[VarunKesar]

Hi All,

I was recently diagnosed with SIBO.

My doctor recommend 2 weeks of Rifaximin, followed by 6 weeks of Symprove - this probiotic - https://www.symprove.com/

However, on the Symprove website it says that one can take antibiotics and Symprove at the same time (not literally at the same time, but one can use them together)

I am really really worried about reducing the effectiveness of the Rifaximin, and I worried that using Symprove might do this for 2 reasons:

- Making the problematic bacteria "dormant" so the antibiotic doesn't kill the problematic bacteria
- The increase of motility from Symprove means that the antibiotic doesn't have enough time to kill the problematic bacteria

But on the other-hand, I do want to take asap Symprove if possible. I am currently taking Optibac, and they seem to be helping manage the symptoms -

Does anyone have experience or knowledge in this area?

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

How do u manage please reply

 

[NinaS]

How do u manage please reply

Hi,
I'm not the original post person (VarunKesar).
But I have taken both Rifaximin and also was prescribed a regimen of probiotics.
I do think Rifaximin really does help to get rid of pests (bacteria, yeast, pathogen) in the intestinal area.
It really did help kill/remove whatever infection I had that was causing digestive problems beyond my intolerances . See,I had already been on a safe diet that no longer caused digestive upsets (diarrhea, loose stools, gas). I had been on this diet for almost a year when suddenly for a few weeks I was again having upsets but it didn't make sense as there was no clear food culprit for it. We found out its an infection, and that's where Rifaximin came and helped. Within hours of taking the two pills my gas had reduced or was almost gone, but it would come back if I skipped a day (in my first regimen).

I was also unsure of taking the probiotic at the same time.
I also didn't have the probiotic I needed right away anyway.
So, I think for like 5 days I took the Rifaximin without any probiotics, then I started also the probiotics after ~ day 5.
The probiotics I was given by dr. caused a bad reaction as i had a milk intolerance and they contained milk. I tried it anyway because he told me the benefits outweigh the downsides. But, that wasn't the case for me. My apartment started to smell like sour milk (i guess the gas leaked of the undigested milk). I couldn't go to work like this, so I had to find another probiotic that had bifido/lacto cultures with the same quantities he prescribed for me. My original prescirption was VSL probiotic 150 billion strength 3 times a day for two weeks.
But my IBS was really bad, I had an intolerance to almost everything (reallly).
I don't know what your doctor suggests, I'd follow his suggestion, I just wanted to let you know what bifido/lacto cultures I was prescribed. I found a different probiotic that had the same cultures without the milk, and that worked for me.
Actually, this whole combination combined with an elimination diet (I started with almost nothing in my diet and slowly added it every 3 days if it didn't cause a digestive problem-diarrhea,constipation,gas) and a reduced daily regimen of probiotics ( I took 80 billion bifido/lacto once daily for months) is basically what helped me to not experience IBS symptoms anymore-- now almost 2 years.

Your own journey may not need to be so drastic or severe.
I'd recommend just start taking the Rifaximin a few days before taking the probiotic.
Make sure you don't have a negative reaction to the probiotic (check for intolerances).
if you do, look for a probiotic that doesn't have foods that you can't tolerate and take that.

Honestly, what doctors have told me when I asked them the same question as original poster (should I take at same time or after?) was that it didn't really matter. Apparenty the Rifaximin targets the bad bacteria? and you're adding the good bacteria with probiotics.
But these drugs are expensive, so I understand you trying to maximize the drug benefit, I'd do the same to not be wasteful. Not that we think anything bad will happen if you take both at the same time.

My final suggestion is to take the probiotic after a bowel movement or first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
The reason for that would be to reduce the probability of the probiotic having a short time or short transit time in your gut. So, if you take after a bowel movement, the probiotic stuff should stay there at least till then. Also, your day can be affected by your probiotic (there's a gut-brain connection via the vagus nerve), so taking it in the morning is ideal to reeap benefits in your day (but maybe more costly if taken before your bowel movement).

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

Hi,
I'm not the original post person (VarunKesar).
But I have taken both Rifaximin and also was prescribed a regimen of probiotics.
I do think Rifaximin really does help to get rid of pests (bacteria, yeast, pathogen) in the intestinal area.
It really did help kill/remove whatever infection I had that was causing digestive problems beyond my intolerances . See,I had already been on a safe diet that no longer caused digestive upsets (diarrhea, loose stools, gas). I had been on this diet for almost a year when suddenly for a few weeks I was again having upsets but it didn't make sense as there was no clear food culprit for it. We found out its an infection, and that's where Rifaximin came and helped. Within hours of taking the two pills my gas had reduced or was almost gone, but it would come back if I skipped a day (in my first regimen).

I was also unsure of taking the probiotic at the same time.
I also didn't have the probiotic I needed right away anyway.
So, I think for like 5 days I took the Rifaximin without any probiotics, then I started also the probiotics after ~ day 5.
The probiotics I was given by dr. caused a bad reaction as i had a milk intolerance and they contained milk. I tried it anyway because he told me the benefits outweigh the downsides. But, that wasn't the case for me. My apartment started to smell like sour milk (i guess the gas leaked of the undigested milk). I couldn't go to work like this, so I had to find another probiotic that had bifido/lacto cultures with the same quantities he prescribed for me. My original prescirption was VSL probiotic 150 billion strength 3 times a day for two weeks.
But my IBS was really bad, I had an intolerance to almost everything (reallly).
I don't know what your doctor suggests, I'd follow his suggestion, I just wanted to let you know what bifido/lacto cultures I was prescribed. I found a different probiotic that had the same cultures without the milk, and that worked for me.
Actually, this whole combination combined with an elimination diet (I started with almost nothing in my diet and slowly added it every 3 days if it didn't cause a digestive problem-diarrhea,constipation,gas) and a reduced daily regimen of probiotics ( I took 80 billion bifido/lacto once daily for months) is basically what helped me to not experience IBS symptoms anymore-- now almost 2 years.

Your own journey may not need to be so drastic or severe.
I'd recommend just start taking the Rifaximin a few days before taking the probiotic.
Make sure you don't have a negative reaction to the probiotic (check for intolerances).
if you do, look for a probiotic that doesn't have foods that you can't tolerate and take that.

Honestly, what doctors have told me when I asked them the same question as original poster (should I take at same time or after?) was that it didn't really matter. Apparenty the Rifaximin targets the bad bacteria? and you're adding the good bacteria with probiotics.
But these drugs are expensive, so I understand you trying to maximize the drug benefit, I'd do the same to not be wasteful. Not that we think anything bad will happen if you take both at the same time.

My final suggestion is to take the probiotic after a bowel movement or first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
The reason for that would be to reduce the probability of the probiotic having a short time or short transit time in your gut. So, if you take after a bowel movement, the probiotic stuff should stay there at least till then. Also, your day can be affected by your probiotic (there's a gut-brain connection via the vagus nerve), so taking it in the morning is ideal to reeap benefits in your day (but maybe more costly if taken before your bowel movement).

Hii thank you for your kind and detailed information
The thing is I don't know what is happening with me it's exhausting
CT scan, blood tests, Stool cultures revealed Nothing
Routine stool tests showed that bacteria is present
I'm on borderline of B12,Iron and increased RBC
My pain is not going away and doctors are just not paying any attention saying that it's all in my head but the pain is constant is this how it is going to be for the rest of my life the excruciating pain all the time ? I'm 21 I never even had a beer it's just scary and overwhelming to think ab. Iout it all. People just assume that iam whining but they're not realising that it hurts like hell i they don't seem to get it. It makes me feel like I'm a freak just wish there was something to relieve this pain

 

[NinaS]

Hii thank you for your kind and detailed information
The thing is I don't know what is happening with me it's exhausting
CT scan, blood tests, Stool cultures revealed Nothing
Routine stool tests showed that bacteria is present
I'm on borderline of B12,Iron and increased RBC
My pain is not going away and doctors are just not paying any attention saying that it's all in my head but the pain is constant is this how it is going to be for the rest of my life the excruciating pain all the time ? I'm 21 I never even had a beer it's just scary and overwhelming to think ab. Iout it all. People just assume that iam whining but they're not realising that it hurts like hell i they don't seem to get it. It makes me feel like I'm a freak just wish there was something to relieve this pain

Hi Srikanthlan,
I'm sorry but I'm a bit confused.
You replied to a discussion on SIBO treatment and were asking specifics on when to take Rifaximin and probiotics, so that's what I tried answering.
But, now I think I'm trying to understand that you may not be diagnosed with SIBO at all, and not have a diagnosis?
You mentioned "routine stool tests show bacteria is present."

Bacteria is always present in stool.

I assume you mean bad bacteria/pathogens.
Is that correct?

You said "it hurts like hell" but didn't specify what hurts.

Are you having painful constipation?
Painful abdominal pain?
Painful diarrhea?

I will assume you mean abdominal pain as you don't mention the other two (constipation or diarrhea).

I don't know all the specific causes of abdominal pain, there is a thread on this forum about it. I'll put links at bottom of my message.

Do you have gas? Gas buildup could be one source of pain (and you're not letting it out, causing stress on the other organs there.
It could also be that organs in that area are inflamed and so you're feeling that pain- small intestine or large intestine or both could be inflamed from their reaction to the foods you're eating or it could be an inflammatory bowel disease....Do you have other symptoms?

I'd recommend getting another gastroenterologist (adding, not necssariy switching doctors) ,an internal medicine dr, and/or a functional/alternative medicine dr. Its good to have a variety of opinions and they can have different tests to find out.

If you do have gas and/or constipation, you may want to clean out your bowels first to remove the source of gas or block/up (constipation) that is causing the pain in this moment. And then you'd have to follow up with a series of changes like diet (find one that works for you that won't cause upsets), exercise (gets bowels moving and other benefits), and yes most likely probiotics ( helps to balance out the bad bacteria, and may even restore effective digestive function if some was lost--ie help tolerate more foods).

But, I don't really understand what you have so that's all I can say.
Below are the links to abdominal pain threads and sub group of this forum.
Maybe it can help more. Take note on dates, some of these threads are old, so I don't know if they will reply. But you can always try and also search the old content. Maybe your question is already answered?

Pain in the lower abdomen - short navigation

Hi everybody :) . I have noticed that many of us are trying to find out the causes of lower abdominal pain, which can be several. I like to work on this topic very much, so I tried to make at least a short navigation for you. It is important to remember that the organs of the gastrointestinal...

www.ibsgroup.org

and the main group for that:

Abdominal Pain

Use this forum to discuss any issues about abdominal pain.

www.ibsgroup.org

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

Thank you for reply
I do have abdominal pain to right and left of my stomach that doesn't go away, burning sensation like 24/7
My doctor ordered CT scan and blood tests ruled out IBD nd suspected IBS. I also have vitamin B12 and D and iron deficiency so he thought I have SIBO and gave me antibiotics for 13 days they didn't relieve the pain.
They don't have any SIBO testing equipment either.
I feel weak, my BMs are irregular but I don't have neither constipation nor diarrhea.
I just have this constant discomfort that doesn't go away.
Antibiotics don't seem to be working is this how it is going to be for the rest of my life?

 

[NinaS]

Thank you for reply
I do have abdominal pain to right and left of my stomach that doesn't go away, burning sensation like 24/7
My doctor ordered CT scan and blood tests ruled out IBD nd suspected IBS. I also have vitamin B12 and D and iron deficiency so he thought I have SIBO and gave me antibiotics for 13 days they didn't relieve the pain.
They don't have any SIBO testing equipment either.
I feel weak, my BMs are irregular but I don't have neither constipation nor diarrhea.
I just have this constant discomfort that doesn't go away.
Antibiotics don't seem to be working is this how it is going to be for the rest of my life?

Hi Srikanthlan,

Honestly, I'm not sure that you have SIBO.
I don't know exactly what organs are the ones in the location of your pain.
My guess is that they are inflamed and it hurts.
For the moment, to be able to get to work/school and function, I'd recommend taking Ibuprofen or other pain reliever (assuming you're not allergic or intolerant to them) while you sort this out.
Some other things that should help feel better are anti-inflammatories like tumeric and ginger.

Please see the post I linked above: "pain in the lower abdomen-short navigation." That person describes a lot of different illnesses that could be causing abdominal pain for men and women.
Maybe you can check with your doctors to see if there can be tests to determine which one?

Also, I don't understand exactly why your doctor would think you have SIBO if you don't have any other symptoms. I would think you would at least have to also have gas to think its SIBO.
Do you have gas?
Or do you feel you have gas trapped? Do you feel you have difficulty getting the gas out?


I guess the doctor may think its SIBO just because of the bad bacteria in your stool.
In any case, I would definitely take care of that as its just one thing you can eliminate if it is the cause.

To that point, not all antibiotics are the same.
I was first prescribed Rifaximin by one dr, but when I went to get the prescription it was literally $800 (with my insurance) to get the 30 pills I was prescribed.
So, the pharmacist told me there was an equivalent drug for ~$80 (yes, ten times less). So, I started taking that and still had gas and problems on my safe diet.
I told that doctor and the other one (I usually keep two gastroenterologists). They told me the pill the pharmacist gave me was not equivalent, and in fact there was no equivalent because it was a very unique drug in attacking bad bacteria. So, I got my first Rifaximin via some special coupon the dr was able to fill out (the subsequent refills which woudl happen ~ every 6-8 months, were done when I had started a new job and had better insurance).

Anyway, the point is, at least 2-3 years ago there wasn't really an equivalent drug to Rifaximin. And also Rifaximin targets specific bad bacteria. I remember I was given other antibiotics for things like H.Pylori and C.Difficile (other bad bacterias in the gut). Furthermore, bacteria evolve to be more antibiotic resistant. This is why it takes a certain amount of time and dosage to even decrease their population. The biofilms that they form could also make that process take longer and more difficult. One may need to take an enzyme or diatomaceous earth to cut through the biofilm and be able to remove the bactiera. You'd also need to stop feeding them with sugars, starches, and foods you're intolerant to.

Do you do exercise, or even do gentle movements like yoga everyday?
There's some poses in yoga for constipation that you may want to try, or also just tell your yoga instructor of your pain and see what stretches/poses they recommend.

You may also want to visit an acupuncturist or traditional medicine/alternative medicine doctor.
Even if you don't end up doing what they say or taking their medicine, sometimes they can help identify more closely the source of the problem.
And you can circle back with that info to your MD/western medicine doctor.

My guess to your situation is that something is inflammed, possibly very badly. I'd find out what organ/organs are inflammed and begin treating that.
If it is your intestines, then yes, you do have IBS and should look for IBS treatment.
If its another organ, then you need treatment to stop inflammation there.

Regardless, I hear that sugars and starches are inflammatory, so I would drastically decrease the amount of sugars and starches I consume (or eliminate them if you can). This should help decrease some inflammation throughout the whole body. You can start eating/drinking anti-inflammatory foods/tea (that you're not intolerant to) to help with the pain and the situation in the meanwhile.

Just one wile possibility is also that you could have celiac disease or gluten intolerance... have you checked that?

Have you tried fasting?

Do you have less pain or does it go away if you don't eat for a day or two?

By doing this, maybe we'll find out if your pain is food related (at least in the acute/immediate reaction).

Also on your energy levels:

- Look for chelated energy supplements: Vitamin B, Iron, Vitamin D.
You can buy all of these in chelated form, this makes it so its much harder for the bad bacteria to take away your energy, and now your body can actually have the energy . You can even take this during your fasted state so that you have the energy to make it through.


Hope something here helps.
Please do find your second doctor and alternative medicine/traditional doctor/acupuncturist. Again, you don't have to follow what these alternative doctors say, but sometimes, just because they give you more time and are more patient in listening, they may find the cause of the problem.

Best!

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

Hey there yes i do have gas and I'm releasing gas more than I used to and it hurts evrytime I try to pass the gas.
I'm only having this pains and problems since last two months could this be onset of somthing?
I've always had incomplete evacuation ever since I was a kid but never the pains or gas.
I consume rice mostly and i tried fasting it doesn't help either.
The discomfort just doesn't go away.
Right now I'm taking L glutamine, Vitamin D , Vitamin B12, fish oil and a multivitamin.
Should I start taking rifaximin? to see if it helps?
My doctor put me on Ornidazole and Oflaxcin for 15 days it reduced the symptoms but didn't make the symptoms go away.
This is all complex and apparantly there's no way that could one hundred percent determine what's wrong?
If there was inflammation Blood markers should have elevated which they didn't.
If it was IBS I don't have diarrhea or constipation.
All I have is pain and discomfort on right and left that doesn't go away along with gas and sometimes my legs hurt.

 

[NinaS]

Hey there yes i do have gas and I'm releasing gas more than I used to and it hurts evrytime I try to pass the gas.
I'm only having this pains and problems since last two months could this be onset of somthing?
I've always had incomplete evacuation ever since I was a kid but never the pains or gas.
I consume rice mostly and i tried fasting it doesn't help either.
The discomfort just doesn't go away.
Right now I'm taking L glutamine, Vitamin D , Vitamin B12, fish oil and a multivitamin.
Should I start taking rifaximin? to see if it helps?
My doctor put me on Ornidazole and Oflaxcin for 15 days it reduced the symptoms but didn't make the symptoms go away.
This is all complex and apparantly there's no way that could one hundred percent determine what's wrong?
If there was inflammation Blood markers should have elevated which they didn't.
If it was IBS I don't have diarrhea or constipation.
All I have is pain and discomfort on right and left that doesn't go away along with gas and sometimes my legs hurt.

Srikanthlan,

Gas is a huge missing piece to this puzzle!

Yes, you very much could have SIBO- gas and abdominal pain (most likely caused by the gas putting pressure on organs in that area).

As for the blood markers for inflammation, I don't know much about that. But in general, sometimes being on the low or high side of a normal range can still be indicative of a problem in you personally even if the majority of the population in that range don't have a problem. Ex. I run on the low side of normal on iron, it affects my energy levels, so I have to take supplemental iron (pill and food). Similarly, one could have inflammation, but its still categorized in "normal" levels, so its hard for a dr. to tell. -- just a thought.

Anyway, I'd still recommend going to other gastro/alternative medicine dr/or acupunturist. Its always good to have more than one opinion to make a decision concerning your health. And its good to get it from people who think differently.

Since it does seem to be SIBO, here's what I would recommend for SIBO treatment:
1. Stop eating starches and sugar (that means the rice you eat)-- this feeds the bad bacteria/yeast causing the gas, they love that stuff b/c its easy for them to digest it too.
2. Do a gut cleanse- Ask dr. for something that would clean your gut. They have colon prep saline solution. Or, you could order something like "Renew life Cleanse more." Try to do a 1-2 day gut cleanse. In my opinion more than 2 days of induced large bowel movements or diarrhea won't be good for your system.
3. Start your antibiotic regimen- ideally start it a little before (a day before or same day) as your gut cleanse. That way a good portion of the (hopefully) dead bad bacteria cells leave your body. Also, if you can take things that will attack the biofilm and kill parasites in general, you can take this alongside. For example taking a large amount of enzymes like (cellulase, hemicellulase, amylase) could help breakdown the biofilm (but enzymes are expensive). I think diatomaceous earth (ensure to buy the one for human consumption-edible) also attacks bacteria and other pathogens, I think it attacks their cell walls.
4. I would start taking the probiotic of mixtures of bifido and lacto bacteria after 1-2 days from the antibiotic starting. IE at some point you will be taking both antibiotic and probiotic together. Ensure your probiotic doesn't contain anything you're intolerant to like milk or soy (if you're intolerant to it), if it does, find a different one that doesn't contain these ingredients.
5. Diet- Eat non sugary, non-starchy foods-- example lean meats and dark leafy greens- kale, spinach. Avoid beans for now at least as they are difficult to digest, so are roughage like cabbage and brocolli. You can add them back slowly if your body accepts them without the gas. You can try them after 2-3 weeks after this initial probiotic regimen started. I did an elimination diet (I started with just chicken bone broth and celery in the soup for two weeks and then slowly added foods). My diet is basically more on the low-carb side, I was slowly able to add other vegetables like cabbage and broccolli but they were added many months after my first treatment... Add foods when you're stable, not when you're upset.
6. Exercise- It will help your body move the gas out because it will move your system (intestines) to move the stuff inside it including gas. Eventually it will leave your system. It should leave your system quicker than if you were sedentary. You can start with yoga, and ask instructor for poses that relieve gas (or google them). Leg movement (like walking, jogging, running, swimming-front crawl) generally compresses and moves the abdominal area repeatedly, usually stimulating gut to react and also move.. This could help alleviate your gas to get it out less painfully.

I hope this helps.- Again still go find that second doctor. Everyone needs more than one opinion, especially people with IBS.

 

[NinaS]

Ohh, and yes I do like Rifaximin, I did see a difference in my case when the other "equivalent" antibiotic didn't work.
I don't know if you "need" it, I just know i had a good experience with it, and apparently a few other people here did too.
The other two antibiotics may work, if you do also the above combination (steps 1-5) of helping the drug be more effective in killing bad bacteria by starving the bad bacteria of its food (sugar/starches) and attacking its biofilms.
If cost is not an issue or prohibitive, yeah I'd do the Rifaximin.

And I do think regular exercise will make passing gas less painful, and getting the gas out in turn should help alleviate your abdominal pain.

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

Thank you a million for your suggestions.
Here in India Rifaximin supply for a month costs about $10 so i might get that and see if it works.
I do have some proboitics that are helping
Should I take them with antibiotics as in at the same time ? Or should I take antibiotics in the morning and proboitics at night?
The gut cleanse is however seems Little confusing though, will it cause bowel moments? I don't have constipation but i do experience incomplete evacuation.
Please elaborate if you can.
Finally thank you for your patience and your detailed explanation.
Hope you stay healthy and well

 

[NinaS]

Thank you a million for your suggestions.
Here in India Rifaximin supply for a month costs about $10 so i might get that and see if it works.
I do have some proboitics that are helping
Should I take them with antibiotics as in at the same time ? Or should I take antibiotics in the morning and proboitics at night?
The gut cleanse is however seems Little confusing though, will it cause bowel moments? I don't have constipation but i do experience incomplete evacuation.
Please elaborate if you can.
Finally thank you for your patience and your detailed explanation.
Hope you stay healthy and well

Srikanthlan,

Actually, I think it would be best if you first do the regimen your doctor initially recommended with those two antibiotics you mentioned.
I looked one up, the first one ending in "zole" was pretty specific targeting protozoans? IDK. point is, that it looks like your doctor was trying to specifically attack whatever bacteria/pathogen he found in your stool. That is always the best option.
Especially in combination with the steps 1-5 I listed, this should really help.

The second antibiotic he prescribed seemed more generic when I searched it. But Idk.
If the regimen he gave you with the days he said to take it still don't stop your gas or greatly reduce it, then yes I'd start the Rifaximin (i'm assuming you found out about it b/c the dr mentioned it too?).

Never take a drug (prescription especially) without asking your Doctor.

So, I hope you're not just deciding to take Rifaximin without their approval, always ask them for it and check that they think it'll be good/ok with you (no allergic reaction, etc.)

Your question:
"Should I take them with antibiotics as in at the same time ? Or should I take antibiotics in the morning and proboitics at night?"

I already answered this question in the previous posts. Please go read them again.


The gut cleanse is to clean your gut.
Yes, it should cause a bowel movement, but one that should get rid of a lot of stuff inside you.
For example Doctor's routinely prescribe a colon prep saline solution to be taken 1 day before colonoscopy. They need the intestines to be empty from the stool so that they can put their camera through and also so they can see inside your gut.
In order for this to happen, a complete evacuation of your intestines should occur.

What this means is yes, ALL the poop inside you is supposed to leave.

Normally, after taking a colon prep solution, you do get liquid stools, and at some point they may come out a little more clear (near the end).
Then, you've mostly cleaned your gut.
Well, its not like 100% clean, but, a good amount of the stuff you had inside has left giving you a good chance to reset/restart the bacterial culture composition in your gut.
Some biofilms may still adhere to your intestinal walls. Hence things like the diatomaceous earth (edible kind) and the biofilm eating enzymes I mentioned earlier should help attack the remaining sites (like little cities) of bad bacteria/pathogen.

Ask your doctor for a way to clean your gut. Tell him/her you want to reset it so that the SIBO treatment is more effective.
They should understand this. Again, they may prescribe the colon prep solution or something else.

Also, if you take fiber daily it should help with your incomplete evacuation as well as gut movement in general (to get gas out).
That's another thing.. you'd have to find a fiber that doesn't cause gas for you. There are many fibers that do cause gas for people.
you also have to start small and increase your fiber weekly (like 10-20% increase) if you're not seeing any benefit in terms of bowel/gas movement. If you finally reach good results, no need to keep increasing.

In my own experience these fibers have helped me when everything else caused me gas: spinach and cooked celery.
Later, I was able to add all sorts of fiber and foods (I assume the probiotics helped me to be able to digest more foods).
A different laxative that helped me without gas was Miralax. But miralax can only be taken for 1-2 weeks because the label says so.
You may not react well to the fibers I did.
Everyone is different.
Or, it may help you.
IDK.
Point is finding a good fiber that you can take daily is a good idea for your gut health. It will help ensure daily bowel movements, including relieve you from your gas and possibly help with your incomplete evacuations. They also help form the stool better, so that it has a good consistency (not too hard or too soft). Too much fiber however if your system is not ready for it, and if you still have bad bacteria will and can cause more gas. So, maybe hold off on finding this fiber till you're stable from the antibiotics and probiotics. In other words start trying to find your fiber when you have no gas and you are stable.

 

[NinaS]

Srikanthlan,

How's it going with the abdominal pain?
Any relief?

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

Srikanthlan,

How's it going with the abdominal pain?
Any relief?

Hey thank you for checking up on me.
It's been a week since I've got on Rifaximine I'm not noticing any major changes.
The dull pain is not going away neither is my gas.
I'm controlling my diet consuming as less carbs as possible nd gas causing foods but nothing is helping much.
My stomach still making rumbling sounds and gas Is not much reduced neither is pain.
I hope you're fine too.

 

[NinaS]

Hey thank you for checking up on me.
It's been a week since I've got on Rifaximine I'm not noticing any major changes.
The dull pain is not going away neither is my gas.
I'm controlling my diet consuming as less carbs as possible nd gas causing foods but nothing is helping much.
My stomach still making rumbling sounds and gas Is not much reduced neither is pain.
I hope you're fine too.

Hey Srikanthlan,

Sorry to hear you're not that much better.
Have you looked into the gut cleanse?
I don't know how many Rifaximin pills you have left, but maybe you can save them for using after the gut cleanse.

Did you talk to your doctor about it?
I just read somewhere else on this website how Rifaximin was also of little help to someone else with SIBO. But I don't know if they did the other steps that help get rid of bad pathogens (like the gut cleanse and the biofilm disrupters [diatomaceous earth, biofilm-destroying-enzymes]).

Again, I'd try the first 2 antibiotics that the dr. recommended right after the gut cleanse takes place.
gut cleanse- can be done using colon-prep saline solution.

partial gut cleanse can be done with something like "renew life cleanse more."

The reason for gut cleanse is to drastically reduce the amount of bacteria/pathogen in your intestines. A lot of them are present in the stool itself, so this will remove at least that portion, and hopefully some of the pathogens that are stuck on your intestinal walls.
If done correctly most of your gas should be gone immediately after the gut cleanse, or at least if you do get gas it shouldn't smell b/c it would just be air passing through (no stool/little bacteria left to give off their gases).

Getting rid of the gases should help reduce some of the pain you're experiencing.

Is exercise not helping either?

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

Hey Srikanthlan,

Sorry to hear you're not that much better.
Have you looked into the gut cleanse?
I don't know how many Rifaximin pills you have left, but maybe you can save them for using after the gut cleanse.

Did you talk to your doctor about it?
I just read somewhere else on this website how Rifaximin was also of little help to someone else with SIBO. But I don't know if they did the other steps that help get rid of bad pathogens (like the gut cleanse and the biofilm disrupters [diatomaceous earth, biofilm-destroying-enzymes]).

Again, I'd try the first 2 antibiotics that the dr. recommended right after the gut cleanse takes place.
gut cleanse- can be done using colon-prep saline solution.

partial gut cleanse can be done with something like "renew life cleanse more."

The reason for gut cleanse is to drastically reduce the amount of bacteria/pathogen in your intestines. A lot of them are present in the stool itself, so this will remove at least that portion, and hopefully some of the pathogens that are stuck on your intestinal walls.
If done correctly most of your gas should be gone immediately after the gut cleanse, or at least if you do get gas it shouldn't smell b/c it would just be air passing through (no stool/little bacteria left to give off their gases).

Getting rid of the gases should help reduce some of the pain you're experiencing.

Is exercise not helping either?

It does help when I take a walk and no my doctor didn't say much about gut cleanse.

 

[NinaS]

It does help when I take a walk and no my doctor didn't say much about gut cleanse.

I do think the gut cleanse would make your antibiotics more effective and give you much more relief, especially in the immediate situation.
What did they say when you asked for a way to clean your gut or the colon prep saline solution?

A GI, would know about colon prep solution, and given that he's giving you antibiotics, I don't see why they would deny you a chance to "reset" your gut.
I'd find an additional dr. (or alternative medicine doctor) to help too.
Another option that worked for me would be the "renew life cleanse more" pills. I don't know if they sell it there.
But I'd still prefer that you talk to a health professional on "resetting" or/and "cleaning" your gut.
You have SIBO. This is an essential part of the treatment process, that they should be prescribing.

I'm glad you started walking. The more and the more often you move, the more your intestines should be stimulated to cause the BM and hence get some of that gas out (with hopefully less pain).
If you can jog or do the gas-relieving yoga poses, that may help a little more too.

Hope you see more improvement in the coming days.

 

[srikanthlankadasari1]

He told me it's not important just focus on antibiotics they will do the trick.
He gets irritated when I try to mention any treatment off of internet.

 

[NinaS]

He told me it's not important just focus on antibiotics they will do the trick.
He gets irritated when I try to mention any treatment off of internet.

I'm not surprised he's irritated, doctors are often dismissive of IBS patients (there's only recently been an increase in their arsenal to help us anyway).

But, still, that's kind of arrogant.
I would try to ensure you have your second doctor.
Its not cool to not feel comfortable to bring things up to your doctor.

Especially this. He should know about a gut cleanse for SIBO treatment.
Any scientist would understand.

You gut is like a beaker with a valve at the bottom (opens when you poop).
If there's a lot of contaminants of concentration X g/L in the flask at current moment causing gas and pain we can do two things.

1) just add the antibiotic.
If you just add the antibiotic to the flask with concentration of pathogen X g/L, then the antibiotic will try to attack that high concentration of bacteria. As you poop normally, the valve opens only for shorts amount of time and only lets a small/medium portion out, reducing (assuming you don't feed the bacteria/pathogen) X g/L to some smaller amount say (X-p) g/L, p, representing the amount of bacteria/pathogen exiting in poop.
It may take longer or possibly not make much of an immediate difference (especially if the pathogen can survive on any diet) if only a small amount has exited, as the antibiotic can only attack a certan surface area of the gut anyway so now we have (X-p- a), where a is the amount of contaminant killed by antibiotic.

2) Do a gut cleanse where most if not all of your stool is removed from your intestine before taking the antibiotic:
In this case, X would drop drastically, and only the pathogens that are stuck to your intestinal wall/lining will remain. Let's say that means 10-15% of the concentration of the pathogen remains after pooping everything out of your system. So now we start with (15%) or 0.15*X g/L as your starting initial concentration of the pathogen. Now if we take the antibiotic we will have 0.15*X -a g/L in your system, and will keep decreasing (again assuming you don't feed it and the pathogen doesn't survive on all possible diets)-- > Day 2: (0.15*X-a) -a, etc...

So you see the antibiotic should be more effective if you start with an empty gut. .. which any scientist should understand... hence, why it would probably best to add on another health care provider, because of attitude alone honestly.

But, yeah you should still get some improvement from the antibiotic treatment, don't forget to add the probiotics.
That is necessary, they also kind of help kill the bad bacteria in a way, by crowding them out, and when they secrete stuff, they make the environment difficult for too much of the bad stuff to survive, also helping your equation favorably.