[Chase13]

4 years ago I had a Colonoscopy and Endoscopy. I also had a SIBO test and was tested positive for SIBO. Well I recently switched doctors and he said my SIBO was highly unlikely unless I had major surgery at some point. He didn't want to run any tests on me and put me on Nortriptyline. Does that sound like a load of croc to you guys? I have been reading about the horrible side effects of this medicine and am thinking about getting a second opinion. What do you guys think? The problem is extreme gas and not just the feeling of it, but releasing it all night long constantly.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Have you tried either taking probiotics (which do not make gas from carbs by definition) or a low starch diet so you don't eat so much bacteria food (the parts of the starch you do not digest feed them).Most of the horrific side effects are when tricyclics are taking at doses for depression (like 150 mgs or more) and for IBS (the nerves in the gut use the same chemical signals and receptors as the nerves in the brain and they don't know what a drug was approved for) they usually prescribe the drug in the 10-75 mg range.Also not every person gets all the side effects. Most people get none of them or one of the minor annoying ones (like a bit of a dry mouth) and the bad ones are quite rare. Doesn't help if you are the one in a thousand or 1 in a million but you can't assume all the bad things will all happen to you.Tricyclics are drugs that are very commonly prescribed for IBS.

 

[Chase13]

I took Digestive Advantage probiotic for 4-5 months and it helped a ton. Then all of a sudden it just stopped working and it seemed to make me worse. Every time I try to go back on them they seem to make me worse now. Don't know if I should try a new probiotic or not.

 

[faze action]

I'd get a second opinion (if it were me). I had SIBO for about 2-3 years before I was diagnosed and I've never had major surgery in my life. There are a lot of other things that can cause SIBO: past food poisoning, diverticulitis, hypochloridia, GI obstruction, just to name a few...