SIBO 101: What it is, and What can you do if you Think you Have it
These days, "IBS" is one of the most common digestive diagnoses; around 20% of Canadians appear to struggle with the burdensome symptoms of IBS.
If you struggle with many of these common (but not normal!) symptoms - and you go through the motions of getting the colonoscopy, endoscopy, and ultrasounds done, and they all come back clear - it's likely that you're stuck with that dreaded "IBS" label.
There have been recent studies however, to show that SIBO has a high prevalence for those who struggle with IBS-type symptoms. So could it be that if you're experiencing symptoms like bloating, distention, gas, diarrhea, constipation - or both, that it's perhaps an overgrowth in the small intestine that's responsible?
In this post, I'm going to walk you through what SIBO is, what causes it, and what you can do if you think this is what you might be struggling with.
So SIBO — What is it?
SIBO is an acronym that stands for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. This is where there is an abnormal number of bacteria present in the small intestine - which can be super problematic! While normally there are some bacteria and microorganisms found in the small intestine - the number is nowhere near the number of microorganisms found in the colon (where our "microbiome" as you know it, lives).
When there is an abundance of these little bugs in our small intestine - they can start to ferment starches and fibers from our food. This fermentation process creates gaseous byproducts - which can lead to bloating and distention. You know, that: “I-look-like-I’m-9-months-pregnant” type of bloating and distention.
SIBO can also become problematic as it can damage the intestinal layer in the small intestine - which can contribute to leaky gut, malabsorption, histamine intolerance, among other issues.
How does SIBO happen?
There are a number of things that can contribute to the onset of SIBO, these are some of them:
impaired motility (impaired MMC, gut-brain axis dysregulation, chronic constipation, etc)
ileocecal valve dysfunction
food poisoning
certain medications
impaired digestion (such as digestion deficits like low stomach acid output)
structural impairments such as adhesions
One of the really important things to consider with SIBO is not only to ensure that the SIBO is treated effectively - but that the root cause is also resolved, so that relapse doesn't occur. SIBO has a high relapse rate, so it's really important to ensure that you're nixing it at the root!
What are the Common Symptoms of SIBO?
Symptoms of SIBO often coincide with those of IBS. While symptoms can present differently for people, often bloating and distention (especially bloating 30-60 minutes after a meal), and either diarrhea, constipation, or a combination of both are present.
This is a non-exhaustive list of some of the symptoms associated with SIBO:
bloating (especially 30-60 minutes after eating; this hints that there is an issue in the small intestine.. if the bloating were to happen longer after eating something, it could be that the issue is actually in the colon!)
distention
gas
constipation
diarrhea
abdominal pain
acid reflux
nausea
leaky gut symptoms (so things like fatigue, brain fog, memory impairment, aches and pains, skin irritations like eczema and psoriasis)
fat malabsorption
What to do if you think you have SIBO:
It's definitely worth reaching out to a practitioner who can help properly evaluate your symptoms, and set you up with some testing to see if it is SIBO that you're dealing with.
There are breath tests available that can be used as a diagnostic tool for SIBO. Some comprehensive stool tests can also give light to certain correlations that can point to SIBO! These are tests you can do from the comfort of your own home - and send to the lab for evaluation!
If you have any questions about this — or would like to chat about whether you think you have SIBO, you can go ahead and book a free no-commitment discovery call, where we can chat further about what you're going through.
