Info On Bacterial Overgrowth Test

[Kathleen Smith]

Hi Everyone ~ On to my next test, I am getting a bacterial overgrowth test done in two weeks (main symtpoms are nausea and constipation after year of gluten free). My bloodwork is all great, but my endososcopy shows active celiac still.

Who performs the breath test usually, is it the Dr. or a tech?

I know it takes a couple hours, but are the results immediate or is it the usual routine where they call you a week or so later with results??

Hope you are all feeling well!

[kayo]

I just had this done and it was an easy test. It's performed by a nurse or tech. You fast from the night before. Then that morning they take a breath sample to determine your baseline. You breath into a tube and your breath is captured in a bag which is then sucked into an attached syringe. The syringe is then inserted into a machine which does the calculations. Then you drink something. In my case it was lactulose (a.k.a. liquid teflon ) which is a synthetic sugar. Some labs use a different drink but I think the idea is the same. Then every 15-20 minutes or so the tech takes another breath sample and records the numbers. The test lasted for 2 hours. There were no immediate results given but I knew it was positive because I had to use the bathroom every 20-30 minutes and that went on for about 12 hours, lol. It was not painful or uncomfortable, just tiring. Luckily I live just 20 minutes from the hospital so I was able to time my trip home. I had the fructose malabsorption test too which is similar except you drink fructose. That test I only needed to use the bathroom twice. That test came back negative. So I was able to get an idea of how well things were going based on how my body reacted. Test results from my doc took a week. I'm on antiobiotics for the SIBO now and I'm on a FODMAP diet (which starves & prevents the SIBO). Both seem to be working really well.

[Kathleen Smith]

Thanks for the info Kayo.

I am going to research the FODMAP diet a little. What are some foods that you avoid and some that you eat each day?

[kayo]

It can be difficult to find consistent information on the FODMAP diet but here are two resources that I have found to be very helpful:

Yahoo group based in Australia - Open Original Shared Link

Book - "IBS - Free at Last" by Patsy Catsos

I avoid all these veggies: garlic, onions, scallions, shallots, asparagus, artichokes, cabbages, peas, beans.

I eat these veggies in small amts: potato, corn, tomato, avocado, broccoli, cucumber, celery, peppers, carrots, green beans, leafy greens.

I avoid all fruits except: bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, lemon and lime.

I avoid these grains: oats, brown rice.

I eat these grains: rice, quinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, millet.

I avoid these nuts: almonds, pistachios.

I eat these nuts: walnuts, cashews, pine nuts.

I eat all proteins: eggs, poultry, fish, pork, beef, etc.

I also avoid: honey, agave, HFCS, ketchup, bbq sauce, jams if they contain extra fructose or if they have added pear juice, fruit juices.

The diet also limits wheat/gluten and dairy but since I'm gluten-free and dairy free already I didn't list it above. I also avoid soy.

That's the gist of it. It's very trial and error. Some people can't have pineapple but it's ok for me. Many people can have oranges and mandarins but they cause me grief.

The book walks you through how to do an elimination diet and start with a baseline. I found that helpful because it's difficult to wing. It also provides shopping lists and meal ideas.

I hope that helps.

[Kathleen Smith]

Thank you Kayo!