Patient story

Food poisoning gave me hydrogen SIBO — rifaximin + Flagyl made it worse, elemental diet got me closest

@seekinganswersBronzeContributorShared July 2026

Current status

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

The story

Got SIBO/IBS after food poisoning. Hydrogen numbers off the chart. Methane borderline. Tried rifaximin + Flagler, made it much worse. Went from loose, greasy pale stools, to liquid diarrhea 15+ times a day. Elemental diet resolved it nearly entirely, but created bloating and pain for first time. Used bi-phasic diet after and stools normalized but reverted when I added protein powder with sucralose. Butyrate seems to help, S. Boulaardi hit or miss. Motegrity didnt seem to help, worsened diarrhea. Transit time seems to be 12 hours or less currently. Stools still yellow and greasy, no change in years. Immodium helps but wont take daily due to anticholingeric burden.

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What they were dealing with

Symptoms

severemoderateBowel irregularitymoderateMalabsorptionmoderaterapid transit timemoderatemoderate
What the workup showed

Tests & diagnoses

Hydrogen numbers off the chart; methane borderline.Hydrogen numbers off the chart; methane borderline.
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
Bi-phasic Diet
Helped

Used after elemental diet; stools normalized, but reverted when protein powder with sucralose was added.

Helped

Resolved it nearly entirely, but created bloating and pain for the first time.

Imodium
Helped

Helps, but contributor will not take daily due to anticholinergic burden.

Butyrate
Helped a bit

Seems to help.

S. boulardii / Florastor
Helped a bit

Hit or miss.

Made worse

Tried with rifaximin; contributor says it made things much worse.

Protein Powder With Sucralose
Made worse

Adding it after bi-phasic diet caused stools to revert.

Made worse

Did not seem to help and worsened diarrhea.

Made worse

Tried with Flagler after SIBO/IBS; contributor says it made things much worse.

Across stories like this

Treatments in similar stories

How each treatment played out across 2,000 sibo treatment patterns stories — one person’s result is a clue, the split across everyone is the pattern.

Story similarity
Made worseNo changePartially helpedHelped
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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.