To prepare for my SIBO breath test Monday, on Sunday all I could eat was plain rice, plain potatoes, plain chicken or fish, and eggs. I stopped eating at 7:00 pm and fasted for the next 11 hours. Monday morning I began my test, which consisted of drinking a medicine and blowing into 9 bags over two hours. My stomach didn't react during those two hours, so I thought I don't have SIBO after all. A few hours later, my stomach grew huge and was gurgling loud and was in the worst pain. It lasted two days. My stomach hated that medicine.
I got the results today: definitely positive for SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). There are three gases that were tested, and two stayed normal for the whole test. The hydrogen is the one that really accelerated, then kept climbing higher. This indicates SIBO and explains the constant bloating and pain I feel all day every day, no matter the food or medicine or lifestyle changes I try.
I'll still get my gallbladder scanned in case there's also an issue with it. I'm super happy to finally get results that show a problem we can start to fix. There's a certain antibiotic used for SIBO, as SIBO never goes away on its own. SIBO can last for years if untreated, which happened with me. My doctor wants me to strictly follow the low FODMAP diet again and take probiotics and the FDgard I recently started. From what I understand, SIBO may keep coming back after treatment, so I'm concerned it will always be a problem for me, and that some of these dietary changes might be lifelong.
I believe we're still saying I have GERD (chronic acid reflux) and gastritis (inflammation in my stomach which was seen on the endoscopy), and the bloating and abdominal pain is caused by SIBO which can last years if untreated. I'll wait to see if the antibiotics help, or if we have to do more rounds for a longer duration, and what my gastroenterologist says is next.
Interestingly, in addition to bloating and stomach pain, SIBO is also linked to Rosacea, rashes, asthma, fatigue, headaches, nausea, Vitamin D deficiency (which I've had in the past), and intense sugar cravings. It can even be the cause of GERD. I'm shocked how much it relates to so many of my health problems.
