Gas, bloating, belching, reflux, constipation, and diarrhea
Do you suffer from one or more of these gastrointestinal symptoms? If so, you may want to investigate if the culprit is small intestine bacterial overgrowth, which we call SIBO (see-bo). It is estimated that 16.8% of the United States population have SIBO, which is almost 1/5 of us!
If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), then you may be interested to know that 84% of people with IBS happen to also have SIBO. In these cases, testing for SIBO, and treating it if positive, can be a key part of healing from IBS. Unfortunately, GI specialists do not always operate on what is current in research, and they not always test for SIBO in cases of IBS.
SIBO can be simple and straightforward to identify and treat, and it can also be complex, stubborn and chronic. Each person has a unique presentation.
This blog series is meant to educate you about this condition, in digestible pieces. The entire series is a guide to SIBO symptoms, testing, treatment, and relapse prevention from a functional medicine lens.
Let’s start with symptoms…
SIBO signs and symptoms
Every one of these is a red flag for SIBO:
- Acne and rosacea.
- Anxiety and depression.
- All autoimmune diseases.
- Digestive symptoms: belching, reflux, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and indigestion.
- Food Intolerances.
- High cholesterol, specifically high LDL.
- Low iron or ferritin, which don’t go up with supplementation.
- Numbness in extremities.
- Low bone density.
If you have one or more of these conditions and want to learn more about SIBO as a possible cause, please read the next post in this series.
Please post your comments and questions below.
Great post on SIBO. Do you have any treatment strategies for patients with hydrogen sulfide sibo? I have found that is one of the trickiest cases to treat and it is still relatively unknown.
Also, what is the best type of body work to get done if someone has motility problems. Does acupuncture, message therapy, or anything related have a good effect for people struggling with this problem?
It seems like this condition is very challenging to treat and requires a lot of personalization and experimentation.
Hi Josh,
Thanks for your input! I like targeted abdominal massage. Maya abdominal massage is great and I also like visceral manipulation. You are correct that SIBO does need a personalized treatment, and relapse is unfortunately frequent. That’s why focusing on the causes (if known), and improving the colon microbiome are so important. It’s not just about what will eradicate the bacteria. You are correct that less is known about hydrogen sulfide producers. One strategy is to find out the specific bacteria and go after it, here is a test: http://
http://www.proteabiopharma.com/. Also, garlic tends to not work, and sulphur foods are best avoided. There’s often a fungal correlation, and sometimes mercury. Hope this helps!