SIBO Anyone?

[CeeCee101]

So gastro suspects SIBO or IBS or overlap of the two. Still need to take SIBO breath test, in the meantime he started me on low FODMAP diet which has helped (other than constipating) though some things seem to be triggering. Was researching SIBO further and read that one of the causes can be …low bile production from the liver. So question, does anyone else have this? What has helped you? The antibiotic treatment seems to have less than a 50% chance of helping. There are a lot of SIBO diets out there. Anyway just curious because with PBC and bile production seems likely others might have this. It’s new to me. TIA.

[Turquoise2075]

Hi CeeCee101, I'm sorry you have the SIBO but glad it has been identified so it can be treated. I'm not diagnosed with SIBO but was found to have gut dysbiosis and intestinal permeability last year. After three months on supplements from the naturopath who ordered the advanced microbiome testing that found out what was happening, the intestinal permeability healed and the gut dysbiosis has started to heal. One of the things that was found was an overgrowth of a pathogenic bacteria, Citrobacter freundii. This has now come right down and is no longer an issue. I still have low butyrate which has improved but hasn't come up as much as hoped by now. It has an association with liver fibrosis.

There is increasing evidence from clinical research that what is happening in PBC has a close association with forms of gut dysbiosis. That includes SIBO. In my case I've been on prebiotics, probiotics, sodium butyrate and a few other supplements targeted to what was specifically happening in my microbiome. The naturopath tweaks it as things change. My naturopath works in with my liver specialist as they work in the same clinic which is very helpful.

Perhaps you could ask your gastroenterologist about options for supplementation. In my case I haven't had any antibiotics. The supplements alone drastically reduced the pathogenic bacteria to a normal level. I don't know if your gastro does advanced microbiome testing, but it can be helpful in identifying exactly what is going on. Any treatment can then be more specifically targeted.

The FODMAP diet will hopefully be helpful. If something seems triggering you can always leave it out. I was also found to be very strongly allergic to dairy, strongly allergic to beef and mildly allergic to lamb. Gluten sensitivity was also present which make sense with the intestinal permeability as they often go together. All of these things may have arisen out of gut dysbiosis and autoimmunity that's been there a while. Your gastro might be able to do food allergy testing too, incase that's an issue. My main proteins now are chicken, fish and eggs. I eat mostly whole foods and have very minimal sugar.

All the best and hope you can get some good treatment and feel better soon.