Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Searches, Websites, and Cautions

I don't know the answers to most of your questions. My impression - and it is only an impression - is that the diagnosis and treatment of SIBO is new enough that there may not be standard answers to your questions. I've put ShawnEric's name in the subject line - perhaps he has more specific information.

Since I believe IBS and SIBO are two different conditions, it would be theoretically possible for you to have both. Seems unfair, though, doesn't it?

Lactose intolerance is something different - it means you lack the enzyme to digest lactose. (web page) I do not think there is any cure for it, but you can take a product like Lactaid to provide the digestion for you. (Please note that taking Lactaid is not sufficent to allow IBSers to consume dairy, because the proteins in dairy are also difficult for IBSers to handle.)

My impression is that one of the ways people think you may get SIBO is by taking antibiotics - they disrupt the balance of bacteria in your gut.

Please discuss all this with your doctor. And please be sure to Search these Boards for BadlyDrawnBoy's experience. He did not do very well and I would want my doctor to reassure me I would do better.

Have you checked any of the other IBS support Boards to see if people there have information about SIBO? The only one I can think of right now is IBSGroup.org - they seem to have a lively Board community. I can't speak to their accuracy - I rarely read them.

Last, but not least, I want to restate my previous caveat: if and only if I was not getting relief from the EFI Diet plus Acacia, I would be in my doctor's office asking for a SIBO test. But I would be very cautious about pursuing aggressive antibiotic treatment for it unless I understood far, far more about it than I currently do. I would definitely try just probiotics first. (I know you've tried the EFI Diet and tried probiotics, Naturapanic, so this is more for anyone else who stumbles across this post.)

Good luck with all of this.

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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]

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