SIBO is not just the acronym for small intestine bacterial overgrowth, it is the nightmare that deteriorates the lives of many people. This pathology, which at the moment is not considered a disease, originates in the digestive system but soon takes over the mind and makes everything go up in smoke on an emotional level. Its definition leaves no room for doubt: abnormal excess of bacteria in the small intestine. But apart from being able to give it a name and surname, the rest is pure chaos, a dark tunnel in which there is no exit. This is how patients feel and doctors find themselves at that point, entering “an unknown world.”
The worst of SIBO does not begin with the diagnosis. That is, perhaps, the moment when the patient finds some light in the darkness that surrounds this problem. The nightmare begins much earlier, when the symptoms come to stay. This pathology occurs when a high number of bacteria that are in the large intestine migrate to the small intestine and ferment many of the nutrients that are ingested, which generates gases (hydrogen or methane), and causes the belly to swell to the point of to the point of looking like “they inflated you with an air pump,” say those affected. That's where the pain begins. The ordeal comes when a single question echoes in the mind and no answer can be found: “Why is this happening to me?”
There is hardly any scientific evidence as to why it occurs, who it affects, and even the tools to fight it. Faced with this information and medical desert, which exasperates patients and collapses the waiting lists for Digestive System specialists, whose pressure has gone from 50% to 80%, four references in this field have developed a clinical guide of recommendations that will see the light In the next weeks. Fernando Alberca is the head of the Digestive System service of La Arrixaca and has had access to the document, which seeks to “bring a little sanity to the madness generated on social networks around this pathology.”
Its acronym is 'Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth' and it is a proliferation in the small intestine of
bacteria that are normally
found in the large intestine
Tract
intestinal
with SIBO
Weight loss, abdominal pain,
nausea, fatigue, anemia, bloating, excess gas, acne,…
Its acronym is 'Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth' and it is a proliferation in the small intestine of
bacteria that are normally
found in the large intestine
Tract
intestinal
with SIBO
Weight loss, abdominal pain,
nausea, fatigue, anemia, bloating, excess gas, acne,…
Its acronym is 'Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth' and it is a proliferation in the small intestine of bacteria that are normally found.
found in the large intestine
Weight loss, abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, anemia, bloating, excess gas, acne,…
Tract
intestinal
with SIBO
The proven causes that can cause SIBO in a patient are a previous surgery that has caused an injury to the digestive system or an alteration in intestinal motility or primary disease. This is reflected in the clinical guide and stated by Dr. Alberca: «There are two types of pathology in the digestive tract: an organic lesion, such as an ulcer, that produces inflammation, or a general functional problem. It's like a highway. It is not the same that there is a traffic jam on the highway due to an accident or that there are many cars. In the first there is an organic problem, in the second there is an excess because there is no capacity », he explains.
Four digestive system specialists have developed a clinical guide of recommendations for SIBO that will be released soon
A 'televised' disorder
The problem that has become accentuated in recent months is that more and more young people complain that they suffer from this condition without any of the aforementioned causes, and social networks have become a showcase to show their regret and pain. and have served as a loudspeaker to shout for help in the face of unknown damage. SIBO 'attacks' without warning and always finds a different way to do it. Abdominal pain, bloating, gas, nausea, vomiting and alternating diarrhea and constipation. It doesn't matter what you eat, your body doesn't tolerate anything. A simple salad, a piece of fruit or any plate of food can cause disaster. «You notice how your body becomes inflamed in minutes. You stand in profile in front of a mirror and see how your belly grows until it looks like you are pregnant. “You don't know when you're going to look like a balloon,” says Lydia Martín, a young woman from Murcia who is learning to live with a problem that she has been carrying for months although it was officially presented to her in October. Stress, the intake of many processed products, a poor diet and not respecting the times of each meal are the breeding ground for poor digestion and the fermentation of bacteria. “Intolerances are increasing because we eat worse and ingest more pollutants,” emphasizes Dr. Albeca.
Experts say that the small intestine is the second brain and that the digestive system listens to everything the mind says, even if no words are put to it. That emotions are especially connected to the stomach. SIBO punishes the belly but hits the mind with the same force. It diminishes, weakens and plunges into reluctance, sadness and anger. Just look in the mirror. «You don't recognize yourself. Your body is not the same, it transforms and you cannot control it. You feel unwell and you have a complex when it comes to dressing. Reduce your social life. Your clothes don't flatter you, you can barely eat out and your mood is at rock bottom. You live on constant alert because you don't know when you are going to become inflamed,” says Lydia.
Abdominal pain, bloating, gas, nausea, vomiting and alternating diarrhea and constipation are some of the symptoms.
Chaos borders on madness on the way to reaching the diagnosis. Patients wait (and often despair) for long months between being treated due to excessive demand, following the first medical advice and ending up taking the breath test, the only option to put a face to SIBO. The test consists of orally administering a packet of sugar substrate and exhaling the breath in half a dozen small bottles, leaving half an hour between each one. It lasts more than three hours and the day before you can only eat eggs, meat or fish. The analysis of the air found in these boats will determine if the levels of hydrogen and methane are normal (there is no SIBO) or if, on the contrary, the numbers skyrocket (there is SIBO).
Not everything is SIBO
This last step is the most expensive and not all patients are able to reach it, which in many cases prohibits them from obtaining an answer to what is happening to them. «SIBO is being related to having irritable bowel syndrome, having gas or constipation, and all of these things are usually experienced without having to suffer from SIBO. We should not send a breath test if there is no previous risk factor, since it does not exist as a primary disease. It is true that if we do not perform so many tests on people who are ill, we will lose patients who really suffer from it, but in the face of the psychosis created, the system has to defend itself, continue to be balanced,” says Dr. Alberca, as stated in the clinical guide. .
SIBO punishes the belly but hits the mind with the same force. He diminishes, weakens and immerses us in reluctance, sadness and anger.
The patient suffers from all sides. Because of the symptoms, because of the difficulty in finding answers and because of the time it takes to find solutions. When he receives the results and it is positive, it seems that he is in the final box, but he has only just begun. The treatment, which “is only effective in 60% of cases,” according to Alberca, is based on the intake of antibiotics, up to 6 pills a day for two weeks, to achieve remission, because in most cases the symptoms They never completely disappear. “There are people who have to get used to living with it all their lives,” say the doctors in one of the worst phrases that patients receive.
In addition to that cocktail of medicines, one will never eat the same again. Not even to eat everything. Flour and gluten products are discouraged. Legumes are strictly prohibited. Just two or three fruits and vegetables can remain in your diet and lactose and sugary drinks are something like the devil. Of course, there are three foods that will accompany you forever: meat, fish and eggs. «You have to try and make mistakes. There is no official diet for this problem. You cannot live without fruit and vegetables or many other nutrients because it causes decompensation and can cause other problems. You have to cook everything on the grill, making it as light as possible. If the day comes when you need to treat yourself, you should not put together several at the same time because there is no safe snack and you know that in seconds you will feel bad,” says Lydia.
“We are suffering,” patients warn. “We are learning,” experts acknowledge. You want to know what is happening, but few still know what is happening. The tools are scarce and incipient but the pain and emotional punishment never stops growing. In the absence of solutions, many choose not to demonize (anymore) the little monstrosity that lives inside and choose, after much suffering, to accept it as a life partner. «You have to make friends with him and get him out of your mind because otherwise it is impossible to live. You have to make it small before it makes you tiny,” warns Lydia.
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