Probiotics for SIBO?

My G.I. doctor says it’s too hard to test for SIBO
Can you recommend any test kits?
He wants to just put me on the anabiotic Xifaxan trial for SIBO/IBS D 550 mg three times for 14 days, without knowing for sure, what kind of SIBO I have if I have it at all.
I have mild symptoms
But have been on high dose PPIs for three years.
I have the ATM gene mutation and I’m on PC surveillance.
My CA19.9 is checked every three months and looks like a roller coaster, my latest # being 71
Any thoughts on where I can go to be tested would be appreciated. Thank you. Judy

Trio-smart test. It's like$300 but my insurance paid for it. It's important
to know if you have hydrogen or methane and this tests for both. It's an at
home test. I scored 77 for methane. Your score should be less than 5.
I've read that experts believe up to 80% of people diagnosed with IBS
really have SIBO. And it can come back because after many years they
develop biofilms. I'm taking anti biofilm every day. I started with
various supplements and was able to knock it down 20 points. Now I'm on
xifaxin, 2nd dose with anti biofilm, atrantil, megaspores, and fodzyme.
I'll stay on these maybe forever. Not sure till I have my 3rd test.

Not the xifaxin.

I've had SIBO a couple times, and in my case, the probiotic made it worse until the SIBO was successfully treated. I'm sorry your diet is so restricted, that has to be miserable. Mine is also fairly restricted, as I have gastroparesis-when I had to do the FODMAP diet for breath testing (to diagnose the SIBO), I was miserable. With gastroparesis, you have to go with low fat, low fiber, and no seeds or skins. When I had to add FODMAP, I was stuck with a lot of plain baked chicken and eggs (which are high in fat (even if it's good fat), it was hard for me to break it down. Fortunately, I did not have to continue the FODMAP diet after the breath testing was completed and SIBO was treated.

What I don't like about the gastroparesis diet is that it's not very satisfying. What I like about it is making smoothies and stuff like that. My philosophy is don't tell me what I can't have, tell me what I CAN have. Sometimes the can have list is painfully short.

Hope you can find some middle ground.

Thank you for the info I’ll check out that test
Is there a reliable/informative website that explains SIBO, and what foods you can eat or should avoid?
Never heard of FODMAP before either.
Thanks

Is difficult to find reliable sources. Itrust atrantil product and get a
lot of podcasts by email from them. A low fodmap diet starves the
bacteria. The problem is that it is so restrictive and for people like me
who are not malnutritioned because of the bacteria, it is not helpful. But
i discovered fodzyme, an enzyme invented by a doctor with SIBO at Montash
University. It stops the bacteria from recognizing the food so they don't
steal your vitamins and minerals. The problem is that fodzyme doesn't work
on poloyls, the perfect in fodmap. Polyols are sugar alcohols which are in
my favorite foods like cabbage, Cauliflower, mushrooms, apples, peaches,
and cherries. Plus you can't have any sugar substitute like Stevie,
mannitol, erthyitol. It is helped me but I still needed the antibiotics. I
research the crap out of every article I read on SIBO because most of it is
advertisement disguised as articles. I get a lot of info from atrantil and
fodzyme along with AI Copilot who doesn't contain AS MUCH misinformation.

I meant to say, people like me who ARE malnutrioned

I wouldn't JUST GO ON THE ANTIBIOTICS??? They probably won't work anyway after the first prescription and you have to keep going back for more. They can perform havoc on your system while killing everything off. At least try something like Florastor. Just have to watch your timing. Some say wait until the antibiotics have been completed and some say wait a couple of hours after taking the antibiotics. It's your call.

I wouldn't just go on them either. I've been sizing for many years and
became deathly sick in late 23 and have lost over 50 pounds and half my
muscle mass. I've been trying many alternative supplements and still take
them. Atrantil, fodzyme, megaspores, and oregano oil reduced the score
nearly 20 points and i gained 5 pounds but can't gain anymore. I took the
antibiotics because they are supposed to target only the small
intestines. I didn't take the 2nd one they prescribe because of the
serious warning about hearing loss. Now after the antibiotics I still
haven't gained a pound. I'm staying on all my supplements and adding
berberine and purchasing two supplements I learned on these comments. But
I don't think they have all left yet. They build colonies and protections.
I'm not giving up.

Oh no. I bought the florastore without my usual 2 hours of research. I took two THEN read about it. It's for diarrhea! I have methane SIBO which causes constipation. Sometimes I'm my worst enemy. 🙃