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[vader]

2 years ago i tried to wean off coffee by using a roasted grain coffee substitute. Ever since then my digestion went to crap.

 

Symptoms range from gas, belching, fat indigestion, tenesmus, pain, intolerance to carbs, fats, big meals, incomplete evacaution and stickiness. My ferritin is low, it seems that i'm suffering from maldigestion of important nutrients. My stool shifted from 2 or 3 on the bristol scale to more of a 6 or 7 even. Some days my digestion seems to work better, but i haven't found the cause and it seems to get rarer and rarer to have any remission in sight. Exercise didn't help much.

 

Then it turns out that the grain coffee has an enormous dose of inulin in it. I think, that somehow this inulin caused a shift in my bacterial flora producing SIBO. Since then i tried low carb, high carb, no gluten, no dairy, vegan, high fiber, etc. I also developed lactose intolerance all of sudden. Intermittent fasting seems to help, but then i get really low on energy and on the verge of passing out, most of the time. Not to mention, when i resume eating, i get double the pain. There also seems to be some kind of a diurnal rhythm to the symptoms, with worst being in the morning and late afternoon. It seems that at night and especially in the middle of the day, symptoms get subdued a lot. This could be either the result of not eating much or maybe some kind of melatonin / cortisol involvement.

 

Now, from what i understand SIBO can be managed with antibiotics, but then it tends to come back in 6 - 12 months. Some people say that it is caused by pylori, but I am sceptical, given that pylori causes mostly ulcers and not intestinal malabsorption. I think about checking my stomach for any gastritis or ulcers, given that i have high pylori antibodies (although, pylori is endemic to were i live, over 90% of people have antibodies).

 

Anyone has any idea if this is SIBO and how to proceed? I must admit, that even though the whole experience is dreadful, I haven't lost much weight (I lost weight before, over 30 - 40 pounds, before my symptoms began) and I can even gain weight, but it is painful to do so. Also i have a feeling of gas moving in the intestine, it feels like something is fermenting there, bubbling sound, which i've had never before.

Edited by vader, 02 November 2015 - 03:50 PM.

[timar]

If you suspect that you suffer from chronic SIBO than you should see a physician. A course of antibiotics may be the way to go, combined with probiotics. You could also try high-dose probiotics (particularly bifiobacteria subspecies) on their own.

 

I never heard of inulin triggering such a chronic condition; only that people get indigestion immediately after consuming it. I actually buy pure inulin and stir it into my yogurt, at least 5 g/day, and my digestion has never been better. Anyway, there's a lot left to learn about the human microbiome given its complexity, and it certainly can't be ruled out that some people may carry some rare and nasty species of gut bacteria producing such symptoms.