SIBO, or Duodenitis, or what?

Posted by mattdk @mattdk, Dec 12, 2022

I’ve been through a battery of tests with no issues found so I figured it’s time to reach out to see if someone else’s experience could help diagnosis.
Prior to my current issues I’ve had minor digestive issues such couple days a week i’d have diarrhea multiple times in the morning, or id be woken up at night by digestive “rumblings” but nothing that seemed worth seeing a doctor over. I was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about a year ago (probably have had it for a while before then though)

My current issues started with me waking up one night with what felt like just typical bad indigestion from eating spicy food to late at night. Normally when this happens I just sit up for a few minutes and the pain passes with a bit of gurgling sensation in my stomach. This time it didn’t the ache just wouldn’t stop. The next day I felt a little less of an ache so I had some tomato soup for brunch. Two hours later I felt very nauseous and vomited. And barley at anything all day. At the end of the day desperate to eat something I tried smoking some marijuana. All though I still had pain in what felt like my stomach the nausea cleared up and I was able to eat. Three days later I saw my doctor he said wait 5 days to see if it’s just a “bug” I did and it didn’t go away. After having and ultra sound, a gastric empty test, and endoscopy all come back normal with no issues found my doctor agreed it could be trulicity causing the constant pain in what felt like my stomach as well as the diarrhea I had developed. After a month of no trulicity some of my worse issues like nausea did clear up but I was still left with the following symptoms. Alternating constipation and diarrhea, excessive belching to the point of (where is all the gas coming from?) and a sore ache in the dead center of my abdomen right where I the think the duodenum is. What ever is hurting I can actually touch by pressing the spot and it instantly gets more sore. After having a CT and CCK HIDA to check my gall bladder all come back ok no problem. I’m now waiting (have to wait 4 weeks) on a breath test for SIBO. (At this point I’ve had the constant pain for 2 and a 1/2 months). I am concerned though about what this test will show because some things do or don’t make sense for SIBO. For example although I do get bloating and belching the main thing that hurts is the thing I can touch and push on which dosn’t feel like the small intestines. Looking up SIBO online the pain should be from the bloating. Also I’ve had zero extra flatulence. I’ve been trying to fallow a low FODMAP diet and although what I eat does make some difference in the amount of belching, it dosn’t seem to match up to high or low FODMAP . For example two hard boiled eggs and oatmeal causes as much belching as a steak and cheese sub with onions and Mayo. The tenderness in the middle of my chest as well as the ache which at times can feel like hunger pain matches symptoms of duadentitis, bust my endoscopy show no problems.

If anyone could provide some insight if this sounds like SIBO or what it could be it would help me immensely.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

Profile picture for blessedwildapplegirl @blessedwildapplegirl

Hi. I posted a couple of months ago I think. In mid November, I suddenly had a really bad attack of what I thought was irritable bowel, but it went on too long. I had eaten an apple and some coconut milk yogurt, and got severely sick about an hour later and couldn’t eat for a week and then finally was able to eat a little bit, but had terrible diarrhea for a week and went to the ER and they did a CAT scan, and said I had inflammation in my lower bowel, which I could feel because it was burning. I’ve had IBS on my life, but I had never felt like this! then I saw my doctor and he wanted me to take an ad acid, but my food felt like it was sitting in my stomach for 10 to 12 hours, so I said no. He recommended aloe vera gel, and I bought some, but I’m highly allergic to all kinds of things and very sensitive, so I never tried it. The burning was starting to go away, so I didn’t think I needed it. I started blending my food and then I was able to eat a little bit more and fast forward to five months later and for the past three weeks I’ve been eating pretty normally, although still blending about half of my food, and I’m always on a bland, mushy diet since they removed my gallbladder in 2012. Well, the other day, I stupidly, decided to try some more coconut milk yogurt, the same exact kind of triggered my stomachache five months ago! Guess what? I was in massive pain all night and I tried to eat half an avocado this morning and I’m in pain and I think I’m gonna go without eating again and I’m scared because I only weigh 82 1/2 pounds. I’m 5 foot four. I can’t believe I did that again. Has anybody else experienced that? When I googled it, it looks like I might have SIBO and the probiotics in the yogurt triggered it. I’m scheduled to go to a gastroenterology clinic this Tuesday and I didn’t want to go because I don’t want to take a bunch of pills or have a bunch of tests. I can’t believe I was feeling better and I screwed it up by eating the yogurt. I’ve also been under a lot of stress lately, but it’s never been like this except for that thing that happened in November. I also had some sleep difficulties when this first came on and I googled it and it’s possible you can get Covid in your stomach (I know someone that happened to) and I had been in a car with someone five days before I got sick, so I thought I might have long Covid. I stupidly didn’t test myself when I first got sick because I’m here alone and I was afraid I would panic. Yes, I’m very anxious. I just wondered if anybody else had reacted to probiotics that way. I was taking probiotic capsules, but they started upsetting my stomach, so I stopped them. Does anyone else suffer from SIBO? Does it sound like what this could be? I’m so scared I’m gonna lose more weight. I can’t believe I was just starting to feel better and had been actually going out of the house which I hadn’t been doing for months because I was so weak. I feel like an idiot. Thank you for any help anybody can offer.

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Don’t feel like an idiot. You are doing YOUR BEST. Half the GI specialist don’t understand half the problems. Extremely complicated is the GI TRACT. GOOD LUCK

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Profile picture for blessedwildapplegirl @blessedwildapplegirl

Yes, I’m positive that I have either diverticulitis or something that has triggered severe inflammation in my bowel. I think the yogurt triggered it, but I don’t think it caused it if you know what I mean. I hope you have a lovely walk! I’m gonna go sit outside, but I don’t quite have enough energy to walk today. 😊

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Hi @blessedwildapplegirl
How did regrouping with your GI group go yesterday?

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Profile picture for Janell, Volunteer Mentor @jlharsh

Hi @blessedwildapplegirl
How did regrouping with your GI group go yesterday?

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They were not able to schedule my colonoscopy until June 9, so I may go in for a CAT scan before that. I don’t understand why I can have severe stomach pain for a couple days in a row and I can’t eat anything and then I’ll have a day when I’m fine. I eat the same thing every day! That’s just weird. Has that ever happened to you?

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Profile picture for blessedwildapplegirl @blessedwildapplegirl

Hi. I posted a couple of months ago I think. In mid November, I suddenly had a really bad attack of what I thought was irritable bowel, but it went on too long. I had eaten an apple and some coconut milk yogurt, and got severely sick about an hour later and couldn’t eat for a week and then finally was able to eat a little bit, but had terrible diarrhea for a week and went to the ER and they did a CAT scan, and said I had inflammation in my lower bowel, which I could feel because it was burning. I’ve had IBS on my life, but I had never felt like this! then I saw my doctor and he wanted me to take an ad acid, but my food felt like it was sitting in my stomach for 10 to 12 hours, so I said no. He recommended aloe vera gel, and I bought some, but I’m highly allergic to all kinds of things and very sensitive, so I never tried it. The burning was starting to go away, so I didn’t think I needed it. I started blending my food and then I was able to eat a little bit more and fast forward to five months later and for the past three weeks I’ve been eating pretty normally, although still blending about half of my food, and I’m always on a bland, mushy diet since they removed my gallbladder in 2012. Well, the other day, I stupidly, decided to try some more coconut milk yogurt, the same exact kind of triggered my stomachache five months ago! Guess what? I was in massive pain all night and I tried to eat half an avocado this morning and I’m in pain and I think I’m gonna go without eating again and I’m scared because I only weigh 82 1/2 pounds. I’m 5 foot four. I can’t believe I did that again. Has anybody else experienced that? When I googled it, it looks like I might have SIBO and the probiotics in the yogurt triggered it. I’m scheduled to go to a gastroenterology clinic this Tuesday and I didn’t want to go because I don’t want to take a bunch of pills or have a bunch of tests. I can’t believe I was feeling better and I screwed it up by eating the yogurt. I’ve also been under a lot of stress lately, but it’s never been like this except for that thing that happened in November. I also had some sleep difficulties when this first came on and I googled it and it’s possible you can get Covid in your stomach (I know someone that happened to) and I had been in a car with someone five days before I got sick, so I thought I might have long Covid. I stupidly didn’t test myself when I first got sick because I’m here alone and I was afraid I would panic. Yes, I’m very anxious. I just wondered if anybody else had reacted to probiotics that way. I was taking probiotic capsules, but they started upsetting my stomach, so I stopped them. Does anyone else suffer from SIBO? Does it sound like what this could be? I’m so scared I’m gonna lose more weight. I can’t believe I was just starting to feel better and had been actually going out of the house which I hadn’t been doing for months because I was so weak. I feel like an idiot. Thank you for any help anybody can offer.

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I have the problem with slow digestion called gastroparsis. If I eat red meat it sits on my stomach for about three or four days with nausea and vomiting.
It’s really hard to digest. They recommend if you have gastroparsis to blend your food for easier digestion. Yogurt bloats my stomach up for a couple of days afterwards.
There are certain foods I do and do not eat that makes it worse.

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Profile picture for blessedwildapplegirl @blessedwildapplegirl

They were not able to schedule my colonoscopy until June 9, so I may go in for a CAT scan before that. I don’t understand why I can have severe stomach pain for a couple days in a row and I can’t eat anything and then I’ll have a day when I’m fine. I eat the same thing every day! That’s just weird. Has that ever happened to you?

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Oh, yes I have. That is the million dollar question, 🤔 and exactly the reason there are trained professionals we work with. They know the science / we know our body. I do know it all is truly systemic, affects my entire body. What I eat, my activity level, strengthening and stretching all make a difference.

What are you expecting these tests to pin down and/or rule out? Are these tests your GI clinic recommends you get done next or are you telling them what you want done? Aren’t you just tired of running in circles? ⭕️

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Profile picture for Janell, Volunteer Mentor @jlharsh

Oh, yes I have. That is the million dollar question, 🤔 and exactly the reason there are trained professionals we work with. They know the science / we know our body. I do know it all is truly systemic, affects my entire body. What I eat, my activity level, strengthening and stretching all make a difference.

What are you expecting these tests to pin down and/or rule out? Are these tests your GI clinic recommends you get done next or are you telling them what you want done? Aren’t you just tired of running in circles? ⭕️

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No, I didn’t request these tests; the doctor did. I think they’re looking for diverticulitis, colon cancer (it runs in my family), and a hiatal hernia. I finally tried some aloe vera gel yesterday, and it made me feel better even though I only drank a tiny bit. I just watched an interesting video on YouTube by a Dr. Berg that my neighbor sent me and discovered that low thyroid and not enough b vitamins can cause a lack of stomach acid, which of course can cause acid reflux and Gerd because your food doesn’t get digested and then it pushes against that flap. I probably don’t get enough vitamin B because the only one I take is B12, so I’m going to do that. I also have a low thyroid and I’ve been treating it with iodized salt because I was using a different salt that a doctor recommended for me years ago and I didn’t even realize it didn’t have iodine in it! So whenever I can eat, I put a lot of salt in my food, which would probably be bad for most people, but I have low sodium in my blood for some reason. Probably because I don’t eat enough! I was so happy to be able to eat yesterday. It makes all the difference in the world. But I got up too late today and was so hungry that I wolfed my food down and I’ll probably pay for it later. Oops!

REPLY
Profile picture for blessedwildapplegirl @blessedwildapplegirl

No, I didn’t request these tests; the doctor did. I think they’re looking for diverticulitis, colon cancer (it runs in my family), and a hiatal hernia. I finally tried some aloe vera gel yesterday, and it made me feel better even though I only drank a tiny bit. I just watched an interesting video on YouTube by a Dr. Berg that my neighbor sent me and discovered that low thyroid and not enough b vitamins can cause a lack of stomach acid, which of course can cause acid reflux and Gerd because your food doesn’t get digested and then it pushes against that flap. I probably don’t get enough vitamin B because the only one I take is B12, so I’m going to do that. I also have a low thyroid and I’ve been treating it with iodized salt because I was using a different salt that a doctor recommended for me years ago and I didn’t even realize it didn’t have iodine in it! So whenever I can eat, I put a lot of salt in my food, which would probably be bad for most people, but I have low sodium in my blood for some reason. Probably because I don’t eat enough! I was so happy to be able to eat yesterday. It makes all the difference in the world. But I got up too late today and was so hungry that I wolfed my food down and I’ll probably pay for it later. Oops!

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How in the world are you able to figure out a cause and effect of anything if you keep changing what you eat/take? I am super confused I guess. I thought you said you eat the same thing every day. I guess you do….except for they days when you don’t. 😜

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Profile picture for Janell, Volunteer Mentor @jlharsh

How in the world are you able to figure out a cause and effect of anything if you keep changing what you eat/take? I am super confused I guess. I thought you said you eat the same thing every day. I guess you do….except for they days when you don’t. 😜

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I eat the same thing every day when I’m able to eat, but I’m trying to introduce some remedies that have been suggested by my doctor, like the aloe vera gel and also I need to take some extra vitamins, like b vitamins. I don’t change my food though. It’s just that some days I can’t eat anything.

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Profile picture for artemis1886 @artemis1886

I have the problem with slow digestion called gastroparsis. If I eat red meat it sits on my stomach for about three or four days with nausea and vomiting.
It’s really hard to digest. They recommend if you have gastroparsis to blend your food for easier digestion. Yogurt bloats my stomach up for a couple of days afterwards.
There are certain foods I do and do not eat that makes it worse.

Jump to this post

I also have gastroparesis. A very tough disease. I tried all the motility drugs including Reglan. And all the different diets. Two things that helped on diet was going gluten free and dairy free. Hard to give up. Breakfast was my primary and sometimes only meal of the day. Have not been able to eat red meat or pork in a very long time. Only chicken or turkey. Nothing fried.

The biggest help for me was my GI doctor was able to get FDA approval for me to take Domperidone. It is a old drug no longer available in the US. You have to get approval from a cardiologist to be on it and all other medical avenues have been exhausted. It has been a life saver for a, a true blessing.

How that some of this is helpful in your fight with this disease. Blessings on your day.

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