cozyessi t1_itv7m4l wrote on October 26, 2022 at 3:34 PM

Hi! Thanks for doing this! I have two questions if you don’t mind.

I was recently diagnosed with SIBO, which was affecting my day to day life so much. I did a round of antibiotics and that helped, but I feel like it is coming back. What can I do to help my gut maintain less bacterial overgrowth?

Is there anything within the gut that can exasperate fatigue and what can I do to help it give me more energy?

ihml1968 t1_iufzhpx wrote on October 31, 2022 at 12:59 AM

In case you're not already aware, there is a SIBO subreddit support group r/sibo I believe. Definitely keep a food journal. It takes a while to sort things out but I've noticed there's a link with certain foods and feeling worse. Good luck with things. Oh and if you have insurance issues with them covering Rifaximin as often as you need it (when I first started I needed to be on it for 3 weeks every 2 months for about a year but my insurance only covered twice a year), the drug manufacturer has a program that they'll send you prescriptions direct from them for free. It's a lot of paperwork unfortunately but worth it vs paying out of pocket.

cozyessi t1_iug2wu3 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 1:26 AM

That’s super helpful to know! Thank you!!

cucciaman OP t1_itvaz4e wrote on October 26, 2022 at 3:56 PM

Hey /u/cozyessi,

I'm happy to hear that the antibiotics helped. SIBO is tricky and still very poorly understood. I'm going to list some recommendations for maintaining a healthy microbiome below:

FoodThe low FODMAP diet has been shown to be effective at helping prevent SIBO recurrence.In general, you can improve your gut microbiome health by adding fermented foods, such as kombucha, kefir, yogurt, kimchi, to your diet. Fermented foods contain live, beneficial bacteria that can lead to improvements in your gut microbiome. In addition, they contain a lot of compounds formed through the process of fermentation that are beneficial to you and the bacteria already in your gut.

However, as a SIBO patient, some of these may worsen your symptoms. The response to diet is highly personalized and I would recommend you try some of these things to see what improves.Lastly, lifestyle aspects have been associated with features of a healthy gut microbiome. Specifically, some studies have identified links between good sleep quality and exercise with positive improvements in the gut microbiome.

It also sounds like fatigue is something that is bothering you. Fatigue can be caused by many different things, so I will give you an answer in the context of the microbiome. Often, when our digestive system is out of balance, we can develop inflammation in our gut, especially in the context of SIBO. This inflammation has been linked with brain fog and fatigue-like symptoms. I would see if there's a link between your digestive symptoms and your fatigue as a first step. As you address your digestive symptoms, your fatigue could improve in parallel.

Thank you !

-RK