How to cure bloating?

[Vision]

My stomach distends and expands by 10cm-15cm no matter what I eat. 
 

Not only does it make me look like I’m pregnant after a meal, it makes it difficult for me to breathe. I can’t breathe through my belly, and have to resort to chest breathing. 
 

Going on a carnivore diet seems to improve it, but it’s still there. 
 

Suggestions?

[Leo Gura]

Sounds like you got some imbalance in your gut bacteria which feeds on sugars and carbs.

That's why carnivore helps, but also isn't enough because you gotta kill the bad bugs.

Your doc can prescribe some antibiotics or you can use natural antibiotics over a month like Allicin, grapefruit seed extract, berberine, oregano oil, and others.

Probiotics could help, but they could also make things worse. Depends.

Getting a SIBO breath test will tell you if you got SIBO, which is likely.

[Preety_India]

@Leo Gura what about probiotic drinks like yakult ?

Do they replace the bad bacteria?

There's isn't much information on probiotics with people having very mixed reactions.

[Leo Gura]

5 minutes ago, Preety_India said:

Do they replace the bad bacteria?

Usually a probiotic is not a good first option. It is safer to kill off the bad bacteria with antibotics, and then slowly add probiotics after your antibotics are done.

Many probiotics contains prebiotics which will feed the bad bacteria. So you must avoid prebiotics until you kill them off.

Doing a month of natural antibiotics is the best way to begin this process. But you have to take them seriously, 3x per day for at least a month.

[Vision]

9 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Sounds like you got some imbalance in your gut bacteria which feeds on sugars and carbs.

I've probably had leaky gut since I was born (C-section and antibiotics to both my mother and I). Having eczema and other health problems since birth may be a sign of that. Though I'm not sure how to measure whether it feeds on sugar and carbs. 

 

10 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Getting a SIBO breath test will tell you if you got SIBO, which is likely.

I recently had a breath test done. I had elevated methane production which showed up later within in the 3-hour period, not early enough to be considered SIBO, so it would be in my large intestines. 

 

I was given probiotics by my naturopath and have been taking them for the past month. How can I test for whether I am fit to be taking them? @Leo Gura

[Hello from Russia]

Do you eat gluten, bro? 

[Vision]

2 minutes ago, Hello from Russia said:

Do you eat gluten, bro? 

No. It makes my symptoms much worse. 

[Leo Gura]

23 minutes ago, Vision said:

so it would be in my large intestines. 

You should be able to clear that out with the antibiotics.

Try doing 1 month of natural antibiotics, carnivore, and no probiotics. That should clear out a lot of stuff and end your bloating. Although there are no guarantees. Gut bacteria imbalances can be very challenging to fix, especially if you have some underlying health issues like auto-immunity.

[Vision]

1 minute ago, Leo Gura said:

You should be able to clear that out with the antibiotics.

Try doing 1 month of natural antibiotics, carnivore, and no probiotics. That should clear out a lot of stuff.

@Leo Gura

Which natural antibiotics would you recommend? 

[Michael569]

@Vision you could try getting a methane /hydrogen breath test for SIBO (private test) It is very common these days.

If you do and get the results, share it here and we'll help you interpret it

[Girzo]

@Michael569

Quote

I recently had a breath test done. I had elevated methane production which showed up later within in the 3-hour period, not early enough to be considered SIBO, so it would be in my large intestines. 

You want him to share exact numbers? 

[Michael569]

@Vision thanks! I missed your previous comment that @Girzo refered to. 

Actually I think this is a pretty good indication that something is going on in distal ileum or jejunum (small intestines). See the spike just around #4, this is roughly 90 minutes in isn't it? Normally here should not be so much hydrogen because lactulose is indigestible to human so you should just pee it out. This means there is bacteria that consume the lactuluse and produce excess hydrogen. And there is a second spike which could also mean proliferation in the final bits of small intestines probably close to ileocecal valve separating small and large intestine

Did you assess this test with a gastroenterologist? It may be worth it but from my experience, this is a very decent suggestion of ongoing SIBO

[Vision]

@Michael569

I'm lactose intolerant too. Does that have an affect? 

6 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

Did you assess this test with a gastroenterologist? It may be worth it but from my experience, this is a very decent suggestion of ongoing SIBO

Yes, I had to do this test through a naturopath as it was required. She said that it's not SIBO. I'm not sure why exactly she said that, I don't really know how to read it. 

[Michael569]

6 minutes ago, Vision said:

@Michael569

I'm lactose intolerant too. Does that have an affect?

Yes both lactose and gluten intolerance are common symptoms of that. It is not that lactose and gluten are a problem but that the imbalance of bacteria makes it difficult to digest it. But it could also be that you have genetically lost the function of lactase-phlorozinhydrolase, a lactose breaking enzyme-> this is also common. 

How are you with: garlic, onion, beans, soy, honey, mango, avocado? 

Also, have you ever been assessed for coeliac? 

6 minutes ago, Vision said:

es, I had to do this test through a naturopath as it was required. She said that it's not SIBO. I'm not sure why exactly she said that, I don't really know how to read it. 

what did she think was the problem? 

[Leo Gura]

@Vision You obviously got SIBO. What is there to even discuss?

The bottom line is you gotta kill that shit to zero.

[Vision]

13 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

Yes both lactose and gluten intolerance are common symptoms of that. It is not that lactose and gluten are a problem but that the imbalance of bacteria makes it difficult to digest it. But it could also be that you have genetically lost the function of lactase-phlorozinhydrolase, a lactose breaking enzyme-> this is also common. 

Can it be healed? 

14 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

How are you with: garlic, onion, beans, soy, honey, mango, avocado? 

Garlic and onion - I'm not sure. Though they could be potentially bloating me as they are high in FODMAPS. I use garlic powder when marinating my meat. 

Beans - Make me bloat A LOT. Legumes, chickpeas, lentils, etc. These call for pregnancy. 

Soy - Makes my symptoms worse. I've had food drizzled with soy sauce before and it did not go great. They also have gluten so I avoid them. 

Honey, mango, avocado - are all high in salicylates, which I am intolerant to. So I avoid them. 

20 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

what did she think was the problem? 

I don't know why she said it wasn't SIBO. But she said the problem was that my ppm CH4 was elevated at 15 which isn't ideal. 

8 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Vision You obviously got SIBO. What is there to even discuss?

I'm so confused right now. Where can I learn how to interpret these results? Why would my naturopath say it's not SIBO?

This is huge...

[Michael569]

@Vision Try an experiment, go on a low FODMP diet for 2 weeks. Make sure it is 100%. See how this makes you feel.

You can download the Monash University app and I'd suggest buying aLF cookbook to make it easier on yourself. There is nothing like direct experience

[Vision]

@Michael569

I've tried going carnivore for about a week, my symptoms significantly reduced. But even then, I was using garlic powder to marinate my meat. Perhaps I'll try it again, without the garlic powder. 

Also, eating vegetables just doesn't satiate me. I feel more satiated eating carnivore by itself than eating the exact same meals but with vegetables. It's like they make me more hungry. 

[Michael569]

On LF diet you can eat all the meat you want but it also encourages consumption of some vegetables, fruits and non-gluten wholegrains to still support a diversity of your microbiome. Eliminating all fibre containing foods will slowly shrink your fibre digesting bacterial colonies and can give you more problems in the long term. Carni diet is a good elimination diet while you fix the root cause but should not be done indefinitely, even low-fodmap should not be done more than 8-12 weeks. 

[Vision]

Just watched this video: 

 

Does this mean I do indeed have SIBO? It seems like I match the criteria for a positive result given the information in this video? 

I don't understand... Why would my naturopath tell me it's not SIBO??? $150 is being spent on every appointment with her... This is quite frustrating.