searching_for_a_cure Update

[searching_for_acure2]

This is a new account. I previously posted under username searching_for_a_cure.

Update- I have good news and bad news. My bb is definitely GI caused. When I met my GI dr and discussed my symptoms, his first thought was a disease called gastroparesis (GP- slow emptying of the stomach). Basically, food sits in your stomach too long and rots. It can cause symptoms like bad breath, reflux, bloating, constipation, etc etc. The GI dr ordered a 4 hour gastric emptying study to test for this. My test result showed my stomach emptying is normal. After talking to the GI dr, he still thinks I have GP. I didn't really do the test properly. I was supposed to eat radioactive eggs, two pieces of toast, and 8 oz or juice/water for the test. I only ate the eggs. Even with just eating the eggs, my stomach emptying was on the slow side of normal.

Anyways, I've found a way to prevent the bad breath, but it sucks. I start eating at 6am and stop eating at 2:30pm (3:30pm at the latest). Eating a diet of Protein shake (unsweetened Good Karma flax milk, Truvani vanilla protein powder, frozen strawberries), lean turkey, grapes, fish is working for me. I have to avoid all carbs/sugar during the work week, otherwise the bad breath comes back. I eat some carbs on Friday after work/Saturday, and back to the strict diet on Sunday. This is super hard to do, and mentally exhausting. Carbs are something I should be able to eat if my only problem is GP. I started looking into SIBO to see if that could be a potential cause. The GI dr said that testing for SIBO is unreliable (lots of false negatives), so he wouldn't order a SIBO test. He did prescribe the antibiotic Xifaxan (rifaximin), which is really expensive if it is not covered by your insurance. The Xifaxan Copay Savings card did help, but the prescription is still very expensive. I haven't started the medicine yet because I still wanted to get tested for SIBO. I don't really like the idea of treating a problem without knowing if that is the cause. Also, there are three types of SIBO and I would like to know which type I possibly have.

Someone in the comments of my original post mentioned just going to a lab to test for SIBO. I'm located in the U.S. and that isn't possible here. A physician has to order the test for you, either at the hospital/clinic or a mail order test from a company to do at home. I found a MD doctor who practices functional medicine. She thinks my symptoms are caused by SIBO only, and likely not GP (I don't agree). She ordered a SIBO test from Genova Diagnostics, and I am waiting on the results now. This test can only identify methane and hydrogen SIBO. This dr says based on my constipation, I most likely have methane SIBO. We'll see what the test says. The functional dr also wanted me to follow a SIBO specific diet (https://www.siboinfo.com/uploads/5/4/8/ ... t_2014.pdf).

Another reason why I wanted to test for SIBO is the treatment for the different types are a bit different and some people have a mix of two or more types of SIBO. For example, the standard treatment for methane SIBO is two antibiotics (typically Xifaxan and neomycin). My GI dr said SIBO usually requires multiple rounds of antibiotics, but I want to avoid that if possible.

Game plan if the SIBO test comes back positive for methane SIBO:
Biofilm buster (Interferase Plus) for at least a week before starting the antibiotics
Xifaxan 550mg 3x a day for 14 days
Neomycin (not sure of dosage) for 14 days
5g partially hydrolyzed guar gum (phgg) daily while taking antibiotics

After the 14 days
Candibactin-BR for 3-4 months
Candibactin-AR for 3-4 months

There is a journal article that says that taking 5g of partially hydrolyzed guar gum with Xifaxan increases the effectiveness of the antibiotic, so that's why I plan to add that to the treatment plan. I want to take the Candibactin BR/AR as herbal treatment after the antibiotics to avoid doing a second round of antibiotics. From what I've read and learned from people in a SIBO group, constipation is a motility issue and if that isn't solved the SIBO will likely come back. I started taking Iberogast 20 drops in water 2-3 times per day after eating and it helps me have normal bm 1-2 times a day. If I stop taking it, I get constipated again. Hopefully this will all be resolved after treating SIBO, and I can use the Iberogast if I ever start getting constipated again. Even if the SIBO test comes back negative I will follow this plan (minus the neomycin, maybe?). My goal is to get rid of the bad breath and be able to have somewhat of a normal diet where I can eat some protein, fruits, veggies, and carbs.

*From the first post
I did try Devrom and I think it worked, but my sister is a pharmacist and said not to take that long term. I only took it once or twice.
I weaned off of pantoprazole and I stopped taking probiotics (apparently bad for SIBO). I only get allergy shots, take Iberogast, a multivitamin, and Vitamin D now.
My ANA test came back negative. My eye dr gave me some eye drops to help with the eye dryness and said to increase my Flaxseed intake. I feel like that has helped.

[the_winter_soldier]

Thank you for posting this, this is the first time i've heard of gastroparesis, i've added it to my list of things to test for... wouldn't elemental diet help with that though?