I was ill for years with many of the same symptoms plus some. I was dizzy, had brain fog, was tired (all the time) had shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, nausea, warm feeling in stomach and chest etc. I went to doctor after doctor and had every test done you can think of until I was sent to a GI doc at the University. He did a few tests. One of them was the hydrogen breath test. I tested positive. I guess the numbers were very high. He believes I have had SIBO for years. I was put on strong antibiotics that did not help, so I was put on others that did not help either. Finally he put me on two antibiotics at the same time. That finally did something. I felt much better for a few months then started to get all the same symptoms again. Apparently I will have the SIBO forever. At least that is what I was told. I have found if I take probiotics and enzymes everyday I feel so much better. When I feel any nausea I take peppermint oil. I also started taking B12 because my B12 levels were low. All this has helped but I have yet to feel normal. I am hoping starting the low carb diet will do the trick.

I have been feeling sick for the past three months, couldn't eat because everything I ate made me sick. I started losing weight and discovered I had lost twenty-one pounds over the three month period. My doctor kept giving me different prescriptions and none took care of the problem. I got diagnosed with diabetes and once again more meds in my system. Finally, I went to a gastrointestinal doctor and had to do the breath test with the bags. They phoned me today to tell me I have bacterial overgrowth (which I never heard of), now I hope this convinces people my symptoms were not imaginary. I start meds and hope it works. The weight loss was good for me but now I don't look so well.

I have just been diagnosed with SIBO following a lifetime of gastrointestinal problems that were worst in childhood, became better throughout young adulthood, and are now worsening again. The basis of my illness has always been nausea, vomiting, and constipation; but the balance of them is quite different now than in childhood. In childhood I experienced a lot of flatulence and nausea. Now I have GERD, vomiting without nausea, and frequent constipation. When I vomit I see food that I ate as long ago as 5 days that shows no sign of being digested. In fact, it appears as if it has been enclosed in mucosal "packets" since the time I ate it. (I say this because it is coming back sorted in little bunches.) My doctor has prescribed a round of Cipro to be followed up by another round if my symptoms don't disappear. I will return with an update in the near future. Thanks to all for your posts--I no longer feel completely alone in this.

I have been feeling terrible for the last year or so. Today, I was diagnosed with SIBO with a breath test. I also was diagnosed as lactose intolerant. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis about 15 years ago. (No major joint problems until two to three years ago.) I started six years ago with gastric reflux problems. I was told I had a hiatus hernia. (Five years later a gastroscopy showed I hadn't!) Lansoprazole was prescribed to me, which lowers your stomach acid and thus your intestinal barrier. After that, I had a major rheumatoid arthritis flare-up. I had a year of feeling not so bad, but I was beginning to bloat. Then virtually overnight, I thought I was going mad! I felt awful! It's now been 15 months later with various antibiotics and antifungals tried sporadically. I am now worse as I have lost so much weight with malnutrition and not knowing what to eat. I am surprised just how much it affects your mind. I am weak, depressed, and my eyesight is blurring later in the day. I have insomnia and my body “zaps” me awake so that I can't sleep naturally. I feel like I'm dying. I hope the medical profession can help me.

I started having abdominal bloating; gas; loose, foul smelling stool; stomach cramps and apparent allergies to mushrooms and peanuts, which, if eaten, would immediately cause nausea. My primary care physician sent me for an ultrasound of my gall bladder, thinking that I had gall stones. Turns out, I have a polyp in the gall bladder neck. The doctors all wanted to remove the gall bladder, but I wasn't so sure this was the cause because my wife had her gall bladder removed and my symptoms were different from hers. I went to another doctor who agreed that my symptoms didn't sound like it was my gall bladder. He remarked that he sees many patients post-surgery after gall-bladder removal that come to him with the same symptoms they had before surgery. He prescribed the hydrogen breath test and the results were positive for SIBO. After taking the two-week antibiotic treatment, I was free of symptoms and my stool was normal once again. It has been about five and a half months and the symptoms seem to be slowly returning. My new doctor advised that this may occur, usually after about four to six months, and gave me six refills on the prescription. Taking an antibiotic sure beats unnecessary surgery!