Are you cured?

I think that the teory of SIBO x IBS isn´t correct.By now, nobody saids "I´m cured" or "The treatment works for me". I believed that would be the way to be cured of IBS, but now i don´t anymore.

Hi Andre,Actually, there have been a lot of "cures" due to treating SIBO by taking Rifaximin, Neomycin, and the Vivonex Plus Diet. Make no mistake! If you have SIBO, the Cedars-Sinai Protocol will take care of it. With the exception of one-time "heralding events" like food poisoning, these "cures", unfortunately, are short-lived because people are not treating the condition which likely caused SIBO to begin with and continues to allow it to reoccur.For instance, I happened to suffer from a form of Diabetes Insipidus caused by CFS which has been leaving me chronically dehydrated for the past year and a half. Since the intestines need water to work properly, it's no wonder why SIBO would keep popping up. I'm only now starting to understand how to treat this underlying problem which really should have been dealt with in the first place before tackling the SIBO.I recommend that you get Mark Pimental's book "A new IBS Solution", and start following his diet right away.Think of the acronym IBS as to avoid "Indigestible Beans and Sugars".When you think of "Indigestible Beans", think of high-residue foods like kidney, garbanzo, pinto beans, lentils, peas, and soy. Also, let this remind you to avoid fiber in general like raw starchy foods, whole-grain breads, and fiber supplements like Metamucil.When you think of "Indigestible Sugars", think of Corn syrup(fructose), Mannitol, Sorbitol, Sucralose(Splenda), Lactose, and Lactulose.Lactose can be found in yogurt, milk, and cheese. Try getting Lactaid, Almond, or rice milk instead.My personal favorite was eating eggs, white bread, and egg noodles.Well, my breath test came back negative which I attribute mostly to the Neomycin. I still have other health concerns but at least I'm on the right track!

Thanks for your support, André.Days 4 and 5 passed and I'm not too sure how things are going. I've felt alright, but I've also had some D. The brain fog is still there (this is caused by malabsorbtion problems, maybe due to SIBO). I also am IgA deficient, so I don't know how that plays into things. In a few days I will try the ultimate test and have a half shot of vodka and I'll see how it affects me. I tried it last year and I had D for about 12 hours.My IBS is very food specific. For the last few years I've eaten the same 4 or 5 foods every day. I can't tolerate any vegetables, most fruits, fats, sugars, oils, corn, alcohol, or most of the IBS "trigger" foods. If I stay away from these foods I am able to go to work and school whereas before I was unable to do so. Needless to say, this is an incredibly bland diet where I don't get much nutrition. I also can't get full off of the foods that I eat. In the past couple of months I've only eaten apples, bananas, turkey, tuna, and matzos (I'm not Jewish, but I go through a box or two of these a day).It seems that in the last 2 days matzos are bothering me. This is not uncommon, as I was able to eat vegetables in my first year of IBS but then I no longer could. Over time it seems that my tolerances of food have gotten much, much worse (can't eat certain types of apples, etc).I realize that eating high carb foods like matzos are bad for SIBO. I don't see how I can eat the simple carb diets recommended by Pimentel or Gottschall. Almost everything on the recommended list would cause me terrible D. The only way that I would be able to follow these diets would be to eat nothing but meat and apples and I don't think that would be possible to do. I already feel naucious every time I eat tuna because I've eaten it 2 or 3 times a day for the past couple of years (and no, I do not have metal problems). Most people don't want to eat tuna if they had it earlier in the week.I just hope that eating (complex) carbs aren't hurting my progress with getting rid of this. If this doesn't work I might have to try an elemental diet. I don't know how I will be able to handle this as I need energy for my day. I work full time and go to school full time and I don't know if the elemental diet would be sufficient. My doctor said that he would like try try more antibiotics if rifaximin doesn't work, but I'd have to wait until the end of July to start because it takes me 2 months to get a follow-up appointment with my doctor (which is bull****).

Well, 9 days in and I don't think it worked. Still feel crappy with all of the gut issues. I'll continue for the last day.It seems that my "cold" is going away. It was real bad last night but I'm feeling better this afternoon.I'm pretty sure that my doctor will be putting me on Flagyl to try a second round of antibiotics. Needless to say, I'm not too optimistic, especially considering the impact it will have on the rest of my body. I'd like to try a round of rifaximin and neomycin at the same time (as Pimental recommends when just one antibiotic doesnt work) but I know that my doctor wont prescribe it. I might end up trying Vivonex Plus (Pimental's third, and final option) to get rid of the bacteria. I don't mind enduring the actual treatment of Vivonex (which is supposed to suck), but it's really expensive and it's probably going to cost me about $1000 to try it... something that's not even guaranteed to work. I found a good thread on another forum about people discussing actual experiences with SIBO and Vivonex: http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-146840.htmlThis would all be so much easier if I didn't need a prescription for medicine. I would be able to treat myself without having to wait months to haggle with doctors over new medicines to try. Doctors are more cluless than we are regarding the disease.Sorry that this thread is turning into somewhat of a blog for me. I normally do not even post too much on these forums but I figured that people would be interested in a day-by-day log of rifaximin treatment for SIBO. IMO, reading other people's experiences is one of the best ways to educate one's self on this disease.PS. Does anyone know the effect that rifaximin would have on parasites? I've been tested multiple times for them and came up negative, but I'm curious as to what the effect of rifaxmin would be on the bugs.