Update on progress: Antibiotics for gut might be a cure!?!…

Valacyclovir didn’t have much effect. Unfortunately.

I was found to have MCAS and hEDS. Which both can be attributed to SIBO and gut issues - which I have lots of!!

I had IBS since I was young swimming and drinking from mountain streams (giardia), trips to Mexico with severe abdominal sickness.

Before Covid, I also was suspected of SIBO but breath tests came back negative.

These past 18 months, my gut issues have been more severe than ever. I have constipation, severe bloating and unexplained weight gain of 40lbs in 4 months. I have done every diet imaginable and am the healthiest sick person I know. I literally can not eat less on my lowFODMAP , low histamine diet!! Diet can only do so much and isn’t a cure or treatment…nor are probiotics.

I have had continued bouts of what Urgent Care and ER said was diverticulitis. But kept coming back every month or so. Finally saw GI who said because I didn’t ever have fevers, he thinks it’s more spastic diverticulosis. Not diverticulitis. Which can be triggered by infections in gut.

Think of our gut as a main player in our immune system and studies and researches are linking SIBO as being a cause of IBS, not the other way around. Then add another infection like Covid to an already compromised gut system and WHAM! All kinds of crazy happens!

I’ve done a lot of research and am finding significant links to gut and LC which might be a possible cure for those suffering from LC gut issues like me.

Because of all my “diverticulitis” episodes (4) in 5 months, I’ve taken antibiotics each time and they helped!!!

The antibiotics helped clear not only my gut but my brain fog, PVC’s, energy, and allergies! But then it only lasted a couple of weeks before everything returned.

I was told how this was really common for people to feel a lot better on antibiotics then worse again after the gut bacteria grows back. The bad gut bacteria grows back a week or so later. But feeling better from antibiotics is an indication that antibiotics are doing something towards my LC!!!

I’ve been trialing Cipro/Flagyl combo 3x, each time helped with pain and severe bloating, symptoms came back within 2 weeks of bloating, brain fog, allergies, weakness, PVC’s, etc.

Trial of Rifaximin with Flagyl was a HUGE game changer for me! I finally got my doctor to prescribe Rifaximin for me (bought online from overseas at fraction of cost here in US). I wished I would have had this medicine years ago!!! My symptoms took a while to improve, about 7 days before started to notice improvement with bloating and bowel movements. But after 7 days, I started having full eliminations that I hadn’t experienced in decades!
After 10 days I even started losing weight as my bloating started to shrink. I could fit my wedding ring on my finger for the first time in 18 months when all hell broke loose that started these crazy symptoms of PVC’s, weakness, brain fog, bloating, etc.

Then my 14 days were up. I felt better for 2 weeks then starting noticing the creep of bloating start again. My bms were still good for 4 weeks though. Until after 6 weeks I was back to severe abdominal pain, severe bloating and feeling terrible, pvcs, pain.

I started just Rifaximin, doc said could be on it for 4 straight weeks if felt better on it. I wanted to try cycling antibiotic treatment as I’ve read studies doing this with good results for SUDD and IBS. Felt better within 2 days of taking it again. However my bloating didn’t go down as much, but it helped my energy, brain fog, bm, pvcs, and allergies.

Took a week off after 3 weeks, in 7 days felt way worse so started Rifaximin with Flagyl since that seemed to help the most last time.

Results weren’t as good and within 7 days I felt much worse. (Thinking it’s the Flagyl cause my body doesn’t react well to it even low doses give me side effects). Changed flagyl for doxycycline and started to feel better again. Was on this for 9 days.

Now doc wants me to do another SIBO test to test for methane SIBO. She won’t prescribe neomycin with Rifaximin unless gets positive test for methane SIBO.

I hope it comes back positive and I can get on a program of kill off bacteria, support gut with probiotics after and supplements with digestive enzymes….

Or maybe continuing cycling Rifaximin will be a cure? Cyclical Rifaximin has shown to improve good gut flora while eliminating bad. So there’s hope!

But will see…