Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS)

sarah sam said:
Hi @officerripley,


I hear you going 36 hours without food just to calm a flare is brutal, and no one can do that forever. A few things my gastro and dietitian suggested when a complete fast isn’t realistic:


• Tiny “micro-meals” instead of a full fast. On my worst days I nibble ¼ cup portions every couple of hours (plain rice congee, a boiled egg white, or a few sips of bone broth). It keeps blood sugar steady but still gives the gut long rest periods.


• Elemental or semi-elemental shake days. Swapping one or two solid meals for a pre-digested formula (amino acids + MCT oil) buys my intestines a breather without starving me. It isn’t gourmet, yet it cuts the cramping almost as well as total fasting.


• Track the “trigger stack.” I jot down sleep debt, stress spikes, and food load on the same page. Seeing how those three pile up lets me schedule a micro-meal day before the storm hits.


These tricks aren’t cures, just ways to dial the volume down when the old “nothing by mouth” rule feels impossible. If you experiment, maybe rate your pain/bloat every few hours so you’ll know fast whether it’s helping.
Click to expand...
Yeah, already tried all that, no relief unless I swallow nothing for many hours; thanks anyway.
 

Hi @officerripley,


I totally get the “tried it all” fatigue. When my own gut refused every food except water, my gastro dug a little deeper and found other culprits that can masquerade as plain IBS:


• Bile-acid run-off – extra bile in the colon can keep things in constant revolt. A simple trial of a binder powder can be a clue if tests aren’t handy.


• Lingering SIBO – sometimes the bugs bounce back after antibiotics, so my doc repeated a breath test and tweaked the plan.


• Pelvic-floor traffic jams – sounds odd, but a few sessions with a physio who treats bowel disorders cut my “pressure-cooker” pain in half.


• Gut-brain overdrive – ten-minute hypnotherapy audios (I was sceptical!) lowered my pain score more than most meds.


None of these are silver bullets, but tackling one sneaky trigger bought me enough comfort to eat small, real meals again. Maybe jot down which of these you’ve already ruled out, then ask your GI which puzzle piece might still be hiding. Cheering you on, nobody should have to pick between starvation and pain.
 
Totally get it. When fasting is the only thing that calms a flare, it can mean another driver, like bile-acid diarrhea or lingering SIBO, is still in play. Asking your GI about a quick trial of a bile-acid binder or a repeat breath test gave me enough wiggle room to eat tiny meals again. Nobody should have to choose between hunger and pain, hang in there.
 
I was diagnosed with SIBO ("your test result was off the charts"), they prescribed something that cost me $2,000 for 2 weeks' worth of an antibiotic which did nothing. As I saw another SIBO patient say on the Mayo Clinic site who had the same non-result from the antibiotics and someone was trying to convince her to try another course of the antibiotics, "They say they don't even know what causes SIBO and yet they want me to keep trying expensive antibiotics--which a lot of medical professionals think too many of can cause more harm than good--I don't think so!"

I agree with her; and as expensive as those antibiotics are, they should work right away; they also shouldn't cost as much as they do when since they keep saying they don't know what even causes it, they're obviously just throwing meds against the wall to see if one sticks. So phooey on trying any more of that stuff.
 
An alternative to antibiotics is Ampitrexyl.

It's cheap, more gentle on your good gut bacteria, no prescription needed. I've taken it for other reasons and I seemed to notice a small improvement.

I'm actually testing it just for Sibo symptoms right now. Day 3, nothing definitive yet. But my issues are caused by direct backflow, so any type of anti bacterial might be fruitless?
 

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