sibo and gut health
This post covers my SIBO and gut health game changer from Healthy Gut.
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SIBO is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.
I’ve discussed in this post that when you have MCAS or other chronic illness you may be susceptible to also getting SIBO.
And this post covers the low FODMAP diet, which can be helpful when treating SIBO.
And this post discusses using Cromolyn Sodium as part of SIBO treatment.
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a chronic condition that affects all organ systems. MCAS is serious and disabling and people with MCAS often experience significant and debilitating symptoms daily, including anaphylaxis, which can be fatal.
MCAS is often found in combination with other chronic conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
Frequently healthcare providers do not know about MCAS, and the tests for MCAS are problematic because they are not uniformly reliable. MCAS can be difficult to manage. Treatments include blocking mast cell mediators with anti-histamines and mast cell stabilizers and avoiding triggers.
Check out this post on how to manage MCAS.
Successfully treating SIBO often needs to be a multi-pronged approach. In my case, I knew I had been dealing with SIBO for at least three years. My last LympStop checkup in 2020 showed that I was clear of SIBO. But in the three years after that, in retrospect, I realized I was experiencing more and more SIBO symptoms. I had smelly gas often after eating, a bloated belly, and chronic constipation despite many supplements and other interventions. My gut was uncomfortable almost every day, and that discomfort caused my mast cells to go haywire in my gut, creating a bigger mast cell problem.
I started working with a SIBO-specific functional practitioner this year who immediately caught that I had SIBO. I was surprised, because somehow I had normalized my gut symptoms in my mind, and they weren’t registering anymore. Once I began looking closely at the symptoms of SIBO I was shocked that they totally fit! My provider ordered a SIBO breath test which confirmed beyond a doubt that my gut was overrun with unhealthy bacteria.
My approach to health usually involves a combination of allopathic (or Western) medicines and functional (including naturopathic) treatments. For my case of SIBO, I did the low FODMAP diet, and my practitioner ordered a two-month protocol that included three herbal supplements and two antibiotics taken along with two probiotics. I also started Cromolyn Sodium and low-dose Naltrexone, as part of my SIBO treatment protocol, and as support for MCAS.
I was leery of taking antibiotics, and in general, I try to steer clear of antibiotic use. But from what I read, antibiotics were a crucial part of getting on top of SIBO. I also have diverticulosis and learned that Rifaximin, the main antibiotic prescribed to me for SIBO, is also helpful for diverticulitis. So when I had a bout of diverticulitis pain right before starting the SIBO protocol I knew Rifaximin would be a good fit for me.
My provider recommended that I look into butyric acid to guard against further issues with diverticulitis. And in researching the different types of butyric acid I came across the Healthy Gut company and its array of helpful products for healing the gut. I ordered their brand of butyric acid, called Tributyrin-X, and my diverticulitis pain immediately resolved.
I read about how many types of butyric acid on the market don’t reach the colon where it is needed because it gets absorbed earlier in the gut. Tributyrin-X is specially formulated to not be absorbed until it reaches the colon. And I learned that in addition to healing and sealing the walls of the colon Tributyrin-X also is helpful for a host of other issues.
I discuss in this post that I’ve had at least a dozen concussions, which contribute to MCAS. Tributyrin-X has been found to be helpful in healing the blood-brain barrier, which is often breached when you have a concussion, which leads to a host of other issues.
Tributyrin-X is also helpful for:
Since treating SIBO I have been gradually adding more foods into my diet, and I’ve been delighted to be able to have more dietary range without the SIBO symptoms that were plaguing me.
In addition, I experienced zero ill effects from taking antibiotics for a month. My provider kept asking me if I was experiencing GI upset, and my answer was consistently “no.” I didn’t experience any of the common issues with antibiotic use like nausea, diarrhea, and constipation, and I was able to take the full course of antibiotics free of adverse symptoms.
I attribute this to taking Tributyrin-X.
In addition, the post-SIBO treatment usually calls for introducing vitamin A, immunoglobulins, zinc carnosine, and L-Theanine. But unfortunately, I couldn’t tolerate any of those recommendations due to my MCAS. But I can tolerate Tributyrin-X, and my provider thinks that will be enough to continue healing and sealing my gut post-SIBO treatment.
The bucket theory offers a helpful analogy for understanding symptom reactions with MCAS.
Think of your body as an empty bucket that you want to keep from overflowing. Different foods and activities fill your histamine bucket at different speeds but they combine to form the total level of histamine in your body (how full your bucket is). A fuller bucket means you have more histamine symptoms. When you manage triggers, reduce exposure to known triggers, and take medications and supplements to reduce histamine, you can manage the level of your bucket.
Knowing your symptom progression in a symptom flare is the key to developing your own rescue plan. In this post, I discuss how to determine your own symptom progression. Once you know what typically happens in your symptom progression you can design a rescue plan to address those symptoms.
Want a tool to easily keep track of your symptoms? Sign up for my newsletter and you will receive my free 50-page ebook of lower-histamine, grain-free, sugar-free recipes, my free symptom log, and a free two-week meal plan!
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