Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO is a chronic condition or infection of bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. Normally the small intestine has low numbers of bacteria and the large intestine has high numbers of bacteria however in SIBO bacteria exist in large numbers in the small intestine, which interfere with proper digestion and can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Bacteria in the small intestine thrive on carbohydrates and produce a lot of gas and endotoxins that can exceed the liver's detoxifying capacity creating a state of toxemia. SIBO is also associated with damage to the lining or membrane of the small intestine, a condition often referred to as Leaky Gut Syndrome.
The symptoms of SIBO include bloating, gas, constipation and/or diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and heartburn. Systemic symptoms include fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, brain fog, joint and muscle pain, and food allergies and sensitivities. SIBO is associated with many chronic health conditions particularly Irritable Bowel Syndrome and occurs frequently if not always in chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia syndromes. Although not the primarily cause of these syndromes it is a complication that is important to address.
SIBO is diagnosed with a breath test that measures the hydrogen and methane gas produced by bacteria in the small intestine. Patients drink a sugar solution of glucose or lactulose after a 1 or 2 day preparatory diet. Measurements are taken at a baseline (before consuming the solution) and then every 15-20 minutes for 1-3 hours. The lactulose breath test diagnoses overgrowth in the distal or lower end of the small intestine where SIBO is more common. The glucose test can only measure gas in the proximal or upper end. The three hour latulose breath is considered the gold standard for doctors who specialize in SIBO. Typically patients who produce high levels of hydrogen suffer from the diarrhea and patients who produce high levels of methane suffer from the constipation.
Dr. Mark Pimentel is the pioneering researcher and gastroenterologist who discovered the link between bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He is director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and author of the book A New IBS Solution Bacteria - The Missing Link in Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome.[1] His treatment protocol is three-fold. First he prescribes a short (2-week) course of antibiotics to eradicate bacterial overgrowth. If a patient has high levels of hydrogen they take rifaximin (Xifaxan) and if they have high levels of methane they take rifaximin and neomycin. These antibiotics are particularly effective because they are not broad based and remain inside the gastrointestinal tract. After finishing the antibiotics a breath test is repeated. If gas levels are still abnormally high he prescribes another treatment of antibiotics. If bacteria overgrowth remains resistant after several rounds of antibiotics he recommends patients follow a two week elemental diet where they drink only water and replace meals with a formula (brand name VivonexPlus) containing protein as amino acids, carbohydrates as maltodextrin, fat as various oils, vitamins and minerals. Second Pimental places his patients on a special diet of foods that are easily digested so that most of the food can be absorbed higher up in the intestine away from bacteria. This means eliminating high fiber foods such as beans, peas, whole grains, nuts and soy. (A tell tale symptom of SIBO is that foods high in fiber cause constipation and bloating). The diet also avoids all kinds of sugars that feed the bacteria including lactose found in dairy products. Third he places his patients on a prokinetic drug for at least three months to stimulate the bacterial cleansing wave of the small intestine also known as the migrating motor complex (MMC). The most effective prokinetic drugs are tegaserod (Zelnorm) which was withdrawn from the US market in 2007 due to FDA concerns about possible adverse cardiovascular effects, and Prucalopride (Resolor) which has only been approved for use in Europe and in Canda. Alternative prokinetic drugs are low dose Naltrexone and low dose Erythromycin. The body produces the most cleansing wave activity when a person is not eating, which is why the drugs are prescribed to be taken at bedtime. For this same reason Pimentel advises to limit food intake to three meals a day and to consume nothing except water between meals.
Researchers at Cedars Sinai under the direction of Pimental think that food poisoning is the root cause of Irritiable Bowel Syndrome. They identified a toxin common in the food poisoning bacteria e. coli, c. jejuni, shigella and salmonella called Cytolethal Distending Toxin or Cdt B. In IBS patients the immune system produces an antibody to Cdt B and also a similar protein found in special cells called vinculin, which stimulate the "cleaning waves" in the gut. As a result of this antibody's action against vinculin, the nerves that regulate gut motility are impaired and bacteria don't move quickly enough through the gastrointestinal tract producing an overgrowth in the small intestine causes. In other words IBS and SIBO are caused by an autoimmune response that damages the nerves that control the migrating motor complex.
Eradicating the bacteria alone is not enough to completely heal from SIBO. Patients who take antibiotics and do not follow up with diet recommendations and a prokentic drug often relapse. Pimental thinks that food poisoning may initially cause cleaning wave inhibition setting the scene for SIBO in many patients with IBS. Patients with Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Syndromes are particularly susceptible to SIBO because they typically have low levels of stomach acid that reduce bacteria at the outset of digestion; they have low thyroid function (Wilson's Syndrome); and they have low levels of endorphins and serotonin that stimulate intestinal movements. Pimentel did two studies linking SIBO and fibromyalgia. In the second study published in 2004, he found that fibromyalgia patients had hydrogen levels significantly higher than non-fibromyalgia IBS patients and healthy control patients.[2] These high levels of gas produce exceedingly large amounts of bacterial toxins or endotoxins, which could explain some of the symptomolgy of FMS. Furthermore he reports a case history of a woman who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia whose symptoms resolved after completing Pimentel's treatment.
A group of naturopathic physicians associated with the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon founded a SIBO specialty called the SIBO Center for Digestive Health. www.sibocenter.com Their treatments are based on the research of Dr. Pimental but also include herbal antibiotics and various diets. Dr. Allison Siebecker, a founder of the center has an educational website with a wealth of information about SIBO including overviews of treatments, diets, studies and resources. www.siboinfo.com Included on the website are lectures that can be downloaded for a fee from leading clinicians and researchers at the SIBO Symposium that took place in Portland in January of 2014. The physicians at the SIBO Center have found that herbal antibiotics are often as effective as pharmaceutical antibiotics although the course of treatment is typically longer. The herbal treatments include berberine containing herbs such as barberry, goldenseal, gold thread and Oregon grape; Neem, an Aruyvedic herb; and the treatment of choice - Allimed, a high potency, concentrated form of allicin extracted from garlic. (www.allimed.us) The SIBO Center recommended diets include the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) described in Elaine Gottschall's book Breaking the Vicious Cycle; the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet (GAPS), an expanded SCD diet and protocol created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBridge; the Low Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols Diet (FODMAPS), a diet low in fermentable carbohydrates that has shown to be effective in persons with IBS; the Cedars-Sinai Diet (Dr. Pimentel's diet); and some combination of these diets. Essentially the diets all include unlimited amounts of meat, fish, eggs, and fats but vary in the allowed carbohydrates.
It took me many years to learn about SIBO and its connection with my health. I began suffering from chronic fatigue in 1973 and initially had no problems with my digestion. Over the first ten years of my condition however I became increasingly sensitive to sugar and alcohol, which increased muscle tone and worsened my chronic headaches. Eventually these foods made me hot at night and interrupted my sleep. Eliminating them from my diet was one of the most effective ways for me to manage my symptoms but over time the list of things that I reacted to increased to include food with even a small amount of sugar found in salad dressings, sauces and baked goods and all kinds of fruit. In retrospect I think that the diet I arrived at was helpful because it discouraged the overgrowth of bacteria in my small intestine. I knew that I had low stomach acid and at one point took hydrochloric acid capsules with meals but it did not seem helpful.
In the fall of 2001 at the onset of menopause my health took a turn for the worse when I developed fibromyalgia muscle pain following physical activity of any kind. This was accompanied by even more disturbed sleep and gastrointestinal problems. Whole grains, beans and nuts, which I had tolerated well in the past made me constipated and caused bloating. I passed odorless gas throughout the day and night. My bowel movements consisted of small green or orange/brown balls, which I passed most days however I suspected that I had slow transit because after doing enemas I would not have a bowel movement for a week. Beginning in 2005 I began a series of breakthroughs in my health. My thyroid function stabilized after taking compounded T3 in incremental doses according to Wilson's Low Body Syndrome protocol; my cardiovascular function and breathing improved with Oral Systemic Balance, a therapy that improves ease of breathing and restores balance to the autonomic nervous system through specially designed oral appliances; and I reversed years of adrenal exhaustion with LENS neurofeedback. Although I no longer suffered from chronic fatigue my digestion, muscle recovery and sleep improved only slightly with these therapies. It seemed that I had solved the big challenges of my health condition but I was left with some complications.
I consulted a plethora of medical and alternative doctors about my remaining symptoms. It was clear that I suffered from some aspects of fibromyalgia - muscle pain, sleep disturbances and gastrointestinal complaints but my pain was never random and manifested itself as delayed onset muscle soreness that did not improve with conditioning. Although my bowel movements were abnormal I did not experience any gastrointestinal pain if I adhered to my diet. And I never experienced any kind of brain fog or cognitive difficulties. I had a positive ANA and low levels of amino acids. My doctors suspected that I had some kind of infection however extensive testing could not turn up anything - no intestinal parasites, candida, Lyme and co-infections, or mycoplasma. Over a period of ten years I did multiple GI tests that are used by naturopathic and holistic medical doctors. These included the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis by Genova Diagnostics and the Expanded GI Panel by Diagnos-Techs. The tests showed heavy abundance of nonpathogenic bacteria and the presence of Helcobacter pylori but were otherwise normal. I consulted for a year with Dan West, an independent scientist in the field of Human Probiotics but did not experience any improvements in my health from taking his supplements. Results from the American Gut Project (https://www.indiegogo.com/americangut) a crowd funded study that sequences the microbes of thousands of individuals showed a wide divergence in my microbes from the average person of my age, gender, diet and body mass index; and found large numbers of a less common phylum of bacteria called Verrucomicrobia that are abundant in the soil and water environments.
In the winter of 2014, my naturopathic physician suggested that I try taking a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in water before each meal to help my digestion. Introducing apple cider vinegar improved my muscle recovery by 15% so I suspected I was on to something significant. Another naturopathic physician suggested that I might have SIBO, a condition that I had never heard of. She recommended a one hour glucose breath test from Metabolic Solutions Incorporated. The test results were negative but I suspected they were inaccurate. Fortunately I found Dr. Siebecker's website www.siboinfo.com and read Dr. Pimentel's book A New IBS Solution. I asked my doctor to order a 3 hour lactoluse breath test and I ran tests from two separate labs (Commonwealth Laboratories and NCNM Clinic Lab) simultaneously. The results were similar - high levels of both methane and hydrogen.
In April of 2014 I traveled to Portland, Oregon to see Dr. Melanie Keller, a naturopathic physician at the SIBO Center of Digestive Health. Subsequent appointments were made via Skype, which works well for out of town patients. Dr. Keller recommended that I take 2 capsules of Allimed three times a day for four weeks. This dose made me constipated and gave me a heavy cramp like feeling in my abdomen. Then I started taking the magnesium product Homozon that moved my stools and eliminated these symptoms. I also took rifaximin for two weeks. Over the course of this treatment I stopped experiencing gas and bloating and my muscle recovery gradually improved to the point where I returned to a more active lifestyle of moderate amounts of gardening, walking and practicing the piano. Dr. Keller suggested I take ginger root, a natural prokinetic agent (capsules of 1,100 mg. 2x a day). This resulted in a slight improvement in my sleep, an unexpected but welcome outcome. I also discovered that alternate nastril yoga breathing is an effective means for stimulating gut motility. I practice this each morning for several minutes.
A follow up SIBO breath test showed a significant reduction of methane but high levels of hydrogen. Dr. Keller next prescribed a two week course of rifaximin and neuromycin. I was hesitant to take neomycin because there are serious warnings and side effects associated with the drug however I found that I tolerate both antibiotics well. My bowel movements which had been greenish in color and floated changed to brown and sunk in the toilet. Dr. Keller prescribed low dose naltrexone as a prokinetic drug, which I took for 3 weeks but then discontinued as it disturbed my sleep and made me feel tired in the morning. I was then prescribed Resolor (Prucalopride) a prokenetic that is a 5HT agonist, thereby stimulating gut motility by increasing the production of serotonin. This made more sense for me because my serotonin levels as measured by a Neurotransmitter test by Pharmason Labs were extremely low. (all other neruotransmitters and hormones measured were normal). After an unfortunate incident of food poisoning I repeated another round of Rifaximin and Neomycin. Completely eradicating hydrogen producing bacteria has proved to be an ongoing challenge.
SIBO is a just one piece of the puzzle for me in a long and complex story of chronic illness. I suspect that it plays a significant role in the symptomology of both chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia syndromes. Alternative health practitioners stress the importance of detoxification programs for healing but my personal experience with these programs, which I pursued extensively was that they barely made a difference. This makes sense because the bacteria in the small intestine is constantly spewing out endotoxins, which the liver cannot keep abreast of. The role of the thousands of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract referred to as the microbiome is an area of keen interest in medical science today with the prospect of probiotics providing new therapies. But it turns out that in the case of SIBO it is not the particular bacteria that an individual harbors but the location of the bacteria that is critical. A common theory of CFS is that infections such as Lyme "hide" from the immune system but I personally think this theory is flawed. The infectious agents associated with CFS often fall under the category of "possible pathogens" and are common in the entire population yet they do not present a problem for healthy individuals. Perhaps it is their presence in the small intestine that is reeking the havoc. I do not think it is a coincidence that magnesium, malic acid found in apple cider vinegar and low dose Naltrexone (LDN), three of the most effective things that help fibromyalgia patients and are also effective in reducing small bacteria overgrowth. Estrogen modifies the production and quantity of endorphins, which effect gut motility so this may be a factor in the prevalence of fibromyalgia in pre and post menopausal women. In conclusion I am personally relieved to finally understand the role of SIBO in my own health and encouraged by the improvements I have experienced by treating it. I will update this blog post periodically to report my progress.
P.S. In January of 2017 I took the supplement palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a naturally occurring fatty acid that helps with conditions of inflammation and pain including IBS. I discontinued taking Resolor and Rifaximin. After two weeks I was no longer able to tolerate PEA however my symptoms of SIBO have not returned since then. _____________________________________________________________________________
[1] Pimentel, Mark. A New IBS Solution Bacteria - The Missing Link in Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Health Point Press. 2006.
[2] Pimentel, M, Hallegua D, Wallace D, Chow E, Kong Y, Park S, Lin HC. A Link between irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalia may be related to findings on lactulose breath tests. Annals Rheumat Dis 2004;63: 450-452.
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