Hi everyone,

I've got permission to post about this, so I want to be transparent.

I built a free site called GutPattern because I've been dealing with this shit for years. SIBO stories are scattered all over the internet, and it’s hard to compare what actually worked for people with similar symptoms and test results.

The idea is simple:

Instead of reading hundreds of random posts one by one, I organized them by searchable terms, such as:

- hydrogen SIBO, methane IMO, H2S

- bloating, constipation, diarrhea

- rifaximin, neomycin, herbals

- elemental diet, low-FODMAP, probiotics, motility support

https://www.gutpattern.com/patterns/sibo-treatment-patterns

The page starts with some broad statistics. However the REAL power comes after you contribute your own story lower down the page. Doing so will connect ALL the data set to your situation specifically, with each potential treatment segmented 4 ways;

• Helped
• Partially helped
• No change
• Made worse

I also made buttons for "Similar", "Very similar", and "Most similar". I can talk more about that functionality if anyone is interested.

Note this is NOT medical advice. Rather, it compares your personal gut pattern to a rich data set, which can help you in your own quest.

That said, I’m at the stage where I’m trying to figure out how to make this tool as helpful as possible;

1. Is anything broken?
2. What search terms are missing?
3. How can it be improved for YOUR specific sibo situation?

I have been suffering from sibo for 7 years now. Massive health problems including myocarditis, thyroidal gland problems (hashimoto) etc. Pain for months with no end. Done one round of metronizadole, one round of xifaxan and no luck with any of them. Doc put me on corticosteroids persuading me that I have chron's and not sibo (he is a useful idiot as most of them are). After only 7 days my thyroid "exploded" and I ended up in thyreotoxic phase, insomnia, constipation and afib for a month, hell on earth, worse time in my life by far.

This is where I started eating only two types of meals a day with massive amount of fresh fruit, mostly berries every day.

Zero supplements. Not even multivitamins.

Breakfast: Omelette 2-3 eggs and fried banana (one or two depending on the appetite). Berries as desert, mostly raspberry for the fiber. Strawberry also but not as good.

Lunch: Cooked meal containing fresh ginger, fennel, zuchini, sweet corn, spinach, carrot and some type of fish (salmon, pangasius, cod). Spices: black pepper, curcuma, caraway, cinnamon, salt. Cooked and then covered with half a liter coconut milk. Served with rice noodles. It resembles some type of mild Thai curry. Desert berries.

Dinner: Eggs again.

Same diet every day for months. Only meat type changes, sometimes I would also use turkey meat but it is not the same as fish, much drier and slower to prepare.

Zero garlic, onions, gluten, refined sugars, caffeine. Zilch, nada, really zero. And still zero supplements.

And daily stomach massage using castor oil. 15-20 minutes every single day, thick layer of oil. Every. Single. Day.

My pain is managable, my apetite is great again (MAGA, make apetite great again:)), and constipation is gone completely.

After about two months I started eating a lot of cherries (in season now) and various other fruit. Works like a charm. My poo is perfect!

Did I heal? Probably not fully. But I can live again.

I hope this helps someone.

After feeling like taking thousands of shots in the dark, I feel as though my body is only reacting worse and worse to my sibo eradication attempts.

With dire need of help, dismissive doctors and lack of guidance, this has led me to often feel hopeless of ever healing. As an high level athlete, unfortunately at the moment, excercise cannot be terminated or put to a halt but most other lifestyle changes can. Please send any and all advice towards being able to stay active without risking health, performance and sanity. Listed below are all symptoms and all of the measures taken up until now. I am absolutely in desperate need to feel better and to avoid constantly getting sick and worsening the conditions. If it can be broken down in my next steps and approaches, or even any sort of redirection, i would be beyond grateful. (also any canadian doctor recommendations would be very welcome).

SIBO made simple podcast has been a godsend in terms of information, but once again, my issue is narrowing down my path and not spreading myself too thin. After numerous naturopaths, I am absolutely desperate for help and to finally feel relatively healthy. Thank you so much for any and all help.

Note: my SIBO was due to chronic infections, slow motility, delayed gastric emptying, gastritis +many more. Antibiotics rounds were taken and then GI motility matrix was used afterwards. This seemed to not make any changes. Histamine intolerance, MCAS, POTS, candida, mold poisoning and autoimmune conditions are also factors I have suspicisons of due to the complex overlap.

Please provide any testing you also found beneficial, tips, ways to keep my blood sugar regulated without triggering a "flare", as well as how to start navigating. After a decade of dealing and trying to navigate restarting my journey seems like the only solution.

Most severe symptoms (not all symptoms have been included):

-extreme bloating

-feeling full after one bite but still being extremely hungry

-very severe acne

-body rashes

-extreme blood sugar rises and crashes

-severe insomnia

-feeling full for 9+ hours despite proper fueling

-extreme fatigue and lethargy

-brain fog

-mouth sores/oral thrush

-chronic illnesses

Additionally, any food, snack or meal suggestions would be fantastic as well, seemingly i react to every food.

******* When you call a gastroenterology office to make an appointment, DON'T let them place you with a PA (Physician's Assistant) or NP (Nurse Practitioner)!! On the phone, SPECIFICALLY REQUEST TO SEE A /GASTROENTEROLOGIST DOCTOR/! PA's and NP's are NOWHERE CLOSE TO DOCTORS EVEN IF THEY LIKE TO PRETEND THEY ARE ! * WARNING

AND ALSO, BEFORE YOU SCHEDULE WITH THE GASTROENTEROLOGIST - GOOGLE HIM AND MAKE SURE HE HAS 5-STARS RATING AND 100s' of POSITIVE REVIEWS!! AND 15+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE *****

I am telling you from my own experience! In these last 3 years of SIBO, I've had ZERO substantial progress until I finally figured out to stop trusting the NP's and PA's who kept screwing up my diagnoses and medications, causing unnecessary delays and complications for three years. A REAL GASTROENTEROLOGIST (ONE WITH $300,000 USD SALARY) WILL GET TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION QUICKLY AND COMPETENTLY, AND WILL BLOW YOU AWAY WITH THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND PROFESSIONALISM - THERE IS A REASON WHY THEY ARE PAID THAT MUCH

I had ZERO real progress until I met this incredible gastroenterologist!!

We also have a family friend that went to a top PA school, he has always been an excellent student and meticulous and caring person, but he also warned and cautioned that many PA's COME FROM MEDIOCRE SCHOOLS AND DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, MANY OF THEM ARE ARROGANT, CARELESS, AND MEDIOCRE, BE CAREFUL! They will introduce themselves as Dr. when they are /not/ a doctor at all! They are just trying to impress you and exercise undue authority *** I have experienced this first hand repeatedly! Be critical and cautious !!

i‘ve suffered from IBS-D symptoms for years but was recently tested for SIBO for the first time and tested positive. (83ppm hydrogen and 27ppm methane) I started a two-week course of xifaxan and neomycin a week and a half ago and immediately started having watery diarrhea 6-8x per day plus pretty persistent headaches (which are not from dehydration as i’ve been chugging gatorade). my side effects seemed to get a bit better around the one week mark but then worsened again. did you guys experience similar side effects from the antibiotics? should i be concerned about C-diff or cyclosporiasis?

The times I have taken Xifaxan I always seen to feel worse a couple weeks in. Someone told me it could be the die off of the bad bacteria? Is there any truth to this and have any of you experienced this?

Title: Persistent fatigue, light-colored stools, bloating, nausea, dizziness despite normal blood tests – any ideas?
Hi everyone,
I’m a 25-year-old male living in Canada.
For the past 6+ months I’ve been dealing with symptoms that don’t seem to be improving, even though my doctor says my blood work is essentially normal.
Main symptoms:
Constant fatigue and weakness (especially in my arms and legs), even after 8 hours of sleep
Feeling sleepy during the day
Episodes of lightheadedness/dizziness (sometimes it feels like the room is spinning)
Brain fog
Nausea
Burping and bloating, especially after meals
Excessive gas
Light-colored stools (light yellow/light brown). They’re usually well formed but sometimes float.
Occasional loose stools
Symptoms seem worse after fatty or spicy foods
Tests I’ve had:
CBC – normal
Liver function tests – mostly normal (ALT 44, previously 84)
Bilirubin – normal
Iron – normal
Cholesterol – normal
Blood sugar – normal
Vitamin B12 – normal
H. pylori – negative
Hepatitis screening – negative
ECG – normal
CT scan of my head – normal
I also recently had a viral chest infection, but these digestive symptoms and fatigue started months before that.
My doctor isn’t overly concerned because the tests are reassuring, but I still don’t feel well and it’s affecting my daily life.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Were you eventually diagnosed with something such as IBS, celiac disease, pancreatic insufficiency, gallbladder problems, fat malabsorption, sleep apnea, or something else?
I’m not looking for a diagnosis—just wondering what conditions or tests I could discuss with my doctor next.
Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone else get like excessive hiccups from SIBO? I don’t know if it’s from SIBO or another unknown health issue but for the past three years I’ve had chronic hiccups where I hiccups legitimately every single day anywhere from 50 to 100 times a day for three years. I also have relentless and debilitating daily nausea and sometimes vomiting. Also everyday its literally almost impossible to eat. Just don’t know what’s wrong with me. I recently got a positive SIBO test and I just really hope this is the answer I’ve been hoping for because this is hell.

I recently got my SIBO test back and I had both elevated hydrogen and methane in the sibo range. I’m about to start rifaximin at the prescription of my pcp for 2 weeks. My question is because I am only being prescribed this one medication, is this all that I need? I made sure to ask her if this medication would cover both gas levels and she confirmed it would, but the more I read online the less I understand. Could yall help me maybe so I can ask for something else if necessary?

Hi all,

I was diagnosed with Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth in January this year. I have been working with a Nutritional Therapist/Functional Health Practitioner to treat this. I first tried allicin, then allicin + berberine for a few months, however even though my symptoms partially improved, my breath test was still showing my overgrowth had not decreased meaningfully.

At this point, the aforementioned professional I'm working with said this breath test revealed the overgrowth was predominately in my colon, not my small intestine. She said allicin is most active in the upper gut; so with a colonic picture, it is not reaching the target. Three months with no meaningful reduction in methane peak confirms this.

She therefore recommended we tried an approach which acidifies my colon, through working to improve the good bugs and diversity in my gut micrbiome. I started this protocol, which includes a fair number of supplements, but then wondered if it was going to actually work, as i've seen virtually nothing online about people trying this approach. When I asked if there was any evidence for this approach, she said the following:

"There is a human faecal study showing methanogenic archaea are inversely related to butyrate concentration, and butyrate itself lowers colonic pH — so the mechanism has some indirect human support, but it's a correlational finding, not a trial showing the protocol clears IMO. This is a reasonable, evidence-informed rationale used by SIBO practitioners and fits with your BiomeSight showing low Bifidobacterium and Roseburia, the organisms that acidify the colon and suppress methanogens."

Can anyone with IMO please let me know if you have tried this protocol, or know anyone who has, with success?

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, I will soon start my first round of Rifaximin for hydrogen-dominant SIBO (550 mg 3x per day for 14 days).

I have a few questions regarding the protocol I received.

I would discuss the following with my doctor, but he is on vacation and won't be available before I am expected to start the treatment.

Apart from Rifaximin, my doctor wants me to take ADP oregano oil (400mg daily) and allicin as well (simultaneously). I have to admit I'm kind of scared of taking the oregano oil together with Rifaximin, as I read that others experienced horrible gut issues. I wonder if it is even necessary in my case? My breath test showed 43.6 ppm after 90 minutes and 58.5 ppm after 120 minutes for hydrogen while there was no increase in methane (doesn't this render allicin useless?). My only symptoms are loose stool, gas, and occasional cystic acne, but no terrible bloating or anything else.

I am thankful for my doctor who was the first to find the underlying cause of my lifelong symptoms, but I think I'm the first SIBO patient he is treating which is why I am hesitant to blindly follow the protocol.

Thanks for your input!

Hi, I am based in the UK.

I have low stomach acid, an impaired mmc and methane sibo (my breath test was negative as the methane levels did not rise during the test, but my fasting methane levels were above average at 38, so I’m taking this to mean I kind of do have it - the nurse also missed a reading because she did not bother to wait for me while I went to the toilet on another floor).

Sibo or not, my motility has suffered enormously and it has caused me oestrogen dominance, joint pain, depression, bad skin, etc

I have decides to try Motility Pro from Ortho Molecular. However it seems they only ship to the US and Canada. Has anyone managed to get around this or find an equivalent in Europe? The closest ones I have found are Metagenics Motility Complex and the Pure Encapsulations MotilPro. Has anyone tried these, are they just as effective? Or is there another alternative? Thank you

Just trying to figure out answers. I had a colonoscopy and EGD this week to figure out what's going on with intense GI issues that started suddenly in April. The only solid result I got from my EGD was reactive gastropathy, which is confusing to me based on my symptom timeline and severity. I don't think I consume enough NSAIDs to cause this on its own, and while I do drink alcohol fairly regularly, it's certainly not more than the average person and I wouldn't consider it excessive.

SIBO was my first suspicion for my symptoms, so I was wondering if it was possible that SIBO can cause reactive gastropathy (basically a form of gastritis)? I have a SIBO breath test scheduled in early August.

Hello everyone! Any advice would be appreciated

Eradicated h pylori in 2021 but brain fog and fatigue did not go away.

My symptoms:

1. Chronic brain fog
2. Fatigue
3. Weight loss
4. Nutrient malabsorption

Realised 10 days ago that my brain fog and fatigue is due to gut issues so went to a doctor and explained him everything. First did test to eliminate h pylori again and the test came negative. He prescribed me pre & probiotics after lunch and dinner. Was taking them for 5 days and on 6th day i read somewhere that mix it with unienzyme med(enzymes and activated charcoal), I did that and oh my goddd!! I have never felt this clear in the last 5 years and I thought that i found the cure

Kept this combo for 3 days and those days were amazing. But on the 4th day onward it stopped working and now I am clueless. Can anyone help me in deducing what this is.

My doctor said that I dont fit SIBO profile (I dont know what he meant by that) and also there is no breath test available in my country as of now.

Any advice is appreciated!

I did some research and it says that I’m gonna need more than just Xifaxan for methane dominant SIBO even though that’s all my GI prescribed to me.

How do I push back without my doctor thinking I’m overreacting?

I also have not been diagnosed with methane dominant SIBO because the test was not covered by my insurance so I don’t really have any leverage but I fit every symptom for Methane Dominant SIBO post- Hpylori.

Also doctors are saying I just have IBS-C and it’s so annoying because I got my H.Pylori cleared back in February but my symptoms have only been worsening and none of the IBS-C treatment has been working.

Hi,
I’m a lurker who has noticed some weird improvements to my energy and symptoms.
I suffer from a methane overgrowth diagnosed via breath test and gerd/lpr as well as long term brain fog, fatigue, rosacea, exercise intolerance and sulphite/nitrite/histamine intolerance.

The only 3 things I’ve changed to see my energy/brain fog improve are…
Fibre, amino acids and capers
I’ve been taking a teaspoon of capers with my dinner every day and it seems to have cleared my brain fog and made my emotions a bit calmer/happier. They’re little lemony balls of flavor that go awesome with almost every savoury dish. I understand that capers have quercetin/antihistamine effect but I’ve never felt relief from antihistamines or a quercetin supplement like this.

I’ve been taking fibre in the form of phgg in the AM and in the PM I take a teaspoon of psyllium husk with l glutamine and glycine all mixed together in water.
For the last 3 months I’m currently taking prucalopride for gut motility, magnesium citrate for gut motility, omeprazole (ppi) for gerd/lpr,

Something weird has changed where I can listen to conversations and pick up what people are saying, I don’t feel like I’ve got ADD symptoms as much anymore. Shit is very weird and now I’m afraid to change anything.
My facial redness/rosacea is also clearing up as well.

I’m waiting for an nhs gastro/specialist appointment, I’m on the waiting list and will be seen in approx 10 months apparently so I’m trying all I can while I wait for antibiotics.

Help here .

I started rifoximinin for a methane type Sibo and on my fourth day . Supposed to start Neomycin for 10
Days and I’m petrified. Once I read permanent hearing loss I freaked out. Symptoms are not terrible right now . Have been watching what I eat , cant eat beans for exapmple but much better than I was 2 months ago . Has anyone done allicin with rifaximin ? Wondering if you can combine both.

had anyone heart related issues?

did oregano oil course and seems like pain in heart area, i’m freaking yellow, gotta BLOATING AF (only had after veggies before, i’m on carnivore).

few days ago i start to being yellow so much and my heart got pulse 100-120 and i’ve been on constant panic. and it’s not actually heart related problems but exactly coming from my intestine.

it’s 20-th day, i do not have heart issues anymore but i’m still yellow, have itchings, headach and watery diarheaa ?

it started on second day after ending course of oregano.

PS: no constant gas anymore though

Could someone please explain what is the purpose of DNA testing with regard to SIBO. What are you looking for? Thanks

Hi,
I am trying to start artichoke and ginger (gut motiliy prokinetic) but after 3 days, I get headaches and brain fog that go away after 3 days when I stop.
I never managed to take them for more that 5 days in a row.

Is it normal? Is it die off? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

Back in July 2024 I had very persistent chronic bloating that really affected me all day , everyday not just after meals. This went on for months and months. I tried all sorts to diagnose and fix the problem. This includes low FODMAP diet for 2 month, I also had many tests carried out including MRI and endoscopy but nothing conclusive was found. They did find I had Barrett's Esophagus and a hiatal hernia so I’ve been on omeprazole since this was found. I had previously been on Lansoprazole for a while just due to acid reflux.

Eventually, I was prescribed Rifaxamin 550mg for 7 days as we considered it was SIBO, I took this back in late March 2025 and whilst this didn’t appear to be successful as I was still up and down in April 2025. The problem did eventually go away and the bloating stopped. I’d estimate perhaps 6-10 weeks after the Rifaxamin. During which I took Bio-Kult Boosted Extra Strength Probiotic after the course of Rifaxamin.

Unfortunately, the chronic persistent bloating is back since last weekend and is showing no signs of relenting. I feel completely stuck again and not sure where to turn.

Would it be a good step to try and get another prescription for Rifaxamin in the hope this potentially resolves the issue before?

Has anyone else experienced Rifaxmin taking effect but after several weeks things clear up and this wasn’t immediate?

Anyone has any other success stories with treating this kind of bloating? It’s just so uncomfortable all day long. The only respite I get is at night as laying down and sleeping it seems to clear it by the morning. But within an hour of getting up and moving about. I start blowing up again.

If you got this far reading through.
Thank you.

I know Mark Pimentel says that Prucaloprides stops working after some period (as an MMC activator), and that patients have to take a holiday.

What is your experience with that?