SIBO-C THE HEALING PROCESS

GET DIAGNOSED

Find a person who is super familiar with treating SIBO, be it a naturopath, nutritionist, gastroenterology, GP, dietitian, gut health clinic specialist to work with you. Ensure you trust them and that they listen to and respect you. Determine with them what tests you need to do and they will help you understand the results.

DETERMINE ROOT CAUSE

This step is necessary to stop relapsing. I believe my root cause was dysmotility, caused by painkillers (solpadiene or solpadol – a form of opioid) I took every month for period cramps. Then, having an extremely stressful time at work for months which brought symptoms fully into effect.

FOLLOW PROTOCOL

Once you have your test results back, it is time to get a treatment protocol from your SIBO specialist. For me I had a mix of digestive enzymes, supplements for stomach acid and antimicrobials as well as some dietary suggestions like no sugar or processed food and avoid gluten as much as possible just in case I have leaky gut.

DIET

Follow whatever diet suits you but remember the obvious, sugar is terrible for you, processed food is not good for you (especially when your gut is compromised) and avoidance of other things will depend on your situation, such as gluten. I stayed away from it most of the time enjoying buckwheat and rice alternatives. If you have other things show up in your tests you may be recommended more dietary changes such as if you are having issues with histamines or oxalates.

Do not worry about people on the internet saying eat this, eat that as most are only managing their symptoms, not healing. Cutting out fibre or full food groups will not heal you, it will only keep symptoms down and we want to heal not just manage symptoms. Try find a variety of foods that make you feel good as feeling good even some of the time will bring down that stress which is necessary. At the start try gentle recipes like stewed apples with cinnamon, making broth, I’ll attach recipe below and cook your veggies so they are very soft perhaps in a blended soup.

FASTING

Try to keep 4 hours, at least 3, between meals to give your small intestine a chance to digest and not be overloaded. Do not eat in the evenings. Try have your last meal no later than 7.30pm.