SIBO

Hello maleissues and welcome again,
Christine is actually in the process of studying up on and writing a book about the role bacteria in our bodies. I don't know when her book comes out, but am really looking forward to it.
I have nothing more to add, I know you have probably done much research on this already.
I just wanted to say hi and hope you find a solution soon.

I have a constant battle and ongoing experiments with this! Intermittent use of antibiotics, eg rifaximine, metronidazole, oxytetracycline work when I'm desperate, but unfortunately the bloating returns quite soon after stopping them. The underlying problem is poor gut motility, so the over-riding challenge is to keep things moving. WW postures are helping me, especially with more efficient emptying. I have at times when I was routinely a lot more overloaded, used gut motility drugs - Prucalopride was the best, but as I now have a tendency towards diarhhoea I don't need this any more. Diet - who knows? This is so difficult because I have a longer transit time than many people do so its hard to know what to blame! I'm generally best with low fat, avoiding lactose, gluten, alcohol and minimising sugar - but I need the calories because I'm underweight, so dare not risk a radical exclusion diet to test in detail. I have to avoid legumes or I blow up instantly! It doesn't leave a lot left that I can eat successfully. Eating is one thing, it's digesting it that really counts. My slow cooker is my best friend for preparing food that I can actually digest. Enzymes help a bit. I've tried probiotics and culturing veg and drinks, but they haven't really helped. Typically at the start of the day I'm well, and as the day goes on I become more and more bloated. I've also tried various supplements but a lot of them seem to give me diarhhoea. I'm about to try Daosin (anti histamine tablets) for my next experiment. Please note that I do have an underlying gut and bladder motility problem which has led to bowel obstructions and surgeries and UTIs so my (many!) celes are as a result of generalised low tone and difficulties emptying bowel and bladder, and complicated by adhesions. I don't think I'm typical in this group, but I have certainly been there and back with SIBO.

Guys - are you eating any fermented foods or taking any other steps to rebuild and maintain the population of good bacteria (while you are taking all these antibiotics to kill off the excess)? - Surviving

I think you are on the right track Maleissues. Not everyone agrees, but I personally found that a paleo type of diet eliminated my bloating and bowel disruptions entirely.....though admittedly my issues were less severe than yours. Worth a try. - Surviving

There are several things you can try, my favorite to have on hand is a jar of genuine fermented sauerkraut (not the stuff you buy off the shelf at the store). Christine once recommended to me, a heaping tablespoon a day works wonders. - Surviving

Lots of different fermemted foods out there. I think we have discussed rejuvelac, a fermented wheat drink, beet kvass, the cabbage, of course. There really is an abundance of sources of fermented foods out there. Lately I have been enjoying kombucha.
I have also been on paleo type diets in the past, but I was left constipated for one thing, and never felt satisfied for another. I don't have gas and bloating since cutting out dairy, and especially from adding more fermented foods into my diet.
Just want to throw that out there.

Thanks everyone for a batch of new ideas! In answer to some of your questions - fibre is too much for me, I get bunged up, although this is confusing because different fibre sources cause more or less problems and too much fruit fibre gives me diahhorea. I haven't tried the SCD diet yet (have just bought a book for my Kindle, thanks!) . The apple cider vinegar/HCL thing is problematic because my bladder is sensitive to the increased acid. Bitters don't seem to make a difference. I have tried repopulating my gut with probiotics and fermented foods after antibiotics but if anything this seems to increase the bloating again, more quickly than if I don't. My own saurkraut caused major bloating - I was so disappointed! Research is conflicting - some say persist with this, others say it doesn't help. Grapefruit seed extract sounds great in theory but I get eczema with this (and citrus fruits) so its yet another thing off the menu. Glutamine also sounds great in theory but in practice gives me diahhorea. Monolaurin is a new one on me, thanks for that! Chris Kresser site also looks good, I need to do some more homework!

I just want to add in here that Chris Kresser is a staunch paleo advocate. There may be some help for people suffering severe bowel problems, and they should try what they can. But, for the average person, it really isn't necessary to start eating large quantities of meat to feel better. There really is no substantial proof that Kresser's approach is necessarily good for everyone.
I found this article about the paleo diet that I found quite interesting:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-berardi-phd/paleo-diet_b_5774200.html

I have personally been on a paleo type diet years ago already when it had first resurfaced. I actually did it for about three years. It just didn't do it for me, and then I had progressed from there, finding a more plant based diet has suited me much better.

I know. I do realize we are addressing SIBO and other related digestive issues in this thread, but I want the general reader to know that paleo is not necessarily the only approach out there. It's just the most popular right now. To everyone, do a lot more reading outside the first 3 hits that come up on the web, those are just the most viewed ones.
Once again, just my thoughts.

Yes i've tried it, but found it difficult to implement strictly, because I need calories! I find it quite difficult to understand because there is conflicting advice out there about which foods are OK and which ones need to be avoided. Main take home benefit of studying the fodmap idea for me has been that legumes are definitely an immediate problem for me. This revelation changed me from soya milk (soya is a legume) to using lactose-free milk and products instead. I am currently doing my best to avoid fructose as another aspect of the fodmap diet to try, this is quite a big change for me as I have always enjoyed fruit and have used fruit juice as a calorie increasing strategy. I'll let you know how it goes!

I'm just putting it out there for those who haven't read my previous responses. New people aren't always going to back into the archives to see what people have been talking about on here.
Just keeping it current.
And, I wish everyone did their research the way you do, Safelyheld, but that is usually not the case.

I find its much harder to control what I'm eating when I'm away and that's often when the unintentional experiments happen. But I have just had a particularly bad lapse of cheating with gluten and dairy which has resulted in several weeks of diarrhoea. This has only settled by abandoning dairy completely - usually Im ok with lactose-free products but Ive had to stop them too for now, and have gone super-bland with everything else. So I think the confusion also holds for different foods at different times - but also this episode has confirmed to me that it takes at least 3 days for my gut output to reflect what has gone in 3 days earlier, and this only adds to the confusion! Safety Held my food list is similar to yours but I avoid peanuts as they are in the legume family along with beans - beans are my very worst thing to be avoided at all costs!

Yes definitely not worth the "cheating" especially if you have been away from these foods for awhile, and you are anywhere along the spectrum of sensitivity to them....we have found that out in the hard way in our family.

I was re-reading some of the posts above, and wanted to comment on the use of sugar as part of a strategy for getting extra calories (fruit juice in your case). Instead of extra sugar, eat more of the healthy Omega-3 fats, and if you want extra carbs, get them from the starchy vegetables. Your gut will thank you. - Surviving