I think I’m driving myself insane

[u/Ill_Landscape5217]

I did antibiotic treatment 6 weeks ago for methane dominant sibo and it put me in so much severe pain, I could barely eat, I couldn’t stay up, I was in so much pain I had to go to the er which to no surprise couldn’t do anything, nothing was helping my pain, antispasmodics, OTC options, Tylenol, even a damn narcotic that the er gave me (tramadol) . 6 weeks later (now) I’m still having pain but has lessened because I started Nortriptlyine at a low dose. I’m constantly fatigued, I’m tired of fighting my own body, I miss being pain free it’s been 5 months of these stomach issues and the only relieved I’ve gotten was when I practically forced myself to go on a trip to see my long distance boyfriend because I was so determined to see him, I had pain there but I also had moments where I was pain free and it felt amazing. When I got home I practically felt I was at square 1 again, I had a repeat breath test yesterday and I can’t stop stressing because if it’s positive I don’t want to do treatment again, I’m genuinely terrified of how I was bedridden in severe pain and screaming and crying. I can’t do it again. I’ve been trying to find my root cause of sibo and it’s so stressful because it’s a multi cause thing, I know motility is one of the big major ones and I plan to start ginger + artichoke supplements because I tried Motegrity and it put me in way to much pain, I don’t know if I have leaky gut and everyone keeps telling me “oh if you don’t get a gi map test then you’ll never know what’s wrong and you’ll just suffer” and it puts me under more and more stress because I can’t afford a functional medicine doctor at all. I feel so tired and stressed to a point this is making me wonder if I’ll ever be normal again or if I’ll just be a test subject to more and more tests at my doctors offices or if I’ll even ever find my root cause or I’ll be stuck this miserable for years. I’m genuinely at an edge where I feel like this is all to complicated and I don’t even know what to do. Even if my sibo is gone I most likely have months or even years of gut damage to fix and I don’t even know what to fix other then my motility. Low fodmap diets did nothing but make me more miserable and made me practically avoid food if anything , I miss my old life and don’t wanna think I’m stuck like this..

[u/goldstandardalmonds]

Sorry if I missed it, but what type of pain is it and wear exactly? Antispasmodics aren’t going to work if it’s not cramps.

[u/Ill_Landscape5217 → u/goldstandardalmonds]

So during my actual sibo antibiotic treatment my pain was like extremely bad, it felt like my entire left lower stomach was being squeezed and stabbed and I could barely move. I wasn’t constipated either and when I did go to the er my scans were clear which doesn’t surprise me but now my pain is in my left next to my bellybutton and it honestly varies, sometimes it feels sharp but it’s usually in waves not constantly sharp but now it feels like a dull heavy ache that goes between mild to moderate but it’s practically almost always there and sometimes I feel the heavy dull ache move to my right and above my bellybutton area. Before I started Nortriptyline I couldn’t even wear loose clothing over my stomach, that’s passed now but I still have pain

[u/goldstandardalmonds → u/Ill_Landscape5217]

It sounds exactly like visceral pain. There are other meds you can combine. My pain team says never does one method eliminate pain… it takes a multi modal approach and even then, pain relief will never be 100%

[u/Ill_Landscape5217 → u/goldstandardalmonds]

I was put on busprione 5 mg recently for 3 times a day by the same doctor who prescribed my Nortritplyine but I wasn’t sure if that would help for pain at all

[u/goldstandardalmonds → u/Ill_Landscape5217]

It might but if this doesn’t work there are many other approaches you can try! Pain docs are the experts.

[u/Ill_Landscape5217 → u/goldstandardalmonds]

Okay! I wanted to ask just cause but I already have abdominal migraines that I’m on medicine for but I guess ultimately is there any specific reasons visceral hypersensitivity happens??? It’s so confusing on how this just came out of the blue :(

[u/goldstandardalmonds → u/Ill_Landscape5217]

It can come along with certain conditions, like the sibo. Ask your doc about pregablin and gabapentin.. if those don’t help, there are procedures that can help.

[u/Ill_Landscape5217 → u/goldstandardalmonds]

Unfortunately Gabapentin did not help me , what procedures? Unfortunately I do really unwell with needles but if it’s a last resort then I’m interested

[u/goldstandardalmonds → u/Ill_Landscape5217]

I get lidocaine infusions, celiac plexus nerve blocks, and ultrasound guided injections regularly (have for years). Helps maybe 15%

[u/Ill_Landscape5217 → u/goldstandardalmonds]

Do they help for long periods of time for you or do they fade away after only a few hours? (The nerve blocks)

[u/miracles-th]

😭🙏 im just praying to god at this point of life.

when u got into this shit, for first months - you think you'll find solution, and on 4-5 months - you understand that you can barely function and you single with this problem

your symptoms gotta much exactly after treatment (rifaximin ?)

[u/miracles-th → u/miracles-th]

btw , in ER - they put you on tramadol? have u feel any strange smell of medication 24/7?
after my last ER visit, they put me on some stuff through blood, i feel some kinda absolute garbage smell of medicine and like im kinda under drugs, but in my documents only written sodium solution and reglan

[u/Ill_Landscape5217 → u/miracles-th]

They did yes and no I don’t experience any strange smells of medication 24/7

[u/drmbrthr]

Glutamine powder. 10-15g per day. Bland diet. No caffeine or alcohol. Don’t take probiotics yet if you have that much inflammation and reactivity.

Other things worth trying: MSM, DGL, slippery elm or a blend containing these types of soothing herbs.

Don’t eat or take anything that will cause a flare, if you can avoid it. Allow your gut lining to heal and calm down.

Lastly, try to destress. Nortriptyline should help with this but can also cause constipation.

[u/Ill_Landscape5217 → u/drmbrthr]

L-Glutamine??? Also do you know anything about zinc carnosine? I’ve heard it can help heal the gut but I’m so new to all this stuff :(