SIBO Question

[Sara789]

Will being on a SIBO diet mess with a future hydrogen breath test? 

 

[cyclinglady]

Here is my non-medical advice.....

Two months into the gluten-free diet is, honestly, too short of a time to see a lot of improvement.  Let's face it, you said that you have been glutened twice already.  Did you know that a glutening just starts the autoimmune response?   That response can go on for days, week or months.  Everyone is different, but I personally have been glutened twice (no clue as to the originating source, but four weeks later, my GI measured my antibodies and they were sky high).    Each gluten response has been different for me  too (thus, my need to go in for antibody testing).  

I thought I had SIBO too (as did my GI), but since my antibodies were off the charts, we opted not to do SIBO testing.  I waited another 3 months and my symptoms resolved.  It took another three to regain lost weight and to stop the "allergy" symptoms of edema, hives, rashes, vomiting, that occurred on and off for months.  (Just a little something my body developed as a result perhaps of the glutening.). 

The one consistent symptom that applied to both episodes was the inability to digest just about anything.  (I was only anemic when diagnosed and had no GI issues).  That's when I hauled out my crockpot and ate well-cooked meat and veggies -- stew and soups during my recovery.    Even fruit is easier to digest when cooked.  Digestive enzymes can help too.  No eating out until you feel well.  

You can ask for SIBO testing, but you might find out it was gluten all along.  The learning curve for the diet is steep (but can be mastered).  Mistakes are going to be made and set-backs will occur.  It happens.  Hope you feel better soon!  

Be easy on your GI.  Unless he or she walks the celiac walk, it is hard to maintain all that  gluten-free data in your head.  (There's a special diet for SIBO, Crohn's -- the list is endless, not to mention that most doctor's just get a few hours of nutritional training).  Be your own health advocate.  Ask for the correct follow-up testing, etc.  If your GI complies, then you have a good GI in my opinion.  

[Sara789]

@cyclinglady- Thanks.

[Jmg]

Hi Sara. . 

1 hour ago, Sara789 said:

have been on a gluten-free diet for 2 months, and am still having lots of food issues.

I don't know anything about SIBO but I can tell you that after I went gluten free I started to feel like I had an entirely new stomach...  It was noisy, gurgling and churning and I'd be paranoid that I'd eaten something that had inadvertently glutened me, despite me being very strictly committed to the diet.

I've since discovered that this is not that unusual and that for many, going gluten free seems to be such a big change in diet that the first 6 months can be very hit and miss. So whilst you should certainly trust your own judgment on whether you need external help, do consider that some of what you're experiencing may be a natural result of a big change in your diet. It's also significant that the diet makes you think an awful lot about food and contamination, which can be a source of stress in itself. 

I think that it started to calm down for me after I'd spent time eating very carefully and in particular paying attention to eating foods that were considered gut friendly. I settled on a large omelette for breakfasts, with  a rotating set of fillings including spinach, avocado, tomato, bacon etc. That set me up for the day and ensured I was getting amino acids and protein first thing. I made a lot of bone broth which I either drank directly or used as a stock for hearty stews. Again, quite simple food, but the collagen from the bones is considered excellent for the gut and they were very tasty and comforting too  I supplemented with B vitamins and fish oil and I had lots of simple salads with smoked mackerel or other seafood for protein as well as cider vinegar and olive oil for digestion and fat intake. I ate a mostly paleo diet which I think is helpful as it avoids the processed gluten-free foods which can set you back a bit. 

The other side is trying to reduce sugar, which incidentally feeds sibo and also contributes to blood sugar spikes which can throw you off balance. I had found that gluten seemed to affect my bodies capacity to handle sugar and removing it didn't fix that straight away. Removing sugar actually helped my stress levels, which in turn helped ease my digestion. There's a very strong link between gut and mental health. 

 

[GFinDC]

Hi Sara,

Yes, changing your diet may affect your SIBO  test results.  The SIBO may go away!   That wouldn't be so bad, right?

It does take time to heal the gut after stopping gluten.  And each glutening you experience during that time is a set back to renewed immune reaction.   My symptoms used to last 6 weeks after a glutening.  If you've had 2 glutenings in 2 months then you are not out of the immune reaction phase yet.  So you shouldn't expect your digestion to be good now.

That's why it is important at the beginning of the gluten-free diet to keep your diet very simple, avoid processed foods, avoid dairy, avoid oats, avoid sugar and carbs, and soy IMHO,  Seeds can be hard to digest, just like whole kernal corn is.

Some things that may help are taking digestive enzymes and trying probiotics.  For snacks make some plain sausage (not spicy) or carry some hard boiled eggs.  The less processed foods you eat the less chance there is of being glutened.

Somewhere around 10% of celiacs react to oats like they do wheat, rye and barley.  It's the same immune reaction, not a cross contamination issue.  So new people should stop oats for a few months at least to see if they are ok with them IMHO.

Your gut is very tender and damaged at the beginning of the gluten-free diet.  So it may react to foods now that it won't react to later.  Just because it's already irritable.

The healing process means the villi n your gut lining are growing back.  That increased villi height means there is more surface area for bacteria to grow on.  That can be good but not if they are sugar hungry buggers that create gas and discomfort.   So keep the sugar away while your gut biome is reestablishing itself.