Patient story

3 years of battling with recurring SIBO

@gmpBronzeContributorShared August 2026
MaleMexico

Current status

Still struggling
  1. Still struggling
  2. Somewhat resolved
  3. Mostly resolved
  4. Fully resolved
In their words

The story

It al started one day when i woke up and my gut was gurgling (borborygmi) a lot. I did not feel sick or bad it was just a strange feeling the something was different. I continued like this for some weeks with diarrhea and a lot of gas as i thought it was going to go away on its own. I decided to go to the doctor as it was not going away and we decided to do a colonoscopy and endoscopy her in mexico where I live. Results came back fine and the doctor said it was stress. I decided to go to another doctor which made me do a gastro panel and when the results came back it was the first time I heard the word SIBO. He gave me a round of Rifaximin and then probiotics. That first dose of Rifaximin was great, I felt awesome and I thought everything was back to normal. 6 days after finishing the antibiotic everything came back, all of the symptoms were back like they never left. I then went on to loose a lot of weight and decided to go to the US to get checked. Doctor in the US did a TAC, another colonoscopy, another endoscopy, and some other exams and everything came back normal. So he gave me antispasmodics. I tried different types of them but nothing helped. already 2 years had passed since that day that i woke up feeling strange. I then started getting a lot of unexplained anxiety and brain fog. Ive also gone to alternative medicine doctors and nothing has helped. I also tried more rounds of rifaximin and i did not feel any difference. Recently I decided to give a recommended gastro doctor a try as i had already been with a lot of them. This doctor decided for me to take a breath test with lactulose. The results came back positive with hydrogen sibo with very high scores. He gave me another round of rifaximin and probiotics after. During the antibiotic i did not feel any difference but when i started taking the probiotics i felt great again, it was the second time something worked. for two weeks and a half I felt awesome, and then everything came back. I am scheduled to take another breath test but I just dont know why it keeps coming back, i dont understand. I know it is probably because i am not curing the root cause but I have no idea what that could be because ive tried everything. my theory is that I have low stomach acid because i used to have reflux and took a lot of PPI´s but here is no way of checking that here in mexico. For the hydrogen test i started with 30 ppm in the first breath and the last one before 90 min was over 100. Doctor said i was top 5 he had ever seen. The probiotic i tooc recently the helped was called Alflorex. The reflux and PPI was before this Sibo journey started and now i rarely get reflux which is wierd because that was my main problem before SIBO

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What they were dealing with

Symptoms

Weight losssevereAnxietymoderateBowel movement changesmoderatemoderatemoderatemoderatemild
What the workup showed

Tests & diagnoses

Results fine/normal.Results fine/normal.SIBO mentioned after gastro panel results.Started with 30 ppm in the first breath; last one before 90 minutes was over 100.Started with 30 ppm in the first breath; last one before 90 minutes was over 100.Started with 30 ppm in the first breath; last one before 90 minutes was over 100.HypochlorhydriaTheory only, not confirmed.Prior reflux was main problem before SIBO.Scheduled repeat breath test.
Every treatment, and what happened

Treatments

Each treatment this contributor tried, in the order that mattered, with their own reported result. The ones marked with a trophy are the treatments they credit as decisive.

Made worseNo changePartially helpedHelped
Helped

First round was given after gastro panel/SIBO discussion; felt awesome, then symptoms returned 6 days after finishing. Later rounds gave no difference, including a recent round before probiotics.

Acid reducers & PPIs
No change

Took a lot of PPIs for reflux before the SIBO journey started.

Antibiotics
No change

Symptoms returned 6 days after finishing the antibiotic; during the recent antibiotic course there was no difference.

Discussion

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Important

This is one person's reported experience aggregated by GutPattern, not clinical advice, a treatment protocol, or a diagnosis. What helped one contributor can do nothing — or harm — for someone with a different underlying cause. Sudden, severe, bloody, feverish, or worsening symptoms belong with medical care. Always discuss care decisions with a qualified clinician.