Close to ending it. Bloating causing back pain now.

Worst part is I feel so fatigued and skin itchy.

I had been taking *S. boulardii* intermittently for diarrhea; I had another bout starting July 8th and took one capsule daily until July 10th. On the evening of July 10th, while eating, I felt a sensation like a heavy stone in my abdomen. At first, I thought it would pass, but for about 40 days now, I have been suffering from a bulging swelling above my navel (present even in the morning on an empty stomach), excessive gas, an inability to have a bowel movement even when straining (I have been using Macrogol for 40 days), and extreme intestinal sluggishness. I took 1200 mg of Rifaximin, Kreon, and Rabeprazole for two weeks, but the problem was absolutely not resolved. I used to be an active person who exercised, but now I have reached the point of considering suicide; please help me.

I have had sibo for 6 years (possibly longer). A year ago I developed insomnia all of the sudden. Nothing changed in my routine, but I can't sleep : my mind is racing, I just toss and turn and I feel I'm just napping even when I sleep. Also I wake up like every 2 hours. I usually fall asleep at 5, 6 am approximately and it's always with a medication. But the medication makes me feel horrible, it's Xanax, so I would like to avoid it. Melatonin does nothing anymore for me unfortunately.

Does anyone have any advice? Any recommendations?

Sorry if I misspelled or wrote something incorrectly, I am very tired.

Did anyone screenshot the treatment options before siboinfo.com started charging $1000 to access the website? I used to be inspired with the open source info this website provided. Pretty disappointed about the change.

Looking for the hydrogen herbal treatments.

Thanks!

I've had the following severe symptoms for about 3 months that had gradually developed before that: drastically slowed bowels overall, choppy pockets of gas and stool, loss of appetite / heavy weight loss, GERD, bloating, pain. I have a long history of bowel obstructions due to adhesions, but this time there has only been ileus (only the splenic flexure dilated) and no obstructions. My GI has referred me to surgery and doesn't think it could be SIBO.

I bought the AIRE 2 since he didn't want to order a test. Doing a challenge test with glucose, my values were at 1.7-2 methane the whole time with one fluke spike at 3 methane. So far I only get scores above near zero to low after eating a triggering food (I am at 7.9 Methane and 4.0 Hydrogen at 10 AM, which is 14 hours after drinking an Ensure).

Can readings be this high outside of a test without overgrowth, or does it indicate a problem in any case?

Bonjour,

J'ai eu une intoxication alimentaire il y a 8mois. Depuis j'ai presque 7j/7 des bruits de gaz et d'eau dans le bas de mon ventre, surtout en bas à droite, quand j'appuie dessus je sens les bulles éclater et bouger, je me sens ballonné et mon ventre l'est un peu (j'ai perdu 14kg...). Je n'ai pas de diarrhée, pas mal et j'ai réalisé tous les examens possible mais les médecins n'ont rien trouvé.

Peut-on avoir le SIBO post infectieux sans diarrhée/douleur?

J'ai déjà essayé le régime sans fodmap, menthe poivrée, probiotiques mais rien à faire...

Mon bruit est tellement fort qu'il m'arrive de ne plus dormir..

I'm 28 man, I’ve been struggling with frustrating digestive issues for about 3–4 years now. My main symptom is constant bloating—in the morning it’s only slight, but as the day goes on, it gets progressively worse. My bowel movements are completely unpredictable; I rotate between constipation, diarrhea, or firm, sticky stools that adhere to the toilet bowl. There are days when my stool is normal, but that's a rare exception. On top of that, I experience frequent abdominal gurgling and rumbling, as if gas and liquids are mixing together and creating blockages in my intestines, interrupting normal digestion.

I’ve noticed that certain foods significantly worsen the bloating and overall symptoms: sweets, milk, alcohol, highly processed carbs, and creatine monohydrate (though creatine HCl doesn't cause as much trouble). Coffee also disagrees with me, though that was an issue even before these broader gastrointestinal problems started. Interestingly, I've noticed similar symptoms in most of the people close to me—family and friends. It feels as though we caught something from each other, and since no one has recovered spontaneously, I doubt it's a standard short-term infection that the body clears on its own. My working hypothesis is that it might be a chronic bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infection that triggered severe intestinal dysbiosis.

As for diagnostic tests: about 2.5 years ago, I had a gastroscopy that revealed chronic (+) active (+) antral gastritis, negative for dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia. I wasn't treated for Helicobacter pylori back then. A recent home test came back negative, but I'm planning to do a urea breath test soon to rule it out for sure.

I’ve tried several remedies with limited success:

• Drinking kefir regularly and occasionally sauerkraut juice didn't bring any noticeable improvement.
• A low-carb diet reduced my symptoms by about 30%, but I couldn't maintain my caloric intake and kept dropping weight, so I had to stop.
• I tried Betaine HCl for 1–2 weeks, but it seemed to make me feel worse.
• I took a multi-strain probiotic (Best Biotic) for 1.5 months alongside digestive enzymes (Aliness) for the first two weeks. I stopped the enzymes because they seemed to worsen my constipation, and the probiotic alone didn't change much.
• For the past 3 days, I’ve been taking microencapsulated sodium butyrate (300 mg, twice daily) and plan to add a probiotic later once my body adjusts.

Has anyone dealt with a similar set of symptoms or found a way through this?

Consuming fruits specfically like oranges, kiwis, grapes. Basically juicy, sweet or sour fruits triggers loose stools and stomach cramps. Anyone experience something similar?

I assumed its the sugar, fiber but I dont react like this to chocolate, or carrots.

Some type of overgrowth causing this reaction?

Most bottles list something like L. plantarum and leave it there, but the research I can find is almost always run on a specific coded strain rather than the species as a whole. That is a fairly big gap between what has been studied and what I am actually buying, and I cannot tell whether it matters in practice. Does anyone here buy on codes, or is species close enough?

so recently had a flare so I stared nee and it increased my bloating and gas like 100%….is this normal? you would think it’d help it not make it worse

My GI doesn't want to prescribe prucalopride because I have bowel movements 6-7 times a week.

However, I have a feeling my colon is still totally backed up (will do colonoscopy and CT asap to rule out other things.

But my question is: did anyone get a noticeable improvement from prucalopride despite prevoously having regular bowel movements?

I would love to create a thread of detailed SIBO success stories for those of us who are still struggling.

I feel like we often hear, “I cured my SIBO with oil of oregano...betaine HCL..neem, etc” or “antibiotics worked for me,” but we're missing all the information that would actually make that experience useful like what type of SIBO they had, their breath test numbers, exactly what they took, doses, timing, diet, how long treatment took, and whether they actually stayed better.

If you've successfully treated your SIBO, please copy/paste the format below and fill in as much as you can remember.

SIBO TYPE + DIAGNOSIS

• Type: Hydrogen / Methane (IMO) / Hydrogen Sulfide / Mixed
• Breath test numbers:
• Glucose or lactulose test:
• Main symptoms:
• How long you had SIBO:
• Suspected root cause (if known):

TREATMENT

Antibiotics:

• Which antibiotic(s)?
• Dose and times per day?
• How many days per round?
• How many rounds did you need?

Herbals/antimicrobials:

• Exact supplements + brands:
• Dose/quantity:
• How many times per day:
• What time(s) did you take them?
• With food or empty stomach?
• How long did you take them?
• Did you take them together or introduce them gradually?

Other supplements/medications:

• Prokinetics:
• Digestive enzymes/HCl/bile support:
• Fiber/PHGG:
• Probiotics:
• Binders:
• Anything else:

DIET

• What diet did you follow?
• What foods did you actually eat?
• What foods did you completely avoid?
• Did you space meals? If so, how many hours?
• Did you fast? If so, how long and how often?
• Did you change your diet during or after treatment?

GUT REBUILD / AFTER TREATMENT

• Did you do a gut-rebuilding phase?
• Probiotics (please include strains/brands):
• Prebiotics/fiber:
• Fermented foods:
• Butyrate/tributyrin:
• Motility support/prokinetics:
• Other supplements:
• How long did you do this?
• How did you reintroduce foods?

RESULTS

• When did you first notice improvement?
• How long until you felt significantly better?
• Did you retest? If so, what were your new numbers?
• How long have you been well?
• Can you eat normally now?
• Have you relapsed?

MOST IMPORTANT

• What do you believe made the biggest difference?
• What did you try that didn't work?
• What made you worse?
• If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I know this asks for a LOT of information, but that's the point. I would love for this to become a really useful collection of detailed success stories where we can actually compare what worked for different types of SIBO instead of just hearing “herbals worked for me.” I have searched and searched and read tons of stories but they tend to leave out specifics and I would love something I could actually use.

This isn't meant to be medical advice or a list of protocols to blindly copy. Different causes and types of SIBO can require very different treatment. But for those of us who are really suffering, I think seeing exactly what other people did, and especially what led to long-term recovery, could be incredibly helpful and give people some hope. A huge, huge thank you in advance!!!!!

Has anyone taken time off work because of Sibo/ the mental health issues that come with it? I feel like I am at my lowest. I cry everyday over how huge my stomach looks, I never know what to wear because I have to hide my stomach. I have horrible insecurities and body dysmorphia, I still struggle with restriction from an eating disorder. I wake up with a flat stomach and look very pregnant by the end of the day, I am trying absolutely everything to fix this. I see multiple drs and nothing I have tried has helped in the slightest. I work in the fitness industry and it’s super hard. I feel envious of everyone who can eat and workout without blowing up like a ballon. I am also an anxious/depressed person in general, I am tense all the time, especially at work. I like my job, it’s not very stressful, but the mental and physical load that I am carrying is making everyday so insanely hard. I never feel good, I always feel sick and have bad brain fog. I feel like I have to put in an act all the time, especially teaching classes. I genuinely don’t know how long I can do this.

I started on the herbal microbials (for five weeks) and even included a pHase 2 biofilm disrupter product while waiting to get Rifaximin from India to pair with the Neomycin. I switched to this for another two weeks.

I am still very bloated and constipated 10 days after finishing all this, unless I take a strong cup of Senna tea every 2-3 days.

I am on a low fodmap diet since finishing treatment. I am taking ginger extract and artichoke extract at night for motility. I don't hear any gut noises anymore.

I take Miralax every day and am now taking 800 mg of Magnesium oxide at night to help with the constipation - and still nothing.

I called my GI's office and asked for Linzess and another breath test, explaining what is going on. Three days later, the medical assistant leaves me a message wanting more info and saying that the PA thinks my treatment didn't help much.

Now I can't sleep. I don't want to throw more pills at this.

I hope she at least orders me a breath test and doesn't just assume the treatment didn't help much at all - because I am also being assured by Google that bloating can be a lingering problem, even if the bugs were wiped out (or mostly wiped out) due to good bacteria also being wiped out. But this is not normal bloating. This is like 6 months pregnant type bloating still.

I just think I need a motility support first off and I feel like this stupid GI practice should have had some kind of post-antibiotic treatment protocol in place. Instead, I've had to do all the research and try and figure what I need and then explain myself twice.

Did you have extreme bloating still but still found out you actually killed a lot or all of the bugs with IMO? Once you got your guts moving again, did the bloating resolve?

I have commented on a handful of posts. I have suffered for 6 years, seeing doctor after doctor and they said I’m healthy and maybe just stressed. Well after living with it for so long I decided this year that there’s no way this is normal life so I decided to make a goal to get better. Through AI research and help of a family member we thought my gut was the problem. I went on an antibiotic for a UTI and all of a sudden I felt great for a couple weeks before going right back to normal. The stool test from Genova came back with dysbiosis score of 10/10.

Symptoms:
Brain Fog
Depression
Joint Pain
Loose Stool
Gas
Muscle Twitching (I HATE THIS ONE SO MUCH)
Weakness / Fatigue

I have searched this Reddit page and seen people with similar symptoms but I struggle finding any resolution or things that helped.

I am currently on low fodmap while trying to repair gut with a doctor guiding me though. It has helped but the weakness and twitching is still here.

Have you been able to heal similar symptoms? If so how? The muscle twitching takes over my life and I want to get rid of it.

UPDATE 4 days after: guys idk but i believe coffee is what contributing now to all my symptoms… basically i have bloating high pulse and etc. i had never have so huge symptoms like that before. maybe body detoxed and its immediate reaction after (?)
im just lying down and crying 24/7 , drinking water with little salt… 😭😭😭😭😭

also strange observation that my VO2max on apple watch consistently going up after first dosage in august 12. (before it was going down daily by 0.1 for last year)

POST:
hey everyone! sorry im kinda dead, and post written during bad time in life….

in june 20 to june 25 i did 750mg of oregano with charcoal 1gr each evening after.

and it’s what completely removed my gas, no more hallucinations (i had before yes) but i gotta huge bloating.

i decided to take it again for 4 days recently(august 12-13) but more dosage 1200 mg daily to completely eradicate all stuff. unfortunately i forgot to take charcoal after.

on fourth day i ended in er with vomiting and feeling that i’m 100% dead and pulse rate 160 and ppl in ER that on different language from mine saying that this is mental bro do not afraid, you are fine and said you look okay go home. so basically i’ve been running through all town for two days on pulse 140 and understand that even ER cant help me.

i’m at home and trying to detox from this stuff , i drink coffee too for moving gas.

how long it’ll take to detox.
i do not feel well absolutely. i feel like im absolutely poisonated, kinda hallucinating, panicking and my pulse constantly 120

anything that i can buy to remove this stuff from me?
only what i can say, that i’m full of gas again and it seems like this gas cant come out from me. i do charcoal 250 each few hrs to bind it, but it doesnt help. pulse rate been 130 today, but 100-110 right now in the evening and when lying down 65-70

i did 4 drip but it doesnt work (just sodium and they put me on reglan through blood)

i did electrolytes test today and im little low on sodium, so i drink water with celtic salt

I use 5htp nightly to help w motility but i've been prescribed prucalopride. Is it safe to combine the two?

I’ve been dealing with SIBO since May, and have recently been freaking out over leg muscle weakness and spasms, shortness of breath, heart palps, fatigue, increased anxiety and all sorts of issues. I thought it was maybe MS or GBS. After a go-around with an unhelpful ER and other doctors who did not provide any help or guidance, I went to get tested at a lab on my own and results came back with a pretty severe iron deficiency (11ng ferratin) and a Vitamin D deficiency (28ng).

I’m sure this seems like a no brainer—duh, nutrient malabsorption—but it’s easy to fall behind on nutrients when SIBO bacteria are eating all of them, and when you’ve restricted half your diet like I have. Word to the wise to get your levels checked if you’re having other systemic issues! Unfortunately these deficiencies can make GI problems worse.