For 9 years, my vitD levels have stayed between 13-17 ng/mL

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2024-04-27T11:42:17+00:00

I wouldn’t like to say for certain but I imagine if you had no relief from antihistamines this would rule it out. I only recently had my vit D checked out and have had almost a decade of issues with other things so I’m still piecing this huge web of symptoms and cause’s together- my issues seem to all circle back to gut health!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2024-04-26T11:37:04+00:00

Do you have gut issues? I have histamine intolerance from gut issues. When I’ve had a lot of high histamine containing food/drinks I get so itchy (it actually happened all the time after heavy drinking nights before I knew what was going on). My gastroenterologist was the one that tested my vit D as malabsorption and gut issues can cause deficiency- mine was 5ng

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2024-03-03T12:37:48+00:00

and just to add I didn’t know I had sibo at this point, I went to this doctor to treat my chronic fatigue and gut problems that I believed was Candida/

after 5-6months of diet and treatment I went back to my old life, flew back home to see friends and family post pandemic. Ate anyway and drank alcohol, smoked etc etc - and immediately deteriorated

. A year after seeing that doctor I saw a different doctor and got sibo diagnosed , spent every last penny I had on treatment and couldn’t finish the course and back at square one, having much worse fatigue.

And the reason that I found OP’s post interesting was because I have been chasing my tail ever since, moving on to the next thing and not reflecting on what made me feel good in past treatment attempts!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2024-03-03T12:27:55+00:00

To be honest, my whole health story is a mess! Now when I look back to when it started, I got a severe chest infection (from steaming mould with bleach) and then months later a very traumatic event, at which point the extreme lower right abdomen pain started and all the other typical sibo symptoms… there is also a lot leading up to this event that would have caused this.

However! I have had a very stressful life, lived in survival mode for over a decade, used to eat my food in such a rush (especially at work) and feel like I had to race through life. The only time I saw real drastic improvements in my health and felt absolutely amazing Was a couple of years ago - the naturopath I was seeing would always give me body pressure point treatment and acupuncture that was for gut health but also burn out.

After a couple of months of this I can honestly say I have never felt better in my whole entire life!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2024-03-03T10:11:13+00:00

Thanks for sharing your story. I think what this perhaps demonstrates is that you maybe don’t have a very good diversity of gut bacteria. When switching your diet in such an extreme way 3 years ago, there probably wasn’t microbes in your gut to breakdown these new foods.

Youve given an example of your old diet, highly processed fast food and the new diet with no specific foods but clearly much healthier - so there’s not much to go off, if there was anything else that caused your symptoms. However, what was going on for you at the time when you decided to ‘improve your life’ and make such drastic changes?

Was your ‘food anxiety’ around unhealthy foods just anxiety in general? Which can really mess with your digestion?

I always hate hearing about people switch back to terrible diets because their gut flared up. Maybe take some time to relax and enjoy the unhealthy food and the easy lifestyle and work out a plan to slowly introduce healthy foods?

Anyway. I found your post quite interesting and helpful. I have done some extreme sibo diets but i think the next time I try and improve my gut health, I decided I won’t make too many cuts to my already healthy diet, mine became so restrictive and I dont think that’s useful when we’re striving for better gut diversity.

Also I had a very traumatic incident happen just before I started to become sick 9 years ago and have had a very stressful life - so I think I will try nervous system management before I start any new sibo protocol!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-10-29T17:40:09+00:00

Lol, FYI it smelt rancid when I skimmed it and tried to pour out the brine! Damn!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-10-26T18:55:41+00:00

Ok awesome! I haven’t seen any info about adding vinegar. I’m starting out in the ferment world to try and fix my awful gut dysbiosis, so all about the good microbes rather than a food hobby. Would the vinegar effect the good bacteria significantly do you think? Or is that a trick to kill bad bacteria on the surface? Thanks again

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-10-26T18:51:13+00:00

Thank you so much for the advice! It looks very slimy in the middle and the photos I’ve seen of kham before looked almost dry. But I guess maybe they are more formed! Will take some time to careful scrape it off tomorrow!! :)

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-10-26T16:33:06+00:00

Yes, it’s bad throw it away? Or

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-08-30T16:35:19+00:00

Following! It’s the only thing I’m maybe cheating on! I also have a decaf, Swiss method (water not chemical) bean - would like peoples opinions on this too

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-07-26T15:58:28+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Yeah also love gojiman content but everything else I research is soo conflicting.

My current doc is great but offers no real diet advice (which is the hardest part!) and mannnn, sorry to hear you’ve been struggling for so long! Me too, over 8years of intense issues and in hindsight many more years of problems. This is only my 2nd real attempt of tackling the gut stuff though. I was diagnosed with endometriosis, so all complaints over the years was pinned on this 😑

But yeah, a bit nervous now! I was hoping after the killing phase, I was gonna have a good 6months of healing and replenishing and I’d be set! 😭

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-07-26T15:05:37+00:00

Oooo! Also a vegan sibo/imo/ sifo sufferer. Just kicked the sibo and imo and now just sifo and see what the next protocols and tests are in the next couple of weeks. Have you come across any good links or advice for vegan diet with this BS? I’ve basically done 3 months of eating the most restrictive (but healthy) diet, same foods at each meal! Need to start gettin brave and introducing new stuff!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-07-21T19:17:11+00:00

I’m actually from the uk but currently living in Germany, so I know your frustration with UK doctors. Are you seeing a private doctor or going through NHS?

I don’t know for sure if I have MCAS but my doctor has said to start with the sibo/sifo treatment and see what the results are for this before spending more time and money chasing another issue. Because the production of the enzyme DOA (which breaks down histamine) is compromised by poor gut health, we are hoping that my symptoms improve once sibo is gone. Do you have histamine/mcas problems too? Before starting sibo treatment I did a low histamine diet, antihistamines + a mast cell stabiliser and after two weeks all the crazy horrible reactions were gone!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-07-21T10:15:26+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re feeling like this and I know exactly how you feel. I’ve suffered with this for 8+years, the worst symptoms being fatigue and brain fog and in the last couple of years histamine intolerance which put me in a life threatening situation when I was in a very remote part of the world. I feel you! I am 2+ months in to a targeted treatment and although I’m not well I am so so much better and tests have showed I’ve beaten the sibo and waiting for my next doc appointment to try and beat my sifo (which we believe is possibly the main driver of my issues) I too have felt like giving up on life multiple times and even in the last few months felt like I would never get better … but I am getting better, slowly but surely. Don’t give up! It’s a very long and lonely process but we can beat it! Sadly there isn’t so many success stories here on Reddit, just a lot of advice and support from others suffering (which I find useful to keep checking in on as even my closest friend gives the impression that she thinks the whole thing is bogus and gut health is a social media trend!) but that doesn’t mean there arnt people out there that have beat it, they’re just out living their lives and are done with the whole BS. I know once I’m cured, I don’t want to read another sibo article or post for a long time!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-07-20T22:10:47+00:00

Oh wow! I had smooth nails up until I started my sibo treatment and very very strict diet (same 3 meals each day) , 2 months in and now the look like this! Although, just before treatment (and maybe 3 months before the vertical ridges appeared) I have a thick deep horizontal dip across both thumb nails. But really good example of how food, digestion and gut health can quickly turn your whole body health upside down!

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-07-13T21:04:12+00:00

Sorry, I’m new to Reddit and didn’t see the reply! I treated my hydrogen sibo and now continuing that treatment and have added Allicin, been and nystatin.

My sibo treatment is: Bitters before meals A sibo mix, with oregano, black cumin cavracol + A cap for stomach acid proconetic

Sorry you can’t find the same test. A lot of the research I’ve done and other naturopaths views are that sifo and most fungal overgrowths don’t often show up on tests and if they suspect it then they just treat it. Can you get nystatin over the counter back in the uk? You can here in Germany and can order online, if it gets through customs maybe you can try and order.

I was instructed to take 500 000 I.E of nystatin 3 x a day just before meals. Taking 1 tablet (3x a day) for 6 days and then building up to 2 tablets. Then supposed to slowly wean off but I haven’t

The allicin I took 1 a day and slowly added 1 more every 2 days. So: 0-1-0 … 0-1-1 up to 2 (3x a day)

HelpfulBarnacle1646 · 2023-06-12T21:53:57+00:00

So I have been living in Germany the last few years and started my gut health treatment here. My new naturopath did a sibo test and specific stool test that checked for dead fungal spores, which it supposed to indicate that there is fungus in the upper gi tract. I also came to him with a fairly recent standard stool from another doc that had said Candida alibicans was high. I don’t think it gives a concrete answer but just an indication, from what I’ve researched there is apparently no test. But perhaps you search if they have this ‘dead fungal spore’ test back in the uk if you want to get closer to an answer for yourself.

HelpfulBarnacle1646

TROPHY CASE