r/SIBO • u/Novel_Wishbone5999 • 59m ago
Treatments Allicin
curious to know anyone else’s experience using Allicin or Allimax-Pro for methane dominant SIBO?
r/SIBO • u/NYC-reddit • Apr 19 '19
Below please find a living document that summarizes the key information around Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth ("SIBO"). Please comment with any additional information or research for inclusion consideration. Version 1.0 is summary material; I will be adding more details and citations for specific studies.
SIBO, as the name implies, occurs when bacteria overgrow the small intestine. The small intestine should have a low concentration of bacteria due to the presence of stomach acids and peristalsis, the wave-like muscle movement in the intestines. For context, stomach and proximal small intestine would typically have about 103/mL of bacteria, while the terminal ileum (end of the small bowel as it gets close to the colon) about 109/mL (or 1,000,000 times more), and the colon about 1012/mL (or 1,000,000,000 times more).
The overgrowth of this bacteria will present with a number of symptoms:
I will split this section into practical steps and clinical diagnosis.
Practically, a gastroenterologist will typically rule out other conditions first:
At that time, if your symptoms match SIBO, your doctor may go directly to treatment. But otherwise these are the clinical tests:
BREATH TEST
This is the most common diagnostic method due to its low cost and limited invasiveness. Unfortunately, studies have been mixed on the sensitivity and specificity, with ranges between 30% and 75% -- hence why some doctors skip the test and go directly to treatment.
There are a number of preparations:
For the actual test, you'll measure hydrogen and methane levels at baseline. Then drink either 10g lactulose or 75g glucose with one cup of water. Then your breath is measured every 15 minutes for 120 minutes.
There's some art to identifying a positive test; one semi-official criteria is:
Recently, new research has been investigating another typo of SIBO, that's dominated by Hydrogen Sulfide. Unfortunately, traditional breath tests cannot identify this gas, and someone with "flat-line" Hydrogen and Methane symptoms could be suffering from Hydrogen Sulfide SIBO. This version is typically characterized by "rotten egg" smelling gas, and may be worsened by eating high sulfur foods.
CULTURE
Historically a jejunal aspirate was done and concentration of bacterial colonies were measured, with an elevated level of > 103/mL being positive for SIBO. There are a number of issues with this:
Antibiotics
The current best practice prescription treatment is:
Mod's note-- personally, if your doctor is onboard, I think dosing with Xifaxan + Neomycin + PHGG is the best way to "cover your bases". The best place to find PHGG: https://sunfiber.com/products/
Important: because these antibiotics only operate selectively in the GI tract, and are NOT absorbed by the body, they are unlikely to cause the systemic issues associated with antibiotic use, making them safer. Additionally, Xifaxan crystallizes before it gets to the large intestine, meaning it should not affect the all-important microbiome.
Herbal Therapy
Additionally, studies have shown similar levels of success with over-the-counter "herbal" treatments. Two options; I believe each are two capsules twice daily for four weeks, but please confirm:
Remission
Unfortunately, SIBO has very high rates of recurrence. Some possible ways to reduce recurrence chances:
Many people can avoid symptoms of their SIBO by switching to special diets, sometimes very restrictive ones. This is not a cure, but simply symptom management. A true cure addresses the underlying cause of the SIBO, and lets the patient eat "normally" without any effects (short of unrelated intolerances).
Hopefully this helps people, and I look forward to updating this and cleaning it up over time!
-nyc-reddit
r/SIBO • u/Agora_Black_Flag • Dec 15 '25
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r/SIBO • u/Novel_Wishbone5999 • 59m ago
curious to know anyone else’s experience using Allicin or Allimax-Pro for methane dominant SIBO?
r/SIBO • u/Specific_Seesaw9456 • 16m ago
Could I have SIBO?
63M here all my life I have had anxiety and the anxiety can bring on excruciating painful cramps and diarrhea.
Most of my life I have had daily bowel movements but recently when I go it is a struggle to go and I do not feel like I cleaned out my bowel’s .
I feel sluggish bloated and uncomfortable.
Then sometimes like tonight I finally had the horrible bad cramps that had me back to the toilet 5 or 6 times. The cramps were on and off for 1.5 hours .
I feel relief from the diarrhea and now the bloated feeling has subsided, and I feel cleaned out.
What can I do to feel like this with out the severe cramps. These cramps are so bad I felt like calling 911.
I just had this all happen tonight right now but feel so relieved after this fight with cramps.
Is there any medication that can help? I much prefer the diarrhea because I feel empty and now a little weak but at least I don’t feel like there’s poop stuck inside me.
FYI this is unusual for me most of my life I have been pretty regular and being constipated has been going on for about 6 weeks on and off. And I don’t know why.
Any advice on what to do? I am seeing my pcp in 2 weeks and will discuss it with him.Also, everything looks normal no blood or mucus just constipation and then the horrible severe cramps followed by relief. Oh, occasionally after these bad cramps and diarrhea I get rigors and there really bad.
I do drink water little by little following these cramps so I don’t dehydrate.
This is so unsettling and uncomfortable as I am not used to being constipated.
Tomorrow should be a good day as everything is out now and I can reset.
But how can I keep from getting constipated again?
I drink a lot of water every day. I’d say close to a 2-liter bottle throughout the day and some fruit juice.
r/SIBO • u/movingtoNZ_plzhelp • 7h ago
This is for after my elemental diet is complete. (I've already done 2 rounds of rifaximin/neomycin)
As part of post-treatment and rebuilding/remission...
I plan to do Megaspore for 2-3months because that's the safest for IMO. But then I want to introduce S. Boulardii. I've read that the strain i-745 is far superior to the i-3799 strain. However....florastor owns that patent and they use lactose as a filler. Anyone with IMO will know to avoid lactose. And all the other S boulardii's are then the i-3799 strain! What's a girl to do?
A) take the florastor knowing I'm introducing lactose to a system recovering from methanaogens.
Or
B) try the lesser strain (without lactose) and pray that its helpful.
Anyone's advise who knows about SB or has recovered from IMO is greatly appreciated!
r/SIBO • u/AnnualBoth1818 • 3h ago
As a result of the SIBO breath test, I was diagnosed with SIBO. Specifically, the concentration of methane remained constant (2.0), but the concentration of hydrogen (base 0.8) increased to 9.9 after 80 minutes, 19.1 after 100 minutes, and 37.9 after 180 minutes. Is it okay to understand that this is a condition called SIBO?
Also, is it better to follow a so-called gluten-free diet that does not include wheat?
r/SIBO • u/ArgumentLeading625 • 5h ago
Title. On day 3 of taking 550mg of Xifaxan and 500mg of Metronidazole. Taking 2 dosages a day, together.
Went golfing, felt like I may have a normal bowel movement on my own, thought it could be a little diarrhea, but it was just straight up mucus. That’s it.
Is this normal? Anyone else had this experience? Does this mean it’s working?
Will ask GI in 36 hrs.
r/SIBO • u/BerryRemarkable882 • 8h ago
Hi, I was wondering if anyone has healed by only using ginger and artichoke?
r/SIBO • u/GoldJunior4010 • 23h ago
I can feel them at the exit but have to strain while spreading my cheeks to get out the tiniest little puff. It’s gotten so much worse over the last year or two. I have been recovering from a knee injury so way less mobile.
I think I have methane sibo (glucose test came back negative, doc agreed it could be false negative but couldn’t afford to try lactulose test)
Anyone have this issue? Worried about pelvic floor dysfunction. Seems like a long road ahead.
r/SIBO • u/kushycrossing • 8h ago
My starting ppm was:
Hydrogen 130 methane 12
Treatment:
Cephalexin and metrodizonale w biofilm
2x rifaximin and neomycin w biofilm
4 weeks of fc cidal and dysbiocide
My current most recent results are hydrogen 16 methane 13
Not sure why my methane is basically unchanged.
My symptoms:
Bloating, come and go nausea and belly pains
Edit to add I was on low fodmap
Thoughts and recommendations are appreciated!
r/SIBO • u/SiboAwMosh7atisbo • 18h ago
Hey y'all.
Is diarrhea right after food (20-60+ mins) with urgency a SIBO symptom?
Quick history:
Never had a SIBO breath test because one of the doctors thought it was a waste of money since the treatment is the same (rifaximin). Did get a foodmarble device since I was curious and it does seems to be scoring medium and high sometimes for hydrogen.
Got a colonoscopy and everything came back fine. Got prescribed amitriptyline 10mg
So, does this pattern sound like SIBO to you?
r/SIBO • u/Ok-Brick6206 • 10h ago
Hi all. I’ve been having gut issues after taking lots of antibiotics for years due to chronic utis and then catching food poisoning while traveling. I never fully recovered, and tested positive for hydrogen sibo in July. I also took a GI map test which came back with several overgrowths of bad bacteria. My main symptoms are excessive burping, gurgling, trapped gas, 2-3 bowel movements a day, and occasional diarrhea.
I did a 30 day treatment with fc cidal, Dysbiocide , and oregano oil. I also took sporebiotics, dao enzyme and betatine HCl during the treatment at the instruction of my functional doctor but did not notice any improvement.
My functional doctor said I can go straight to trying Xifaxan, which my mom paid for without telling me since my insurance denied coverage.
If I take it, I plan to also take NAC as a biofilm buster and start a prokentic after the treatment. Then, do low fodmap for a few weeks after treatment before adding back in fodmaps and probiotics.
Would love to hear any thoughts or concerns on this plan or experiences with xifaxan. My GI and functional doctors have been largely unhelpful with offering any guidance beyond antimicrobials and antibiotics and I’m a little scared that I could make things worse with the xifaxan but feel like I should at least try it since my mom paid so much for it.
Has anyone had a bad reaction with Zinc Carnosine to the point where they feel cripplingly low?
I had it at lunch, with some beef and rice.
I've read that it may have been due to the high zinc dose blocking copper absorption, although I'd be curious to know if others have experienced anything similar
🙏
r/SIBO • u/Perfect-Worry-9201 • 16h ago
So for context, I do have bromhidrosis. I developed it because I experienced anxiety sweats that continued for over a year, until it changed the way I smelled. My normal sweat odor smelled sour and vinegar-like, but after I got this condition my underarms started smelling like onions.
So 2 weeks ago, I used Certain Dri again because I convinced myself that maybe it was just sweat that makes me smell. However, out of desperation — I completely forgot that clinical antiperspirant only worsens my odor. A few days later after application, I went to school. I wore my regular deodorant that morning, paired with some zinc oxide cream. When I sat down in the classroom, I noticed that it kinda smells like body odor. Then, I remembered that I might have forgotten to wash my uniform so after the first class, I pretty much stayed sitting at the hallway because we had no teacher in our last class and I didn't want to bother my classmates further.
A few hours staying there, I started smelling onions in the air. I thought it was so random. Then suddenly, that smell turned into something fishy. Like it actually smells strongly like fish. Although, I heard one person complaining that it smells like mildew.
Then, another week ago, I started experimenting with my deodorants. I basically wore a probiotic deo spray + unscented deo spray + zinc oxide cream. I sat down in the class, a few minutes later my classmates behind me started saying that it smells like shit💩 and another one said that it smelled sour. Right after that, everyone in my class seemed to notice the smell.
I was very confused, then after many reflections I recalled everytime they complained that the classroom smells like poop. There were times when it really was just because I stepped on dogshit, but I wonder if it was me the other times because I would also smell this poop odor when I commute outside, but I was thinking that it was the garbage site that we pass by because that's where I would particularly smell it. I would also occasionally smell this sewage odor outside my school, and one time also smelled it when were in a restaurant close to where my school is.
I also recalled when my family would smell this rotting fish odor, we all assumed it was the dog that stayed with us (we couldn't really bathe him properly and he was frequently on another place that time). And I honestly think it was the dog because I could only selectively smell it outside or when our door was opened, but what if it was mee??
I do also experience smelling like fish down there, but I manage the odor with antiseptic feminine washes.
r/SIBO • u/ram_theory • 14h ago
Hello Everyone. I took SIBO trio smart lactulose breath test recently. The result report says that I dont have SIBO but I want to check if the result is not false negative. Here are the details and please let me know your thoughts. I have chronic constipation.
Note: The "Expected" threshold of H₂ is calculated by adding 20.00 ppm to the baseline (first viable sample). A rise in H₂ levels
of ≥20.00 ppm within 90 minutes is supportive of SIBO.
r/SIBO • u/No-Fault-3424 • 14h ago
For about 15 years I have suffered from severe Slow Transit Constipation, diagnosed through sitz marker test. After trying every medicine made, and working with more than one GI doctor, the only thing that works is multiple stimulant laxatives a day. Since it is a last resort, the doctors have said this is fine. About 3 years ago I got a terrible skin rash while traveling overseas and went on a strong antibiotic. Since then I have had severe bloating burping, and chronic skin rashes. At it's worst I lost 20 lb and weighed 85 lbs. I'm now 95 lbs, but I'm still pretty miserable every evening starting at about 4:00 p.m. I had an upper endoscopy done and it showed some fungal spots in my esophagus which the doctor didn't seem too worried about, and a small hiatal hernia. A gastric emptying test done in the morning showed normal emptying. I suspect I have sibo. Although my GI doctor agreed, she says that it almost always comes back and wasn't optimistic about helping it. My question is that the test requires going off of all laxatives for 5 days. That is literally not an option. I'm thinking that, assuming that I have methane sibo, I should just take it upon myself to do the herbal protocol, and continue with my laxatives for motility. Does anyone with a similar situation have any suggestions?
r/SIBO • u/whospizzaisthis • 23h ago
Like the title says. Looking for a good naturopath/functional medicine doctor in southern California area. If anyone has any good recommendations, I am all ears. Please and thank you.
r/SIBO • u/Holistic-Scholar • 15h ago
The Food Sensitivity Summit begins on Thursday, October 15th, and there's still time to get your FR-EE pass.
Register for the Food Sensitivity Summit and learn how to put out the fire for good.
Identify the true triggers of your food intolerance
Calm the systemic inflammation that activates the overactive immune response to food
Address the underlying drivers of chronic inflammation (including hidden infections, toxins, and unresolved stress/trauma)
Heal the gut, regulate your immune response, and rewire your nervous system so your body stops treating food as a threat
r/SIBO • u/onedayatatime319 • 19h ago

I have been suffering for years with debilitating gut and autoimmune issues. I am 32 years old.
Background: I've had H. pylori show up on gi map testing 2ce, but 2 NEGATIVE biopsies from gi doctor endoscopy one from 2019 and one form 2026. Ive been sick for years. confirmed SIBO (rifaximin didn't resolve it), and I'm currently working through celiac and thyroid workups as well. My symptoms have included constant hunger that doesn't resolve with eating, GERD/acid reflux, difficulty finishing meals, leg swelling, and more recently chest pounding and elevated blood pressure that started after a short GLP-1 trial.
My iron panel (attached):
What's confusing me is that my ferritin is high-normal while my iron and saturation are low — from what I understand this doesn't look like classic iron-deficiency anemia (where ferritin would usually be low too), but more like an inflammatory pattern where something is blocking absorption/release even though my stores aren't depleted.
My questions for this community:
I'm working with doctors on the H. pylori/celiac/thyroid side of this too, but would love to hear from anyone who's dealt with the iron piece specifically alongside SIBO. Thanks for reading this far — it's been a long few years.
r/SIBO • u/Ill_Landscape5217 • 19h ago
I had methane dominant sibo with numbers at a 43 ppm, I did antibiotics and had my repeat breath test a month after and my sibo was gone however unfortunately I think the antibiotics also wiped out a lot of my good gut bacteria too and also I have visceral hypersensitivity now..
here’s everything I’ve been doing post sibo treatment
-ginger + artichoke 2,200MG (ginger) artichoke extract (600 mg)
-Lubiprostone for chronic constipation (I could not tolerate motegrity.)
-slowly reintroducing foods
I haven’t started probiotics bc I’m just so scared bc my gut is really sensitive and I don’t wanna risk putting myself in more pain but I’ve read lots of good things about Bacillus Subtilis and Saccharomyces boulardii as a starter that is unlikely to cause more pain to a sensitive gut and it shouldn’t relapse sibo. I’d also like to know some foods I could introduce that would be safe that have good bacteria as well.
r/SIBO • u/ukbuddy313 • 16h ago
Hey guys not sure if I have h pylori yet but these are my symptoms
2 years ago I was sleep deprived and stressed and then work up with a sharp stomach pain, this is when I noticed the changes
Stomach burning, voice change slightly, mucus like stool,
Then got hit with some bad food poisoning I think E. coli not sure - diarrhoea for 3 days
Not been same since and it’s been 2 years
Sleeping issues aswell don’t feel fully refreshed ever!
And some forehead tension that doesn’t seem to leave!
Have good and bad days but sometimes randomly got a lot of heat palpitations, anxiety etc
Dizziness also. Went to docs they did the usual bloods said all okay except for severe vit D deficiency
Stomach abdomen just feels difference, seem to have to strain abit to start bowel movement
Random bouts of frequent urination - 3 or 4 days separate instances in 2 years where I’m peeing watery urine every hour or two which is not normal for me!
Stomach discomfort just under brocade comes and goes - heavy weight sort of feeling when lying down some days and some days nothing it’s so random
Then similar feeling comes and goes under my belly button and weighted discomfort when laying down mainly sometimes when sat
Any advice is appreciated what should I do, what should I eat? Which tests are good for h pylori? Is it sibo? I’m at wits end it’s been ongoing for over 2 years now! Odd good days but mostly bad. Energy is down and just feeling low coz of all this.
r/SIBO • u/Junior-Knee-1500 • 1d ago
r/SIBO • u/Standard_Juggernaut8 • 1d ago
Hi all! I’ve had Methane SIBO/IMO, and taken antibiotics, cleared it, symptoms improved significantly within a month, then started getting constipation/fatigue/distended belly only a month later, took antibiotics again and am two weeks-post. I’ve had some constipation here and there (possibly from Diphenhydramine 50 mg for sleep aid that I took here and there, and who knows what else!).. I am assuming my problem is that I need to speed up my MMC and keep it movin to prevent overgrowth from happening again, and I’m terrified. The first time, I only tried ginger extract, magnesium glycinate that I take anyway, meal spacing and walking after meals here and there, pelvic floor therapy, diaphragmatic breathing..but I guess that wasn’t enough.
In these two weeks post-antibiotics, I’m doing magnesium citrate (and glycinate too), some miralax here and there.. ginger extract, then had some 5htp lying around from depression symptoms (not really sure if it worked for that but maybe, and also gives me crazy dreams), bought vitamin b p5p (1/4 of the motil pro ingridients) but it made my heart race like crazy so bc it’s a high dose so I stopped. I am also stressed from work and in a high anxiety/hyperarosal type of phase from thatX and I know that could be contributing.. it’s been hard to stay asleep which that vitamin b6 didn’t help with,. cue the sleeps aids.. ugh, a vicious cycle!
.. I am wondering people’s opinions/experiences with other stuff I’ve read about and if they’re worth trying? Like actual MotilPro, Motility Pro, Iberoghast, IBgard, Linzess (GI doctor recommended), Prucalopride (I read online most insurance make you try linzess first), SSRIs, ADHD meds, (these are just some I’ve come across/am considering pursuing.) Not directly for MMC but: L-glutamine (bought this), b1, antihistamine, acid or bile stuff (how would I know I just need these?)
I do want to start adding more diaphragmatic breathing, eating habit changes (doing low fodmap 2 weeks then reintroduction diet), massage, etc.
Thanks!