Breath tests are not designed to test for the amount of bacteria in the colon. They only test for amount of gaseous byproducts they produce. The time at which the gases begin to appear after consumption also provides additional valuable information about the activity of intestinal bacteria.
H2 and CO2 are commonly produced by good and bad colonic bacterial. If your colon contains methenaogens too then some of the H2 is converted to methane by these bugs. The more methane produced the more constipated IBS-C individuals experience. Unfortunately, at the point there is no understanding on how to reduce methane production even with antibiotics.
Unfortunately, probably no one on this board may be able to advise you. It something you need to talk to about with a well trained medical professional such as GI doc. It is a very specialized area.
If you think the lacto and bifido bacteria are low then eat more SF that have a prebiotic effect to encourage their growth. It might also increase the amount of gas produced too
-------------------- STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
Posts
Re: I have bacterial overgrowth & need antibiotics, BUT
