Can Food Intolerances Be Just Bacteria Overgrowth In The Small Intestines?

[Simona19]

I would like to share something interesting that happened to me. Maybe this story would help somebody that can’t eat food because everything is making you sick.

I’m 2,5 years gluten free and little less casein free. I’m eating always home, cooking my own meals and eating 95% whole food diet. I had SIBO twice during that time. I had a positive breathing hydrogen test. I took 2 antibiotics the first time, and after proximately year- stronger one from tetracycline group. I felt much better after treatment, but only for a wail. I was able to eat more food without problem. I don’t know, if I have leaky gut, or my problem was just SIBO, but I was reacting to beans, lentils, peas, corn, soy, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and sweet - high fructose fruit (oranges, apples, pears, peaches) like to gluten. I also had problem with any type of jelly, juice, syrup, fruit in jar (I have fructose intolerance, but I wasn’t able to eat any fruit at all). I didn’t have diarrhea, but I had pain, I was bloated and I had very painful trapped gas. Gas-X didn’t help at all. Only thing that helped was digestive enzymes right after food. I took Pancreolan forte (in Slovakia) which is Pancreatin in the USA. I took probiotics for some time, but I had more pain in the intestines and in stomach, so I stop using them.

I got to the point that I was reacting to everything. Only water and plain rice didn’t bothered me. But who can live on that for a long time? Then something eye opening happened:

A week before Hurricane Sandy I had pneumonia. I was put on amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium and later on Azithromycin. During that time I was able to eat anything without any digestive issues. I enjoyed it. I didn’t have pain or bloating.

Does this mean that who have a problem with food intolerance, maybe with leaky gut too, have just bacteria overgrowth in the intestines instead? Antibiotics kill the bad bacteria in mine and I stop having a problem with food. I know that SIBO can come back. I started taking probiotics again in mild doses. I can still eat problem food in small doses without problem. If I will combine more things during a day (minestrone soup for lunch, corn with dinner and orange for evening snack), I will have very mild bloating.

One more thing:

When I had the breathing hydrogen test, the technician waited 2,5- 3 hours after I drank some liquid for the final peak in reading. She told me that the liquid is now in the intestines and now we will see how I will react to it.

After this test I started to notice pattern. When I ate something like soy, cabbage, orange, etc. I had bloating always 3 hours later when the food from my stomach went into the intestines. Now I test myself this way, when I want to find out what I’m “allergic” to. I will eat something and three hours later I will find out, if I’m intolerant to it and how strong my intolerance is.

Any thought?

[gatita]

I've been wondering all year if I also have SIBO, but my docs are taking forever to refer me to a GI. I'm going to ask for the test when I do go though, because it still seems like totally random foods set me off.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I'm so glad you found something that helped!

[mushroom]

Yes, and yes, I think are the answers to your question. Whether it be SIBO, or SIBO and leaky gut, people with these conditions will react to foods and will even develop intolerance to foods in the case of leaky gut, that would not bother them if those conditions were not present. Bloating, particularly, with SIBO, and also diarrhea. I am speaking from personal experience now in saying that if you have leaky gut you have less of a chance of regaining tolerance to that food than if you have SIBO only, depending on your own particular body chemistry.

[Simona19]

I've been wondering all year if I also have SIBO, but my docs are taking forever to refer me to a GI. I'm going to ask for the test when I do go though, because it still seems like totally random foods set me off.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I'm so glad you found something that helped!

If you go to a GI doctor and ask him to test you for SIBO, tell him to check for methane too. My doctor did and to her surprise I was negative on hydrogen, but very high positive on methane. If my doctor wouldn't check methane, I wouldn't be even treated for SIBO.

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[Simona19]

Yes, and yes, I think are the answers to your question. Whether it be SIBO, or SIBO and leaky gut, people with these conditions will react to foods and will even develop intolerance to foods in the case of leaky gut, that would not bother them if those conditions were not present. Bloating, particularly, with SIBO, and also diarrhea. I am speaking from personal experience now in saying that if you have leaky gut you have less of a chance of regaining tolerance to that food than if you have SIBO only, depending on your own particular body chemistry.

I'm just puzzled with something. Before I went on gluten free and casein free diet, I was able to eat anything. I had allergy to nuts, honey and kiwi, but everything was ok. I had some mild bloating, but never to the point of crying in bed for 2-3 hours like on gluten-free and CF diet. Fresh salad is out of the question even now. And I don't know why. Can SIBO do that? I was just Marsh I, so I don't believe that my intestines are soooo damaged. I don't know what to thing.

[mushroom]

Yes, at the time I had intestinal candida I was trying to eat healthy/lose weight and I was taking rabbit food (lettuce, carrot and celery sticks, etc.) to work for lunch, and could not understand why I was spending so much time in the bathroom Nothing was being digested.

Before I went gluten free I was an omnivore with the exception of corn and lactose - could still eat cheese and yogurt and pizza was comfort food. Like my bother I had always had bloating and indigestion (burping). She taught me to believe this was normal because it was for her.

I was never either blood or biopsy tested so can't address degree of damage.

[Bubba's Mom]

After going gluten-free I started reacting to a LOT of other foods. I was given the hydrogen breath test at Mayo Clinic and had high readings in both hydrogen and methane. I was told I likely had a severe case of SIBO. I was given a couple of anti-biotics and didn't see any changes in my health, food sensitivities, or toilet habits. I was told antibiotics treat specific bacteria and apparently, they hadn't found the right ones for me? I was told to take probiotics to drive out the bad bacteria instead.

It's been 6 moths for me, and I still have seen no change in intolerances, and have added a few more. A recent endoscope showed that my villi look mostly normal now. When first DXed I had total villious atropy. It appears that I am healing? I recommend staying on a probiotic, especially if you have had recurring SIBO symptoms..

[LeakyGutRsrch]

SIBO causes leaky gut and if you have food allergies you already have leaky gut as it allows gluten, casein fructose and other undigested molecules to cross to your bloodstream and trigger reaction.

Stress, diet high in alcohol and sugar causes both SIBO and leaky gut, There are other factors that cause leaky gut while the effect on intestinal flora I did not research (food preservatives, toxins, ...)

Additionally you do not really need to distinguish between the two as the treatment is the same: autoimmune paleo diet which is standard paleo (no grains, no grain oils, no legumes) -alcohol -nightshades -milk -eggs.

At the time I had gluten, lactose and fructose intolerance my time between eating foods and reaction was 2-2.5 hours. It helps a lot in the self experimentation to find out what is a problem food and what can you eat.

[lockerbear]

Hi I am also wondering about food intolerances and sibo because I think I might have it. Does anyone here know if you have to do a diet like scd after treatment with antibiotics? A lot of the research I've done is saying you HAVE to diet or it will come back, but it's worrying because scd is such a restrictive and time consuming diet

[gatita]

If you go to a GI doctor and ask him to test you for SIBO, tell him to check for methane too. My doctor did and to her surprise I was negative on hydrogen, but very high positive on methane. If my doctor wouldn't check methane, I wouldn't be even treated for SIBO.

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Thanks! I finally have an appointment for Jan. 30. I will ask for that test.

[Seifer]

Hi I am also wondering about food intolerances and sibo because I think I might have it. Does anyone here know if you have to do a diet like scd after treatment with antibiotics? A lot of the research I've done is saying you HAVE to diet or it will come back, but it's worrying because scd is such a restrictive and time consuming diet

I would recommend not to do the scd diet. Nut butters are not really the holy grail of nutrition. Especially raw nuts contain lots of antinutrients like phytic acid and omega 6-oils which will ruin nutrient absorption and probably make gut dysbiosis worse. I would instead focus on simple digestable foods that digest easy and don't start putrifying in the intestine, things line cooked root vegetables, white rice, fish, shellfish, butter, gelatin, coconut oil.

[Seifer]

Of course I forgot to mention ripe fruits and ripe fruit juices which are also highly digestable

[1desperateladysaved]

On 1/4/2013 at 9:34 AM, Simona19 said:

I would like to share something interesting that happened to me. Maybe this story would help somebody that can’t eat food because everything is making you sick.

I’m 2,5 years gluten free and little less casein free. I’m eating always home, cooking my own meals and eating 95% whole food diet. I had SIBO twice during that time. I had a positive breathing hydrogen test. I took 2 antibiotics the first time, and after proximately year- stronger one from tetracycline group. I felt much better after treatment, but only for a wail. I was able to eat more food without problem. I don’t know, if I have leaky gut, or my problem was just SIBO, but I was reacting to beans, lentils, peas, corn, soy, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and sweet - high fructose fruit (oranges, apples, pears, peaches) like to gluten. I also had problem with any type of jelly, juice, syrup, fruit in jar (I have fructose intolerance, but I wasn’t able to eat any fruit at all). I didn’t have diarrhea, but I had pain, I was bloated and I had very painful trapped gas. Gas-X didn’t help at all. Only thing that helped was digestive enzymes right after food. I took Pancreolan forte (in Slovakia) which is Pancreatin in the USA. I took probiotics for some time, but I had more pain in the intestines and in stomach, so I stop using them.

I got to the point that I was reacting to everything. Only water and plain rice didn’t bothered me. But who can live on that for a long time? Then something eye opening happened:

A week before Hurricane Sandy I had pneumonia. I was put on amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium and later on Azithromycin. During that time I was able to eat anything without any digestive issues. I enjoyed it. I didn’t have pain or bloating.

Does this mean that who have a problem with food intolerance, maybe with leaky gut too, have just bacteria overgrowth in the intestines instead? Antibiotics kill the bad bacteria in mine and I stop having a problem with food. I know that SIBO can come back. I started taking probiotics again in mild doses. I can still eat problem food in small doses without problem. If I will combine more things during a day (minestrone soup for lunch, corn with dinner and orange for evening snack), I will have very mild bloating.

One more thing:

When I had the breathing hydrogen test, the technician waited 2,5- 3 hours after I drank some liquid for the final peak in reading. She told me that the liquid is now in the intestines and now we will see how I will react to it.

After this test I started to notice pattern. When I ate something like soy, cabbage, orange, etc. I had bloating always 3 hours later when the food from my stomach went into the intestines. Now I test myself this way, when I want to find out what I’m “allergic” to. I will eat something and three hours later I will find out, if I’m intolerant to it and how strong my intolerance is.

Any thought?

Have you checked fodmaps?

 

[FornoKathe]

I too have the same reaction, many hours later.

Another idea worth mentioning is working on repairing your leaky gut. My naturopath had me drinking one cup of bone broth daily as well as eating coconut oil frequently and following a low FODMAP diet to repair my leaky gut after my SIBO treatment. SIBO does tend to come back so being proactive in repairing the damage you have as well as modifying your diet a bit afterwards does help. I know how frustrating it is to have a repeat occurrence (I've had SIBO twice).

I also read numerous studies that mention that those of us that are susceptible to SIBO should ALWAYS use digestive enzymes when eating as this is most important to break down the food you eat and keep the bacteria from feeding off of it and rebuilding in your system. Since I did have a reaction a few hours later as you did, I increased my digestive enzymes and that has seemed to help. Maybe you need to up your dose a little and see if that helps?