Hi everyone, I’ve been diagnosed with SIBO and was prescribed Rifaxamin. After 2 week course of antibiotic had no improvement.
I’m thinking of trying herbal antibiotics. Has anyone tried oregano oil? Or suggest a specific diet? Would low vitamin D cause SIBO? Thank you!
Hi!
If you do a 🔍search for SIBO in the HeathUnlocked box above you will find some threads on it that might be useful particularly one from 4 months ago.
Martin2812, Malina1, HopetoB12better and Swimmingthrutreacle are very knowledgeable and helpful on this. Please see my added links below.
I'm sure I have SIBO (diagnosis and treatment have been delayed by the pandemic) alongside other problems and excitedly looked up your post in the hope you were offering a "best treatment"! 🤪. Rifaxamin seems to be the go-to.
Hopefully others here will be able to!
I have had the best results from Nitrofurantoin (given to ME last year for a UTI) but it made me feel terrible while I was taking it. I improved significantly this year with courses of metronidazole for a tooth infection but the effect was short lived. Looking forward to hearing your results.
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Thanks Denise for connecting me in, I get recurring bouts of SIBO as I also have EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) which makes me more susceptible.
I found rifixamin helped hydrogen positive SIBO but you need it with metronidazole if you have methane predominant SIBO. This is really important.
I also work with a qualified dietician and IBS expert and find the herbal treatment more effective. You should really take advice from a qualified practitioner and have a laboratory still test undertaken before and after treatment to show you how your treatment is improving your condition. You need combinations of the herbal treatment for it to work effectively.
I take 2 Zane Hellas softgels one with breakfast and one with dinner and one allimed with each meal and this is working very well. I know this as I had high levels of various bacteria in my colon and after 3 months every marker of inflammation had fallen. The stool test also give you valuable information on other health indicators. Chief among them is fecal elastase which measures how well your pancreas is working.
I hope this helps and if you want any recommendations please speak to me in private message.
Martin2812, can I ask if you’re based in the UK? If so, how did you go about obtaining your diagnosis of SIBO and was this NHS or private?
Thanks
Im in Scotland Jan. I’m lucky enough to have BUPA cover through work so my GP referred me and he did the test at BUPA Edinburgh. I got the rifixamin and metronidazole from there. He was pretty clued up on it. Took the chemist a week to get rifixamin as they’d never heard of it. For the herbal treatment I use a clinic in London.
Thanks for the info Martin 👍
Hi Jan - I am not Martin, but I am based in the UK and have had an NHS SIBO test, so hoping I can help.
Because I was responding so poorly to B12 injections, my b12 and MMA were tested, and although serum B12 was by then showing at over 2000 ng/L, MMA was still raised. My GP diagnosed Functional b12 deficiency, confirmed by the lab. I was sent to a haematologist, who tested my MMA a few times (still raised) and sent me to have a SIBO test to rule that out as a possible cause for raised MMA.
I had the hydrogen breath test done, with inconclusive results: either SIBO or fast transit (IBS) - but because I'd been sent to have SIBO eliminated, my GP gave me a trial course of antibiotics. Aside from an adverse reaction to the antibiotics, nothing else changed, so SIBO was ruled out as a cause.
My MMA on the 6th (and final) check in 2019 by DNA metabolics experts was the first one to be within range. Frequent injections seemed to be the answer for me., giving very slow improvements over several years. But that's just me.
My GP worked hard to get the initial MMA test done- local hospitals generally don't have the equipment and I believe it is a costly process -but obviously referral to a haematologist eliminated that problem.
I would imagine that it is also difficult to get a SIBO test. It must be costly: breath is tested over 4 hours, and requires a specialist to log and interpret a number of individual results. It must be easier for a consultant to refer you than it would be for a GP, particularly at this time.
While now might not be the right time for you either, I hope this has been of use to you regarding an NHS route to SIBO testing.
Thanks for letting me know all that Cheryl.
Thank you so much for your help with this! I've got a pancreatic MRI on Tuesday and a telephone consultation in January. If I can get some information together beforehand I think it will make it more useful.
Good luck with your MRCP. Let me know if I can help in any way
Wow, thank you!
When I went on Tuesday the radiologist said that the scan I had in March was the MRCP and this one was just a pancreas only one for which I had to have a contrast dye - no problem.
In March they briefly complained that I hadn't done "nil by mouth" for the required 6 hours, when in fact I'd done over 8 hours. I had a chance to speak to the radiologist about this and she said that while this is fine for 98% of the population there are about 2% with a slow transit and I must be one of the 2%! This time the machine couldn't detect my breathing so I had to deep breathe for about 40 minutes while they did the scan so I was really tired at the end of it. It seems there's always something! At least I don't get any bad reactions to the dye I suppose!
Addenbrooke's have been fabulous (generally!) at getting the results back almost immediately but I haven't heard anything this time yet - although by normal standards it would still be really early.
It's a while since I've had any antibiotics and I am really starting to slow up again now. After a few hours I just can't function and because I got too tired on Tuesday the sensitive spot on my back that doesn't like me getting tired has blistered again.
Do you get worse symptoms when your SIBO flares? Is that how you know it has?
Good luck with the results Denise and good to hear you are getting such good care. I’m still trying to work it all it with my gastroenterologist. My SIBO symptoms seems to be bloating and stomach aches but I also suffer from strange upper back aches and what feels like muscle tension. It really aches. I had a test at the department of nuclear medicine (I think it was) where they injected me with dye and were looking for what they called hot spots but it was all clear thankfully. I have now been sent to a Rheumatologist and he is referring me for a scan of my spine and shoulder with a special contact dye looking for soft tissue damage. The gastro thought it might be muscle tightness and spasm which can apparently happen with EPI patients but the Rheumy thought that was ‘too easy’. They are being very thorough. The SIBO symptoms for me are boating and gas and the tightness and pain that goes with it. You just know you have it. I feel not too bad for now!
I hope you get some positive results soon. They have no idea why I have EPIwhich I have now had scanned 3 times. They say there is no standard follow up in terms of scans but I am having mine scanned yearly!!
Thanks Martin2812! Could you tell me what concentration of the Zane Hellas and Allimed you take? I found 125 mg Oregano oil from Zane in Amazon. For how long have you done this treatment?
Yes that is it 125mg per softgel. Alluded only sells through a limited number of outlets and there is no differential concentration just the one. On the siftgels take them for 21 days only. Have a break for 7 days the restart. I take 2 a day. Allimed I take 3 a day but you can take up to 10. I hope that helps?
It really does. Thanks Martin2812! Let me know if you have other tips and tricks
Thanks Denise! I’ll check those out. Sorry to have mislead you initially! 😁
Sounds like you have brought a huge amount of information on it to the table - I'm very grateful to you for your post.
Good luck with everything!
I would read the fast tract diet by Norman Robillard. He suggests limiting carbohydrates to reduce symptoms. I have also had good results taking probiotics.
Thank you Bonjourtristesse. I’ll check it out. I’m currently on the low fodmap diet which doesn’t restrict all carbohydrates so perhaps that might make a difference
It really helped me when I was in a lot of pain. With the b12 and probiotics my digestion seems to be much better. Good luck.
My son was prescribed various antibiotics and then finally Xifaxin for his diagnosed SIBO. It gave him relief but then the pain returned. Could barely get out of bed. He was a competitive athlete and we asked the dr to let him stay on it so that he could have a chance through the recruiting season and the dr agreed so he stayed on it for 8 weeks. No recurrence and it has now been 5 years. Odd side effect - it also cured his migraines.
Good luck to you
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