I am healing, and it is incredible.
The day after ‘8 Things I Am Doing for SIBO, Adrenal Fatigue and Autoimmune,’ I saw my holistic MD.
After I confirmed with him that I do in fact have the hydrogen vs. methane version of SIBO, I told him I was ready for the antibiotic if he agreed.
He fully agreed with me that my case might require the antibiotic.
Immediately upon being prescribed it, I went to the pharmacy to pick it up. The antibiotic is almost $1,200 and that’s with awesome insurance.
It’s an absolute joke and insane amount of money for anyone to have to spend on critical care. Turned out, the pharmacy didn’t even have it in that day, but told me I could get it the following Monday.
I debated all weekend. I talked myself out of getting it at one point,
But I know I can heal with diet and lifestyle alone.
As I thought about it longer and realized I didn’t want to wear big sweatshirts my whole life, I decided to bite the antibiotic bullet.
Today marks Day 14 of me being on the antibiotic Rifaximin. Most people with SIBO take it for 7-14 days. I have a severe case, so I am on it for 21 days (3 times per day).
In addition to the antibiotic, more things we are doing in this “phase 2” of my intense healing:
- 2-3 HCL pills per meal for 5+ times per day. I did a little “HCL challenge” about a week prior to my visit with him so I could understand my stomach’s acidity levels. I was up to taking 9 – yes, NINE – pills per sitting with zero effects (i.e. stomach burning). This is absolutely horrible on many levels. I will write about it soon hopefully. For now, we are staying low and going with it….building little-by-little.
- New supplement addition: Ox Bile. I do not have it yet. I should soon.
- Some of my current supplements have increased dosages.
- I am to do a 10-day tracking of my basal body temperature first thing in the morning. I have not started this yet.
- B12 injections: not optional any longer. I put doing this off for the first 120 days, but he said it’s critical that I start. So I did. Yes, 2-3 injections in my belly, at home, each week. I was shaking the first couple of times I did it. It’s easy peasy now. My house looks like a lab. It could be worse.
- See him again in the next 6-8 weeks.
And Vegetables
Last Monday I began a brand new way of approaching my diet. I am eating over a pound of vegetables a day, and I am feeling better than I ever have in my entire life. Yesterday, I had 2 of these. Eggs. Yes, eggs. No problems!
It’s been 10+ years that I’ve been on this journey.
It has been so hard, but I think I have finally found the key to success.
I have spent so much time with myself these past several weeks (beginning when I got really bad), and my ah-ha moments arrived….little-by-little, one-by-one to the culmination of this past week.
Part of it includes a deep, dark ugly past that perhaps will be told someday in my full brave story, and the other part of it includes how I am finally embracing change and reality.
Hippocrates said, “All disease begins in the gut.”
And while I live by that, I live more by this now:
I am healing.
And I am grateful.
Xox,
SKH
🤰 bloating be gone! weight loss through optimal gut health for women
💃ʜᴇᴀʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢᴜᴛ. ʜᴇᴀʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟɪfe.
🫶🏻 founder gutbyome.com
so happy about this xoxo
🙂
For obvious reasons, this post is so interesting to me! I had to take HCL for a while too but definitely not as many as you. I’m glad to read that you are healing and I can’t wait for the next program to begin!
Thanks!
That’s awesome that you are getting some relief! I have wondered if I have SIBO, but I’m not sure where to find a holistic MD to run the tests and help me figure that stuff out. My gastoenterologist was a joke – less than helpful and he could care less. I was in tears that last time I stepped in his office. I’ve been taking digestive enzymes with most of my meals and that’s helping. I do need to increase my veggies…a lot. And allergy season always makes my digestive issues worse, so there is definitely some histamine reactions going on there, too
It’s good to hear about people who have found a solution! I have been struggling with IBS-C since 2012. OTC meds and the low-FODMAP diet have helped but my problems always seem to come back. I’m hoping to get tested for SIBO soon so maybe that will shed some light.
Good luck to you, Stephanie! I never dabbled in OTC meds because a long time ago Canasa (prescribed) made me even worse. If you do have SIBO, though, there is hope. And for me, it went far beyond FODMAPs, but took a long time to figure out all the nitty, gritty details. All my best.
After trying to nail down my causes and realizing that some parts of AIP weren’t working I started to do a ton of research. When my doctor initially did the SIBO test, my hydrogren change was not “irregular” but my methane level was crazy out of control, 62, which is 3x what baseline should be. He said he didn’t want to treat that with antibiotics right away and see how AIP went. Well, after 45 days and see little progress, I started to dig into it myself. And holy hannah, all my symptoms and flares during this time seem related to SIBO. So I went back to him this weekend and he prescribed ciprofloxacin and metronidazole x 2 weeks so I am going to see how that goes, along with a SCD/FODMAPS plan. You have given me so much inspiration, and looking forward to staying connected. xo
I have heard the antibiotic doesn’t last long, and most people reverse progress. I am just praying on this, as the course is done. That said, one of the biggest things I can say is – nix the sugar and starch….even fruit. Hope you’re feeling good.
Hello! How dod cipro go?
Do you still have all these issues? Do you by chance have breast implants? If so you might want to check out breast implant illness. Just thought I would mention.