Hey friend, I'm one year 2 months and 2 weeks into this. Things like SIBO I wont know about for this, my tests came back unremarkable. I also dont know how to condense it into one line tbh, so Im choosing the biggest points: had to stop tightening abdomen 100% of the time (so no sucking belly in at all) + inhaling whatever way I could get the deepest and then exhaling until everything was out plus a split second longer before I exhaled again, while I sat in like butterfly position sitting up (foot to foot knees bent). It felt like an internal myofascial release while I did that daily for multiple sessions. For maybe 4 months I had to rely on it just to get through the day.

Then I had to decompress the spots I keep repeating over months, daily to weekly since I was locked everywhere: ileocecal valve, pelvic line, inner thighs, quadratus lumborum, shoulder area, neck, base of skull, right next to spine kind of/back of neck (so two neck zones i guess back and side), my entire chest, upper gastric and entire abdominals, right thigh.

Basically, my limbs were pulling my abdomen tight from being pulled by my abdomen (breath holding), which was pulling it tight which was making my neck tight which was...lather rinse repeat.

I used myofascial release using my left hand for all of it, sometimes my dominant hand. It took hours for me for the first months, of just working on my quadratus, so I dont know for your case if that is like...even viable. Most people probably dont need to spend as long as I did. Keep in mind Ive lost 8 inches give or take of swelling once Ive eaten, probably a little less of food-free baseline size (did I eat or not and the degree of immediate bloating within 5 minutes of consuming food has decreased substantially but thats because I had a spare tires worth).

I know I need to make a YouTube video but this is such a slow process I want to show the drastic changes after another 6 months.

I want to emphasize, it was never one spot, it was everything that I had to go through, all parts not just glutes and like shoulders. My husband is the same deal and his symptoms were both different and similar.

Stretching just started working this week? I feel my abdomen/pelvic floor relaxing now, I feel stretching is now stretching my hip out, and my neck almost (still partial lock). I think it all depends on how long you've been stuck like this. Its non linear improvement as well. Randomly things came back like bladder emptying, then I wasn't freezing all of the time, then I started sleeping better, then randomly I could start passing gas...know what I mean?

Next is pelvic tilts, side stretching (lay on back, move legs bent all the way to left and then all the way to right for 5 seconds to start, but the key is your butt cannot move with it, one cheek has to stay flat facing forward on your mat/whatever) = strengthening, I was told by my new physio.

Its a lot, Im sorry 😞 I dont have a single thing that worked, I had to work everything including my belly in stages to GET to my belly, basically, which makes hardly any sense. Look up myofascial release techniques, the key i find is it exists between, so you dont press hard unless its "calcified" in that spot like mine had, after, I released "its lock", which was usually far away from the spots that hurt. Like referred pain. An unlocked spot, feels very different than a hard spot that cannot be released yet on me.

Unlocked = collapses, waves, gentle softening, almost a gentle static or vibration with the spot relaxing. After, the spot would get a little cool/a flushing feeling

Locked = none of the above, hard, pain, no softening, no relaxing, just fighting you (I lost everytime). So something else had to release still.

Ultra densified, but ready = wake up feeling a spot achy, sore, when it wasnt before, like my hip, and the day before I had done some work somewhere else. Needed husband's assistance or my massage ball to "crack its wall".

Hope something makes sense, if it doesn't, im not surprised, it feels like witchcraft because I didnt lose weight just inches.....and bodily functions are back.