Battling the Burn Part 4 -What the heck is SIBO?

Battling the Burn Part 4: What the heck is SIBO?

In Battling the Burn Part One, Two, and Three, I described the history of my life with GERD. I suffered my entire life with GERD and can’t remember a time when I did not have issues with indigestion, fullness, and bloating. I spent many years trying to figure out how to get off medication, and it wasn’t until 2019 that I decided that I had to stop taking medication and find a way no matter how hard or time consuming that might be. The steps I took were time-consuming and overwhelming. I felt like I was missing vital pieces of the puzzle. This year, my investigative approach had begun to lead me to believe that I may have SIBO. I spent the beginning of 2020 trying to determine that while waiting on lab results and my next doctor’s appointment.

Suspicions verified

Over the last few months, I have made huge leaps in the healing process of my stomach. I have gone from heartburn every day to occasionally having it depending on the food combinations I eat. Yet, there were days that I felt bloated and gassy. One instance, I burped for over an hour. I had no control over it and felt disgusting and ashamed. My dinner was chicken and a combination of veggies that included broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. Little did I know, my plan to eat a wide range of healthy vegetables was causing the harmful bacteria in my gut to proliferate and produce gas, causing the gas and bloating I was feeling several days a week.

What is SIBO?

At the end of February, I had a follow-up with my new functional medicine doctor, who, by the way, is extremely knowledgeable and looks at my body as a whole functioning unit, not pieces of organs that have no relation to each other. She and I went over the results, which I suspected some of the issues, but not others. A lifetime of using an acid reducers has caused vitamin and nutrient deficiencies, hormone production issues, pancreatic issues, and SIBO, which can lead to even more GI issues.

SIBO stands for small intestine bacterial overgrowth. SIBO is a condition in which an increase in the number of bacteria and or changes in the type of bacteria are present in the small intestine. The small intestine should contain relatively few bacteria when compared to the large intestine. Those bacteria are protective, and they help absorb nutrients and vitamins, maintain intestinal motility, and protect against pathogenic bacteria. The overgrowth usually consists of the types of bacteria found in the colon; however, in some cases, it can be a result of an excess of good bacteria. SIBO is extremely difficult to treat because bacteria co-exist side by side, and there is no way to kill off the bad without some of the good.

So what is the big deal?

Causes of SIBO

It isn’t just burping and gas that can negatively impact the quality of life. Other symptoms, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, and weight loss, can occur. SIBO can interfere with the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients because of damage to the cells lining the small bowl. This damage can then lead to something called “leaky gut,” which comes with a whole host of issues. Leaky gut is a condition in which the intestinal barrier becomes permeable, meaning there are gaps between cell walls, which allow protein molecules to escape into the bloodstream. In other words, a bad, bad thing. The immune system can become hyperreactive and cause chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can cause your risk of many degenerative diseases to increase. The harmful bacteria can also lead to deficiencies on top of those due to poor digestion and absorption because they compete for vitamins and amino acids before our cells can absorb the nutrients.

There are many ways the body can naturally prevent SIBO from happening. In my case, I was on long term acid reducers that allowed the harmful bacteria to multiply unchecked. An acidic environment is crucial for optimal stomach health and intestinal health. The causes of SIBO are usually complex and may even involve multiple breakdowns in several critical areas of the GI tract protection mechanisms.

So now what?

1. Low stomach acid
2. IBS
3. Celiac Disease
4. Crohn’s Disease
5. Bowel Surgery
6. Diabetes
7. Antibiotic Use
8. Organ system dysfunction

So now I have the diagnosis, what do I do from here? SIBO is complicated and hard to treat. I will most likely have to take an antibiotic to kill the harmful bacteria for at least three weeks, possibly 6. It can always come back, too, so I want to make sure I do everything I can to eliminate them while consuming lots of good bacteria to take back my gut’s environment. I want to have an ecosystem in my gut lining that is full of variety and the right amounts of normal flora, to heal my intestinal lining as well as being to absorb adequate nutrients.

Fasting and how it makes me feel

It’s vital to follow a strict diet during this time to make sure the bacteria don’t have adequate food to grow and replicate. Many foods exacerbate SIBO, and some are healthy. That is how I figured out there was something besides food allergies going on within my intestinal tract. The diet is called a low FODMAP diet. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols, which are short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols that are poorly absorbed by the body, resulting in abdominal pain and bloating. These types of carbohydrates can come from a wide range of foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, and, of course, processed foods. Luckily I have a list that I can reference, along with my food sensitivities list, to create a low FODMAP nutrition plan each day.

Stress and Recovery

Fasting has gotten a lot of attention lately due to the benefits in weight loss, speeding up metabolism, brain function, gut health, and so much more. In my case, fasting gives my digestive system time to relax. I also have to make sure to keep a 4-hour window between each meal with no snacks. The window in which to refrain from eating makes timing more critical than ever. The fasting isn’t as hard as I thought. I was already fasting several of the week, mainly because I don’t like to workout with food on my stomach. I just had to extend my window from 13–14 hours to 14–16 hours. I enjoy fasting now, it’s the eating only every 4 hours and timing it with the right amount of fasting window for the next day that makes things difficult. I can’t eat after seven because the food on my stomach at bedtime is a recipe for disaster. So this week I am working hard to time everything perfectly, or nearly there. Hopefully, if I do everything right the first time, I won’t have to stay on the antibiotic for more than three weeks.

Where will I be in a few months?

Stress levels and adequate amounts of sleep are also hugely beneficial when trying to heal from SIBO. Stress can lead to higher levels of cortisol, which in turn increases the inflammatory response, which then drives more immune cells to attack the lining of the intestinal tract, perpetuating leaky gut. Mental and physical stress can be anything from a toxic work environment, personal relationships, too little physical activity, overeating, and brainwash activities like social media apps and tv.

My journey has become more complicated than I initially thought. Trying to heal my gut will take several more weeks and possibly months. I want to eat without thinking about a food list. I want to eat without pain, pressure, and bloating. I am hopeful that that day will come this year. Bad bacteria, adios!

Originally published at https://pharmd-fitness.com.