Posting my healing, but not as a crosspost this time :p
I relied on Reddit and I want to post my own story in the hopes that it helps someone. In the way so many helped me!
Please ask any questions, I won't be able to address everything here.
I don't know when exactly my symptoms started, but Jan-Feb I was having stomach aches and loss of appetite that I associated with anxiety. I'm still not sure if my body was reacting to SIBO or if that period of eating less and being anxious contributed to getting it. This was following antibiotics for cellulitis. In March, I knew something was wrong in my body and eating "gentle" foods didn't help.
March was when I went to the gastroenterologist and they said blood and stool tests were normal, and to come back in three months. After that, I felt I had to take it into my own hands, in a sense. I had symptoms every day, closely associated with food. I went to a functional nutritionist, who said based on my pain (I was keeping a food and symptom journal) that dysbiosis or SIBO could be to blame. I took the test and got the results early May.
I was hydrogen positive. Which was surprising, because constipation and the pain it created was one of my main symptoms. If you can afford it, GET TESTED!! Seriously, the sooner the better. I was convinced I was methane dominant beforehand.
I was prescribed the regular dose of Rifaximin. I actually felt worse on it. Instead of flares ranging from one to two hours, it would last four or five. And it was a different type of pain. I did try to eat normally, but the pain made me cautious to get too crazy.
After antibiotics was actually the worst of it for me. I ended up taking a three week medical leave. I would have symptoms after breakfast, even when it was plain home cooked eggs and potatoes. They were so painful I'd be doubled over, and couldn't function. My job is pretty physical, standing all day, so it didn't work. I was scared to eat lunch. But I'd also lost 10+ lbs on my very small frame, lost my period, and understood undereating has its own consequences.
The leave was so helpful and I want to share what I did. I wish it was more scientific, but I tried a lot of new things at once so I'm not sure exactly to what I owe my success-
**MOTILITY**
Kiwi - gentle, natural, really helped with motility. I'd eat two every morning, or one per meal. Strongly recommend
Prune juice- this isn't lowfod and I started it only after I started feeling better, but 2oz every morning
Enxymedica Gut Motility -not sure how much it helps, but it didn't hurt. I read a lot on the forums about the benefits of ginger and artichoke
Magnesium citrate- to be used cautiously. It did the job, but I'd also get bad cramps. Only realized after other things started improving that it was causing some symptoms. At one point I was taking 400mg every morning and night. Got down to 200mg before bed, with help of everything else
Things that didn't work (hurt) and that I abandoned after two days- Linzess and Miralax. Didn't work for my body at the time. Miralax helped before treatment, but irritated me after.
**MENTAL**
This plays as big a role as anything physical
- Gut directed Hypnotherapy. I did the Nerva program. This aligned with my leave, so that helped my mental a lot, but this is the one thing I would strongly recommend for EVERYONE with SIBO. It's so informative and validating. I did 15-30 minutes every day, and I looked forward to it. I would recall the sessions throughout my day and during flares. SO HELPFUL.
-Yoga
I've always liked yoga to be fair. But I tried a few big name studios and found them too intense- heated yoga, cardio, weights, and the up and down was a trigger for me. But I found a local studio with a emphasis on meditation that really changed my outlook. It's easy to feel like you're at war with your body and your body betrayed you. But really it's you and your body working together, and even all that pain is your body trying to help you, to signal that something is wrong. I learned that through yoga.
-Yoga Nidra
I did the YouTube videos from Ally Boothroyd almost daily. They would help calm my symptoms. My therapist recommended them
-Therapy!! Always!! For everyone! You need someone who believes you. I had a therapist who minimized my illness and had to find a new one.
-Reading! Generally, reading is helpful even in a healthy daily life, but I was particularly fond of Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. Weirdly helpful, to put things in perspective and be grateful for the health I do have. Also, I'm speaking as an American who had finances, a loving family and partner, and food in my fridge. Not to be like "other people always have it worse" but . . .
**WHEN IN PAIN**
\-Warm bath with Epsom salt
\-Peppermint essential oil massaged on stomach, WITH heat pad over it. (It was literally me and my lavender Warmies against the world, for months)
\-I low-key became obsessed with Tomodachi life as my distraction. Loved having control over a parallel world.
\-Headphone and breathing exercises. Hypnotherapy or yoga Nidra, or when it was too hard to focus on anything, just deep breaths. 5 sec in, 5 sec hold, 5 sec out. At first I thought breathing was to calm your mind, and when my mind wouldn't calm I felt frustrated. But then I learned to think of it as an internal massage. I breathe deeply to gently massage my organs and make space, specifically in my digestive tract. This helped. After 10-15minutes there was always an improvement.
**MEALS/FOOD**
LOWFOD map diet
Reach out if you want recipes or a sample day! Or even a sample week! It was so hard for me at first, finding new recipes, eating stuff that was ass. But I feel like I eventually cracked it.
Eating enough, nutritious meals
Seriously it was so hard to eat, I became fearful of it. But food must be treated as medicine. Carb, protein, veggie, and fruit every meal.
Spaced out meals
I ate 3 meals every 4-5 hours, no snacks, to help my motility, and teach my body a safe routine. I ate around the same time everyday. My body knew what to expect and became more regulated.
WALKING
I always felt at least \*slightly\* better after a walk outside. Mentally and physically. Especially after meals, to aid didigestion.
ANYWAY
Today I went to my old favorite bakery, and ate chicken pot pie, with garlic, onion, dairy, gluten, and peas . . . And felt fine! Just relaxed and read outside. Which in a lot of ways was monumental for me so I just wanted to share my story and how far I've come!! I was fortunate to have a relatively early diagnosis and treatment. And the finances for it. Thank you to my family for believing me and helping support me financially, on my leave and medical bills, and my partner for standing by my side. SIBO can kiss my ass and suck my balls, it's the worst thing that's ever happened to me but I survived.