I don't know if all the archives still exist or not. But many of us have chronicled our elemental diet experiences right here. I have done Vivonex Plus two times. Like you, Rifaximin didn't help me. Unfortunately Vivonex Plus did not help me either. According to Pimentel, more people are helped by the elemental diet, than are helped by antibiotics. So it's worth a try. If you read into Pimentel's book, you can survive that there is a class of people with IBS who will not be aided by the elemental diet, namely, those whose bacterial overgrowth has reached all the way to the upper reaches of the small intestine, i.e., the duodenum. If your duodenum is infected, then you will be feeding the bacteria with your Vivonex. The only way to know is to try.As far as a normal experiences? There is no normal. Some people gag and give up. For me, I had diarrhea the whole time and was low on energy. And it didn't help me at all. But I survived. And now I can check another thing off my list.