On to the next… #slayingSIBO

Well, it’s Friday, and thus, I had my follow-up appointment with my GI doctor about my SIBO results.

As hopeful as I was, I should have known the appointment would be frustrating, leading me to the search of yet another doctor.

So here’s The Skinny:

I walk into my appointment, expecting to see my doctor. Instead some tall, slightly dopey looking man walks in and introduces himself as a resident, and then proceeds to ask me about how I’ve been feeling. I’ve never interacted with this man, so I have to go through my entire medical history… AGAIN.

Talk about frustrating. While speaking with him, I shared that at one point since my last appointment, I had stopped taking Miralax for one day, and due to that, was dealing with constipation again. In fact I was dealing with it when I took the breath test. Looking back, I should have just left this tidbit out.

Anyway, I asked all my questions I came prepared with:

• Antibiotics:
  • Q: Is it best to dose Xifaxin with Neomycin since I read it was most effective for Methane dominance?
  • A: I haven’t heard of that, but I’ll ask the doctor.
• Diet:
  • Q: Should I start a lowfodmap diet while taking antibiotics or after?
  • A: No definitive answer.
• Prokinetics:
  • Q: I read that these may be useful in cases of constipation – should we consider this?
  • A: Mmm, probably not, we can talk about that later.

He asked me a series of questions regarding my stress levels, diet, etc. then went to talk to the doctor.

My doctor comes in and tells me that they no longer know if I have SIBO. WHAT.

She says that since I was dealing with constipation during my breath test, it could have been a false positive. She then said she’d like to just continue treating my constipation with Miralax, saying it’s fine because they give it to pregnant women all the time.

I straight up looked at her and asked “So, you’re not prescribing me the antibiotic?” She looked a little flustered and asked “Well, the thing to note is if you feel bloated even when you’re not constipated…” and to that I said….

YES. Look, I have been dealing with this for 2 years. I’m uncomfortable when I wake up, and worse when I go to bed. No matter what I eat, what I do.

She answers “Okay, then we’ll give it to you!” *insert eyeroll*

I then asked: “What does follow up look like? Do we need to retest to ensure it’s gone”

Response: “No, no protocol – we just treat the symptoms.”

I had so many problems with this appointment:

1. The fact that they sent a resident in first really bothered me.
2. The fact that the doctor was so changeable really bothered me.
3. The fact that they were fine with saying I should just take Miralax the rest of my life really bothered me. This means my body isn’t working right!!
4. She told me I was not a person at risk for SIBO, when honestly she never took into account all of my other health issues that most DEFINITELY have put me at risk for this.

This was such a typical Western Medicine approach. I was hoping for so much more because the doctor seemed so proactive in getting me the test in the first place, but the follow-through is lacking.

I was very emotional this morning, but I’m trying to take the positive out of it and no that this experience served its purpose, and now it’s just time to move on. I got the antibiotic out of it, and I’ll start there, but now it’s time to find a functional doctor in Chicago (who accepts insurance) who can help me with the rest of the process.

Another bump in the road, but what’s new!

Stay positive people!

xo

happily Haleigh