I've been officially diagnosed through hydrogen breath testing with lactulose.... with Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. (Side note: the GI doctors at UW Digestive Disease Center in Seattle are amazing.) My numbers were "quite impressive" -- according to the MD. It's not a gray area for me; it's pretty bad.

So now I'm trying to come up with a game plan. I am not totally anti-antibiotic, but I don't want to take one just yet. Not until I try at least solving this other ways. Rifaximin is the one of choice for SIBO, and it's not a broad-spectrum antibiotic so it's not as disastrous to your gut flora as others.. but still. Not yet.

I've ordered a half dozen books on Amazon and I am reading through them all, and my husband is tackling publications on the matter. But I welcome any input.

1) What should I be eating to starve the bad bacteria?

2) What probiotics/supplements should I take?

3) I've read about chiropractic care for this - why? How would that help? Should I do it?

4) What else?

Right now, I'm eating a pretty limited diet:

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Bone Broth

Dark leafy vegetables, cucumbers

Avocados

Really ripe bananas

Rinsed white rice

Coconut Oil/Olive Oil

Some winter squash (but no sweet potatoes)

Almond Butter

I'm thinking I need to change some things in my diet, but I just don't know what to eat and I'm limited in that I do have to cook for my two small children and husband, too. And I can't just be in the kitchen all the time... don't really know where to start.

Any input is welcome! Many thanks!

Sarah_14

(1826)

on November 23, 2013
at 07:11 PM

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. I'm thinking along the same lines myself, but am wondering if a rifaximin/diet approach with herbal supplements would plausibly give me a better outcome, so I am trying to devise a game plan so I "do this right" the first time. For instance, which probiotics should I take AFTER the antibiotics are done? Soil-based? Other kinds? Garlic, oregano oil, herbal supplements? What foods should I eat to discourage the re-growth of the SIBO? Chiropractic? What else?

Sarah_14

(1826)

on November 23, 2013
at 04:37 PM

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. I'm thinking along the same lines myself, but am wondering if a rifaximin/diet approach with herbal supplements would plausibly give me a better outcome, so I am trying to devise a game plan so I "do this right" the first time. For instance, which probiotics should I take AFTER the antibiotics are done? Soil-based? Other kinds? Garlic, oregano oil, herbal supplements? What foods should I eat to discourage the re-growth of the SIBO?