My gut doesn’t feel right – what could it be?
Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) is a term which has become quite prevalent when discussing digestive concerns. SIBO is a functional disorder; it is the microscopic function of the small and large bowel that’s not working properly, and where there are too many bacteria in the small intestine.
Common SIBO symptoms include – bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain/discomfort.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is an umbrella diagnosis which basically covers abdominal pain and altered bowel function. In fact, “unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms” is a much more accurate label and is less limiting, but we’ll use the term IBS here because this is a term many people are familiar with.
IBS is the #1 diagnosed gastrointestinal problem in the world, and 60 -70% of the cause of IBS is SIBO. Symptoms may include acid reflux, nausea, food that sits like a brick, dyspepsia, pain, excessive burping, farting, food sensitivities especially carbohydrates, mood symptoms, depression and anxiety, and food reactions – skin rashes, brain fog, sneezing.
In SIBO, bacteria is translocated from the large to the small intestine (like a back-wash), so now when we eat carbohydrates the bacteria in the small intestine (which should be mainly in the large intestine) consume them too, and this produces gas and bloating high up in the small intestine. The bacteria also compete with the host for essential nutrients.
The abdominal distension (or bloat) is caused by gas made by microbes, and there are two main gases produced, methane and hydrogen.
The way we determine which is your predominant gas is via a breath test, and it is important to discover which gas is the correct one because the treatment differs for each, even though some of the symptoms overlap.
Methane is more likely to cause constipation rather than diarrhoea and can cause nausea, acid reflux and burping rather than farting. The acid reflux is from gas back-pressure pushing acid up and can contribute to another digestive condition, Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease or GORD (GERD in North America) which can be both painful and distressing.
There is an antibiotic and antifungal based protocol for treating SIBO in the conventional medicine model, but there are also strategies for addressing SIBO in natural medicine.
If you think this symptom picture looks familiar & might be a problem you have, please give me a text or a call on 027 281 9130 to make an appointment.