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← Return to SIBO…did it ever go away?
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I have been diagnosed with SIBO, but I never took the antibiotic because it was so expensive and there was no guarantee that it would not come back. But I have another symptom that goes along with it, I have an intolerance to cane sugar. And believe me, I only have to have a small amount for it to cause big symptoms. It causes me to have a lot of congestion which then causes me to have severe headaches, besides having the intestinal uproar. I guess there is no cure for all of this other than avoiding all food that causes bad symptoms. The problem with that is, that there is a whole lot of food that I cannot eat. Anyone else have these symptoms?
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@triciadann
Your body's inability to digest cane sugar might be an indication of a broader issue: ASID (Acquired Sucrase Isomaltase Enzymatic deficiency), or CSID (Congenital Sucrase Isomaltase Enzymatic deficiency). My SIBO started in summer 2024. I had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. The endoscopy revealed that my brush membrane was damaged and that I had developed ASID (Acquired Sucrase Isomaltase Enzymatic deficiency). That is, my body can no longer properly digest these forms of sugar). So, it might be more than just cane sugar that your body can't take. I suggest, if possible, getting an endoscopy to see if there is evidence you have ASID or CSID. (They're really the same thing, since if you develop ASID, a genetic predisposition that might have been latent all your life suddenly gets activated.) There are a lot of helpful websites out there that will help you experiment with diet. The diet has some overlap with FODMAP but is different in crucial ways.
Also, in general: sugar feeds the bad bacteria in your gut and is to be avoided whether you have ASID or not.
After almost 2 years of being sick with the SIBO I'm now (cautiously) in a really good place, with less gas and pretty much normal motility. I also recently did one course of the Xifaxin and about a month after I finished it, I had a pretty bad week that I believe was a "die-off" of the SIBO and have been doing great ever since. Even my quite terrible hemorrhoids have shrunk.Of course, I don't yet know if my SIBO is permanently cured. And I remain on my diet at the moment (which is, I won't lie, quite a hassle) since I don't know if the damage to my brush membrane is permanent.
Everyone is different and experimentation and keeping a diet/symptom log is a really good idea. Other things that it really helped me to cut out of diet: all fermented foods, probiotics, and whole grains and cruciferous vegetables (e.g., broccoli). I'll put in a big plug here now for sour grain bread! Very digestible. Also, my problem was more constipation than diarrhea, so Miralax once a day and even a nightly low dose senna has done wonders. Addressing some pelvic floor dysfunction has also been a game-changer. (Check out online videos about the "right" way to poop.)
Everyone is different but diet is crucial, I believe.
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@triciadann I was also diagnosed with SIBO, took the antibiotic (I think it was Xiafaxin or something), the antibiotic didn't help at all but cost me $2,000, and I get the same symptoms that you get from cane sugar, only with me it's if I swallow even one grain of salt (or any form of sodium).