ease of digestion with the restricted diet. Vitamin D is a great supplement for digestive health. Some here have found relief with the Caltrate Plus D. If you have any type of "overgrowth" any antiacid IS very bad. There are several clinical articles discussing the return of SIBO if you take proton pump inhibitors or antacids such as TUMS. If I even take one, it will bring back the bloating and diarrhea for at least three weeks. I took Tetracycline for six months on and off and finally got relief from the SIBO. I have avoided the PPi's and turned to using a smoothie maker to eat 6 to 8 servings of fruits and veges with some nuts, glutamine powder and fresh flax daily to repair my "leaky gut". I think the extra veges, especially kale and spinach with the pureed fruit and ice has really help me to achieve balance. I find I can have a little coffee and alcohol again. I have more energy and have started exercising again. I avoid gluten/wheat and dairy products. That is about it for me. Everyone is different. I do my best to avoid stressful situation and drink plenty of fresh water daily. I also avoid sugar and artificial sweetners. I suppose all this might sound boring, but it is far from it. There is nothing like coming home to a orange, pineapple, spinach, walnut, mango and ice smoothie. I have also switched to all grass fed, antibiotic, hormone free meat. I do not eat out much and when I do, I choose fish or salad. Frankly, I have very little bloating and gas, have gone from having years of problems to near normal functioning but it does take a change in lifestyle/diet. SIBO will not go away without at least 3 months of antibiotics. Few get relief from shorter durations unless they use a combination of ABs. Good luck to you and be your own best advocate!


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

Hester,Before you went on your lengthy courses of antibiotics, had you ever noticed digestive improvements (not cures!) from shorter courses of antibiotics?I know many people, like xxJustMexx, are aware that antibiotics gives them some relief. Were you aware of that before you started taking them for months at at time?


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## Hester (Jul 5, 2009)

Moises said:


> Hester,Before you went on your lengthy courses of antibiotics, had you ever noticed digestive improvements (not cures!) from shorter courses of antibiotics?I know many people, like xxJustMexx, are aware that antibiotics gives them some relief. Were you aware of that before you started taking them for months at at time?


I had been on and off ABs for twenty years for acne. I cannot say that I noticed anything but I was not really looking. I had some GI issues 18 years ago that required hospitalization and IV ABs. Then I went for years just avoiding dairy with few "attacks". I will say it seemed I could eat a little dairy if I was on an AB. My extreme problem was the result of a loss of my mucus membranes in the gut due to Stevens Johnson Syndrome and later some acute trigger for diarrhea that never went away. I have heard that people can have mild IBS symptoms on and off for years and suddenly get some kind of acute attack and that's it, they are in the bathroom all the time. Within a very short period of time I lost 35 percent of my body weight, my appetite and had profuse and urgent diarrhea several time daily. Frankly, I noticed an immediate improvement on the AB but could not back off the 2000 mg a day for weeks on end. I remember having a terrible headache and backed it down to 1000 and the diarrhea came right back. However, I was taking antacids at the time which I have learned COUNTER the positive effects of the AB. Once this was resolved, I was on the AB for one more week and now have been off for at least three months and the SIBO has not come back. . . some days are not completely perfect but that is usually because I ate something greesy or drank too much coffee or tea. My weight is back up and my energy is also very good. Wish I could have given you a more definite answer besides not really remembering. Then again, I never had anything as bad as what happened last year.


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

Thanks for the detailed answer. I was curious, since, so far, the weeklong courses of antibiotics do not seem to have given me any improvement. And, like you, I cannot remember if the times when I took antibiotics for nondigestive reasons caused my symptoms to abate. I have noticed that when I get a bad fever, my gut seems to improve. But, I rarely have taken antibiotics for a fever.


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## Hester (Jul 5, 2009)

Interesting: When your body is "fighting" off something, your gut feels better. That sort of makes sense if what is bothering your gut is too much of a "naturally" occuring toxin or bacteria. Under normal conditions it goes unnoticed. But when you are sick and your immune system is in full swing, your gut calms down. . . I do not have any answers just more questions but I would watch Patent on a Pig, Monsanto on YouTube, and the movie Food Inc. It will give you "food" for thought. I am truly trying to eat all organic including my meat products (grass fed only, antibiotic hormone free). My goal is to put my gut lining back to normal. My GI doctor has Rx'd Glutamine powder and Vit D as well as 6 to 10 servings per day of fruits and veges to restore my natural flora - naturally. I still have trouble with wheat and dairy and so avoid them. Altered grain products are also on my avoid list. I guess you could say this leaves a lot of fruit, dried fruit, nuts, greens and organic specialty products. Certainly, I will feel more confident if a year goes by without a relapse. This my sound boring to some but that is OK with me if I can get my life back.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Moises said:


> Thanks for the detailed answer. I was curious, since, so far, the weeklong courses of antibiotics do not seem to have given me any improvement. And, like you, I cannot remember if the times when I took antibiotics for nondigestive reasons caused my symptoms to abate. *I have noticed that when I get a bad fever, my gut seems to improve. But, I rarely have taken antibiotics for a fever.*


I've been on rifaximin twice now, and the first time I was only on it for about 7-8 days and after 6 months the SIBO was back in full swing (I started to notice a return of symptoms after only 6-8 weeks though). The second time I took rifaximin I was on it for a full 10 days and then Align for about 8 weeks longer after that. I still feel that my symtpoms are returning (since the beginning of December), but at a slower rate. Maybe the duration of the ABs and/or probiotic is the reason??My doctor does not seem to want to prescribe any further antibiotics for fear of developing resistant bacteria (I presume), and he never wanted to give me them for longer than 10 days at a time. I wonder if this is a reason for the recurrence?Also, in regards to bolded type above, when I start feeling sick (normal cold-like symptoms) my GI issues actually get _worse_... so, for me, I'm not sure that the boosted immune system you get with a normal ailment is doing me any good in this area. And I have not taken ABs since my GI problems began (except for the rifaxmin), so I have no idea how that relates.I really wish someone would be awarded some NIH grant money to do some more research on recurring SIBO... we need it!


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