Posted 7/28/2017 1:25 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Tommy --
Sorry you're struggling with the SIBO. BEEN THERE - it's not fun.
I agree w/ PeteZa - your GI is the KEY to any recovery from Lyme and a healthy defense moving forward to prevent further relapses. 70% of your immune system IS your GI. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that your relapse is tied directly to your "SIBO" sx. And your SIBO sx might be the result of your treatment.
Unfortunately, SIBO is one of those catch-all diagnoses which is really just a name given to a group of sx. A name for the group is fine, but you need to address the underlying cause. The gastroenterology field of medicine also seems to be ultimately confused as to what causes these dysbioses but quite a few of us here have healed our GI.
Your sx also sound a lot like yeast/fungal overgrowth, which is common w/ abx use that kills all the good bacteria along with the bad--the good bacteria help keep balance with other bacteria and yeast/fungus. So that's something you can also explore and tackle at the same time you're healing your GI.
Everything you're trying to digest - nutrients, meds, supplements and anything you might try to take to address SIBO has to be digested and if you have damage, you're going to have trouble with digestion. THis is the main reason why it's best to solve GI issues first, then proceed with _______ treatment, but this is particularly true for Lyme patients.
SIBO sx can also suggest evidence of leaky gut. If you have leaky gut, you have considerable damage. If you have damage -
- you're not absorbing anything you consume very well including food and nutrition, which stresses the body when it has to run on empty.
- you're also not absorbing any of the meds and supplements very well, which can disrupt, delay and confuse your treatment since most of the time we're relying on our reactions to the infections and the treatment in order to understand how to proceed.
- you're also developing more and more reactions to foods if they continue to seep into your blood stream and cause immune reactions because you shouldn't have food in your blood stream
- you're also allowing toxins and fecal matter into your blood stream with unmitigated GI damage from leaky gut.
- and with untreated yeast/fungal issues and leaky gut, the yeast/fungus can also become systemic as it travels through the damage and into the blood stream.
GI damage can get really out of hand and it takes a very long time to heal so you might get started ASAP:
- You'll need to implement drastic changes in your diet that remove all sugars, all simple carbs (white rice, white flour, white sugar, white potatoes), all grains, and dairy--at least for the first couple of months, depending on how well it impacts you. There's probably nothing as important as those restrictions in the beginning. It's not easy - at all. But critical.
- Look for the basics of paleo diets (mostly veggies and animal proteins) to figure out what to eat - the other things you eat depend more on your sensitivities and are less important than being restrictive of the first groups of foods I mentioned.
- Try reducing toxins by going organic and GMO-free.
- Eat smaller meals more frequently - try not to force your digestive tract to work too hard for each meal bit feed yourself frequently. I used to just sip on soup all day.
- Go really easy on the GI - try to avoid roughage until your gut heals a bit (if you have constipation issues, let me know and I can make a few suggestions). Try making your own soups or find the good healthy soups in the store that are not full of stuff (especially SUGAR!). The chicken/turkey/beef/veggie broths are KEY! Like PeteZa I also drank mine like tea - a couple times a day. I ended up not eating a whole lot at first because I couldn't digest the solid food but I also felt so much better with broths because they have a lot of healing nutrients. Organic low sodium is best - Pacific brand has some good ones.
You might need to do a stool test to understand what foods you have sensitivities to and avoid those foods for a couple months.
It took me a year to make progress - I was in very bad shape. But your sx also point absolutely toward leaky gut and yeast/fungal overgrowth so you're right on track. Here is a lot more information about yeast/fungal overgrowth - please review it and we can target specific issues for you if you have questions:
Y/FO post in the "New to Lyme?" thread:
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=1606610&g=3644275#m3644275
-p