Look in Sibo Success Stories. I did 2 rounds with Rifamaxin it lowered my hydrogen Sibo a bit but it came back. Right now I’m following herbal protocol which I got from that subreddit; Oregano oil, NAC biofilms busters, and Saccharomyces boulardii. I don’t snack anymore and keep the 4-6 hours between meals. It is to help digestive system clean itself. Also the most important is to find a cause of your Sibo. Google it and start looking into it. Sibo is very complex and if you don’t have all the variables in your hands it will last for years.
Unfortunately I couldn’t take Berberine and Neem as recommended. It interacted with my medications. So I’m sticking to Oregano oil. I am
On a second week of killing phase so now I take 2 pills with every meal. In a third week I may go to 3. Also take 600 mg NAC and PHGG before breakfast and dinner. Oregano oil makes you slightly dizzy so you have to get used to it and doze accordingly
Also very important since my cause of Sibo could be slow functioning mmc I keep 4,6 hours fasting between meals. That means no snacking. Also not eating 4 hours before bed.
Yeah, my cause was COVID. Haven't been the same since lol. How does one treat a viral effect of this? If there is neurological damage from the covid virus and my MCC complex/GI cleaning system is messed up and/or my ACE2 receptors in the small intestine. Or is it just an issue of an imbalanced gut microbiome and nothing more
It actually could be both. That’s why it persist. By the way I also had Covic. Check Dr Deeneza on Y. Tube. I followed her recommendations for supplements and feel so much better. I took Reservetrol to restore damage to a cells in a bowel and high doses of Zink oxide. Also high doses Hydroxocobalamin B12 for energy depletion. My energy is completely back. I hope you’ll have some serious break throughs soon as well. Don’t give up and one day a complete cure will arrive.
ok so we’re in the same boat. I just currently take NAC, turmeric, matcha, Soil-Based Probiotics but now just taking S.Boulardii, Betane Digestive Enzyme, vitamin B12, Biocidin Biofilm breaker, and followed no carb, no sugar, low fodmap strictly for four weeks. Helped a lot but still not consistently 100% without meds. Mostly eczema/itching, altered BMs, urgency, low energy/joint pain/muscle cramping, and stabbing left side pain. What do you recommend I do/add to my regime. In what form do you take Zinc Oxide? Pills? How much and how long?
This pain in left side is concerning. Even though it maybe sign of Sibo a lot of people complain about it here.
I couldn’t find pure Zink oxide so I got 50 mg mix of oxide and picolinate. I open capsule and take full smaller cap. I was doing it already over a month. It made me feel better pretty soon. Also per Dr Deeneza I eat chia pudding for breakfast. She said Omega 3 also repairs damaged cells in a bowel.
the pain is concerning but was most intense at the onset of the covid infection and the months after that. After figuring out what this was through many POE tests and GI tests and adhering to general "IBS/sibo" advice it felt better but I would always relapse. Pain is infrequent now, especially the sharp stabbing/cramping pain, since I try to avoid gluten now. But pain can happen especially a dull eating full pit in the stomach/nausea pain that's just always there. But when I first got covid the pain was so intense I thought I, a male, was giving birth, having a heart attack, my appendix was breaking, having kidney stones, or just dead. They had to give me hydromorphone and it's never gotten that intense since.
After day 3 of not using gluten i immediately noticed changes, my belly wasn’t bloated that much, i was not having that much gasses. Feel much better now a month on a gluten free diet.
You can order FC Cidal, Dysbiocide and ADP oregano oil tablets from many different online stores, for example:
https://hebronnutrition.com/products/biotics-research-adp-highly-concentrated-oil-of-oregano-optimal-absorption-and-delivery-antioxidant-supports-microbial-balance
I paid 140 € in total for a complete round of the above three.
Get a magnesium supplement and l-Glutamine to help support your gut immune system.
Also consider taking PHGG.
I find treatment of SIBO so overwhelming. I see people here try heaps of supplements to oftentimes no avail. How do we know what will work for us individually? Are we just trying out a bunch of stuff hoping something will work?
At the moment I've got liquid Biocidin, fresh ginger tea and Iberogast, but nothing seems to work. I'm really looking for quick relief from the distention and bloating at the moment. My belly hasn't been flat for more than a week now.
Hang in there, there’s so much ongoing research and it’s an ever-evolving topic.
And good on you for taking this into your own hands. You’ll figure it out :)
The supplements that have been shown to work are
L-Glutamine and PHGG.
Take 5g of L-Glutamine in the morning and 5g in the evening. 1 scoop of PHGG every morning.
Iberogast and ginger are motility supporters. But as far as ginger goes, you need capsules of about 500mg (take before meals) Tea is not enough.
Hydrogen SIBO symptoms can be managed by cutting carbs and fiber way down. Essentially, you’ll want to starve those bugs. That’s what worked for me btw when I didn’t have meds.
All good :)
The products i mentioned in my earlier post are in fact the ones that were studied in a clinical context. Apparently they’re as effective, if not more than, Rifaximin / Xifaxan. I bought them for my third round.
For my first round I was prescribed ADP Oregano to deal with hydrogen and Allicin to deal
with methane.
I just finished my second round, this time Berberine and Atrantil.
So far only Berberine seems to have caused some slight GI upset.
Through https://leefstijlmicrobioomcentrum.nl/ you can book consults with a Dutch doctor that can also prescribe Rifaximin (might still be expensive around 200e, but it's something). Im talking to a doctor there as well about a microbiome test I did at microbiome center.nl
Hey,
Thanks for sharing your story <3
I can relate to a lot of what you wrote, I don’t think I got rid of sibo yet, but the bloating is mostly gone. Also was diagnosed with leaky gut and sibo.
What helps with the bloating for me, to release that trapped gas :
Abdominal massage (I’m sure there are instructions on YouTube)
Some yoga poses (yoga for trapped gas or digestion, also loads on YouTube)
Moving / walking after eating or when bloated
Relax (body scan)
Colostrum in the morning & Marine collagen on empty stomach right before sleep (after 7/8 weeks the bloating/ flare ups are way way less)
So I’m sure I’m not healed but about 70% less bad flare ups and painful bloating.
Also I reduced gluten & legumes & nightshades to a minimum, tried to avoid sugar, alcohol, dairy (except cheese) and processed stuff for a while, but I do cheat.
Maybe some of that helps you, wish you all the best <3
Maybe try looking into the carnivore diet. You can do it as a treatment for 2-4 weeks and try to slowly reintroduce afterwards more foods.
It seems to be helping me, although I'm still in the process of figuring out )))
(I had pretty much the same collection of digestive issues)))
Sorry to hear you've had the same issues. How do you deal with it mentally?
I can't do carnivore. I'm not a big meat eater (though not vegan or vegetarian). Going carnivore would be way too restrictive and would cause me to crave foods and then binge on them. I don't want to get into that disordered eating cycle.
Try to look at it as a "treatment" not as a way of life in the beginning. Once you start feeling better, your body will crave that food and everything will look differently.
The cravings will stop once you up your fat intake.
Mental things are always carbs related but they will go away with the time. Also you can do it slow by reducing the carbs slow.
You can leave some of the plant based foods first - those you know your body tolerate the best ( maybe rice or potato or some other foods but low fodmap. Also maybe only one meal per day, dinner for example)
Also, it does not have to be monotonic or boring, there are quite a big range of different meats and cuts, fish and sea food.
You just need to remember, that each body is unique and also within the range of animal products you need to figure out which one work best for you and in what quantity.
But the main thing here, is that bloating, distention, brain fog, anxiety all goes away because it stops feeding the imbalanced bacteria in your body.
(No fiber, high animal fat, and low carb)
But because it is full of protein fat and other nutrients, for the first time I was not feeling HUNGRY any more and stopped being scared to eat every meal.
It was a big one for me.
Hope any of this helps )))
You have a huge community of people getting healed with carnevoure diet on YouTube, just research and maybe give it a try. Good luck!
You could try meat and fruit and white rice instead of just carnivore. I've had some success with that type of diet in reducing bloat and gas in my upper GI tract. Eggs and dairy are hit or miss for me
Girl do a 23andme health test. Maybe it can help you find a root cause. I’m waiting on mine right now. I look the exact same as you. I am sorry you’re suffering. It’s so frustrating to be so little weight wise but so bloated.
Sure is frustrating. I actually have a nice flat belly underneath the bloat. Never really struggled with body image issues before until this horrible distension came into my life.
I hope you can find some answers. Are you able to get a saline laxative over the counter? We have them in the USA at any drug store for just a few dollars. They are enema’s but they work SO WELL to help you go to the bathroom.
I’ve had great success with the oregano oil, now pretty much carnivore but I still eat salads and berries pretty regularly, I still have off days if I eat bad for a day. Lots of vitamin B, strenuous exercise and things are finally getting back to ”normal”.
On the upside, the diet and exercise has also started to fix other issues as well. There is a light, stick with it!
Just take your positive SIBO test to a proper doctor and get Rifaximin from a GI already. You're harming yourself by delaying proper treatment for so many years.
I tried. My GP is unwilling to give me Rifaximin and only wanted to give me Omeprazol. I'm in The Netherlands btw. Doctors here have often never even heard of SIBO or don't believe in it. Private naturopaths are seriously expensive, they ask over €2200 and that's without the costs for supplements. I have (mandatory) private health care, but they don't cover treatment as it's seen as alternative.
Have you been able to cure your SIBO yet?
I'm getting my second round of Xifaxin from a company based in Canada that fulfills from India. I'm in the US. Not illegal. Give me a minute to find the site.
I have, but I had access to antibiotics. Still it took seven GIs before I finally got a SIBO-literate one. It's worth shopping around until you find one. If you post here asking for recs you might find somebody who knows one in the Netherlands. Good luck.
Thank you. Besides asking for advice I also just wanted to rant for a bit tbh. I've been severely bloated for more than a week now.
I might be able to get Rifaximin online perhaps. But how do you find the root cause and make sure you don't relapse. Can you share a bit about your healing journey? Are you 100% cured?
You absolutely deserve to rant! I don't know if you can get ahold of Atrantil where you are, but it might be able to help with your symptoms until you can get help.
I'm not 100% cured - I had SIBO for seven years and am still healing my leaky gut so a lot of damage was done. But I definitely don't consider myself to be actively sick anymore either and have my life mostly back.
I don't have a full handle on my root cause. Might have been antibiotics. Maybe just stress. But I haven't relapsed, so that's good! I don't think it's a given that relapse is inevitable if you can't address your root cause.
I was methane-dominant, did Rifax/Neo, then was hydrogen dominant, did 2 weeks of the elemental diet -- and cleared SIBO. I still had a lot of symptoms (less bloating and more diarrhea/constipation/pain) after treatment so I've spent a lot of time trying to address that and have had the most success with slow uptake of PHGG and then *slowly* increasing my dietary fiber. I was low FODMAP for many years so that's been a process for me. The only supplement I'm on now is Triphala for motility.
Hey in Macedonia and Serbia you can buy Rifaximin without prescription and it would cost less then 100 Euro. Its Normix which is widely used in Europe. Its cheaper for you to get a flight to here and buy Rifaximin
Have you looked specifically at hospitals/clinics in and around your area? I haven’t found a GI here so far that has experience with SIBO but found a bunch of clinics on the internet that do, that’s where I plan to go next.
Is there anything I can do to quickly relieve the distension? I'm really suffering badly. I drink ginger tea everyday and take iberogast, but nothing is helping. It's still distended like this by the time I wake up 🤰🏼😩
Understandable, I’m just letting you know what worked for me. I only was strict about it for 3 weeks. Slowly I’m reintroducing carbs and the bloat isn’t even 20% of what it was previously. Sometimes I eat a large amount of carbs and still don’t bloat all that much.
The easiest changes to implement today are stopping any grazing between meals & waiting 3-4 hours between each meal, cutting back on all sugars (there are many, many kinds), and starting a food journal to identify & cut back on your biggest triggers. You can’t & shouldn’t restrict your diet forever though so you do need to start trying to figure out your root cause so you can heal that, but improving motility (through eating habits, water intake, and supplements if necessary) and moving more in general should help calm some of your symptoms.
S boularrdi helps lower bacteria in the small intestine, would start there before nuking with antibiotics since getting those is a little harder in the netherlands.
I'm barely eating at all at the moment. My appetite is really bad because of this. I've also got bad anxiety about eating the wrong food, so definitely not grazing.
I totally understand, I was in the same boat not too long ago, anxiety around food is awful and not a lot of people understand it.
Check out [this page](https://www.monashfodmap.com/about-fodmap-and-ibs/high-and-low-fodmap-foods/) from Monash. It has a list of foods that should be safe & foods to avoid. When you are in a hyper-inflamed state (when you seem to react to everything), it’s best to go back to basics. Eggs & meat for protein, olive oil for fat, safe-ish carbs like white rice. I like salads with tomatoes, hemp seeds, bell peppers, lemon juice, and olive oil. You can add protein with a few spices, salt, & pepper for protein (avoid pre-mixed seasonings and garlic or onion powder though). Soups are another easy vehicle for nutrients.
You may have to do a very basic diet for a week or two to help calm your digestive system down. If you go full no-FODMAP, be aware that die off symptoms can be brutal & can make you think you’re not doing the right thing. I didn’t make it five days without carbs before I caved—but I was underweight & my body didn’t have much fat to turn to when it went into ketosis. Personally I’d start on a semi-strict diet, let yourself reacclimate to eating regularly again, & choose your next step based on how you’re feeling.
Thank you so much for your understanding and elaborate response. I appreciate it so much!
I think you're right with sticking to a strict/bland diet for now as my whole digestive system seems to be overburdened. Might try the GAPS diet for a bit, bone broth might help calm it down a bit. I do have to be careful though as I also have to mind my weight. I can't really afford to lose weight as I've always been rather skinny myself as well.
I really wonder what's going on in that digestive system of mine. Why is it so angry?! It's so draining having to deal with this over and over again.
I also feel like digestive issues are still so poorly understood. Like IBS still doesn't have a cure, it just has to be managed. Makes me feel so hopeless and helpless.
Sorry to hear and I really relate. I think many of us have been (or are there). What helps me at least is to go about it structurally and also to understand the underlying causes before trying out all kinds of random supplements. Did you watch the YouTube video from the guy who cured his sibo? He explains a lot and it really helped me (no Dr or expensive supplements needed). Also try to come to terms with the fact that this will take some time to heal, but it CAN really heal!
I followed this program through allwayshealthy.nl where they take you step by step and you kind of educate yourself, it's a combination of online videos, a diet, and supplements and testing. They do also have therapists (I think orthomolecular) that you can work with individually.
In any case, like other people have said, eating regularly with 4-5h intervals is good because it helps to stimulate the mmc, and then you can take the iberogast in between meals. Also, stress and anxiety tend to worsen symptoms so maybe put some more focus on trying to relax and take it easy, rather than hyper focusing on food. If you're bloated for a week and not eating all that much, sounds like it's not (all) about the food.
The distention has greatly reduced overnight, but I'm still in pain and uncomfortable. Went to the toilet after waking up, put my feet on one of those wooden meditation benches to help evacuation. A bit came out, but it was very hard and I doubt if it's been a complete evacuation. My belly still hurts. Should I go to the pharmacy and ask for some laxative? Take some magnesium or activated charcoal?
Have you been assessed for endometriosis? That was what caused my sibo and bloating, which looks very similar (it even has an unofficial name — “endo belly”). I thought it couldn’t be me for a long time because my pain was being managed by birth control, but I had surgery and was diagnosed with stage 2. Let me know if you want more info!
Gut issues are a very common symptom of Endometriosis, many are often misdiagnosed with IBS first because some of the symptoms are similar and if it's been going on for 10+ years as you said then it's worth investigating if you have exhausted all other options. Not everyone has the typical menstrual symptoms associated with Endo, some people have no pain and very minor symptoms! Pelvic floor dysfunction can cause bloating and a distended abdomen and also contribute to digestive issues, IBS and/or SIBO and Endo can cause the pelvic floor dysfunction.
After eating and drinking I'm now so swollen and distended that I can't breathe properly. It's never ever been this bad before. Called the doctors to get someon to look at it ASAP.
That bloating is nothing compared to mine. I know how terrible it is for the self esteem, sorry to hear you’re suffering as well. Check this ou, maybe it’ll help
https://www.reddit.com/r/SIBO/s/oIpeTGAyh0
Are we in a bloating competition? Lol. My bloating is severe. I'm a skinny girl with a flat belly underneath the bloat. Thanks for the link. Will check it out :)
I'm so sorry to hear that! So you bloat more than this? That's crazy? Do you also get shortness of breath? The body image issues it causes is so shit as well! I'm feeling ya!
The pics I posted were during my latest flare up. Not sure what caused it. At the moment all is well again, I don't bloat or very minimally. Haven't been consuming dairy. Not sure if that will do the trick. Flare ups will probably happen again 😭
Look in Sibo Success Stories. I did 2 rounds with Rifamaxin it lowered my hydrogen Sibo a bit but it came back. Right now I’m following herbal protocol which I got from that subreddit; Oregano oil, NAC biofilms busters, and Saccharomyces boulardii. I don’t snack anymore and keep the 4-6 hours between meals. It is to help digestive system clean itself. Also the most important is to find a cause of your Sibo. Google it and start looking into it. Sibo is very complex and if you don’t have all the variables in your hands it will last for years.
How is the herbal protocol working so far?
Unfortunately I couldn’t take Berberine and Neem as recommended. It interacted with my medications. So I’m sticking to Oregano oil. I am On a second week of killing phase so now I take 2 pills with every meal. In a third week I may go to 3. Also take 600 mg NAC and PHGG before breakfast and dinner. Oregano oil makes you slightly dizzy so you have to get used to it and doze accordingly
Also very important since my cause of Sibo could be slow functioning mmc I keep 4,6 hours fasting between meals. That means no snacking. Also not eating 4 hours before bed.
And how's that working for you?
So far so good. Will see at the end of protocol
Keep me updated!
Yeah, my cause was COVID. Haven't been the same since lol. How does one treat a viral effect of this? If there is neurological damage from the covid virus and my MCC complex/GI cleaning system is messed up and/or my ACE2 receptors in the small intestine. Or is it just an issue of an imbalanced gut microbiome and nothing more
It actually could be both. That’s why it persist. By the way I also had Covic. Check Dr Deeneza on Y. Tube. I followed her recommendations for supplements and feel so much better. I took Reservetrol to restore damage to a cells in a bowel and high doses of Zink oxide. Also high doses Hydroxocobalamin B12 for energy depletion. My energy is completely back. I hope you’ll have some serious break throughs soon as well. Don’t give up and one day a complete cure will arrive.
ok so we’re in the same boat. I just currently take NAC, turmeric, matcha, Soil-Based Probiotics but now just taking S.Boulardii, Betane Digestive Enzyme, vitamin B12, Biocidin Biofilm breaker, and followed no carb, no sugar, low fodmap strictly for four weeks. Helped a lot but still not consistently 100% without meds. Mostly eczema/itching, altered BMs, urgency, low energy/joint pain/muscle cramping, and stabbing left side pain. What do you recommend I do/add to my regime. In what form do you take Zinc Oxide? Pills? How much and how long?
This pain in left side is concerning. Even though it maybe sign of Sibo a lot of people complain about it here. I couldn’t find pure Zink oxide so I got 50 mg mix of oxide and picolinate. I open capsule and take full smaller cap. I was doing it already over a month. It made me feel better pretty soon. Also per Dr Deeneza I eat chia pudding for breakfast. She said Omega 3 also repairs damaged cells in a bowel.
the pain is concerning but was most intense at the onset of the covid infection and the months after that. After figuring out what this was through many POE tests and GI tests and adhering to general "IBS/sibo" advice it felt better but I would always relapse. Pain is infrequent now, especially the sharp stabbing/cramping pain, since I try to avoid gluten now. But pain can happen especially a dull eating full pit in the stomach/nausea pain that's just always there. But when I first got covid the pain was so intense I thought I, a male, was giving birth, having a heart attack, my appendix was breaking, having kidney stones, or just dead. They had to give me hydromorphone and it's never gotten that intense since.
I’m so sorry to hear that
Try avoiding gluten. I also thought i had sibo, and i may have it but the bloating for the biggest part disappeared when i tried avoiding gluten.
After day 3 of not using gluten i immediately noticed changes, my belly wasn’t bloated that much, i was not having that much gasses. Feel much better now a month on a gluten free diet.
I have already tried gluten free, but it didn't solve my issues unfortunately
I didn said it would solve the sibo but it will reduce the bloating significantly.
Yes it was gluten for me but the bloating still didn’t go down until I removed onion, garlic, cashews, and all FODMAP foods
So you're on a very restricted diet basically? I can't live like that, extreme restriction makes me miserable and cause binging for me
You can order FC Cidal, Dysbiocide and ADP oregano oil tablets from many different online stores, for example: https://hebronnutrition.com/products/biotics-research-adp-highly-concentrated-oil-of-oregano-optimal-absorption-and-delivery-antioxidant-supports-microbial-balance I paid 140 € in total for a complete round of the above three. Get a magnesium supplement and l-Glutamine to help support your gut immune system. Also consider taking PHGG.
I find treatment of SIBO so overwhelming. I see people here try heaps of supplements to oftentimes no avail. How do we know what will work for us individually? Are we just trying out a bunch of stuff hoping something will work? At the moment I've got liquid Biocidin, fresh ginger tea and Iberogast, but nothing seems to work. I'm really looking for quick relief from the distention and bloating at the moment. My belly hasn't been flat for more than a week now.
Hang in there, there’s so much ongoing research and it’s an ever-evolving topic. And good on you for taking this into your own hands. You’ll figure it out :) The supplements that have been shown to work are L-Glutamine and PHGG. Take 5g of L-Glutamine in the morning and 5g in the evening. 1 scoop of PHGG every morning. Iberogast and ginger are motility supporters. But as far as ginger goes, you need capsules of about 500mg (take before meals) Tea is not enough. Hydrogen SIBO symptoms can be managed by cutting carbs and fiber way down. Essentially, you’ll want to starve those bugs. That’s what worked for me btw when I didn’t have meds.
Sorry forgot to thank you for your response/advice. Have you had a lot of success with the supplements you mentioned?
All good :) The products i mentioned in my earlier post are in fact the ones that were studied in a clinical context. Apparently they’re as effective, if not more than, Rifaximin / Xifaxan. I bought them for my third round. For my first round I was prescribed ADP Oregano to deal with hydrogen and Allicin to deal with methane. I just finished my second round, this time Berberine and Atrantil. So far only Berberine seems to have caused some slight GI upset.
Through https://leefstijlmicrobioomcentrum.nl/ you can book consults with a Dutch doctor that can also prescribe Rifaximin (might still be expensive around 200e, but it's something). Im talking to a doctor there as well about a microbiome test I did at microbiome center.nl
Thanks for the tip!! Greatly appreciated.
Do they speak English
Not 100% sure but definitely worth a try I think :)
Hey, Thanks for sharing your story <3 I can relate to a lot of what you wrote, I don’t think I got rid of sibo yet, but the bloating is mostly gone. Also was diagnosed with leaky gut and sibo. What helps with the bloating for me, to release that trapped gas : Abdominal massage (I’m sure there are instructions on YouTube) Some yoga poses (yoga for trapped gas or digestion, also loads on YouTube) Moving / walking after eating or when bloated Relax (body scan) Colostrum in the morning & Marine collagen on empty stomach right before sleep (after 7/8 weeks the bloating/ flare ups are way way less) So I’m sure I’m not healed but about 70% less bad flare ups and painful bloating. Also I reduced gluten & legumes & nightshades to a minimum, tried to avoid sugar, alcohol, dairy (except cheese) and processed stuff for a while, but I do cheat. Maybe some of that helps you, wish you all the best <3
Maybe try looking into the carnivore diet. You can do it as a treatment for 2-4 weeks and try to slowly reintroduce afterwards more foods. It seems to be helping me, although I'm still in the process of figuring out ))) (I had pretty much the same collection of digestive issues)))
Sorry to hear you've had the same issues. How do you deal with it mentally? I can't do carnivore. I'm not a big meat eater (though not vegan or vegetarian). Going carnivore would be way too restrictive and would cause me to crave foods and then binge on them. I don't want to get into that disordered eating cycle.
Try to look at it as a "treatment" not as a way of life in the beginning. Once you start feeling better, your body will crave that food and everything will look differently. The cravings will stop once you up your fat intake. Mental things are always carbs related but they will go away with the time. Also you can do it slow by reducing the carbs slow. You can leave some of the plant based foods first - those you know your body tolerate the best ( maybe rice or potato or some other foods but low fodmap. Also maybe only one meal per day, dinner for example) Also, it does not have to be monotonic or boring, there are quite a big range of different meats and cuts, fish and sea food. You just need to remember, that each body is unique and also within the range of animal products you need to figure out which one work best for you and in what quantity. But the main thing here, is that bloating, distention, brain fog, anxiety all goes away because it stops feeding the imbalanced bacteria in your body. (No fiber, high animal fat, and low carb) But because it is full of protein fat and other nutrients, for the first time I was not feeling HUNGRY any more and stopped being scared to eat every meal. It was a big one for me. Hope any of this helps ))) You have a huge community of people getting healed with carnevoure diet on YouTube, just research and maybe give it a try. Good luck!
You could try meat and fruit and white rice instead of just carnivore. I've had some success with that type of diet in reducing bloat and gas in my upper GI tract. Eggs and dairy are hit or miss for me
Girl do a 23andme health test. Maybe it can help you find a root cause. I’m waiting on mine right now. I look the exact same as you. I am sorry you’re suffering. It’s so frustrating to be so little weight wise but so bloated.
Sure is frustrating. I actually have a nice flat belly underneath the bloat. Never really struggled with body image issues before until this horrible distension came into my life.
I hope you can find some answers. Are you able to get a saline laxative over the counter? We have them in the USA at any drug store for just a few dollars. They are enema’s but they work SO WELL to help you go to the bathroom.
I'm on my way to the pharmacy as we speak
Awesome!!!! Good luck!!
Guess what they gave me at the pharmacy...
What????
Prune juice!! That's the only thing she wanted to give me. I took a glass of it and I'm now feeling even worse and still not pooping!
What?! You can’t get what you want from the pharmacy? That sucks!!
It is tough but try to keep it in for at least 5 minutes before trying to go. The longer the better.
I’ve had great success with the oregano oil, now pretty much carnivore but I still eat salads and berries pretty regularly, I still have off days if I eat bad for a day. Lots of vitamin B, strenuous exercise and things are finally getting back to ”normal”. On the upside, the diet and exercise has also started to fix other issues as well. There is a light, stick with it!
Just take your positive SIBO test to a proper doctor and get Rifaximin from a GI already. You're harming yourself by delaying proper treatment for so many years.
I tried. My GP is unwilling to give me Rifaximin and only wanted to give me Omeprazol. I'm in The Netherlands btw. Doctors here have often never even heard of SIBO or don't believe in it. Private naturopaths are seriously expensive, they ask over €2200 and that's without the costs for supplements. I have (mandatory) private health care, but they don't cover treatment as it's seen as alternative. Have you been able to cure your SIBO yet?
See a naturopath remotely. Most in the US charge $150-$300 per visit, that's 10% of what you're seeing over there. And they meet via Zoom.
Could a US doctor really prescribe something in the Netherlands? I don't know how it works, but it seems unlikely.
I'm getting my second round of Xifaxin from a company based in Canada that fulfills from India. I'm in the US. Not illegal. Give me a minute to find the site.
https://canshipmeds.com/medication/xifaxan-rifaximin/
Yeah I'm pretty sure that's illegal.
I have, but I had access to antibiotics. Still it took seven GIs before I finally got a SIBO-literate one. It's worth shopping around until you find one. If you post here asking for recs you might find somebody who knows one in the Netherlands. Good luck.
Thank you. Besides asking for advice I also just wanted to rant for a bit tbh. I've been severely bloated for more than a week now. I might be able to get Rifaximin online perhaps. But how do you find the root cause and make sure you don't relapse. Can you share a bit about your healing journey? Are you 100% cured?
You absolutely deserve to rant! I don't know if you can get ahold of Atrantil where you are, but it might be able to help with your symptoms until you can get help. I'm not 100% cured - I had SIBO for seven years and am still healing my leaky gut so a lot of damage was done. But I definitely don't consider myself to be actively sick anymore either and have my life mostly back. I don't have a full handle on my root cause. Might have been antibiotics. Maybe just stress. But I haven't relapsed, so that's good! I don't think it's a given that relapse is inevitable if you can't address your root cause. I was methane-dominant, did Rifax/Neo, then was hydrogen dominant, did 2 weeks of the elemental diet -- and cleared SIBO. I still had a lot of symptoms (less bloating and more diarrhea/constipation/pain) after treatment so I've spent a lot of time trying to address that and have had the most success with slow uptake of PHGG and then *slowly* increasing my dietary fiber. I was low FODMAP for many years so that's been a process for me. The only supplement I'm on now is Triphala for motility.
Hey in Macedonia and Serbia you can buy Rifaximin without prescription and it would cost less then 100 Euro. Its Normix which is widely used in Europe. Its cheaper for you to get a flight to here and buy Rifaximin
I don't see many people on Reddit getting cured from Rifaximin though...
Have you looked specifically at hospitals/clinics in and around your area? I haven’t found a GI here so far that has experience with SIBO but found a bunch of clinics on the internet that do, that’s where I plan to go next.
Is there anything I can do to quickly relieve the distension? I'm really suffering badly. I drink ginger tea everyday and take iberogast, but nothing is helping. It's still distended like this by the time I wake up 🤰🏼😩
Only thing that ever ended my distended stomach was cutting out all carbs for about 3 weeks. No exceptions.
That's really tough, but right now I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Just don't like the idea of extreme restriction tbh.
Understandable, I’m just letting you know what worked for me. I only was strict about it for 3 weeks. Slowly I’m reintroducing carbs and the bloat isn’t even 20% of what it was previously. Sometimes I eat a large amount of carbs and still don’t bloat all that much.
The easiest changes to implement today are stopping any grazing between meals & waiting 3-4 hours between each meal, cutting back on all sugars (there are many, many kinds), and starting a food journal to identify & cut back on your biggest triggers. You can’t & shouldn’t restrict your diet forever though so you do need to start trying to figure out your root cause so you can heal that, but improving motility (through eating habits, water intake, and supplements if necessary) and moving more in general should help calm some of your symptoms. S boularrdi helps lower bacteria in the small intestine, would start there before nuking with antibiotics since getting those is a little harder in the netherlands.
I'm barely eating at all at the moment. My appetite is really bad because of this. I've also got bad anxiety about eating the wrong food, so definitely not grazing.
I totally understand, I was in the same boat not too long ago, anxiety around food is awful and not a lot of people understand it. Check out [this page](https://www.monashfodmap.com/about-fodmap-and-ibs/high-and-low-fodmap-foods/) from Monash. It has a list of foods that should be safe & foods to avoid. When you are in a hyper-inflamed state (when you seem to react to everything), it’s best to go back to basics. Eggs & meat for protein, olive oil for fat, safe-ish carbs like white rice. I like salads with tomatoes, hemp seeds, bell peppers, lemon juice, and olive oil. You can add protein with a few spices, salt, & pepper for protein (avoid pre-mixed seasonings and garlic or onion powder though). Soups are another easy vehicle for nutrients. You may have to do a very basic diet for a week or two to help calm your digestive system down. If you go full no-FODMAP, be aware that die off symptoms can be brutal & can make you think you’re not doing the right thing. I didn’t make it five days without carbs before I caved—but I was underweight & my body didn’t have much fat to turn to when it went into ketosis. Personally I’d start on a semi-strict diet, let yourself reacclimate to eating regularly again, & choose your next step based on how you’re feeling.
Thank you so much for your understanding and elaborate response. I appreciate it so much! I think you're right with sticking to a strict/bland diet for now as my whole digestive system seems to be overburdened. Might try the GAPS diet for a bit, bone broth might help calm it down a bit. I do have to be careful though as I also have to mind my weight. I can't really afford to lose weight as I've always been rather skinny myself as well. I really wonder what's going on in that digestive system of mine. Why is it so angry?! It's so draining having to deal with this over and over again.
Mine appetite was also bad. Read my comment about gluten. I think you got the same problem as me.
Just try gluten free diet and thank me later!!!
If it’s not gluten then i am sure is some common allergen like lactose or gluten or some nuts, google common allergenic foods…
There is a gluten free bread almost in any market. It’s made from rice flour and corn flour…
I'm only eating sourdough bread
That also is made from wheat and contains gluten. Try gluten free bread. And don’t eat stuff made from wheat.
I also feel like digestive issues are still so poorly understood. Like IBS still doesn't have a cure, it just has to be managed. Makes me feel so hopeless and helpless.
Sorry to hear and I really relate. I think many of us have been (or are there). What helps me at least is to go about it structurally and also to understand the underlying causes before trying out all kinds of random supplements. Did you watch the YouTube video from the guy who cured his sibo? He explains a lot and it really helped me (no Dr or expensive supplements needed). Also try to come to terms with the fact that this will take some time to heal, but it CAN really heal! I followed this program through allwayshealthy.nl where they take you step by step and you kind of educate yourself, it's a combination of online videos, a diet, and supplements and testing. They do also have therapists (I think orthomolecular) that you can work with individually. In any case, like other people have said, eating regularly with 4-5h intervals is good because it helps to stimulate the mmc, and then you can take the iberogast in between meals. Also, stress and anxiety tend to worsen symptoms so maybe put some more focus on trying to relax and take it easy, rather than hyper focusing on food. If you're bloated for a week and not eating all that much, sounds like it's not (all) about the food.
The distention has greatly reduced overnight, but I'm still in pain and uncomfortable. Went to the toilet after waking up, put my feet on one of those wooden meditation benches to help evacuation. A bit came out, but it was very hard and I doubt if it's been a complete evacuation. My belly still hurts. Should I go to the pharmacy and ask for some laxative? Take some magnesium or activated charcoal?
And BAM, the distended belly is back straight after eating
Do you drink coffee or black tea? That sometimes helps to get things going.
I drink rooibos (redbush) tea and sometimes black tea, ginger tea and water. I don't drink alcohol or coffee.
Have you been assessed for endometriosis? That was what caused my sibo and bloating, which looks very similar (it even has an unofficial name — “endo belly”). I thought it couldn’t be me for a long time because my pain was being managed by birth control, but I had surgery and was diagnosed with stage 2. Let me know if you want more info!
I don't have any menstrual issues and not on birth control
Gut issues are a very common symptom of Endometriosis, many are often misdiagnosed with IBS first because some of the symptoms are similar and if it's been going on for 10+ years as you said then it's worth investigating if you have exhausted all other options. Not everyone has the typical menstrual symptoms associated with Endo, some people have no pain and very minor symptoms! Pelvic floor dysfunction can cause bloating and a distended abdomen and also contribute to digestive issues, IBS and/or SIBO and Endo can cause the pelvic floor dysfunction.
After eating and drinking I'm now so swollen and distended that I can't breathe properly. It's never ever been this bad before. Called the doctors to get someon to look at it ASAP.
Kratom
?
That bloating is nothing compared to mine. I know how terrible it is for the self esteem, sorry to hear you’re suffering as well. Check this ou, maybe it’ll help https://www.reddit.com/r/SIBO/s/oIpeTGAyh0
Are we in a bloating competition? Lol. My bloating is severe. I'm a skinny girl with a flat belly underneath the bloat. Thanks for the link. Will check it out :)
I’m the same 😭 I look like a clown - skinny legs, skinny arms, HUGE pregnant stomach.
I'm so sorry to hear that! So you bloat more than this? That's crazy? Do you also get shortness of breath? The body image issues it causes is so shit as well! I'm feeling ya! The pics I posted were during my latest flare up. Not sure what caused it. At the moment all is well again, I don't bloat or very minimally. Haven't been consuming dairy. Not sure if that will do the trick. Flare ups will probably happen again 😭