# after Xifaxan



## salvationishere2 (Jul 1, 2009)

I just finished my first 10-day course treatment of 1200mg/daily Xifaxan. During these 10 days, my bloating was definitely reduced! And I felt great! But it's been 3 days now and the bloating has already returned. So I decided to buy another round of Xifaxan cause Pimentel said in his book that sometimes it takes more than one round. However, this second round cost me quite a bit of money since insurance doesn't cover it. So I'm wondering which of you were not cured by the first round and what you did to cope? Did you try alternative medications? Or how many additional doses of Xifaxan?Also, I want to make sure I am following Pimentel's diet. He says to reduce fat and carb consumption. Does olive oil count as a fat or just saturated fats? What about almonds? I have been very careful to limit carb consumption to 1/2 to 1 cup/meal and I space out my 3 meals 5 hours between. As far as carb contents, I've been having white rice, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. Advice? Your story?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

olive oil and nuts count as fat but you have to have some fat in the diet and those are pretty good ones to use.There are some fats you cannot make yourself so small amounts of healthy oils like olive oil will help provide those. A typical American Diet has about 35-40% of the calories from fats. You usually need to get about 10-15% of the calories from fat in order to get the fats you need.If you eat meat or fish you may get enough from those even if they are lean, but a light brush of olive oil when you cook things can get some good fat in without upping the percentage by much.


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## salvationishere2 (Jul 1, 2009)

Kathy, I read your bio. Interesting that I also have a sleeping problem and am very slender. And alot of allergies. I've not tried cognitive-behavioral therapy, but I have recently begun some counseling which is helping me feel better about myself, but hasn't affected my IBS problems. Others have told me that my IBS problems may be caused by emotions or stress, but I can't believe this because my IBS problems have been ongoing for 6 years now and I haven't had much stress at all for the last 9 months I've been out of work (I have money saved up).


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## nw0528 (Apr 17, 2009)

Pimentel also mentions in his book, if the first course of Xifaxan does not have satisfactory results, then a second course (1200 mg. per day for at least 14 days) might be followed with the Vivonex liquid diet (to starve any bacteria that survived the Xifaxan) - but not everyone can tolerate that.Nicole


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## salvationishere2 (Jul 1, 2009)

Thanks Nicole, I will talk to my doctor about Vivonex. But I still haven't had a breath test done, so I will followup this treatment with the breath test.


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

You do not need a doctor to do the Vivonex. It costs a lot of money and it is not pleasant. The best price in the US is the pharmacy at Pimentel's hospital: Cedars Sinai. They ship for free.I did Vivonex two times, more than a year apart. It never did help me. I did it without a breath test and after I had tried Xifaxan.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

salvationishere2 Stress never makes any health condition better.It doesn't cause IBS, it isn't the only trigger for IBS, but people under stress usually are doing worse when stressed than they are when they aren't stressed.You can have non stress triggers that make the IBS go off even if you are relaxed and happy.Physical stress (like allergies and not sleeping) can also count as much as mental/emotional stress. CBT for IBS focuses not just on stress relief but also some on how you interact with the symptoms. Some reactions tend to ramp up symptoms or maintain the symptoms and some reactions tend to make the symptoms less or end. If you can figure out what you have control of that will help you to ramp down symptoms that is going to help.


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## salvationishere2 (Jul 1, 2009)

Moises, did the Xifaxan work for you? So far it is not working for me. This is my second treatment. What did work best for you? I've not yet had a breath test. And I've been strictly following Pimentel's eating plan. I am even stricter than his plan calls for. I am not eating any fruit. And I'm eating some vegetables at each meal now. But I'm still getting bloating. It won't totally go away. What to do? I scheduled an appointment with my GI, but this appt isn't until 4 more weeks!


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

Salvation,The Xifaxan did not work. The elemental diet did not work.I did find that Pimentel's dietary advice was helpful. I had been low-carbing for years and already knew that that helped me. What was new in Pimentel was that white carbs are better than whole grains.I, too, was more strict than Pimentel. I stayed away from fruit. I avoided raw salad completely. I also avoided dairy.I have not had a cure. But I learned some stuff from Pimentel's writing that did allow me to enjoy some improvements.


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## salvationishere2 (Jul 1, 2009)

Interesting. And like you, I've found that white carbs are better than whole grains. I am doing the same things you're doing, sounds like.


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## salvationishere2 (Jul 1, 2009)

Moises,How do you keep your weight with this diet? Since starting Pimentel's diet, I have lost 5 pounds and so I am down to only 140 pounds for a 6'2" frame, which is severely underweight for my size. But with limiting my carb intake and avoiding much fat as recommended in his book, plus restricting my meat to 4-8 ounces/day I see no way to gain weight. I have however, been eating more meat like about 1 pound of meat/day. How much carbs, meat, etc. do you eat and are u normal weight?


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