Sibo is pronounced “cee bow”. The word Sibo means Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth.
It is a newly found condition that answered my years of bloating, and making me look 6 months pregnant. I was aching, belching, and passing gas, in my sleep. My clothes no longer fit me, and I was gaining weight every year. I felt and looked, as uncomfortable, as I was.
I decided that I wanted to get off of all the prescription drugs if I could, and found a wonderful Naturopath. She worked with me, to “heal” me, and not supply me with unneeded drugs to mask what was wrong. She made sense, took the time to listen to my complaints, and knew where to get tests to pinpoint issues of concern. I kept my AMA Physician, so I would have access to insurance benefits, for more serious health issues and surgeries.
Getting serious about Sibo
All my years of eating junk food was beginning to show me the errors of my ways. I was totally out of balance and had way too much stress going on in my life. (A subject for a later blog). It never occurred to me that years of severe stress would eventually mess with my health.
The loud, deep belching and flatulence continued. She and I talked about eliminating things with ‘gluten’ in them; like breads, flour, nightshade vegetables, and sugar. I had no idea how hard this was going to be for me, but it worked until I would eat something, with even a small amount, of gluten. Then the bloating, aching and constipation, came back. I felt so miserable.
We talked about me taking a ‘breath test’ to measure the ‘kind’ of gas that was accumulating in my small intestine, which was making me bloat, belch, and feel so awful.
When the test came back, it was positive for hydrogen gas, a by-product of the bacteria. This is what was making the belching, flatulence, and pain I was feeling. This was all so embarrassing to me, but she put me at ease, by talking about what we could do to alleviate this condition.
We talked at length about, a discovery within the Naturopathic community, that was addressing Sibo. She told me it only worked in the small intestine. It was a very expensive drug, called Rifaximin. My heart sank when she told me the cost.
After much thought, I decided to try it. She wrote me a prescription and the pharmacist called me later stating, ‘this is going to cost you $450.00 for a 2-week supply. Do you want this?’ I felt hopeless.
I called my Naturopath and told her what the pharmacist had said. She commented that she needed time to think of how she could help me in this dilemma. Meanwhile, I kept trying to keep myself on a strict diet of no carbs. The next day, she called me, and said she could call a pharmacy in Canada, and get the same drug with a different name. It would take a couple of weeks to get it. I opted to order it. I received it, and found it to be 1/2 the price. Long story short, I am over Sibo.
How do I stay free of Sibo?
My doctor told me, I would have to ‘diet like a Natzi!’ and we laughed at her words. She also told me that the small intestine empties every 5 hours, so no snacking at all. Eat what is on your diet, with 5 hour intervals. I dropped the weight I had gained, but this showed me just how fattening breads and sugars are.
I began to Google some of the herbal mixtures was taking and found that some of those herbs would also ‘feed’ this bacteria. It was a true AHA moment for me. This is where the ‘hidden’ gluten was coming from, which would cause me issues again.
It has been a month now and no pain. However, I am a human being and once in a while I get caught in the snare of gluten. So when I found ‘Gluten Away,’ it was a great help for me. My energy and stamina are great again and I am grateful.
