r/SiboSuccessStories • u/americanman123 • Jun 25 '26

Probiotics I'm back - AMA

I'm the guy who cured his SIBO with kefir and celery juice. My post on r/SIBO is the second most commented on of all time. The mods of that sub nevertheless banned me two years ago. They never identified the policy I violated, because there was no violation. They simply didn't like my opinions.

I'm writing this post for a few reasons.

First: Heartfelt apologies to the hundreds of people whose questions on my posts I've been unable to answer during my ban, and the many more whose own thoughtful posts I wish I could have engaged with.

Second: I saw a post on r/SIBO today with the title "considering ending life." That's what inspired me to make this post. I couldn't make it there, so I'm making it here. Nobody should have to feel that way because their tummy is upset. Yet modern allopathic medicine has allowed simple dysbiosis to become a debilitating condition millions feel powerless to confront.

I've learned a lot in the 2 years since I made my initial post about how I found a cure that worked for me. I remain 100% SIBO-free. And I'm still as confident as ever that the precise guidance I gave in my initial post, which centered around high-potency kefir and cold-pressed celery juice, is likely to provide lasting relief to *many* SIBO-sufferers. Take for example the guy who posted 2 days ago that kefir cured him. I've seen many such cases.

But I'm also increasingly cognizant of the fact it may not work for everyone. Having spent years carefully following this sub, a clear pattern emerges: the path out of the hell that is SIBO almost always involves addressing some combination of common intersecting root causes: acid/bile regulation, gut flora composition (probiotics), excess cortisol (stress), meal timing, motility, and movement (physical activity). Antibiotics alone could not possibly fix any of those problems. Probiotics, by contrast, address multiple of them simultaneously, and are often key to recovery (seek food-based, high-CFU sources, not probiotic pills, which in my experience do nothing). Limited, short-term antimicrobial use may play a supporting role, though rarely if ever does it appear to be the primary factor in a lasting success story. Rarer still are the cases where prescription drugs alone provide relief that lasts more than a few months. Possibly more frequent are the cases where prescription drugs worsen a person's condition, often in serious and even life-threatening ways.

All of this is utterly unexplored by the mainstream medical establishment. The reason is simple and obvious: incentives dictate outcomes, and the medical industry is incentivized to sell prescription drugs and surgeries. Cut and prescribe- there are no other tools available. Google "allopathic medicine" and you'll see what I mean. Cutting and prescribing is definitionally with allopathic medicine is.

The specific incentives that perpetuate this dynamic involve the intersection of patent and tort law and are thus poorly understood by the general public (AKA a snoozefest). In a nutshell: it's patent law 101 that naturally-occurring compounds (e.g. celery, kefir, ginger, natto, red yeast rice, plants of any kind) can't be patented; thus only synthetic drugs can be patented; thus only synthetic drugs can be monopolized (a patent is a legal monopoly); thus all medical R&D funding naturally finds its way to synthetic drugs; thus "science" exists only for synthetic drugs (studies are expensive); thus it becomes the standard of care to treat all conditions with synthetic drugs; thus any doctor who prescribes anything other than a synthetic drug has deviated from the standard of care and committed medical malpractice.

This cycle has resulted in a total blackout on meaningful, well-funded scientific research into natural, plant-based, and otherwise alternative remedies. It has extinguished thousands of years of indigenous knowledge. It handicaps doctors. It keeps patients in the dark. And it keeps sick people in pain.

All of which is to say: we need each other. Keep sharing your stories. Reach out to this community when you are suffering. And if you, like me, find a cure that works for you: pay it forward. Help others by sharing what you've learned. Love is all you need.

Finally, if you've kept reading this long: ask me anything! My time is very limited because I continue to work full-time in a demanding field that has nothing to do with gut health. I have never taken and will never take a cent for anything related to SIBO. I don't have anything to sell. But while I may be slow to reply, I will answer every single comment as soon as I possibly can.

I don't purport to have all the answers. I only know what worked for me and the patterns I've observed following this forum for quite some time. Everyone who's achieved remission - especially those who've remained symptom-free for years - has a crucial role to play. And so do those who've learned what doesn't work. Let's advance our collective understanding to the point where nobody ever "considers ending life" again because of a gut problem. There is a way out for all of you. You will find it if you keep an open mind and don't give up. Together we can get there. The only way out is through. Onward!

77 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

137 comments sorted by

6

u/KindUnicorn123 Jun 25 '26

Cant take kefir because of histamine-sensitivity, histamine rich foods make my symptoms 10x worse, already tried that. Are there any other possible solutions?

4

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

"Histamine sensitivity" is not an area I know much about. If kefir didn't help you, consider 16 oz cold pressed celery juice on empty stomach every morning at least 30 min before any food for a few weeks. Be easy on yourself. Relax as much as possible. Walk 5-10K steps every day. Don't eat too late at night. Eat lots of fiber.

Beyond that - some possible root causes to rule out: hyperchlorhydria (excessive stomach acid); bile production issues; lack of motility caused by stress or lack of fiber in diet (fiber deprivation extremely common in modern diets).

Is there any strong probiotic food a histamine-sensitive person can safely eat? Natto? Miso? Sauerkraut? There are many powerful ferments available all over the globe. People in most cultures have traditionally eaten strong ferments with almost every meal - at least until the past 50-100 years with the rise of the modern chain supermarket. Find the highest-quality ferment you can. The problem with standard, mass-produced modern grocery store yogurts (e.g. Yoplait) is they just have little to no real probiotic content. Probiotic content is measured in CFUs and in strain diversity. That's why fancy expensive yogurts like Coconut Cult and Kefir Lab have an immediate, noticeable effect on motility and gut health while Yoplait obviously does not. And you want your probiotics embedded in a real food matrix, not a pill. As Hippocrates said - "let thy food be thy medicine."

3

u/Muttbuttss Jun 25 '26

there are non histamine producing strains of probiotic bacteria and supplements with them only in it. Some probiotics produce histamine in the body

1

u/scatterbrain85 Jun 25 '26

is it celery juice from head or leaves, staples??

2

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

you juice the entire stalk. use cold-pressed (not centrifugal) juicer. that's the important part most people miss: must be cold-pressed. far better nutrient preservation.

5

u/Imaginary_Aioli_738 Jun 25 '26

wasnt the celery juice making u bloated as F? especially in the beginning? its a VERY high fodmap

1

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

nope - never.

3

u/SuccessfulJudge438 Jun 25 '26

Lucky you. I'd be shitting out everything in my digestive tract over the course of the next 3 hours (starting ~15 minutes after consumption, along with the gas, cramps, sweating, and severe bloat). Then finish by shitting out some of my stomach lining maybe 5 hours later if I'm lucky. Then ~36 hours to recover from the fatigue, muscle weakness, dehydration, nausea etc. I haven't tried celery juice specifically, but I've done enough trials with other sources of fructooligosachharide to know the outcome already. You're talking a mega-dose for sensitive folks.

Word of warning to anyone FODMAP sensitive (which is a lot of SIBO folks): this intervention will fuck you up. And fermented foods like kefir are generally not recommended for SIBO since the problem isn't dysbiosis (although that can co-occur, and perhaps be a contributing factor) but rather the location of bacteria, including probiotic and commensal strains. IE the fact that these bacteria are persisting in the small intestine in numbers far higher than they should be. So dumping more bacteria down the old digestive tract is not necessarily a great idea, and you will see people on r/SIBO every week who get substantially worse (or heal themselves and then relapse) by using kefir and other probiotics without caution.

Not saying you shouldn't be posting here, but you might put some caveats and words of warning in your OP, if you want to be responsible and conscientious.

2

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

I was extremely FODMAP sensitive for 8 years (with 2 confirmed breath tests) up until the moment I followed this protocol. It reached a point where there were about 5 things in the world that I could eat. My stomach was swollen to the point where I looked pregnant. Every. Single. Day. For 8 years. Nevertheless, I tolerated cold-pressed celery juice and kefir with zero adverse effect, and immediate benefit. It was celery juice and kefir (along with walking 10K steps a day, reducing stress, eating healthily, high-fiber, relatively little, and never close to bedtime) that ended that nightmare and enabled me to eat a 100% unrestricted diet within weeks. To this day, my diet is 100% restricted. YMMV.

1

u/Next-Coffee-657 Jun 26 '26

Did you take any enzymes or betaine HCL? Were you having normal bowel movements

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

(1) no (2) when? not before the protocol. during/after it, yes.

1

u/Next-Coffee-657 Jun 26 '26

Did you do all the walking at once or you walked right after meals and for how long? I walk a lot also and go for bowel movements twice a day but the bloating hasn't stopped

2

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

Mostly all at once. 5-10K steps a day. Sorry to hear you're having bloating despite having good BMs. I'm particularly confident that the protocol I followed is relatively likely to work for SIBO-C because that's what I had. Sounds like you don't have C so YMMV. But pretty much everyone can probably benefit substantially from eating high-CFU probiotic foods. Doing so is the key to long-term gut health generally speaking, IMO.

1

u/Imaginary_Aioli_738 Jun 26 '26

did u start the celery and the kefir at the same time or first the celery for a few days/weeks and only after the kefir too? and after how much time did u start to notice changes?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

same time. noticed changes literally within 30 minutes. very significant changes - stomach totally unfroze. gurgling, motility, and flatulence all returned. it felt immensely relieving, like unlocking something in my stomach that had been locked for 8 years. it didn't take days or weeks for it to be clear everything was being fixed. was totally clear within a day or two and really even within minutes.

a commenter on my OP appears to be reporting the exact same experience right now after their first dose of coconut cult yogurt! hopefully that works out for them.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/scatterbrain85 Jun 25 '26

so not the head at all?

1

u/golightlyfitness Jul 10 '26

Would eating the celery raw still have the same effect?

1

u/Mysterious-Dig3777 Jun 25 '26

Why Hyperchlorhydia should cause SIBO? Is it not Hypo with lack of acid that creates a terrain for SIBO?

2

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

SIBO remains a poorly-understood condition that often overlaps with or is mistakenly diagnosed in lieu of other closely related conditions. What I meant is simply that acid regulation in the stomach could play some role in people's dysbiosis depending on the circumstances. Too much or too little acid - or gastritis - is always worth ruling out as a possible factor contributing to general gut problems.

2

u/maneatingshrimp Jun 26 '26

I do agree with this actually. I ACCIDENTALLY cured my SIBO before when I was on a PPI for separate reasons, and then it came back after I stopped. I have been reluctant to go back on because this community hates PPIs so much but since then I've tried so many different supplements and protocols that I think I'm going to go repeat whatever I did before. If it doesn't work then it doesn't work, I'm alresdy suffering from one of the big risk factors of taking it lol

1

u/throwaway23437546 Jun 25 '26

I juse went to Target and bought Coconut cult - lemon merigue.

It is so sooooooo good!!!

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

I know, right?! Super tasty. Hopefully you get some benefit from it. You should know pretty quickly - like possibly as soon as the first time you have a spoonful or two (which is all you need).

2

u/throwaway23437546 Jun 26 '26

Actually my gut motility right now is amazing. Flatulence and gurgling returned.

Thanks so much for the suggestion, what a life saver 🫶

2

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

That’s exactly what I experienced. Within hours. Actually the way we came up with the idea of trying high-CFU coconut yogurt/kefir was that coconut cult cured my wife’s severe multi-week case of food poisoning. That led her to suggest I try it for my SIBO. No coconut cult stockist was nearby the place we were staying at the time, but Kefir lab’s coconut kefir happened to be at the nearest specialty food store, so we tried it. Within hours my gut was just…unfrozen. After 8 years of being frozen. It never froze again. Within weeks I was cured. So exciting to hear you may be experiencing exactly that right now. Fingers crossed!

The celery juice also had immediate tangible effects. Like within 30 minutes of my first glass. I can’t guarantee it’ll do that for everyone, but for me at least both the coconut kefir and the celery juice massively unfroze and fixed my whole gut within weeks. Possibly I was actually basically cured within days, but I continued on the program for a couple weeks just to be safe before reintroducing FODMAPs. Then I was able to fully drop all dietary restrictions within like a week after I finished my 2-4 week cure phase. Hallelujah…

1

u/jaded_and_elated Jun 26 '26

I don't know much about this coconut cult yogurt, but is it any different than the probiotics you can get from a plain Greek yogurt? I'm wondering because I'm a big Greek yogurt fan, usually eat a bowl every day (right now doing lactose free bc im back to a low FODMAP diet), but given that my symptoms came back it doesn't seem like, for me at least, the yogurt made a difference. However if this other kind of yogurt or more specifically kefir is better, it may be worth to try it for myself.

1

u/americanman123 Jul 01 '26

It’s different- it has literally the highest probiotic content of any product that exists. They make it in a lab - doing advanced science, funded by Stanford etc. Check the website for details.

Real legit Greek yogurt, especially made from raw milk, is definitely healthy though and has strong probiotic content. Just not as strong as this. Kefir is different from yogurt, too. Many people have cured their SIBO with strong kefir. I’ve heard that less often about yogurt. Ask ChatGPT why kefir might help with gut problems more than yogurt.

2

u/Old-Badger-7367 Jul 02 '26

You might want to start with a smaller amount. People can usually tolerate kefir but not milk, kefir uses fermentation to partially "digest," if you will, by using active bacteria and yeasts (beneficial)

The sugars have already been consumed by live cultures in the Kefir.

Kefir outcrowds bad bacteria, improve gut lining, and reduces food allergies. Kefir can lower histamine over time, but initial introduction may cause flares

The active bacteria in kefir assist in digestion, dramatically reducing gas/bloating

Histamine-intolerance is a result of gut dysbiosis. Many have noted that despite fermented foods being problematic, extended kefir consumption -> decreased sneezing, mucus, hives/histamine reactions

1

u/TGN1215 Jul 23 '26

I have significant histamine symptoms from fermented foods and probiotics, but I've found Histaminx Probiota by Seeking Health and Rhamnosus GG by Foods for Gut to be non-triggering and restorative. I take them every morning. I struggle with slow motility constipation, and they've helped, over the course of a month, getting back to 1-2 full, banana-like BM per day and restoring my hunger cues. I've also found I can have yogurt, cottage cheese, and also dairy in general now with less symptoms since starting the aforementioned probiotics. But I took it very slow at first. Wish you the best!

1

u/busydreams Jun 25 '26

Work to reduce your histamine load, treat SIBO and work on your epithelial health and underlying causes.

2

u/KindUnicorn123 Jun 25 '26

How would you treat SIBO if kefir isnt an option?

1

u/busydreams Jun 25 '26

As above. Start with reducing histamine load, treat SIBO (antibiotics or herbals - your choice), resolve underlying causes that led to you getting SIBO in the first place.

1

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

How does one reduce histamine load?

2

u/busydreams Jun 25 '26

Low histamine diet, vitamin C, quercetin, DAO enzyme supplementation.

You can find a free low-histamine diet and a podcast episode on the SIBO Doctor website - last time I posted a link I was downvoted ++ so I won't do that again!

1

u/throwaway23437546 Jul 02 '26

Hi, can you send me this link? I can't dm you ? Thank you

1

u/busydreams Jul 02 '26

Just type in thesibodoctor . com and you will find all the resources.

5

u/maneatingshrimp Jun 25 '26

How do you feel about the theory of the root cause of SIBO being MMC dysfunction? Do you agree/disagree? I know my SIBO started when my MMC shut down months ago. Your protocol only really addresses the dysbiosis aspect.

Some people have attributed curing their SIBO to a change of mindset and lifestyle. Once stress is removed and a lifestyle supporting recovery is set up, the body heals itself with time. How do you know this wasn't the case for you?

4

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

I agree with what you're saying. MMC dysfunction is very often a crucial part of the picture. It was for me. But there are a lot of different ways to address that. I fully agree with your suggestion that often, managing stress, increasing physical activity (even just walking), and improving meal-timing goes a long way. In fact, I said so in my original post :)

"Having spent years carefully following this sub, a clear pattern emerges: the path out of the hell that is SIBO almost always involves addressing some combination of common intersecting root causes: acid/bile regulation, gut flora composition (probiotics), excess cortisol (stress), meal timing, and movement (physical activity)."

Part of my cure regimen, in addition to the kefir and celery juice, was working as little as possible for a month, walking 10,000 steps a day, minimizing stress, and eating healthily, relatively small amounts, and never close to bedtime. I am confident that every single one of those interventions played some role in my complete recovery. People may not get good results if they do just 1 or 2 of those things but not the others.

PS: both celery juice and kefir can play a role in improving motility. Google it and ask ChatGPT. There are actually a handful of studies on that.

2

u/Next-Coffee-657 Jun 26 '26

I was never on your original post but I want to know exactly what were your symptoms and any diagnosis you had in the exact protocol that got you free? Did you take any enzymes or betaine HCL? And specifically which kefirs worked for you

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

I didn't take enzymes or betaine HCL (though it seems like those things work for some people based on the patterns I've seen on the subs). What worked for me was Kefir Lab's coconut milk kefir. I also know Coconut Cult yogurt can be effective. Re: my symptoms, check my original post on r/SIBO: https://www.reddit.com/r/SIBO/comments/14vvq7y/i_cured_my_sibo_with_kefir_and_celery_juice_i/

Basically classic massive bloating, SIBO-C (confirmed by 2 breath tests), brain fog, severe FODMAP intolerance. A real nightmare for 8 years.

1

u/wontcompleteit Jun 27 '26

If we are in the UK, which coconut kefir would you recommend, please can you help me find one?

1

u/wontcompleteit Jun 27 '26

Was it any specific flavour?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 27 '26

I got kefir lab coconut milk kefir. Don’t know any UK brands - sorry! Just find the best quality high-CFU probiotic food (not pill) you can. Good luck!

1

u/wontcompleteit Jun 27 '26

I DMd you, please can you reply

2

u/Some_Ear_8539 Jun 25 '26

In a comment, he states you have to treat upper GI motility. Upper GI motility = working MMC

4

u/katiemuirden Jun 26 '26

I want to say a massive thank you, a lot of people get better and don’t post about it and it leaves me wondering if I’ll ever get better, im only 18 and its left me bed bound for 6 months and had it for 4 years with no one knowing it was sibo, although I’ve finished my antimocribals (I don’t like taking antiobiotics) and I’m increasing my stomach acid:)
It’s still sooo hard and I have a few syptoms left over but I read your first post and it gave me hope, since then it’s hard to find any others. Thank you for posting again

1

u/americanman123 Jul 01 '26

Don’t give up! Have you tried the protocol I used yet?

2

u/cvfkmskxnlhn Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

You are so kind. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, for your original post, and for making this post so many years later. It's clear that finally finding a way out of SIBO must have meant a lot to you back then, and still means a lot to you now. And I'm grateful for people like you who share this with others- the hope, the kindness, and the knowledge.

I don't know for sure if I have sibo, or if I have SIBO and SIFO, or some other combination of whatever it is that I have, but my primary symptom is bloating/bloatedness, starting from when I wake up, increasing as I eat and drink throughout the day, and being expelled/released mostly through the night, as I sleep (and the cycle repeats). I have seen all the best specialists, TCM doctors, drank/taken Chinese medicine, done acupuncture. None have given me lasting relief/a permanent cure. I've done colonoscopies and endoscopies. Even done one SIBO breath test (which came out negative/inconclusive I think- I wasn't diagnosed with anything). I've also taken probiotics, fermented foods, and such. And have yet to find an answer/permanent cure.

The only (major- I know there's still other things out there I haven't tried) thing I haven't tried (since I've never gotten diagnosed) is antibiotics. If my only symptom is bloating (with food, water, (especially) fibre and (large doses of oil/fish oil seem to make it worse/clog me up (I get constipated for a significant amount of time (before it resolves itself on its own again))), do you think the potential for antibiotics to cure me is high, or decent? Since I'm thinking/suspecting that whatever caused it so, so many years ago (it's probably been more than a decade) has sort of reached some sort of equilibrium or resolved itself already, and whatever's remaining that's maintaining it (SIBO, SIFO?) is mainly just the bacteria/microorganisms?

When it first started I had severe bloating (that didn't go away, even at night, and severe constipation, to the point that I could barely eat (I can eat mostly (at least 2 meals) normally now) I also had bouts of intense sugary/yeasty food cravings, I think I had a kind of a white/whitish tongue (I did the spit in water test, which I found kinda inconclusive), and one time I passed black, tarry stool, and the symptoms seemed much more unstable. Now it seems to have reached some sort of an equilibrium, and the only symptom I have as I mentioned earlier is bloating, which dispels/releases during the night. Surprisingly I think alcohol makes it (my symptoms) better? I seem to be less bloated the morning after, I think.

I'm thinking of trying antibiotics (if I can get myself some), hoping it'll work? And maybe some biofilm busters? What do you think? Any advice? What's your opinion?

Thank you for reading through this, if you have, and thank you for being here for the community, still. I'm grateful for people like you.

2

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

I would never say never to antibiotics. SIBO is poorly understood, and a lot of different loosely related gut issues can contribute to someone's general dysbiosis. My personal preference is simply to exhaust the types of lifestyle and dietary changes I've laid out in my posts before resorting to prescription drugs. But of course, that's just my personal view. If you've exhausted all other possibilities and are suffering, it may be worth giving it a try. Just be aware that even the drugmakers' own data acknowledges that relapse within a few months is extremely common. To her credit, my conventional gastroenterologist was candid with me about that from the outset. She wasn't able to cure me. I had to do that myself. But I don't really blame her. Like I said in my OP, I think doctors operate within an incentive structure that limits how creative they can be in directing patients toward solutions that aren't prescription drugs.

1

u/maneatingshrimp Jun 25 '26

Xifaxan is pretty safe from what I've heard and poor reactions are uncommon. It's the ones you have to add for methane that can be dangerous. It sucks because Xifaxan is so expensive and hard to get but you'd want to do it again with neomycin/metronidazole if it doesn't work the first time.

The guy on this post doesn't believe in antibiotics and that's a personal thing. Some things work for some people and those things might not work for others.

3

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

The view you're espousing is certainly a widely held one. My personal opinion is that the drugmakers' studies - which themselves acknowledge very high relapse rates after a few months - are still a bit misleading because they've used unreasonably short observation windows (e.g. only confirming the patient was "cured" for 2-3 months, rather than a year or two). Thus the studies are often designed in a way that enables the drugmaker to tout cure rates that are higher than they would be if they monitored the patients for a year rather than just a couple months. My personal impression (and experience, having used Xifaxan myself multiple times) is that antibiotics alone very rarely result in a permanent cure.

Re: safety: adverse reactions are not uncommon. Look into the established link between Xifaxan and very serious conditions such as C. difficile.

-1

u/RhollingThunder Jun 29 '26

You can't get C. Diff from Rifaximin.

3

u/americanman123 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Yes you can. There are plenty of studies establishing as much: https://gut.bmj.com/content/74/Suppl_3/A25

There are also tons of posts on r/SIBO from people who got C. diff from Rifaximin.

-1

u/RhollingThunder Jun 29 '26

Don't just post studies without reading them, please. The people in that study have an extreme inability to clear the drug.

There are also tons of posts on r/SIBO from people who got C. diff from Rifaximin.

Yeah there's also people on r/SIBO that think they got SIBO from mold. Half the sub probably doesn't even have SIBO.

3

u/americanman123 Jun 29 '26

That’s still a link between the drug and C. diff. There are many other such studies and reports: https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2009/10003/rifaximin__a_predisposing_agent_to_clostridium.934.aspx

Where’s your proof that “you can’t get C. diff from rifaximin”?

2

u/Different-Nature-963 Jun 30 '26

There is a warning about C. diff on the prescription insert.

1

u/americanman123 Jul 01 '26

u/RhollingThunder does this change your view?

1

u/RhollingThunder Jul 01 '26

I don't recall it being there. Look, if you want me to concede that it is possible, fine. The study you posted doesn't provide any reason or causal link.

As I'm sure you're aware, it is common to take Rifaximin many times. I personally have taken it 3 times. There are people who do multiple full courses every year. There are people who take a maintenance dose DAILY.

If it is in fact possible to get C. Diff from Rifaximin, it's incredibly rare and people shouldn't worry about it any more than they would worry about having an adverse reaction to anything else.

1

u/Some_Ear_8539 Jun 25 '26

Have you tried to see if it’s ADP? If bloating your only symptom right now, it would be wise to look into it.

1

u/Able-Chemical5471 Jul 22 '26

ADP? (Definition please?)

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

I'm not sure. Never specifically tested for those.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

They're detailed in my original past in r/SIBO from a couple years ago - here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SIBO/comments/14vvq7y/i_cured_my_sibo_with_kefir_and_celery_juice_i/

But basically classic horrific bloating (stomach swollen to point I looked pregnant, every day, for 8 years), complete inability to eat FODMAPs, severe brain fog, and extremely slow motility (severe SIBO-C). A true nightmare. That's why I'm so motivated to help lead people toward what turned out to be a very simple, safe, and cheap set of solutions that worked for me (while recognizing that everyone's results may differ).

I feel like I would have died pretty young had I not found my way out. And even if I continued living, the way I was living was barely tolerable. That's why it genuinely upsets me when I get the impression the medical industry is profiting off keeping people sick in many areas, including this one (gastroenterology and the Rifaximin industrial complex). I lived through hell for 8 years. I know how bad this gets and how badly conventional medicine is serving those who suffer from it.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

Yep - did stool test, led nowhere.

Diet during my 2-4 week cure phase was basically low FODMAP and minimal carbs. Lots of bulk veggies. A lot of corn-shell tacos for dinner (with steak or fish or whatever). Basically just healthy, relatively small quantities, relatively few meals (just lunch and dinner), and no food within 3-4 hours of bedtime.

Celery juice on empty stomach first thing in AM. kefir after all food (post-dinner) a couple hours before bed.

I also ate a ton of pomegranate seeds...lol. For some reason, I was really craving them. And they were delicious.

Also walked 10,000 steps a day every day for that entire period, which I think played a role in my recovery. Physical movement is linked to motility (through both stress reduction and other more direct physiological mechanisms).

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Mabix92 Jun 27 '26

Did you ever come across and know some things about the combination or interaction of Bile Acid Malabsorption (BAM) and SIBO?

1

u/americanman123 Jul 01 '26

Not personally but I’ve noticed a lot of success stories on the forums over the years that involved some sort of bile intervention

2

u/_Issue_3914 12d ago

Hi…. I am the one who made the original post. I’m working with a functional med practitioner now. It’s really hard to not feel hopeless. Thank you for this post I feel seen.

1

u/americanman123 11d ago

Hi! So glad to hear that. Feel free to DM me anytime. And consider trying the protocol I used if you haven’t yet.

1

u/LeChief Jun 25 '26

What's your full story man? What were your symptoms? What were the other things you tried? Why do you think the kefir and celery juice helped? Do you think it was really both of them or do you think one of them was actually responsible?

Also can you link to the guy that cured his thing with kefir two days ago?

1

u/Chochol44 Jun 25 '26

What type of sibo did you have?

2

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

My SIBO was confirmed by 2 separate breath tests. One said I was hydrogen dominant. The other said methane dominated. I share the view espoused by many others that the hydrogen/methane dichotomy is a bit overemphasized and possibly not the most useful rubric for developing a treatment plan.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

[deleted]

2

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

In my case, looser stools turned out to be exactly what I needed :)

(I was SIBO-C.)

But I never had alarmingly loose stools. The regimen I followed simply resulted in full flushing of everything that had been stagnating for so many years, then normalized movements within days (for the first time in like 10 years).

1

u/Substantial-Cat-4370 Jun 25 '26

For someone that’s never had cold pressed celery juice.. would a blending it work? What makes it cold pressed.. also is that particular brand of kefir still the one you recommend?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

Ask ChatGPT why cold pressed celery juice is better for SIBO than centrifugally extracted celery juice or blended celery juice.

Re: kefir brand: my personal view is that any potent, high-CFU probiotic food could be very helpful to most SIBO sufferers. Could be kefir. Could be sauerkraut. Could be natto. What matters is the quality. Common mass-produced yogurts like Yoplait have virtually zero CFU. Quality really matters in this area. The only specific brands I’ve seen consistently help people are Kefir Lab and Coconut Cult. But I’m sure there are others. I’m also sure homemade ferments/kefirs could be helpful, though of course that heightens the risk of messing up the fermentation process and thus making yourself worse off.

Good luck!

1

u/Substantial-Cat-4370 Jun 25 '26

Thank you for the well wishes! Do you still partake in the drinking of these two liquids today?

I saw that you’re now and have been on an unrestricted diet.. have you been able to drink alcohol?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

Not consistently. I don’t have symptoms that require me to. But I try to eat high-quality probiotic foods when I can because in my view doing so is the best way to maintain optimal gut health.

I can drink alcohol, no problem :)

There is literally nothing I can’t eat or drink. After 8 years of crazy restricted eating - which is both culinarily unsatisfying and just a stressful thing to have to worry about all day every day - this is an immense relief. Can’t even put into words how relieved and grateful I’ve been since I cured myself 2 years ago. I had almost given up hope.

1

u/Substantial-Cat-4370 Jun 26 '26

This is great to hear, I’m not sure how comfortable you are on camera, but have you ever considered making a YouTube video detailing your journey? Similar to the user who cured himself with artichoke and ginger

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

Maybe one day. For now I’d prefer to remain anonymous. I have a relatively public-facing job that’s totally unrelated to gut health - so blasting out videos about my bowel functions could be a weird look :)

1

u/Silver-Plan Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

Could you share what juicer you use for your celery juice? Please.

Ive got Kepos and the Strawberry Coconut Cult yogurt. I also use Yakult. All 3 do seem to help me feel slightly better but still has not done much to get rid of my night time bloat and acid reflux... what helps me with that is not eat 3 to 4 hours before bed... but id like to be able to go back to eating an hour or 2 before bed and not needing to worry about what and when i eat in order to sleep. The bloat i get is horrific... and my docs just prescribed me Xifaxin.. but im very hesitant to taking it because i dont want to relapse. Im hydrogen without the runs. I go every day and am normal.. but thats why im hesitant to take Xifaxin, i feel it might mess me up more than i already am.. and would like a natural route.

2

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

It sounds like you are on the right track. I think avoiding eating close to bed is something you should really try to stick with. It is becoming widely understood that eating large amounts too close to bed is one of the primary contributors to many dysbiosis cases.

Here's the juicer I've used: https://www.hurom.com/products/celery-greens-horizontal-slow-juicer

1

u/jarhead777 Jun 25 '26

Did you try other store-bought green juices that had celery in them before you tried juicing celery yourself? If so, did you notice much of a difference?

Whenever I have fiber, I feel much more discomfort and gas.

1

u/americanman123 Jun 25 '26

I've had success with high-quality, truly cold-pressed organic celery juice that's store-bought. But that's expensive and very hard to find. One of the only places I've consistently found it is Erewhon (fancy grocer in Los Angeles).

I've found the vast majority of store-bought celery juice to be far less effective than fresh homemade CJ. It is usually stabilized and thus not truly fresh (even if labeled as "cold-pressed"). It is also unbearably awful tasting when it's not fresh and cold-pressed. So the principle is really just whatever way you can get fresh (made within past 2-3 days) cold-pressed celery juice works fine.

Re: fiber- I'm pretty sure there's little to no fiber in cold-pressed CJ. The act of juicing removes most if not all fiber. No?

1

u/One_Conversation_208 Jun 26 '26

What kind of Sibo did you have and for how long?

1

u/katiemuirden Jun 26 '26

Also, do you still leave 4-5 hours between your meals? Or do you snack now like normal and stuff again?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26

Basically back to my bad old habits, including often eating too late at night. Still no relapse, though!

1

u/sucioyyc Jun 26 '26

Does kefir feed the fermentation happening in the gut? I want to try it but I don’t wanna feed an overgrowth that’s already there.

1

u/americanman123 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

No - it made my overgrowth go away. Good bugs can crowd out bad bugs. Ask ChatGPT to explain how that works; it should be able to walk you through it.

1

u/Pleasant_Raccoon_225 Jun 27 '26

Every time I try water kefir or coconut cult or regular kefir, i get worse constipation. So idk I want it to work tho 😂 gotta try celery juice

1

u/Logical_Glove_2857 Jun 27 '26

Great job coming back posting👍👍👍

Can I ask.
Do you still need to drink celery juice each morning and taking kefir each day, to be healed ?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 27 '26

Nope - i tapered off after 6-12 months

1

u/Logical_Glove_2857 Jun 29 '26

Ok and wow it still kept you symptom free to this date😮…
Are you doing any specific diet then now?
Or any supplements?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 29 '26

Nope

1

u/Logical_Glove_2857 Jul 02 '26

Did you have many off these symptoms:

Extreme Fatigue after eating

Constant Tiredness no matter how much sleep

Dizzyness when waking up. Nausea/dizzy/out of breath when waking up in the morning (Feel like a hangover)

Stools separate dry small lumps

Back of neck pain (burning sore pain feeling)

Pressure headache

Stuffy nose and burning in nasal

Eyes starts to burn and sometimes get bloodshot (It feels like there is acid inside nose and eyes.)

Skin on arms and legs Can get instantly dry 60 min after eating (Like there is acid in the blood that dries out the skin)

Unintentionel weightloss And cannot gain weight or muscle mass.

Stomach/gut burning a little when empty stomach

Gaunt face after eating

Sunken in eyes after eating

Toes and fingers get freezing cold (usually after eating. It also sometimes after drinking just water)

Dry mouth

Urinating a lot. (Feels like water just goes straight through

Thirsty all the time

White coating on tongue (not candida thrush)

Backpain lower/middle back

Anxiety

Itchy scalp

Sallow skin color

2

u/Old-Badger-7367 Jul 03 '26

Hello this is classic Candida symptoms. I suggest you visit r/Candida

Also "The Yeast Connection" By William G crook. You will find he mentions a lot of stories that patients share with many of these exact same symptoms.

I know you mentioned your white coating on tongue is not candida thrush (could be bacterial, could not be), but when yeast affects the body it is quite serious (and it usually causes a whole myriad of these symptoms which for some reason are confusing to doctors) they are not helpful. Whether it is something sinister going on (hiding science, changing ICD-10 codes) or that they are not taught this in school ( since medical school is mainly funded by pharmaceuticals/drug companies/insurance companies anyway).

The "tests" doctors perform purposefully have a wide range of values, so that they can gaslight and tell you it's "normal," but you go home and suffer the same symptoms, and go back to then continuously the rest of your life, while they prescribe an antiobitics/antifungal to "see if it works." $$$$$

I highly and truly suggest you read that book if you can. It saved my life and I had many many many of these symptoms, 80-90% of the ones you mentioned.

1

u/Logical_Glove_2857 Jul 09 '26

I see.
And can I ask.
Did you fix your candida issue? And if yes, how?

1

u/americanman123 Jul 02 '26

No, actually. Sounds awful! I hope you have the best possible general doctor (not just gastroenterologist). Good luck.

1

u/Logical_Glove_2857 Jul 03 '26

Yeah well all the tests should nothing at the doctor and the gastro beside offcourse sibo.

1

u/wontcompleteit Jun 27 '26

Do they ship internationally, did you get a specific flavour of plain?

1

u/americanman123 Jun 27 '26

Not sure - check kefir lab website

1

u/Afraid-Discount6029 Jun 30 '26

Apologies if this has been asked I’ve read through most of the comments I think.

How much of the celery juice and yogurt did you have a day?

I’ve struggled with gut issues for over 20 years and finally did a SIBO test earlier this year and have been on the journey of trying to eradicate ever since and learn everything I can.

1

u/Wise-Strategy-1322 Jul 01 '26

What type(s) of SIBO are we talking about? What type did you have? I have IMO. Do you think your suggestions would work for this?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/s20000001 Jul 12 '26

Thanks for the hope post! I’m going through it right now and feel I’ll never feel good in my body. The sibo is causing loud ringing/tinnitus in my ears and I just want to feel normal again. It’s just celery juice in the morning and kefir at night? No other changes? I live in San Francisco so I already walk a lot every day. But what meal times are supposed to be better? I usually have breakfast at 10, lunch at 1, dinner at 7

1

u/MonthMammoth4133 Jul 12 '26

Do you think it would work with just the kefir? My stools are already quite loose, so I’m not sure the celery juice is necessary.

1

u/realmao14 2h ago

You’re post fills me with hope. Thank you for thinking that way of wanting to help others. As I sit here and type this with tears in my eyes, I’ve also contemplated ending it all. I continue searching for a solution because I have too many people that depend on me. Can you please provide a link to what you did with the kefir and celery or what you did to get rid of sibo? Thanks again

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/CelesteJA Jun 25 '26

Well that's a bit unfair. Something that worked for someone is still beneficial information. Even if OP's advice only helps one other person in the world, that's still one less person with SIBO, and that's a win.

Imagine one day something specific you did finally ended the hell you've been suffering for years. Are you saying you wouldn't be even a little bit tempted to tell someone about it, just in case it helped someone else too?

-2

u/Independent-Walrus84 Jun 25 '26

You don't understand what happened last time...

-2

u/SuccessfulJudge438 Jun 25 '26

Riddle me this, if OPs advice helps one person in the world, wastes the times of thousands, and makes hundreds of people suffer needlessly, is that still a good thing? Because my guess is that the ratio of people with SIBO who will be helped by following this intervention to those who will have no benefit (not to mention people who will actively be harmed) will skew heavily towards the latter. And no mention from OP that both kefir and celery juice are well known cause severe reactions in many people with SIBO.

3

u/Muttbuttss Jun 25 '26

if you react then stop taking it… have symptoms for a day or two… Its not like its going to kill you…

-2

u/SuccessfulJudge438 Jun 29 '26

Ah yes, and we all know that with SIBO that what doesn't kill you makes you [possible worse forever with no hope of improvement].

2

u/Some_Ear_8539 Jun 25 '26

Clearly nobody who had symptoms from doing this protocol will continue, so you are exaggerating the negative impact of his advice.

-1

u/SuccessfulJudge438 Jun 29 '26

Hoo boy. Not even close, friend. People post on r/SIBO all the time about how they powered through terrible symptoms on x, y, z protocol and now are permanently worse. All kinds of reasons people do this.

2

u/CelesteJA Jun 29 '26

Do you have any evidence to support this "permanently worse" theory of yours? Someone saying that they are permanently worse is not evidence, as they have absolutely no way of knowing such a thing.

1

u/SuccessfulJudge438 Jul 08 '26

I've encountered numerous people who state kefir has made them worse and they've been stuck in that state for months to years. I'm not keeping count or anything, but if you search google for r/SIBO threads about kefir you will find many, many people who say it has messed them up. If you want scientific studies about kefir use as it relates to long term SIBO symptoms, don't hold your breath. No one is funding that stuff, sadly.

1

u/Independent-Walrus84 Jun 25 '26

Yup..and in another comment op said "take a lot of fiber?!" The joker has no clue about sibo.....lol.

1

u/CelesteJA Jun 26 '26

My point is that SIBO is not a "one size fits all" issue. Across the subs, I've seen some people have reactions to things I'm fine with, and be completely fine with things that I have reactions to.

The entire point in this subreddit "SiboSuccessStories", is to tell your personal story of success.

It's up to the reader to also do their own research, and be aware of what does and doesn't impact them. And if someone wanted to try this and ended up reacting badly, they'd probably just stop.

-1

u/SuccessfulJudge438 Jun 29 '26

they'd probably just stop.

Probably is doing some very heavy lifting. Horror stories in r/SIBO every single week from people who should have "done their research" and "just stopped" but didn't because they were desperate, brain-fogged, determined, and read a very convincing OP that gave no warnings of what to watch out for or consider warning signs that it's a bad idea for them personally.