100% WORKING TREATMENT for my IBS!

Hi, my suggestion for your Leaky brain and brain fog is to try ZMA ( Zinc magnesium and vitamin B5) , I had that issue with also with IBS. It helped me and I still take it because as we age, we become deficient in some vitamins and minerals. For your hypothyroidism, since it is related to problems with hormone production, ZMA should also help because it has Zinc. Try to include vitamin d and fish oil with also helps this case. I take all ZMA , omega 3 and vitamin D, but I do not have Hypothyroidism. I checked my blood recently and I have below the low limits of vitamin D. I guess it is due to my crazy life, working shifts around the world in the middle of the sea and not being in the sun that much, Ginko Biloba is also good for the brain fog, I also take that when I work because I get little sleep some times and this supplement helps with the blood flow to the brain bringing it more oxygen and nutrients at once. I feel even sharper with Ginko.

Good Luck

I also take ZMA because I became Zinc deficient with age, so I have to take zinc daily to compensate this issue. Zinc deficiency may be one of the reasons of brain fog just like vitamin D deficiency. I would also recommend an blood test to check your vitamin D and zinc levels just to verify if it could be the reason of your brain fog.

*text correction: ZMA "( Zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6)"

I hate it when i can not correct texts after writing something wrong....

thank you so much maurice...its really very kind of you to share your experience.

i keep forgetting to take zinc ....i have a magnesium oil that i made up with added B6...i keep forgetting to apply it to my skin. however now that you mention it i'm going to make an effort. i have a whole bag full of vits and minerals ...but somehow i'm just too lethargic to take them....i can sit and look at the choice of stuff for hours but just go on the computer and avoid it !!!!!!!!!!

i've got krill oil due to objections to fish contamination and my vit d levels were ok. in fact when i try to supplement with vit-hormone D... i start to feel a bit 'funny'.......ok well 'funnier' !!!!!! so that narrows down what i need. it was just that the vit d was nice and small...i fancied it as easy to take. the mag is one of those horrid round ones!! so in principle i'm going for the oil. the zinc tab is ok actually ...i'll have to try and make friends with it!

i bought some ginko...big flat round one...they've mostly stayed in the packet....maybe i could cut it?

astaxanthin i like very small and neat little oval.  goes down easily...

my main thrust is taking a herbal concoction that i believe treats underlying infection such as candidiasis.

plus vit C and various others.

i think you've really refined it down to L Glut..is it mine or mate...haven't got the packet to hand! and probiotics....but i'm glad to hear you were able to address your brain fog ...i'm impressed. i got this L glut some time ago but for some reason was afraid to take it. silly me...but you've given me confidence. i did start and took it for a couple of days...then gave up. now i'm re-starting as felt so lousy today and also had a  smoothie with spinach in...bad move. forgotten i've stopped taking iodine....per another protocol...so cruciferous veg have an impact in the absence of iodine, iron, selenium and zinc...which need to be up to speed before one can resume going back to raw cruciferous veg like broccoli, spinach and cabbage.

i am gathering a vast body of knowledge ...and i'm a nurse...but what good is it doing me....just so half dead.

thanks for listening. what do you do at sea?

Hi,

No I did not get tested for SIBO, my doctor gave me Xifaxan without any testing. I did the Xifaxan treatment and then I by myself managed to cure my IBS / SIBO with my treatment with L-Glutamin and Probiotics.

They moderated my last message, let’s see if this goes through. I did go to the Doctor for the antibiotic but the treatment was my experimentation on me.

I forgot to say that I did not do the SIBO test.

Did you start taking antibiotic, L-glutamine and probiotic on the same day?

Hi, no, during my quest of finding a cure for my IBS, I took the Antibiotic first then after tried to experiment L-Glutamine and probiotics right after. But I think if you want, you can speed up time of the treatment if you want to take antibiotics to kill the bad bacteria and L-Glutamine to fix the damage in the guts done by the bad bacteria at the same time. Just take the antibiotics first and the a couple of hours after take the probiotics and L-Glutamine after the antibiotic is out of your system.

The flip side is that the Xifaxan did not work and I'm still having reactions to carbohydrates and other foods. I took a probiotic last night after eating and felt pretty bad afterwards. Not sure if that was caused by the probiotic or the food. The only thing that really seems to offer me relief is if I take a digestive enzyme supplement after eating. That usually reduces all the bloat and nausea within about 10-20 minutes. I'm thinking it must be because the enzymes break down the food fast enough so that the bacteria can't feed on it and cause the gas and bloating. If that's the case, then I must still have a bacterial problem and the Xifaxan did not work....

Herx reactions are very, very distinct from normal symptoms. If the probiotic is doing its job and killing bacteria, then you will feel suddenly tired/dizzy/sick/achey/shivery about 1-2 hours after taking whatever it is that is killing it off. This has happened to me on numerous occasions so I know the feeling well! If this sounds like what you are getting then it is a good thing - though you might consider building yourself up to that strength of probiotic rather than going in at full strength to avoid this reaction becoming too strong.

If you have constipation and bloating rather than diarrhoea, then you most likely have methane-producing bacteria instead of hydrogen-producing bacteria. This is the most difficult type of bacteria to kill, unfortunately (they are actually 'archea', not bacteria, so they can resist antibiotics). Some studies on this subject recommend that doctors use Xifaxan AND another antibiotic for this particular kind of overgrowth (usually something called Neomycin, or sometimes Flagyl). Here is an explanation (scroll down to 'Human Disease' section):

If what you are experiencing is not a Herx reaction, then it could be multiple things. Sometimes it takes a while to adjust to a probiotic, but if this continues and  is not a Herx reaction, you could consider trying a different one. It is also worth looking at the ingredients to see if it has any prebiotics or fillers in that could be making you react (any kind of starch, or FOS fibres). It is probably a Herx reaction but you can best tell by keeping a diary and seeing if your symptoms match up.

On the food front, what other foods aside from carbs cause the reaction? I have the same symptoms as you and have had an extremely low-carb diet for months now because of it. When I say carb, I include all sugars - honey, fruit, dairy, starches, grains, refined sugars etc.

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Hi, I took Xifaxan for a longer period of time. I started feeling better after 2 months. I started feeling better but in a slowly increasing improvement; this is not something you will fix just like the flu that takes a week. I am talking here months of slow healing, and my case I took 2 months to start to notice the slow improvements, other people may take less or more to start seeing the results. You will have to do it like me and have patience and this is a treatment which the results will only be seen in the long term and not overnight. Good luck

Thanks for the response.

Long story short, I used to have IBS-C issues last year. Thought it was a diet/fiber/sleep issue, but after several months passed, it didn't improve and I started having bloating and nauseau after eating. Usually occured within about 30 minutes or so.

I went to the doctor and got tested for H. Pylori - blood and stool test - both tests were negative. After additional time, I noticed the connection with carbs and thought I was gluten intolerant or celiac. Went back to the doctor and had an IgA antibody test for gluten/glidain - results came back negative. Wanted to double check the celiac, so also had a gene test (blood) done for the two genes that apparently pre-dispose someone to developing celiac. That test also showed up negative - I don't possess either gene. So the gene test and antibody test both suggested I was not celiac. I thought I still might be just gluten intolerant, so switched diet to avoid all gluten - tried this for a few weeks but still wasn't getting 100% relief. Also noticed I began having digestive issues with brown rice, caffeine, high fructose fruits, and even some corn - clearly something else was going on, it wasn't just a gluten thing.

That's when I found SIBO and it seemed to depict my exact problems. Bloating and nauseau after eating, particularly sugars and carbs. With negative H Pylori and celiac serologies, I figured this must be it. I also recalled a bad case of food poisoning / gastroenteritis I had about 2 years ago. This is likely the culprit for the beginning of my SIBO. I've never had any stomach or GI surgery at all - hadn't taken antibiotics in over 4 years.

So went to doctor for SIBO treatment. My doc hadn't heard of it, thought probiotics would be the answer. I convinced him to give a 10 day treatment of Xifaxan, which I have finished. I have not been constipated over the last several months, so didn't think I needed neomycin, but given the failure of Xifaxan to work very well, I may need to go back and do the double dose of antibiotics. I might have methane-producing bugs that never got killed. In the meantime, I have been taking probiotics and L-Glutamine, low-carb diet, and using digestive enzymes. The enzymes really seem to help, as they break down the food very quickly for absorption and don't allow the bacteria to feed as much (at least that's my thinking). It sounds like I need to try the Xifaxan-Neomycin treatment to see if that provides more relief. I have not gotten a breath test for SIBO (my doc's office doesn't have a machine), so may need to see a naturopath in my area for that.

Hi - this is my experience exactly, same tests, same symptoms, everything. I feel your pain. I actually managed to get antibiotic treatment but my doctor gave me the wrong ones so they are only working about 60% !

SIBO tests are mostly done in hospitals by gastroenterologists as far as I am aware, I have not heard of one being done in a doctor's office (though they should be). You can find out if any hospitals around you offer the breath test and then ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist at that hospital, at least that is what I did. To speed things along I went private and chose my own gastroenterologist on the basis of him knowing about SIBO already.

In the mean time, good quality probiotics like Maurice suggests will probably help with the symptoms. Also oregano oil or coconut oil are natural anti-microbial substances (coconut oil in particular is very strong - I felt it get to work straight away. Beware of die-off reactions!) I am attempting to get the Xifaxan/Neomycin treatment right now so fingers crossed.

I think we are both on the right track then with the SIBO. For now I am doing probiotics, glutamine, and staying on low carb/ low sugar diet. Veggies, meats, eggs, aged cheeses, and nuts are all fine to me. I am emailing my doctor tomorrow to get a referral to a GI or someone who is familiar with SIBO treatment. I will keep folks posted...

I can't even eat vegetables without bloating, sometimes I get it a bit with nuts too. Whatever I've got is practically invincible apparently. But that sounds like a good plan I have come to the end of my antibiotics and it hasn't worked - so do not bother with oxytetracycline if that's what the doctor suggests. I'm still bloating after eating any small amount of carb. I also think fibre can be digested by bacteria and that may be why I react to vegetables and nuts (both fibrous). Seeing the doctor again tomorrow for a new treatment plan so hopefully he'll give me better antibiotics.

HI, it is kind of hard to say if the antibiotics did any help because even after the course of Xifaxan that I did, I did not see the results right away. Probably you will need to do a Sibo test if you really killed of the bad bacteria or just take Xifaxan so that you will not be in any doubt about having done the correct course of treatment of antibiotics. I took Xifaxan and that did not give me instant results, I just only killed of the bad bacteria but the micro holes in my guts created by the bad bacteira was still there. Those holes were the reason of my IBS created by SIBO, so I just killed of the cause but not healed the problem. You will have to think about this treatment as a long two phase action before achieving results. Phase 1: Kill the bad bacteria then Phase 2: fix the damage done on the gut walls by the bat bacteria. So mostly even if you kill off the bad bacteria you will not see the results until you fix the gut holes "gut permeability", that is where the L-Glutamine kicks in to speed in the process of healing the intestinal walls and the probiotics help in preventing the bad bacteria from coming back and continuing with is havoc and making more holes. Please be patient because this is a treatment where you will harvest results in the long run and not in the short term. Good luck

Fiber naturally can cause bloating/gas, so too much of it probably won't help you right now. I would stick to meats (poulty, fish, beef), some lower fiber veggies, and healthy fats (coconut oil and olive oil). If you're feeling bad after a meal, I find that taking a digestive enzyme and about 10 grams of L-glutamine really helps. The enzyme helps break down the food and the L-glutamine helps soothe the small intestine. I am also still taking a probiotic in the morning. I am trying to schedule an apponitment this week with a GI specialist. I am going in with the following protocol in mind:

 - Xifaxan (to kill the hydrogen bugs)

 - Neomycin (to kill the methane bugs)

 - A low dose of Naltrexone or Erythmycine to act as a prokinetic agent once the Xifaxan and Neomycin treatment is done

 - Continuing to take a good probiotic, plenty of L-glutamine, and a digestive enzyme as needed to alleviate symptoms and help in healing

Good luck to you tomorrow - be sure to be your own advocate with your doctor. Don't settle for something if you know you need more. Keep us posted.

Thank you both for your help - that is the treatment I would like too, but every doctor I speak to tends not to listen to me. Maybe I'm not assertive enough or possibly it's because I'm young - either way my imaginary scenario of what I will say to him never goes to plan, and I get swept along by what he wants to do.

Also, Maurice - I think it is different if you have IBS-C symptoms rather than IBS-D because the type of bacteria involved are different and harder to kill, according to the research. I don't think methane-producing bacteria (the type I have) are actually harmful to the gut - we have them in our body naturally to digest food in the large intestine, so they aren't pathogenic like the bacteria that cause IBS-D can be. I think that people with IBS-D are probably more likely to have gut permeability issues from the constant upheaval going on too. I will try it though. I have VSL#3 arriving this week so hopefully that will help.

Someone on Reddit in the IBS forum recommended colostrum. Apparently it does a similar thing to L-Glutamine, repairing the gut lining, but also has antimicrobial properties. Anyone got any experience with it?

Well, I have a positive update to give - thing appear to be getting better for me now. I started taking a lot of probiotics a few days ago (85-100 billion per day), which seems to finally be healing my gut. I am also taking the L-glutamine daily. I am way less sensitive to carbs now then I was a week ago - I can tolerate some corn, wheat, fruits, etc. No more massive bloating after meals - hopefully this continues to get better with time.

The only negative side effect was that I believe I started taking too many probiotics without helping my gut build up to those high numbers, which resulted in some constipation issues. I am getting over that now and getting back to normal on a lower dose of probiotics per day (about 50 billion now). I think if you ramp up to 100 billion too quickly it can cause some issues.

The other thing I want to mention is that not all probiotics are created equal. The first one I was using was based on Bulgarian yogurt and Eastern European kefir strains - these strains contain a lot of good Lactobacilli, which is mainly found in the small intestine, but not a lot of Bifidobacterium, which is found in your colon. The body should have more bifidobacteria in your colon than lactobacilli in your small intestine. I recently switched to a new probiotic that is 50 billion total - 20 billion in Lacto's and 30 billion in Bifidos. I feel that a higher Bifido probiotic was the right decision for me.

I also read that one of the best ways to get the most natural probiotic strains (pills only contain certain strains created in a lab) is to eat more fermented foods. The best ones being sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and possibly kombucha, although less is known about the benefits of kombucha. I am picking up some sauerkraut and kefir soon to start integrating into my diet.

So far so good on the natual approach...finally. I hope that I continue to improve and expand my diet more and more. It would be nice to have finally found a positive treatment - especially without heavy antibiotics. I will try to report back here in the next week or so to see if I am still improving.

Very similar thing has been happening with me! I took just a quarter of a VSL #3 sachet (which has 450 million in total bacteria, with 16 different strains) and I have actually had a long-term improvement even though I'm not taking it every day. I was already taking other probiotics before I started so I didn't need to do things as gradually as you. I could feel the difference in about 3 hours though, such a relief. I too am also fermenting foods - I have some carrots on the go at the moment and hope that by fermenting them I will be able to deal with my apparent fiber issue (sort of pre-digests it). I may also be experimenting with fermented sugar-free ketchup today or tomorrow. There are some quite creative recipes for fermenting on Pinterest! It's exciting to be able to eat something new.

I think it's definitely an individual thing which strains help the most. I think mine might be the type that is used for fermenting dairy (streptoccocus of some kind) as probiotics with just bifido and lactobacilli didn't help at all, but live yoghurt (which has both of those and streptoccocus something) does help, which is why I chose a probiotic with that in it. Similar story, similar results - yay for us! I'm going to be getting a different kind of antibiotic as the last ones didn't work because I really want to knock this thing out for good, but I will definitely be doing the natural stuff after.

wow thats great rocker..very informative!

i make my own coconut yoghurt ...from home made coconut milk and a commercial coconut yoghurt....which is dairy and soya free. I add some probiotics ...but am always looking around for the best formula going. Are you in UK?

I agree with fermented veg in principle but as I may have candida or some kind of imbalance I'm not so sure about fermented for me.

look forward to following your progress.

amy

maybe consider allowing the probiotic treatment you are doing so well with to continue? The good bacteria can overwhelm the so called bad but we need a balance of all strains. If you knock every one on the head with antibiotics you'd have to start all over again. Maybe continue as you are?

I did think of that, I'm tempted to but I'm not sure. Whatever strain I have overgrowing in my gut, it is really, really, really tough to kill! This is why I have bought the really strong stuff - 20 million bacteria just wasn't doing anything. And I only had to take a quarter of a sachet of the VSL#3 to achieve this huge difference, and I have another 9 sachets left, so it shouldn't take long to recuperate the good bacteria I have lost when I finish the treatment. So I think the outlook is good either way - may as well be thorough, that's my thinking.

yes I follow you.

By way of a resource to assist you there is a doctor siebecker who is really brill and recently spoke on the auto immune  sum mit ....worth checking out if you can find her...sorry no it was the digestive sessions.

she does sometimes use anti biotics in her armoury

I am glad someone else is trying the VSL sachets, and i see you are using only a quarter of pkt.  I am doing the same as originally i thought you had to take the full sachet, and it was too much!  Just confirm is it 450 million or 450 billion each sachet?

It is 450 billion, according to the website. Yes, I may progress to half a sachet if I feel that I need it, but for the time being a whole one would be way too much! Also Marey, I have been visiting Dr Siebecker's website regularly - she's great.

I am happy to see that more people are getting better and that we are not sentenced to this living hell for the rest of our lives   And out there are Doctors saying that it is not treatable. L-Glutamine can have a little bit of an constipation effect, try to reduce the amount of L-Glutamine or take something to help the constipation.

Yes, thank you for starting this thread and sharing your experience Maurice. Yesterday I picked up some sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha for natural sources of probiotic strains. I already noticed that the kefir bottle lists 13 strains and a few of them are not in my probiotic supplement so hopefully thlis will improve the diversity. Will continue to keep everyone updated on my progress.

yes please do rocker...very interested to follow you. hope you get on well with the increased diversity which, wisely, you're increasing slowly with fermented foods. excited for you and good luck. thinking of you.inking of you.

brilliant! i 'll have a look. thanks for that x

ONE OF THE MEMBERS IN MY ln my LS Group is taking colostrum. it may help...she's not sure. i can't help thinking about the poor calf who is now doing without...but it may have entered the food chain by now. its all so difficult isn't it ....and i am no longer veggie....but i try not to eat too much meat...just grass fed and on occasion. Paegan its called!

I appreciated your reply to rocker 19days ago. the herx reaction is something i was warned about. i'm taking a botanical/neutraceutical remedy as part of a protocol devised by a woman who cured herself from LS ...i think its prob designed to do what you're doing but its very slow acting and includes yeast-ease and other things to reduce herx reactions...which can be quite strong...but like you i appreciate the indicators of a result.... i had that dizzy on standing thing and it makes sense...but hasn't been repeated since so i don't reckon its low bp....tho i have had that too. 

how are you doing now? and where are you with your own protocol and that GP of yours? Is he coming round? If not have you considered requesting to see a female Dr or changing practices ?

I've heard that colostrum helps too - but I am also leaning towards vegetarianism. In fact when this is over and I can eat normally I might become vegetarian - I am so sick of eating meat! But if it carries on I am willing to try it anyway. Yes, herx reactions are quite strong sometimes, comes on quite fast as well! Apparently vitamin C and taking bicarbonate of soda can help offset the flu-like feeling a bit.

I'm on some horrible antibiotics at the moment that are making me feel rough, and I'm not sure they're even working, as the tablets themselves contain lactose! So I'm still getting bloated. The guy I'm seeing is meant to be the best gastroenterologist in my city, so I don't think changing would do much good unless I was willing to travel elsewhere. But I have high hopes for the VSL#3 I will be using when the course is over. I tried a bit of it before starting these antibiotics and it worked really well in just one day - hopefully taking them over a longer period of time will put things right, or at least help me eat normally again by managing the symptoms. Thanks for asking it's a lonely thing, IBS.