Patient story

Adding bifidobacterium set me back after I finally had my bloating and reflux under control

@gutpattern-04bc6001BronzeContributorShared July 2026

Current status

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

The story

What I think caused it: poor diet growing up, took months worth of antibiotics for chronic tonsillitis before getting tonsils out, I believe my gut biome has been very messed up since then. I tried to start eating healthy a couple years ago (read more fiber) and that’s when my symptoms ramped up

Main symptoms: severe bloating (looking pregnant), acid reflux, indigestion, burping, gas. Side symptoms I think are related: rosacea, eczema, brain fog

Triggers: for some time, everything. But especially beans

Test: SIBO breath test, tested positive for hydrogen sibo up by +70 points

Treatments: - 1 round of rifaximin (didn’t do too much) - 2 weeks of low fodmap (didn’t notice much difference) - 1 month of Berberine + atrantil (started to slowly make a difference) - did another round of rifaximin (helped totally wipe out the overgrowth) - started betaine hcl + digestion supplement each meal, magnesium citrate and motility pro This helped get my digestion moving quickly, don’t think my stool was fully healthy but didn’t have any bloating reflux etc and felt relief in the stomach

I added sunfiber and florastor which also I found helpful. Also started to incorporate chia seeds into diet which was helpful.

Setback: I felt like I needed to add good bacteria in, so started taking bifidobacterium, totally set me back. Started to bloat, reflux, gas and everything. Now I’ve layered back in berberine + atrantil and occasionally oregano oil to get it back under control

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What they were dealing with

Symptoms

severemoderatemoderateIndigestionmoderatemildPsoriasis / eczemamildRosaceamild
What the workup showed

Tests & diagnoses

hydrogen sibo up by +70 points
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

Taken with Berberine for 1 month; started to slowly make a difference. Later layered back in to get symptoms back under control.

Helped

Taken with Atrantil for 1 month; started to slowly make a difference. Later layered back in to get symptoms back under control.

Helped

Started with digestion supplement each meal, magnesium citrate, and Motility Pro; helped get digestion moving quickly, no bloating or reflux, and relief in stomach.

Chia seeds
Helped

Started incorporating chia seeds into diet and found it helpful.

Helped

Taken each meal with betaine HCl, magnesium citrate, and Motility Pro; helped get digestion moving quickly, no bloating or reflux, and relief in stomach.

Magnesium
Helped

Started with betaine HCl, digestion supplement, and Motility Pro; helped get digestion moving quickly, no bloating or reflux, and relief in stomach.

Antibiotics
Made worse

Took months worth of antibiotics for chronic tonsillitis before tonsils out; contributor thinks gut biome has been messed up since then.

Bifidobacterium
Made worse

Started taking bifidobacterium to add good bacteria; totally set back symptoms with bloating, reflux, gas and everything.

Fiber
Made worse

Tried eating healthy with more fiber; symptoms ramped up around then.

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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.