Has Anyone Here Successfully Resolved "SIBO" Or Major Stomach Bloating? With Peating Or Anything Els

[ecstatichamster]

i find huge benefits in a little raw garlic and onion. Not huge amounts, but some. It can be taken with a little yogurt. I think mexican salsa (that you make at home) is a great way to get this too. It seems to REALLY help prevent/fix SIBO issues. There is great synergy between raw garlic and raw onion.

 

[EIRE24]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Actually let me elaborate on my health and let me know if you think it looks like hypothyroid:

First of all I've always been thin and been able to eat a lot without gaining fat. I got really skinny on vegan diets and then gained back some weight when I moved towards paleo and eventually Peat. But I've never had the fat gain problem of hypothyroid (except recently, see below).

One thing I've always had is a weird dandruff/dry skin/oily skin problem. It seems like my skin in general, especially my scalp, produces a lot of sebum and it gets mixed in with dead skin. It doesn't flake off much, but if I run my nails against my scalp I can scratch off all of this crap. It happens, but less, on others skin like my back and chest, especially after working out and sweating a lot. So does this seem like hypothyroid?

Ok about the weight, through all of my diet experiments from about age 19 to 30, one problem I never had was gaining fat. I lost too much muscle on vegan/vegetarian, and I've always had trouble building back the muscle I had when I was first lifting weights in high school, but fat was never a problem. Until now. In the past year (ages 31-32) somehow I gained several inches on my waist, a spare tire, that is totally new to me. The thing is though that my digestion problems precede this by a decade.

I guess thyroid works in mysterious ways, so maybe that is a missing link. I was about to try some of Haidut's thyroid any way.

P.S. - can you elaborate on your SIBO test, what is means for it to be inconclusive, and what your experiences with the antibiotics were? As in, did you notice anything or not really?

I have this skin problem too but it is on my face. I can never sort it out. If I run my nail along my face a load of dead skin comes off.

Do you also have acne?

 

[Kyle M]

I have this skin problem too but it is on my face. I can never sort it out. If I run my nail along my face a load of dead skin comes off.

Do you also have acne?

Not really, but I was put on Accutane when I was in high school. I don't know how much acne I would have now if I didn't get that.

 

[EIRE24]

Not really, but I was put on Accutane when I was in high school. I don't know how much acne I would have now if I didn't get that.

Really? Does accutane basically kill off all your chances of getting acne in the future? Whatever I try my acne doesn't seem to go away, same with the dry skin. I've tried vitamin A and liver and it doesn't make the slightest of differences

 

[Kyle M]

Really? Does accutane basically kill off all your chances of getting acne in the future? Whatever I try my acne doesn't seem to go away, same with the dry skin. I've tried vitamin A and liver and it doesn't make the slightest of differences

Accutane is a form of Vitamin A, I would suggest trying very high dosages of Vitamin A for a while and see what happens. Not too long, it can be dangerous to over dose, but for a week or 2 a really high dose, like a couple times higher than the normal supplement dose.

But yeah, no one really knows how Accutane works, but it seems to permanently change something in the acne realm. I still get a pimple here or there, but the consistent acne on my temples and cheeks is gone.

 

[EIRE24]

Accutane is a form of Vitamin A, I would suggest trying very high dosages of Vitamin A for a while and see what happens. Not too long, it can be dangerous to over dose, but for a week or 2 a really high dose, like a couple times higher than the normal supplement dose.

But yeah, no one really knows how Accutane works, but it seems to permanently change something in the acne realm. I still get a pimple here or there, but the consistent acne on my temples and cheeks is gone.

What kind of a dose are you talking here of vitamin A? I was thinking of trying an anti biotic for it? Good idea or bad idea, I don't know? Could make things worse

 

[SarahBeara]

If you don't mind I'd be very interested in seeing any and all results you'd like to share. I'm afraid of any scope test (not keep on swallowing, orally or rectally, a scope) so I imagine I won't get one. Are you going to try a breath test? The MRI is the most interesting of your list there, I would like to see imaging of a gut distended from bloating compared to normal.

Scopes are NOT fun so I think your fear of them is entirely rational. I got a sibo test online. It was the glucose test and came up negative. I think in retrospect the lactulose test would have been better, got the Gut-chek test from metabolic solutions.

 

[Kyle M]

What kind of a dose are you talking here of vitamin A? I was thinking of trying an anti biotic for it? Good idea or bad idea, I don't know? Could make things worse

Normal supplements give dosages in the range of 10,000-25,000 IU. Haidut posted a study a copule of years ago, one of many I'm sure, where high doses (300,000 IU) were given to cancer patients for multiple months. They had mild toxicity symptoms, but were also taking tamoxifen which may have been part of the problem. This is that thread: Vitamin A (retinol) is not toxic to the liver in high doses
So when I say high dose I mean anything from 50,000 IU (twice the normal dose) to an upper limit of the 300,000 IU from that study. I would start on the lower end of that range and see what happens, cutting it out if I noticed any big side effects.

 

[Kyle M]

Scopes are NOT fun so I think your fear of them is entirely rational. I got a sibo test online. It was the glucose test and came up negative. I think in retrospect the lactulose test would have been better, got the Gut-chek test from metabolic solutions.

Do you get any gas from simple sugars? I find that simple sugars make me gassy high up, and can be burped out most of the time, and the more complex the carbohydrate and the meal in general is, the farther down the gas production is, which causes greater gut distention. But if the test was looking at breath hydrogen an hour after glucose I probably wouldn't have any, my reaction is very fast. Almost unrealistically fast, as if there are bacteria eating the sugar in my upper stomach.

 

[SarahBeara]

There's a post on free the animal at the moment that explains how food can seem to aide an instant reaction despite being caused by dysbiosis in the bowel.
SIBO Part 1: Real Condition or Myth?

Ignore the sales pitch for the probiotic..

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Does accutane basically kill off all your chances of getting acne in the future?

No, speaking from my own experience.

 

[Peata]

I've never taken Accutane, but have heard of people requiring multiple courses of it to try to get acne under control.

 

[lexis]

Well cooked arrowroot soup can be helpful

 

[blob69]

Hello blob69,

May I ask how you solved the adrenal issues? I also have this problem when supplementing thyroid, even in very minimal doses.

Thyroid has always increased my adrenaline, but it depended on the baseline just how bad it could get. When I tried it first for digestive issues years ago, adrenaline got higher but was still manageable even with high doses (kind of like drinking a couple coffees too many). But back then I did nothing at all to reduce adrenaline. Then later something about my body changed and adrenaline became my main symptom. I didn't even dare to try thyroid then. But now I think I have it figured out, even though I'm still fine-tuning things a bit. It seems related to inflammation for me - anything that lowers inflammation will lower adrenaline. Aspirin and pregnenolone calm me down, as do some herbs. Pulse gets much lower too, lately it's in the 90s during the day and it used to be up to 110 often. I think it's really like Peat says - people with high stress hormones will have trouble with thyroid, and you have to use some other means to bring them down. Diet/endotoxin is also something to look into. Frequent meals, enough protein and calcium, and avoiding foods that cause inflammation are some things that come to mind. In traditional Chinese medicine calcium supps are all calming, so I'm going to try that next, and interestingly Peat has also mentioned calcium when I asked about my adrenaline. I actually got the idea that my issue is due to inflammation from Chinese medicine - they say that high pulse is usually "heat" and heat = inflammation basically...

 

[blob69]

I'm going to get a absolute craptonne of tests done.

Already had an endo and colonoscopy. They showed nothing but you fast for them and I'm fine when fasting! Want to get an MRI (while bloated), high-resolution mammotery (because it's majorly relieved by burping), barium meal test (radiation I know but I'll deal with it for the once off), full blood panel and whatever else my gastro can think of. The next doctor who uses the word 'functional gastro disorder' (functional - ha!) is getting a slap!

Just my 2 cents, but I had most of those tests done (and more) and nothing came back positive or even gave any ideas... I'm sorry now that I've subjected myself to them (esp. the barium one), as I feel that modern medicine has very little to offer in this way.

 

[blob69]

I've always had an easy time maintaining weight (except on vegetarian diets)

Do you get enough high-quality protein? Just an idea because you mention losing weight on vegetarian diets that are often low on protein... maybe you need more than an average person?

How about the potato juice mentioned by Peat for people with really bad digestion?

 

[SarahBeara]

Just my 2 cents, but I had most of those tests done (and more) and nothing came back positive or even gave any ideas... I'm sorry now that I've subjected myself to them (esp. the barium one), as I feel that modern medicine has very little to offer in this way.

I'd appreciate your thoughts, what tests did you get done and what were they like?

 

[blob69]

One more thing, @Kyle M , aspirin and cascara taken before bedtime reduce my morning indigestion (my indigestion was always worst in the morning, possibly due to metabolism tanking during the night) for about 30-40%.

I'd appreciate your thoughts, what tests did you get done and what were they like?

I had the barium xray done - actually that was many xray shots, not just one (I think around 5) - which showed nothing. I also had an abdominal MRI scan done with some contrast that I don’t recall, which again came back negative. Colonoscopy and endoscopy - everything looked perfect. Plus I had all sorts of blood tests done that showed only high cholesterol, which in the end turned out related to thyroid function (it lowered with a thyroid supplement). I had fructose malabsorbtion and possible SIBO diagnosed with breath tests, however, avoiding fructose and antibiotics did not help at all.

It was really frustrating going through all those tests for nothing, so I thought I’d mention it! I think it must be quite a rare case where imaging would show some blockage or something...

 

[SarahBeara]

One more thing, @Kyle M , aspirin and cascara taken before bedtime reduce my morning indigestion (my indigestion was always worst in the morning, possibly due to metabolism tanking during the night) for about 30-40%.

I had the barium xray done - actually that was many xray shots, not just one (I think around 5) - which showed nothing. I also had an abdominal MRI scan done with some contrast that I don’t recall, which again came back negative. Colonoscopy and endoscopy - everything looked perfect. Plus I had all sorts of blood tests done that showed only high cholesterol, which in the end turned out related to thyroid function (it lowered with a thyroid supplement). I had fructose malabsorbtion and possible SIBO diagnosed with breath tests, however, avoiding fructose and antibiotics did not help at all.

It was really frustrating going through all those tests for nothing, so I thought I’d mention it! I think it must be quite a rare case where imaging would show some blockage or something...

My indigestion is so much worse in the morning too. I wake up burping and if I eat anything there's a 50:50 chance its going to deliver an attack.

I'm a little afraid of cascara as I'm prone to diarrhoea, but I have some pau d'arco tea there.

Do you think an alka-seltzer and pau d'arco before bed could work?

 

[blob69]

My indigestion is so much worse in the morning too. I wake up burping and if I eat anything there's a 50:50 chance its going to deliver an attack.

I'm a little afraid of cascara as I'm prone to diarrhoea, but I have some pau d'arco tea there.

Do you think an alka-seltzer and pau d'arco before bed could work?

I guess so, but I've never tried Alka-seltzer, just pure aspirin crystals. I'm also prone to diarrhea but a little cascara is perfectly fine. Also Lapodin from Idealabs could work perhaps (can be applied topically)?

Also, I see I forgot to answer how these GI tests looked like. Colonoscopy was the only one that was really uncomfortable and painful and I really hope to never have to go through that again. Others were bearable. It was more the psychological pressure that was the problem with them - being told that all is OK when I was clearly experiencing horrible symptoms. Back then I had no idea about hormones/interrelatedness of everything.