# Fibromyalgia and SIBO



## cynthia (May 9, 2006)

I'm new to the fibromyalgia forum. I've been posting on the SIBO forum. I haven't been able to find threads here on the link between SIBO and fibro. Have there been any? Many with IBS have been subscribing to SIBO antibiotics. Are those with fibromyalgia doing the same? My son is a sufferer and I wanted to try the recommended antibiotic xifaxan. Would like to find any info on those who have done this too. Anyone?? Thanks


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

I am not aware of any link between SIBO and Fibromyalgia. I have read that SIBO is fairly common in Fibro patients, but it doesn't seem that the treatment for SIBO would affect Fibro. I did do a Google search, to see what kinds of articles are out there on the web about this topic, and here is a link to the results from my search!http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=c...nd+fibromyalgiaMaybe there will be some helpful information in there for you somewhere. Your son is a Fibromyalgia patient? If so, you might want to look at the threads on here regarding the new prescription drug Lyrica, that has just gotten FDA approval as the very first drug treatment specifically for Fibromyalgia!Please be sure to keep us posted on how he's getting on!


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Dr Pimental of whom you already know about did a study on SIBO and Fibromyalgia and sibo, which you can serch for.It is *NOT* looking like sibo causes IBS, but that some IBSers have both or some people just have sibo.This is really important SIBO is a FUNTIONAL problem just like IBS is a GI disorder of Function. So some of this depends on the root cause that someone would have sibo in the first place.It is also important to be tested for sibo using the right tests as they can give false testing results.It is highly unlikely SIBO cause Fibro.You have to be extremely careful with your son. IF he has IBS the antibiotics could potentially make him a lot worse.Long term it could even subject him to other potential problems.


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## cynthia (May 9, 2006)

eric said:


> Dr Pimental of whom you already know about did a study on SIBO and Fibromyalgia and sibo, which you can serch for.It is *NOT* looking like sibo causes IBS, but that some IBSers have both or some people just have sibo.


I don't know of any study that Pimental did that concluded that SIBO does not cause IBS. Please advise where I can find this.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

"I don't know of any study that Pimental did that concluded that SIBO does not cause IBS. Please advise where I can find this."Pimental didn't do the study. That Pimental Believed that SIBO caused IBS in the first place was always *speculation* and has never been proven to begin with. Other centers have not be able to replicate his studies. People can have SIBO and not have IBS and have IBS and sibo and some just have IBS.However this study used better testing for SIBO then the lactulose breath test.NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An abnormally high number of bacteria in the small intestine does not appear to be a major factor affecting the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, Swedish researchers report in the medical journal Gut. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or spastic colon, is a common disorder characterized by abdominal pain, diarrhea, cramping, and constipation. The syndrome is thought to arise from overactivity of the nerves in the intestine that control movement.*"The data do not support an important role for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, according to commonly used clinical definitions, in IBS,"* senior investigator Dr. Magnus Simren told Reuters Health.Simren and colleagues at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, *note that a high rate of bacterial overgrowth has been reported in patients with IBS, but these observations were based on tests that only indirectly measured bacteria levels.*They therefore assessed small intestinal bacterial overgrowth by a direct test -- bacterial culture of small-bowel test samples -- among 162 patients with IBS and 26 healthy subjects. Cultures revealed the exact same rate of intestinal bacterial overgrowth in both groups, 4 percent.Signs of intestinal movement abnormalities were seen in 86 percent of patients with overgrowth and in 39 percent of patients without overgrowth. The investigators also observed that movement abnormalities did not reliably predict altered small-bowel bacterial levels.SOURCE: Gut, June 2007.In the above study four percent of the IBSers had SIBO as well as 4 percent of the control group who didn't have IBS had sibo.


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