Living with SIBO

It was back in 2014 when I took my first Hydrogen breath test to see if I had SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) or not. And sure enough I was positive for both Hydrogen & Methane gases.

I immediately started to treat and eradicate my SIBO by following Dr. Jacobi's Bi-Phasic diet. During my herbal treatment, I noticed instant results. My skin began to improve (SIBO and acne rosacea are linked- and the initial reason for testing), my bloating decreased and my bowel motion improved.

Looking back on the determination in following the diet and finally knowing the cause of my acne rosacea was the end of years of frustration and embarrassment.

If you have ever had to follow a restricted diet you will understand how difficult it is to live a 'normal' life that doesn't impact you and the ones you life with.

But considering my main problem had been eradicated, I began to slowly add the foods in that I was eating previously (It is also strongly advised that you should not follow any restricted diet long term).

Low and behold.....my skin didn't get effected!!!

Sure, the obvious items would cause a flare, such as alcohol and wheat. But I had never had an issue with onions or any other high FODMAP foods.

But slowly over time, even though my skin never returned back to its acne state (thank goodness!), my bloating returned and my bowels also decided to slow down too...….

Bring in test number 2 in 2017. And yep, I tested positive yet again for both Hydrogen and Methane gases. SIBO was back with even more bite!!

So what did I do???

Nothing.

I certainly felt disheartened with a capital D, but after treating so many others for SIBO in my practice I had noticed a trend...….

it comes back!

Knowing the cause of your SIBO is imperative!

The thing about SIBO is that you need to find the cause, and if you don't find the cause, it WILL come back.

What's my cause?

Most likely poor gut motility and a leaky gut to match.

But I didn't want to go in with the big guns (anti microbial herbs) to get rid of the unwanted bacteria and Archea. It didn't want to go on the super restricted diet for months on end.

Nup.

By this stage I had a fair idea of what would cause my bloating. I mentioned a couple of them previously- wheat and alcohol. You can add potatoes, rice and refined sugars onto that list too. But do I avoid them? No. I just know that I should keep potatoes down to once per week and if I am going to eat wheat, it will be with good quality sourdough stuff.

And what about legumes?

Yes, they can cause havoc with SIBO and make anyone look 6 months pregnant in seconds. But once again, I have identified the ones that cause more symptoms than others (for me it's kidney beans and chickpeas).

But I still eat them, because I know how beneficial they are for me and they provide fuel for all of the anti-inflammatory bacteria that live in your colon.

And I have also noticed that by keeping my fibre up that my bowel habits improve (it's not rocket science!).

So lets go back to the cause again.....

The cause of your SIBO is a big clue if you are going to get rid of SIBO once and for all. Unfortunately for some, the cause can be due to adhesions and scar tissue in the pelvic region due to past operations. Constant visceral manipulation is required to reduce the scar tissue within the area. With this comes a very long time frame of healing...….

I discovered that I also have umbilical hernia (another causative factor for SIBO). But after I had met with a surgeon and understood what was involved in the operation, I decided to not go ahead. I felt that the scar tissue post op was going to be far worse than my little sticky outy belly button.

So its not all doom and gloom, and I certainly don't want to put you off in treating your SIBO. For some, it can be a simple cause such as post infectious IBS (just a little bit of gut dysbiosis and a teeny bit of inflammation). But the main take home point is that EVERYONE is different. And yes, it's worth exploring what is causing your unwanted gut symptoms and take the necessary treatment from there.

I just felt that I wanted to share my journey with living with SIBO. I have accepted it (that doesn't mean you should have to too). But I do know that my overall gut microbiome is a lot happier and healthier by me including a high variety of foods into my daily diet.

I also keep my symptoms down by adding movement into my life (yoga) and by keeping on top of my stress levels by ensuring my nervous system is supported and making sure my cup is always full (well 3/4 anyway!)…..

If you would like to listen more about my SIBO story, you can on The GUT GURU podcast.

If you would like support in your gut journey, you can by joining the FB group- Happy gut, Happy you

Do you still have a question?

Send me a message below.....

Are you inflamed?

Inflammation is your bodies natural response to repair itself and to protect yourself from nasties!

It's also your body to say 'Hey! Stop! Slow down and take some rest!'

An inflammatory response involves a raise in body temperature (fever), fluid to the area (swelling), vasodilation (so you don't bleed to death) and unfortunately, sometimes pain. These processes are pretty standard and are needed to help you repair and heal. The down side of inflammation is that it can make you feel uncomfortable for the short term. When you have constant pain and inflammation, that's when it gets serious!

So what are some of the signs and symptoms of an inflammatory response?

• Headache is very common. This can happen for SO many reasons.....cold and flu, allergies, sinus, hay fever, food intolerance, environment, eye strain or hormones.
• Skin conditions- eczema, dermatitis, acne and rosacea are all inflamed conditions.
• Allergies- seasonal hay fever, sinusitis and even food allergies are caused by an over active immune system that causes an inflammatory response.
• Auto immune- Think celiac, Hashimoto's, Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, are all based on an overactive immune response. Most of the time it is genetic, but can be stimulated by environment and stress.
• Digestive system- stomach pain, food intolerances, diarrhoea and reflux would be coming causes of high inflammation.
• Pain- All of the above conditions can have pain associated with it. This can lead to depression, immobility, discomfort and decreased joy in life if left long term.

What can be done?

Knowing the cause of your inflammatory response is a big part of the healing process. Sometimes the source can't be fixed or eliminated, but reducing inflammation can happen by diet, movement and anti-inflammatory sources (will get to this later on).

• When did it start?
• What makes it worse?
• What makes it better?
• What are the symptoms?

These are simple questions that you can ask yourself to narrow down on what the cause could be.

Diagnostic Testing

When you get your bloods taken from your doctor, there are some key markers that inflammation is present.

• White Cell Count - these guys are your defence system. If they are up, that means they are busy fighting something.
• ESR- An acute inflammatory response marker. If raised=inflammation
• CRP- more of a chronic inflammatory marker. If raised, your body ain't happy.
• GGT- This is from your liver profile. If raised, it is busy detoxing you.
• Secretory IgA- This protects your gut lining against pathogens! Stress can decrease secretory IgA.
• Antibodies- These are tested mostly for auto immune markers.
• Immunoglobulins- IgG, IgE are common ones to get tested for allergies. IgG is used a lot with food intolerance panels.
• Anion Gap- This is a calculation found in your General chemistry section of your bloods. It should be between 10-12. the calculation is as follows: Sodium + Potassium - Chloride - Bicarbonate = ?
• Cortisol- This is done by request only and should be taken between 7am - 9am in the morning for accuracy.

What you can do to reduce inflammation!

• Eat a more alkaline diet. Acidic foods create inflammation. Grab your alkaline food list acid-base-foods-pral
• Glutamine is great for reducing inflammation in the gut.
• N- Acetyl Glucosamine is also fabulous for gut repair and anti-inflammation
• Zinc- Wound healer and used for over 200 enzymatic reactions within the body (also immune booster), great for skin too!
• Bioflavonoids- found in the white part of citrus fruit and other fruit and vegetables (Quercetin, Rutin, Hesperidin and Bromelains).
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D (especially with auto immune conditions)
• Probiotics- Vivomixx VSL#3, Saccharomyces Boulardi, Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG) and Lactobacillus Fermentum VRI-003
• Omega 3- fish oil
• Coconut oil- contains caprylic acid which is anti inflammatory
• Reishi mushrooms
• Turmeric- need I say more?
• Chamomile
• Calendula
• Ginger

Bloated Belly Blues

In my younger years I used to have an ironing board stomach (actually the ironing board look went up to my collar bone). And the words 'muffin top' were not something that I resonated with. That was until I had my 3rd child, and I just had to look at food for my stomach to inflate like a balloon.I do believe that there has been muscle weakness in that area and this has been a reason for my relaxed tummy look, but the biggest cause was because I had SIBO.SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. And it means just that the gut bacteria that should be in your large colon, are now playing happy families in your small intestine.So what does this have to do with bloated tummies???A lot actually. It now means that the bacteria that are in your small intestine are out of balance. And these new kids on the block love feeding off the food we eat. Mostly carbs!So when they have also relished in the pasta you just ate, so are the unwelcomed bacteria. And they then release gases after eating, which then causes your tummy to also fill up with air and look bloated!The foods that mostly trigger a bloated belly are:- bread, crackers, biscuits, cakes. Anything with wheat and gluten.- milk, cream, soy, cheese- alcohol- refined sugars, sweeties, lollies etc.- additives and preservatives-legumesOther symptoms of SIBO are:- constipation and/or diarrhoea- food intolerances-headaches-fatigue-acne Rosacea and other skin conditionsTo treat a bloated belly naturally you can eliminate the unwanted bacteria by using herbal antibiotics; and avoid foods that feed the bacteria until the gut lining heals and the cause of your SIBO has been rectified.If you would like to know more about SIBO, please fill out the contact form below.[contact_bank form_id=2 show_title=true show_desc=false]