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SIBO diagnosis after bowel resection surgery
In January, 2025 I had successful robotic surgery for smoldering diverticulitis. Everything healed well but I have had digestive issues since. My surgeon referred me back to the GI. After countless tests I was finally diagnosed with SIBO. I also have a motility issue which has yet to be resolved. My gut hurts almost every day. I have anywhere from 2-6 BMs over 4-5 hours most mornings yet I often don’t feel empty. An abdominal Xray showed moderate fecal matter despite having gone several times that morning.
Along with my discomfort I am pretty much stuck at home all morning, every morning greatly affecting my quality of life.
Right now I am on my 2nd round of xifaxan (very expensive) for the SIBO and my doctor has me on a regimen of Metamucil and miralax every night to help with the motility issue. We are still not sure what is causing that.
Has anyone experienced a problem similar to this? I have kept a food journal for a year and am not finding a correlation between any specific food and my gut.
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We recently had a family gathering and one of the people there said she has had a terrible time with Chron’s disease. Multiple surgeries to resect colon etc.. She said she was put on so many meds and was not seeing improvement. She finally decided to quit most meds and go on a strict diet of non processed foods, organic foods and most importantly,she said, nothing with preservatives in it. I don’t know if this is helpful or not but I thought it might be worth considering. She also mentioned that she works in the food industry and is appalled at the ingredients included in food to lengthen shelf life and increase profit. Best of luck to you.
I was diagnosed with SIBO about 4 years ago. Prior to that I too took xifaxin and once I was off of it my symptoms returned - so not helpful - and yes expensive. Metamucil and miralax are not anything I tried since they are over the counter and have ingredients I was not sure of. And Pepto Bismol is also over the counter and again only helpful in the very short term.
My doctor put me on prebiotics for awhile and then I was switched to probiotics. SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth - and my doctor explained that there is bacteria in the upper GI and the lower GI and what happens is that the bacteria in the lower get into the upper GI to feed causing us symptoms. These 2 - prebiotics and probiotics helps to get the bacteria where in belongs in our gut.
I was also helped with my doctor's nutritionist to the kinds of food I should be eating. I went gluten free, sugar free and dairy free. And yes, it takes some work to find the foods you can eat. BUT, gluten free products today are easily available. Even restaurants now will indicate on their menus which items are gluten free.
It is also helpful to purchase as many organic fruits and vegetables as you can as they are free of glycophosphate - a chemical sprayed on plants to prevent weeds which can be helpful to our gut. My doctor actually tested me to see if I had glycoposphate in my system and I did. And when it comes to meat - grass fed is best. Our bodies can HEAL if we give it what it NEEDS. And once you get on the right track, stay on that tract so your SIBO won't return.
Wishing you the best - there's nothing that feels better than to FEEL BETTER and do what you want to do.
I have short bowel syndrome. I only have 2ft of my small intestines left and I have all of my large intestines. I have constant upper left abdominal pain but my doctors are not treating my constant abdominal pain. Not related to food. Doctors had me try Metamucil and Miralax but my symptoms got worse. Found out that my body doesn't absorb enough fluids for Metamucil and Miralax to work. So when I feel constipated I drink apple juice and take 3 dulcolax before bed. Because of my Short Bowel Syndrome I am on a low fiber diet. My GI doctor thought I had SIBO so I took Xifaxan for 14 days but it didn't help my constant abdominal pain. I am still trying to find something to help my constant abdominal pain.