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Hey everyone, I've been suffering with dry eyes, food sensitivities, joint pain, etc. that all instantly started 19 years ago when I caught a cold. This followed rounds and rounds of unnecessary antibiotics for colds, year after year when I was growing up, and a cycle of Accutane, all of which cumulatively destroyed my gut flora and intestinal equilibrium. Over nearly two decades, I've wasted so much time and money seeing countless eye specialists, medical specialists, naturopaths and even an expensive, futile trip to the Mayo Clinic. No normal/crazy program I have tried has provided sustainable improvement.
Things have been different over the past few months. I have been experiencing some relief - but I do caution that I don't know at this time whether the relief will be sustainable.
Six months ago I took a 3 hour breath test for SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth), which tests for the presence of either hydrogen or methane, neither of which should be present. My results showed no methane but hydrogen that was 7x higher than the upper band of an acceptable range. I took an expensive prescription drug, Rifaximin (Zaxine), 550 mg 3x daily for 5 weeks and took another breath test. The second breath test showed my SIBO was down from 7x higher than the top end of a range to 2.5x higher. If this test is accurate - and there is medical debate as to whether it is credible - then my levels reduced significantly but were still far too high.
I spent the next few months drinking bone broth everyday, along with 2 TBSP of collagen added, to heal my gut. Shockingly, my chronic joint pain and inflammation reduced significantly, to the point where my range of motion has improved, and I could resume to full weightlifting sessions at the gym for the first time in 19 years, without being exhausted and in pain. I eat really, really clean, so I am skinny, but have put on 8 pounds of good weight over the past few months. I had previously been unable to put on good weight for 19 years.
So, a week ago, I started another cycle of Rifaximin (550 mg 3x daily), this time along with Nystatin (1 million units in capsule form, 2x daily). My body started feeling even better still, but this time my eyes also started feeling better and looking more white. My constant nasal passage congestion has also improved, and I have moments during the day where I can breath through both nostrils simultaneously for the first time in 19 years. I have another three weeks to go, but am optimistic my eyes can keep feeling better.
The SIBO treatment program I am following is described in this link by Mark Hyman (I am now working with a naturopath who follows his program): http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/09/16/5...without-drugs/
He has some good Youtube videos, including this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_S8YX6PY6s
I've read a lot about SIBO, and it is super tricky to cure. My experience has been that taking probiotics while trying to treat SIBO makes my symptoms worse. I found a good article of someone who claims that probiotics need to be ignored to cure SIBO; that link is: http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic...red-heres-how/
I find if I stick to a FODMAP food program (google it to see what foods to eat/avoid) then my symptom irritation diminishes. If I cheat on the FODMAP program, and eat even one banned food, I find my symptoms, most specifically my eye pain, flair up.
I've experienced many false starts before on my journey to cure my chronic dry eye and this may be another one. I don't know yet, but I will follow up and keep you posted. I will aim to post again by early-mid July 2016.
Good luck to all of us!
Things have been different over the past few months. I have been experiencing some relief - but I do caution that I don't know at this time whether the relief will be sustainable.
Six months ago I took a 3 hour breath test for SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth), which tests for the presence of either hydrogen or methane, neither of which should be present. My results showed no methane but hydrogen that was 7x higher than the upper band of an acceptable range. I took an expensive prescription drug, Rifaximin (Zaxine), 550 mg 3x daily for 5 weeks and took another breath test. The second breath test showed my SIBO was down from 7x higher than the top end of a range to 2.5x higher. If this test is accurate - and there is medical debate as to whether it is credible - then my levels reduced significantly but were still far too high.
I spent the next few months drinking bone broth everyday, along with 2 TBSP of collagen added, to heal my gut. Shockingly, my chronic joint pain and inflammation reduced significantly, to the point where my range of motion has improved, and I could resume to full weightlifting sessions at the gym for the first time in 19 years, without being exhausted and in pain. I eat really, really clean, so I am skinny, but have put on 8 pounds of good weight over the past few months. I had previously been unable to put on good weight for 19 years.
So, a week ago, I started another cycle of Rifaximin (550 mg 3x daily), this time along with Nystatin (1 million units in capsule form, 2x daily). My body started feeling even better still, but this time my eyes also started feeling better and looking more white. My constant nasal passage congestion has also improved, and I have moments during the day where I can breath through both nostrils simultaneously for the first time in 19 years. I have another three weeks to go, but am optimistic my eyes can keep feeling better.
The SIBO treatment program I am following is described in this link by Mark Hyman (I am now working with a naturopath who follows his program): http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/09/16/5...without-drugs/
He has some good Youtube videos, including this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_S8YX6PY6s
I've read a lot about SIBO, and it is super tricky to cure. My experience has been that taking probiotics while trying to treat SIBO makes my symptoms worse. I found a good article of someone who claims that probiotics need to be ignored to cure SIBO; that link is: http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic...red-heres-how/
I find if I stick to a FODMAP food program (google it to see what foods to eat/avoid) then my symptom irritation diminishes. If I cheat on the FODMAP program, and eat even one banned food, I find my symptoms, most specifically my eye pain, flair up.
I've experienced many false starts before on my journey to cure my chronic dry eye and this may be another one. I don't know yet, but I will follow up and keep you posted. I will aim to post again by early-mid July 2016.
Good luck to all of us!
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