Hope y'all doing great
Just wondering if any one's tried any meds out there that are really effective at controlling gas? (except gas-x) Or any home remedies I can take regularly? My digestive tract has been a roller coaster lately...
Thanks all
Dear Livia,
My digestive tract went on a roller coaster in 2017, by 2018 I was diagnosed with SIBO and had treatment. The roller coaster stopped.
SIBO is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. This happens when the normal bacteria from the small intestine is NOT moved into the large intestine where it belong. In the small intestine the bacteria begins to grow, and the growth causes gas, pain, diarrhea, etc. The bacteria growth is made worse by many foods (in the FODMAP category) and glucose and lactose.
FODMAP Diet explained:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/low-fodmap-diet#section2
Before I had the SIBO diagnosis, I was eliminating food after food, which helped but didn't solve the problem. However, once SIBO was treated (with antibiotics) the problem was solved (for the time being) and now I can eat any food with no problems.
THE REASON my small intestine doesn't move the bacteria into my large intestine is because I now have neuropathy of my small intestine. I also have neuropathy of my esophagus, as well, neurological damage which cause my conditions that is similar to Sjogren's, hearing damage, lung damage, bladder damage, Profound Peripheral Neuropathy and Small Fiber Neuropathy.
Many Immune Disorders affect us neurologically causing neuropathy.
Regards, Elaine
Quote from: Carolina on February 12, 2019, 01:46:08 PM
Dear Livia,
My digestive tract went on a roller coaster in 2017, by 2018 I was diagnosed with SIBO and had treatment. The roller coaster stopped.
Regards, Elaine
Hi Elaine
Thanks 4 ur reply. So i take it u don't have sjogrens? Ur saying u had problems similar to what it causes. And can u tell me more what ur symptoms were back in 2017 from this sibo? Also how did ur GI diagnose it?
My only diagnosis is gastritis & that was from 2012. I do have neuropathy that started in 2017...But my digestive tract was NEVER haywire like this..its doing gymnastics..I can even hear rumbling non-stop.
Dear Livia,
The most outstanding symptom that I had of SIBO, was horrific gas, I just rumbled and thundered all of the time! And it started slowly but just got worse and worse. The gas was also painful to some extent, and then I began to have episodes of diarrhea, sometimes explosive.
That's when I began cutting out all of the foods on the FODMAP elimination diet, and eventually glucose and lactose! Who knew I would have all of these food sensitivities? Not me. Cutting out on those foods help a great deal, but I still had the problems.
The test for SIBO is usually ordered by a Gastroenterologist. The symptoms are exactly like IBS-D, (Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Diarrhea), by the way.
The test is very simple and easy. You are given a box of plastic tubes, and blow into each tube every 15 minutes for two hours, and cap it. That's it.
I did the test at the University of North Carolina Hospital Center for Gastric Testing (or some name like that). It is very busy and there were lots of us with our little boxes of tubes, blowing into them.
You can Google SIBO Breath Test on youtube and you will see lots of videos of the breath test. They are all made by labs that do the testing, so I think they link cannot be posted because they are all made by companies or doctors that sell their services.
I have an Immune Disorder, not an Autoimmune Disorder. My Immune System damages my body exactly the way to Sjogren's Syndrome does. The 'mechanism' of damage is not autoantibodies, but another biochemical called cytokines. The result is the same, plus I have to have infusions of IVIG every four weeks to boost my IgG antibody so I don't get sick all the times.
There are several of us on this Forum who have my Primary Immune Disorder AND autoimmune conditions like Sjogren's. In fact the type of Primary Immune Disorder I have (CVID) has a rate of about 20-25% who also have autoimmune conditions. But I don't actually have many autoantibodies, which is why I kept 'failing' the blood tests for all autoimmune conditions.
I began to have damage to my moisture system in 2002 (Pilocarpine and Restasis), and by 2006 I had Interstitial Cystitis (bladder) (chronic pain and UTIs, now controlled by D-Mannose) and Meniere's Disease (hearing) ( hearing aids) , and then Profound Peripheral Neuropathy by 2010 (braces and a walker), lung damage by 2013, Small Fiber Neuropathy by 2015 (4200 mg gabapentin) and gastrointestinal neuropathy by 2016 (surgical procedure on esophagus, and antibiotics for SIBO).
The Immune Disorder wasn't diagnosed until 2012, so up until then I had no idea why everything was going down hill and I was sick all of i time. I also became anemic by 2006. I take 2 tablets of iron daily, and many supplements.
I was also diagnosed with severe Coronary Artery Disease, and had three angioplasties and two stents place in my heart. And I have severe osteoarthritis, which is fairly common for those with Immune Disorders.
Needless to say I take many prescriptions and use many supplements.
Regards, Elaine
Quote from: Carolina on February 13, 2019, 01:27:24 AM
Dear Livia,
The most outstanding symptom that I had of SIBO, was horrific gas, I just rumbled and thundered all of the time! And it started slowly but just got worse and worse. The gas was also painful to some extent, and then I began to have episodes of diarrhea, sometimes explosive.
That's when I began cutting out all of the foods on the FODMAP elimination diet, and eventually glucose and lactose! Who knew I would have all of these food sensitivities? Not me. Cutting out on those foods help a great deal, but I still had the problems.
The test for SIBO is usually ordered by a Gastroenterologist. The symptoms are exactly like IBS-D, (Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Diarrhea), by the way.
The test is very simple and easy. You are given a box of plastic tubes, and blow into each tube every 15 minutes for two hours, and cap it. That's it.
I did the test at the University of North Carolina Hospital Center for Gastric Testing (or some name like that). It is very busy and there were lots of us with our little boxes of tubes, blowing into them.
You can Google SIBO Breath Test on youtube and you will see lots of videos of the breath test. They are all made by labs that do the testing, so I think they link cannot be posted because they are all made by companies or doctors that sell their services.
I have an Immune Disorder, not an Autoimmune Disorder. My Immune System damages my body exactly the way to Sjogren's Syndrome does. The 'mechanism' of damage is not autoantibodies, but another biochemical called cytokines. The result is the same, plus I have to have infusions of IVIG every four weeks to boost my IgG antibody so I don't get sick all the times.
There are several of us on this Forum who have my Primary Immune Disorder AND autoimmune conditions like Sjogren's. In fact the type of Primary Immune Disorder I have (CVID) has a rate of about 20-25% who also have autoimmune conditions. But I don't actually have many autoantibodies, which is why I kept 'failing' the blood tests for all autoimmune conditions.
I began to have damage to my moisture system in 2002 (Pilocarpine and Restasis), and by 2006 I had Interstitial Cystitis (bladder) (chronic pain and UTIs, now controlled by D-Mannose) and Meniere's Disease (hearing) ( hearing aids) , and then Profound Peripheral Neuropathy by 2010 (braces and a walker), lung damage by 2013, Small Fiber Neuropathy by 2015 (4200 mg gabapentin) and gastrointestinal neuropathy by 2016 (surgical procedure on esophagus, and antibiotics for SIBO).
The Immune Disorder wasn't diagnosed until 2012, so up until then I had no idea why everything was going down hill and I was sick all of i time. I also became anemic by 2006. I take 2 tables of iron daily, and many supplements.
I was also diagnosed with severe Coronary Artery Disease, and had three angioplasties and two stents place in my heart. And I have severe osteoarthritis, which is fairly common for those with Immune Disorders.
Needless to say I take many prescriptions and use many supplements.
Regards, Elaine
Hi Elaine
thanks a lot for taking the time to share your experiences & condition...I'd never heard of cvid b4 & had no clue there's a big difference btw immune / autoimmune disorders..
about your Sibo symptoms, well gosh does that sound a lot like me! you rumbled & thundered all the time..big laugh you had me fallin' out of my chair but you made my day :) The only difference is i've got severe constipation with a few bouts of diarrhea here & there...people just can't imagine how horrendous my constipation is...get this, one time back in 2017 it was at a most EXTREME to the point where the toilet seat came off!! and I wish that was in my home but I was at a hotel where I'd been vacationing that summer...Can you imagine the humiliation having to explain to hotel staff how on earth the toilet seat came off???!!!
i'm pretty sure my severe constipation is from the neuropathy cause it only got worse a little b4 my neuropathy was diagnosed...a few times I get this wierd vibration & electric shock feeling coming from inside my abdomen. I've got no clue if its my stomach or colon but one of them sure feels like its vibrating.
about the fodmap...you know i went on a strict diet back in 2016 & i realised how sometimes sugar, caffiene, & carbs can really make ur colon go crazy...boiled foods, low fat, fish, & green tea brought me the most relief. and even back then I was fine, nothing like how my colon is now.
I remember the breath test i had that done long ago for my gastritis
Have you investigated the relation of one of your medications to the gas. Often we start a med and will get gassy and not notice the relationship. Sometimes a new med can also make us gassy and as we get adjusted to the med the gassiness will go away. Good luck. Irish
I?ve never tried it, but I?ve read that activated charcoal, which is bought at a health store, can help a lot with gas symptoms.
Quote from: irish on February 13, 2019, 06:45:50 PM
Have you investigated the relation of one of your medications to the gas. Often we start a med and will get gassy and not notice the relationship. Sometimes a new med can also make us gassy and as we get adjusted to the med the gassiness will go away. Good luck. Irish
Hi Irish
I've been taking all my meds regularly for a long time now..including all vitamins...i think it's been a significant time for me to get adjusted...also I've never had gas this bad even when I first started new meds a long while ago
thanks 4 ur input
Quote from: Jenny on February 14, 2019, 04:01:12 AM
I?ve never tried it, but I?ve read that activated charcoal, which is bought at a health store, can help a lot with gas symptoms.
Hi Jenny
Thanks for sharing that info...I'll read up more on it
You may need to see your doctor. You could be having increase in Reflux, gallbladder issues, etc. Also, people with Sjogrens can have a decrease in pancreatic enzymes and need some testing to check things out. Do you have more gas when you eat fat??? I have been having issues with my colon for about 2 years or so and have been taking OTC probiotic Digestive enzymes per my GI doctors orders. Also starting a new medication today that is a powder to mix with liquid that is to mix with bile salts. I also have diarrhea off and on, nausea, etc Te GI tract can get screwed up with autoimmune diseases. Have you been checked for Celiac disease or malabsorption. These are nothing to panic over but just want you to know that there can be a lot of things that can aggravate our GI tract.Good luck Irish