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Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO)
Digestive Health | Last Active: Nov 4 7:21pm | Replies (477)Comment receiving replies
Today, even though very sick, my wife went to her gastro doctor to seek some relief from her daily nausea and fatigue I took along my breath test lab report that showed "Presence of Bacterial Overgrowth is Supported". The doctor, who has been trying for four years to find a cause, got upset when I referred to the lab report showing SIBO. He said that if I was going to use a outside lab for a diagnosis, he no longer wanted my wife as a patient, and beside that, he didn't believe SIBO was her problem even thought the lab report showed SIBO to be present. The medical profession had spent four yeas at a Medicare billed cost of over $250,000 trying to diagnosis her nausea and he couldn't accept the fact that in two weeks at a cost of $170 I was able to at least come up with a possible diagnosis. It should be mentioned that in December I requested the doctor perform a gastro emptying study. The study showed a 21 minute dump, and though it raised no red flags with the doctor, it did with me. This meant food was passing thru the stomach without the benefit of the stomach acid to aid the digestion and would now required the small intestine to do both its work and the work of the stomach. Following the Mayo Clinic web site, the next step would be to perform a hydrogen breath test. When I asked the doctor to do the test he said the practice did not do the test because they could not find a local lab. I went on line, found a lab, got the kit and my wife performed the test at home. Five days later I had the test results back.The problem is the doctor will not accept the suggestion as to what I think her problem might be, even though I had researched chronic nausea on at least twenty medical web sites. His final comments were that he was not able to diagnosis her nausea, he didn't believe it was SIBO despite the lab report, she should go to the Mayo Clinic and he no longer wanted her as a patient. He also refused to re prescribe any of her current drugs. So I now have a sick wife who has lost seven pounds in the last month with no relief in sight. I am now in the process of finding another gastro practice who will accept a reject from a competing practice. As an aside, two months ago, on one of my wife's frequent ER visits, as usual all of the ER test results were normal and the doctor said he saw she was sick but he couldn't admit her because she had no diagnosis. I happened to have the breath test printout with me and told him what I thought her problem might be. He said the results looked valid and he asked ME what I wanted him to do. I said prescribe Xifaxan, 550mg, 3/day for 14 days. He did and I was able to put her on a 14 day anti-bacteria, 14 day probiotic regiment for two cycles. Since the doctor has refused to refill the script, and progress toward treating the SIBO has come to a stop. So, since I was the one asking for a gastric emptying test, the one who obtained the breath test and the one who prescribed the medication, my WebMD degree has served me well. If I could only write the drug scripts I wouldn't have to experience the two hour wait in the doctor's office.
Replies to "Today, even though very sick, my wife went to her gastro doctor to seek some relief..."
A diet does my wife no good because she cannot eat anything without getting nausea within ten minutes after eating. Now the doctor does not belief it is SIBO that is her problem even thought I gave him the lab report. In fact he was upset that I on my own had a breath test conducted. She has taken two 14 day regiments of Xifaxan and I plan on taking another breath test to see if the drugs reduced the SIBO. One other problem she has is that she is on hydrocodon for back pain, and the drug is very had on the intestine.The GI doctor has given up on trying to find the cause of her chronic nausea, and has recommended she find another doctor.
You might have been advised and know so much more than I ever will. But some of this seems like side effects from her pain meds? Along with a new gastroenterologist I would continue with pain management including acupuncture meditation and yoga. When I was so sick with a ruined small intestine from Celiac I relied heavily on hypnotherapy audios. The web is full of them all free. I did hire a local therapist and did the sessions by Skype. Stress and anxiety from an illness is so devastating. So a multiple treatment approach along with a nutritionist seems logical. Give her my love and tell her that there is always hope. Good thoughts going your way.
Have you checked out siboinfo.com? It's very informative.
oh my gosh similar thing happened to me what city do you live in i was losing weight lost 50 pounds . did my research listenen to podcasts . Dr told me i should stop reading . asked him to refer me to one of his colleagues who did breath test he refused. Since he is a big wig in this are and many of the gastro practices are under one corporate umbrella no one else wanted to see me.
Went to john hopkins wasn't impressed with person i saw but she did write Rx for breath test. Came back positive took anitbiotics for 2 weeks better for short time then came back even though i was following SIBO diet. Went to Mayo they did endosocopy took fluid which showed i had SIbo still . Another round of Antibiotics. just finished my third round. have lost almost 60 pounds. I do also have cancer but two oncologists say weight loss is not from cancer. Life has become very difficult. wondering how your wife is doing. ?
After years of struggling with a condition eventually diagnosed as SIBO and only marginal
Improvement on a rolling progmme of antibiotics, I was referred to an NHS FODMAP dietitian ( you can look up the FODMAP diet online). After six months of strict adherence to the diet my condition has stabilised and I’m eating more. I still make mistakes and suffer for it but it really did the trick for me. My only problems surround eating in restaurants and in other people’s homes, plus the fact that FODMAP isn’t supposed to be permanent - I don’t know if I can ever come off it.
Welcome to Connect, @edithbeaujon. I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with SIBO, and so glad you've joined the Connect community. If you would like to share more about yourself, we have an incredible Cancer group on Connect, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/cancer/, where I'm certain you will be warmly welcomed. May I ask why the doctor refused to do a breath test?
Hi, I know all about this condition (SIBO) having dealt with it recurringly for 6 years now. It's been a long process. Lots of misdiagnoses by doctors, even gastroenterologist who have no clue what they are really seeing. That is why the process has taken so long. Should have just did it myself from the start. They like to call it "IBS". Well, if it's a syndrome then a syndrome has a cause does it not? So quit being lazy and roll up your sleeves and figure out the cause. It's what you get paid to do. I can tell you everything what is going on with the SIBO. You learn to understand by paying really close attention to your body. I lift weights 3-6 times per week. To build muscle I need whey protein and lots of it. What the whey protein is doing is causing the growth of Candida. Once Candida comes up from the intestines, it will shut down the production of stomach acid. Now you have a condition of low and/or absolutely no stomach acid to digest your food leading to malabsorption. These conditions are called Hypochlorhdria/Achlorhydria. When your gastric acids are really low to nonexistent you can actually see your food come back out undigested or only partially digested when you use the bathroom. And it don't take long either. With me it's usually 15-20 minutes and it's coming out. Of course there is also the copious amounts of gas accompanying this and ridiculous diarrhea. At this point you have little or no stomach acid. Because you have no stomach acid, that allows bacteria in the small intestines to migrate north to the stomach where it is not supposed to be. Your stomach acid stops it but if you have no stomach acid it's free to travel up to the stomach. You now have SIBO. The infection then leads to stripping the protective mucus from the stomach lining and so you now have gastritis as well which is quite painful sometime. So how do you fix it? Find out what you are digesting that is causing Candida and never ingest it again. That's the very first step. Without finding the cause of Candida you will never fix this. You can use a high quality oregano oil to eliminate any Candida. Start with a few drops. I've been known to use as many as 10 drops. It's foul tasting so use a small amount of Gatorade to get pass the taste. Once you eliminate the food source Xifaxan 550mg works great. I'd start with looking at milk since it's related to whey. You pair Xifaxen with Neomycin and take them together. NOTE: DO NOT USE NEOMYCIN LONGER THAN 2 WEEKS YOU COULD LOSE YOUR HEARING. You take those 2 antibiotics and you'll see no sign of SIBO again that very same day. The gastritis you have that you're probably unaware that you even have it will heal itself in about 36 hours just by resting. It's amazing how the body can heal itself once you remove the offending germ. I was treating my SIBO myself getting my antibiotics from Mexico because I live on the border.
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How is your wife doing? Are you familiar with the fast tract diet? Dr. Norman Robillard, digestive institute. I have been diagnosed with SIBO, have motility gastro issues and also bronchiectasis and NTM. The last round of antibiotics given to me during a hospital stay along with previous antibiotics for my lung infections caused the SIBO and a fructose intolerance I am convinced since I did not have this issue before these antibiotic issues. I also have lost so weight I hate to look at myself in the mirror and afraid to weigh myself. Mayo Clinic conducted a whole bunch of tests, almost all that are available to tell me I don't have acid reflux although my Pulmonary doctor does not agree with them. I have found some relieve and have gained 1.5 lbs (which I will take because at least I am not losing it anymore) since I started the fast tract diet. Has your wife been checked for H Pylori? I have had this stomach infection twice and some of the symptoms are very similar to SIBO including the nausea. Best of luck and check out Dr. Norman Robillard's work.