Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO)

"Unless . .. that is part of the treatment."

You anticipated their protocol quite well gigi. They have a very rigorous program but it all starts with 2 or 3 weeks of consuming liquid / powdered drinks.

You're very lucky to have found a doc-- period. I just this morning got a call from Mayo in my attempt to get Dr Bledsoe appt. in Rochester. NOPE. They will not assign a doctor with any specific name to your appointment. You get who you get assigned-- period. I said thanks, but NO thanks. Walked away. So, still looking, forgetting any allopath. Integrated Doc . . . the search is on.

By the way, your doc is not anywhere Minnesota??

@schreib69, I can understand your desire to request a specific physician. Mayo Clinic's takes a team approach to care. Mayo Clinic's SIBO care team includes doctors trained in digestive diseases (gastroenterologists), nurses, advanced practitioners and chest (thoracic) surgeons who work together to provide exactly the care you need.

Having all of this subspecialized expertise in a single place, focused on you, means that you're not just getting one opinion — care is discussed among the team, appointments are scheduled in coordination and highly specialized experts are all working together to determine what's best for you.

Unfortunately, no. My doc is in California. I asked about functional medicine doctors in other states as I have a friend whose sister is not well and she referred me to the ifm website.
Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the great info on this SIBO, etc. I have been suffering since Feb of this year after taking Amoxicillin. I than got CDIFF, but prior to that one of my naturopaths did stool test said have commensal bacterial overgrowth. I have been pretty sick just trying to treat the CDIFF and have been at mayo hospital few times. They did endo and colon, and said no SIBO, but I think it is SIBO. Is there a way to approach the doctor's to ask to test for more? I read about the gastric juices, etc to see what is going on. I am dizzy all the time, and lost over 20 pounds in 2 months. Mayo has the best specialists, but I know doctor's never want you to go in with your own information to test for, etc. Just wondering what other tests might be helpful to find out about the weight loss, the dizziness, etc. related to what the gut is doing. Would rather know if it is SIBO or this Hypochlorhydria that was mentioned. Not sure who orders these types of tests, etc.? I just want to feel better.

To diagnose SIBO, my doctor ordered a breath test which looks at these gases - methane and hydrogen - being produced in your gut. It's a home kit mailed to you but needs to be intrepreted by your doctor. I don't understand how SIBO can be detected via a colonoscopy or endoscopy. Google SIBO to find out what exactly it is and the symptoms one can experience (there are many) - I lost weight, felt fatigued and bloated and that my food was not being digested but just sitting in my upper stomach. Also, do some reading on testing for SIBO so you are armed with that information to share with your doctor. Let him/her know that you would very much like this test to at least rule in or rule out and how to treat if you do in fact have SIBO. What you want is to find out what is causing your symptoms, not just treat the symptoms, otherwise once you stop treating symptoms and feeling good, your symptoms will return if indeed you do have SIBO. That is what happened to me and on my third endoscopy I was told by the GI to never take the proton pump inhibitors (PPI) as they had made my digestive tract cells hypertrophic.
There is also a great book out called SUPER GUT by Dr. William Davis that helps you understand SIBO and dietary changes that need to be changed and/or added to your diet. His recommendations are very similar to what my doctor prescribed for me.
If your doctor refuses, I highly recommend you seek another one out who is willing to work with you on finding the reasons for your symptoms and treating that cause. My doctor is a functional medicine doctor as I gave up on my health providers. You can find one by city and state at ifm.org and look for one that specializes in digestive issues.
Wishing you the best in finding an answer and getting your health back.

Appreciate it. I sure hope that doctors start looking at a lot of the forum comments, etc. to see people are suffering and just want help for these gut issues. Paying for functional medicine doctors gets expensive out of pocket. Wish traditional medicine docs would maybe look more at these SIBO type tests and stool tests, etc. to evaluate more. I am hoping Mayo can help me at this time as already had endo and colonoscopy, and just trying to get answers how I went from athlete to now some overgrowth of stuff after covid. Not sure if taking products for SIBO work, etc. like the oregano's, allicin, or like CBO protocol products like equilife offers or amy myers offers. I wish docs could just tell us what to try. Thank you again, and if any other supplement suggestions, etc. to ward off commensal bacteria overgrowth feel free to share.

My doctor started me on bitters 10 minutes before meals to get digestive juices flowing, a digestive enzyme with food, a prebiotic and probiotic to help build up the good bacteria. And I also consulted with her staff nutritionist on foods to omit and incorporate. Basically, I reduced high sugar fruits (I only eat fruit from the berry family) and vegetables, added Kefir, yogurts high in live cultures, fermented foods such as pickles but only from the refrigerated section of the market (this is required for fermented foods), sauerkraut and kombucha if you like how these taste (I don’t). I’m also gluten free which my doctor believes is better for gut health whether you’re gluten intolerant or not. She is also an advocate of grass feed meats and dairy products and wild caught fish and eating organic as much as possible.
I’ve mentioned a book before called SUPER GUT by Dr. William Davis. His recommendations are similar to my doctor’s. You’ll learn about what SIBO is, foods to eat. recipes also included. This book is highly informative and great if you’re motivated to do this on your own.

Thank you for sharing this information. I have been diagnosed with IBS-D. Recently had a positive breath test for SIBO. Started Xifaxan a few days ago but I don't notice any difference in my symptoms. Some of the symptoms actually seem more pronounced. I had the SIBO breath test in the doctor's office. The breath testing machine made an alarm noise at the 3rd and forth 20 minute check. Both time the medical assistant said she had to calibrate the machine. 'I"m wondering if the test was even accurate. I also do not have any upper GI symptoms (heart-burn, belching, indigestion , nausea) which I thought was common with SIBO. I'm questioning if I even need this antibiotic but the doctor feels I do. Any thoughts on this?

To Moderator Colleen Young: This is wonderful to hear with regard to Mayo Clinic having a SIBO care team. I am currently trying to get an appt. with their GI department but they said it was closed to new patients and that it might help if my primary care doctor (who is not at Mayo) gives a call to to request that I be evaluated at Mayo. Also, I am referring to Mayo Clinic ,Scottsdale Arizona. Many years ago I was seen a Mayo Clinic, Rochchester MN. It was an incredible experience. A few years ago I was seen at Mayo Scottsdale, AZ. This was an entirely different experience. The doctor there told me they do not really work in teams and looked baffled when I asked him about it. Is the "SIBO team" you are referring to in Arizona or Minnestota?

May I ask what brand of bitters?