Sibo looking for Gastro

[Bacca]

Hi all

Am trying to find nhs gastro that deals with Sibo, some one mentioned checking website to check they cover Sibo, but I don’t seem to be able find that info

Any ideas please?

[deniseinmilden]

Where are you?

If you can get a referral to Addenbrooke's gastroenterology team, they can help you with SIBO.

It's usually treated with metronidazole, doxycycline or rifaximin antibiotics. You are likely to need long, strong courses of these to clear it properly and, in my experience, GPs and Drs at ordinary hospitals will not treat you effectively (even despite my notes and letters from my consultant saying what I needed!) so be prepared for a fight to get the treatment you need. It is well worth it in the end though.

I recommend that once you have had a long enough course of antibiotics to clear all the bugs from your guts (this is needed to get rid of ALL the bad bugs from where they have colonised the wrong places) you take a significant course of probiotics to reset everything to good order.

Good luck!

[Bacca in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thank you for your reply. I will look them up, I’m in West Mids. I got a consult through for local hospital in July, but can’t find whether they deal with Sibo & I need to get it sorted. I have looked at non antibiotic approaches but as stomach so upset at moment, want to make sure it’s gone or even determine reason behind it. (Stomach acid etc)

Thanks again deniseinmilden

[deniseinmilden in reply to Bacca]

You could try joining the Chronic Pancreatitis Support Group on Facebook and ask on there for good gastroenterology hospitals in your area. I know some are good and some are best avoided. The people there will know.

You seem to know that the basic reason behind it is mainly poor digestion, allowing food to compost inside you, but this can be caused by low digestive enzymes (from your pancreas) as well as low stomach acid.

It could be worth asking for a fecal elastase test to determine your pancreatic enzyme production levels. If you can get them to do it, your GP should be able to order this for you.

It will be a good thing to rule in or out.

[deniseinmilden in reply to deniseinmilden]

I get various bad guts symptoms for all sorts of reasons, most of which involve pain and diarrhea, but SIBO has its own, quite specific, symptoms in me, in addition to these, and the most obvious one is a very particular type of "barking" burp!

It can be hideously painful and depletes vitamins and minerals at an alarming rate, so needs to be treated as a matter of high urgency, before it becomes an emergency.

I sympathise greatly and wish you every luck possible. xx