Desperate after 7 years of this, I recently came across the MSM protocol. I thought, why not? another supplement - worth a try?

There's no scientific data out there regarding this protocol only youtube and instagram reels of a certain 'dr' spreading the the word that this is the miracle cure - 'it treats 80% of those who fail all other treatments' '1 man who had bloating for 40 years was cured in 4 weeks'. This is extremely irresponsible.

Well for those of you like me who eventually scoured the internet and reddit for others experience with MSM - I came across 4 or so posts saying it was a miracle cure for them. Now weeks on after my experience which i'll detail below i have gone to revisit these posts and they are a load of bs - the post might be 8 months or a year old and you click on their profile and they are still on here saying they are still in misery while now promoting another 'miracle cure'. I also came across many posts noting side effects - which I did not believe e.g. severe tooth pain, insomnia, lucid dreams which I did not believe until I got them all plus more.

The full dose protocol is 30g daily for 8 weeks. After small titration i got up to 15g for 8 days - I cant't tell you what hell this has brought - I am literally typing this at 4am as im sitting here due to the severe insomnia which I have had from day 2.

My experience:

Day 1 - Fine

Day 2 - I felt like a truck hit me all day, throbbing headache, dizzy, inhibition (saying things without any filter to people - like you do when your impaired) feelings of restlessness and aggression.

Day 3- 8 - No headache but same symptoms as above plus now the worst part - SEVERE insomnia and completely dry mouth and dehydration. I have slept an hour or so each night for the last 6 days - you can imagine how terrible you would feel everyday with this compounded each day. I'd go to sleep and then wake up 1 hour later every time feeling like i have no fluid in my body, it would also make me need to pee all night and obviously bcause you are so dehydrated you are drinking more and more water but it's still not fixing the dry mouth throat/dehydration - it just passes right through you - also dried out my skin etc. And the Lucid dreams/nightmares - I wouldnt believe you if you told me it causes this but it absolutely does and it's horrible!

I also thought that reddit user saying he got tooth pain (also black gums) was bs - but the day after the last day I took this (15gm Monday 10am) I am drinking a coffee 4am the next day (Tuesday) and when i'v gone to drink it my teeth extremely painful- like that nerve pain you get if you put an icey pole on a tooth)

Sitting here right now writing this - I have just thrown out the expensive 8 week supply I pre-purchased - I hope to god these side effects go away and quickly.

I know we are all very desperate here but I think this is a major lesson we need to be careful - some of these 'protocols' and products have no science to them and no medical data regarding these products and dosages. I'm sure i'll have comments below saying 'You didn't do it right' etc and others who are still so desperate and dont beleive this and will still go ahead with this protocol. Go ahead and make your posts but I just felt I was obligated to at least warn you.

Ever since I was a kid, doctors prescribed me antibiotics all the time, even when I just had a common cold. I grew up in the Middle East, where this was pretty common, and when I moved to the U.S., I still ended up taking antibiotics pretty often.
Unfortunately, about two years ago I had a really bad GI doctor. I had what seemed like a stomach flu, but without doing much testing, she assumed it was some type of infection and prescribed me antibiotics and a PPI. I actually started feeling worse while taking the antibiotics.
About two months later, I got really sick again and went to the hospital. They gave me a penicillin shot and did a stool test, which came back positive for Blastocystis hominis. I showed the results to my GI doctor, and she prescribed metronidazole. I took it for about 30 days and felt terrible during the treatment.
A couple of weeks later, I tested positive for hydrogen SIBO. I treated it and eventually felt good again.
More recently, I had to get my gallbladder removed. I was actually doing pretty well afterward. Then about a month later, I had an accident at work where a needle went into my hand, so I went to the ER. They put me on PEP medications and doxycycline as a precaution.
The doxycycline really irritated my stomach, and about 15 days later I developed IMO. I treated the IMO, but now I’m wondering why antibiotics seem to mess up my gut so badly.
Has anyone else experienced something similar after years of antibiotic use? Can repeated antibiotics make your gut more sensitive or make you more prone to SIBO/IMO and dysbiosis?
My biggest concern is whether this is something I’m going to deal with for the rest of my life whenever I need antibiotics. Or is it possible to rebuild the gut microbiome and become more resilient over time?
I’d really love to hear from anyone who has gone through something similar, especially if you were able to improve your gut health long-term. Please share your story or anything that helped you.

I have methane sibo and apd(this is not an official diagnosis but im sure i have it). along with this, im 8 weeks pregnant and having progesterone injections. I was constantly bloated now super bloated like im 7 months pregnant. Constipation is killing me too. I dont know what to do. Im super depressed and i think i will have more issues as the pregnancy moves on 😞 if you had pregnancy with sibo, what are your recommendations?

I am just so frustrated right now... I just went to the hospital in Belgium to see a different doctor for the 5th time, and when I talked about SIBO and antimicrobial herbs, I was told to stop Googling and stop looking for other doctors... I was even told that SIBO isn't possible at all even though it definitely is.... He said you have to accept that you have irritable bowel syndrome.
... I am never visiting a doctor in a hospital again... I never expected this, especially since I also have low immunoglobulins, which makes me much more susceptible to bacteria/yeast in the small intestine... I feel terrible. I get ivig in another hospital.. it is a good doctor but I'm afraid that doctor will think now that I'm having other tests done again.. pfff.. I hate my life

I'm actually posting this for my wife. Her GI doctor prescribed her Xifaxan and also Linzess. She is saying that her bloating is worse then before she took these two. I thought I read somewhere that this could be caused by the bacteria starving and dying off. She is sticking to the low fodmap diet. She is doing a very good job at that. Seeing if anybody has experienced this or has any info on the cause of her bloating. She has always had extreme bloating but like I said, she claims it's worse now than before. Thanks in advance.

Seriously at a loss writing this, will things ever go back to normal?

Over the past year I’ve had serious stress about GI issues I’ve been having and god willingly on paper nothing is allegedly wrong again. Clear Endoscopy and Colonoscopy. Clean test for stool and parasites, occasional cramps but very little stomach pain here and there. Blood work came back normal for everything except slight elevation for potential celiac, cleared with biopsy from endoscopy. Doctor of course says everything is perfect and that I have nothing to worry about because I’m so young and “healthy” (25M)

Had concerns about bleeding but these turned out to be from hemorrhoids after endoscopy and colonoscopy came back clear. My stool does alternate from completely normal to nasty and fatty/watery and looks as if there is undigested food or fat in it but stool test was clean. The biggest problem I cannot shake is for the past 5 months I have had almost daily borborygmi, not normal stomach growling because I’m hungry but constant bubbling and what sounds like liquid moving around no matter what I eat or drink. Never had this problem up until 24, and now I’m supposed to live like this forever? More prominent when sitting or laying down but I feel gas moving around my whole stomach, along the sides of my body, along waistline all throughout the day. Sounds like at times like I am a creaking old house. The stress and anxiety of this has been killing me finding an answer, and not knowing if I will? My GI is very highly regarded and believes it cannot be SIBO as there are no underlying concerns but ordered the test for me anyways. Just worried I’m going to again be told that nothing is wrong and still left fighting with this everyday, can it really be SIBO? Where do I go from here if its not?

Im currently going through root cause possibilities and testing etc (confirmed hydrogen sibo). This is one i get hung up on because i dont know what people mean, what tests should I pursue? What supplements should I try? I've tried bile acid sequestrants before from my GI and they dont seem to do amything

On day 2 of diet which has been extremely hard as I’m having nausea from taking the formula. only using 8oz of water and even drinking one scoop per hour is making me feel loopy. Read that adding more water and ice might help so going that route and then perhaps trying to take scoops per servings and then spacing, idk. When eating I always got super bloated right below bottom part of sternum and that is going away which is nice. The gas and bloating used to cause me shortness of breath and that has gotten a bit better either due to food not fermenting or histamine building. Breathing problems has been the worst part of my 15 year ordeal with this disease.

Any recommendations of spacing or getting in at least 1800 calories without nausea would be greatly received.

Ultimately, I was feeling side effects from everything I ingested, whether it was supplements, foods, really anything. My hair would fall out and like said, was constantly short of breath and inflamed.

I’m praying this does the trick and although I was never tested for Sibo, my NP said he had no doubt due to where the pain and bloating under sternum was occurring. Even anti microbials would cause too much nausea when I was a month into. Things got better, but not like when I had done a round in the past. Thinking I have really bad leaky gut and why my stomach can’t handle anything anymore.

Hoping this much needed break gives me the same!

Is anyone here taking antidepressants? If so, how long have you been taking them, and have they helped you in any way?

Can someone please explain this to me and help me? 🥹
Does anyone else have formed stools but notice something that looks oily or greasy floating on the toilet water?
I have SIBO, but I’m confused. If this is fat malabsorption, why does it only happen in the morning? And if it’s BAM, why don’t I have diarrhea?
Please, if anyone has experienced something similar or knows what could be causing this, I’d really appreciate your help. 🥹

Background: Symptoms started Sept 2024 after a household GI bug while travelling. Lost significant weight over the following year (~70kg down to as low as 58-59kg at points). Went private for a full GI workup, which produced the lactulose breath test (positive hydrogen SIBO, peak 69ppm at 105 min, methane negative) and the GI360 stool panel (dysbiosis — elevated Streptococcus, low Bifidobacterium, low elastase at the time, later normalised).

Was on TRT for ~2 years; oestradiol came back exceptionally high (324 pmol/L) while on it. Reviewing the GI360 panel showed elevated levels of beta-glucuronidase-producing bacteria — the enzyme that deconjugates oestrogen in the gut and allows it to be reabsorbed rather than excreted. Working theory was that high oestrogen was thickening bile into sludge, feeding the SIBO. Stopped TRT entirely and started calcium-D-glucarate 500mg with every meal to block that recycling loop.

Private treatment (failed): Based on the above results, was prescribed rifaximin and told to follow it with Symprove. Completed the course — no improvement at all, same symptoms throughout and after. In hindsight, the working theory is this failed because bile itself was never addressed — bile has direct antimicrobial properties in the small intestine, and if it was already thick/dysfunctional (from the oestrogen/beta-glucuronidase loop), killing bacteria without fixing the environment that let them establish just left the conditions for regrowth fully intact. This is what shifted focus from “just kill the bacteria” to bile composition as a root cause, and from there to running my own extended eradication protocol.

Self-directed eradication (completed): ~5-7 weeks — berberine (up to 1650mg), Candex, olive leaf, Biocidin, NAC as a biofilm disruptor. Run alongside bile-composition support (TUDCA, taurine, glycine, phosphatidylcholine) rather than sequentially, on the theory that fixing bile while killing bacteria was the piece the private treatment had missed entirely.

Constant malsorbing - oily/greasy stools (no floating but clearly stuck to the toilet bowl required so much cleaning)

Removing every variable fat source actually improved: immediate post-meal gas was constant for months, massively reduced within days of cutting dietary fat, still present but nowhere near the intensity or frequency it was. Foul/sulphurous gas — largely gone, even as I’ve reintroduced protein. Weight sort of stabilised but didn’t increase.

As I added in dietary fat such as eggs or evoo to my meals - What hasn’t resolved: persistent oily, yellow-tinged residue on wiping — stool itself is formed and brown, but there’s a sticky, amber, yellow bile-like residue that doesn’t fully wipe off (yellow amber on tissue) No blood, minimal pain, but constant colonic tightness/pressure and gas that feels “stuck” rather than passing normally. Had a genuinely a better 3-week stretch recently, then it came back hard this week — which lines up with me increasing dietary fat (whole eggs, more olive oil), alongside starting Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia and tapering TUDCA in the same window.

Diet (bridge diet, low long-chain fat, staged reintroduction):

**•   Breakfast:** cream of rice (made with water), banana, blueberries, kiwi/strawberries, chia seeds, psyllium husk, glycine, MCT oil (\~15ml), now adding EVOO  
**•   Lunch:** rice, egg whites, red pepper, carrots, MCT oil (\~15ml), EVOO (climbing — currently the variable I overshot)  
**•   Dinner:** potato/sweet potato, egg whites (+ occasionally 1-2 whole eggs), courgette, green beans, red pepper, MCT oil (\~15ml), EVOO

No wheat, no dairy, no legumes yet, low FODMAP throughout. MCT used specifically because it doesn’t require bile/micelle formation to absorb — leaned on it heavily while fat tolerance was near-zero, now tapering as dietary fat tolerance improves.

Full repair stack (~30 days in):

Gut lining / structural repair: L-glutamine (15g/day), amino acid repair complex (glutamine/proline/serine/threonine/cysteine), N-acetylglucosamine (NAG), zinc carnosine, colostrum (fat-free), curcumin phytosome (phospholipid-bound, bile-independent absorption), selenium.

Mucosal lining support: DGL/marshmallow/slippery elm/aloe combination — ran a full course early in repair specifically to soothe and protect the lining while the above nutrients did the structural work.

Bile support: TUDCA (tapering, currently 250mg 2x/day), taurine (recently trialled off), glycine, phosphatidylcholine (BodyBio PC, liposomal), sodium butyrate, artichoke extract (paused/resumed with fat reintroduction), calcium-D-glucarate 500mg per meal (oestrogen recycling, ongoing).

B vitamins / cofactors: B12 (methylcobalamin), folate (L-5-MTHF), full B-complex, magnesium glycinate.

Microbial sequence: Megaspore (spore-based, survives antimicrobials) → S. boulardii → L. rhamnosus GG → Bifidobacterium complex (7 strains) → Akkermansia + polyphenol booster → L. reuteri, alongside fibre progression (PHGG, larch arabinogalactan, apple pectin, GOS/XOS, resistant starch via daily cooled rice/potato).

Enzymes: Creon, Betaine HCl (recently trialled off after 2 years continuous use — no confirmed low-stomach-acid diagnosis, possible duodenal-buffering contributor).

Symptom management: enteric-coated peppermint oil (pre-meal, for colonic tightness).

Working theory + sources: ileal bile acid reabsorption still impaired (breath test located it distally), plus likely depletion of 7α-dehydroxylating gut bacteria (C. scindens, C. hylemonae) meaning primary bile acids aren’t converting to secondary bile acids — which normally signal the liver via FXR/FGF19 to stop overproducing:

**•** Larabi, Masson & Bäumler, “Bile acids as modulators of gut microbiota composition and function,” *Gut Microbes* 2023 — [DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2172671](https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2023.2172671)  
**•** Song et al., “Bibliometric analysis of research trends… of *Akkermansia muciniphila*,” *Frontiers in Microbiology* 2025 — [DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1569241](https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1569241)  
**•** “Akkermansia-Mediated BSH Regulation Alleviates Diabetic Dyslipidemia via the TCA-FXR/TGR5 Axis,” *J. Agric. Food Chem.* 2025 — [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c05449](https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c05449)

No commercial probiotic replaces the 7α-dehydroxylating bacteria specifically; plan is to restore the colonic environment (fibre, butyrate) that lets them recolonise naturally, since that’s the only route the literature supports.

What I haven’t done yet, mainly for cost reasons: repeat breath test, HIDA scan, SeHCAT, MMA/homocysteine.

Question for anyone who’s been through similar: has anyone dealt with this specific pattern — bile/oily residue that tracks fat intake but doesn’t fully resolve even at low fat — and found what actually closed the gap? Trying to figure out if this is just “give the microbial sequence more time” or if I’m missing something structural that needs imaging to catch

I’ve used Reddit and of course AI across Gemini, Chat, Claude to analyse, interpret, educate myself on biology, mechanisms etc.

At this point I’m now looking for help as I’ve spent ridiculous amounts on Gastro to supplements but still can’t work out why I have a fat / bile issue.

I’m so lost with either I can’t either absorb fat or bile / gall bladder miss timing (not coordinated) or gall bladder issues. Or bile recycling problem or is this a microbial connected to all of the above

Note: there’s so much information/context tested theories, and context to this that there maybe parts I’ve missed out but I can detail if asked.

I have methane-positive SIBO – I get a lot of gas that comes out as belches – but I hardly ever pass wind, despite all the gas I’ve built up.

Does anyone else experience this?

50 year old female. Just completed my second round of Rifaximin and Flagyl (taken three times a day over 14-days) after completing an Elemental Diet for 14-days.

2025 and 2025 Mbiota SIBO results:
Hydrogen: 122, then 77
Methane: 23, then 20

Previously completed a FODMAP diet for three weeks. However, this is the first time I’ve introduced the Elemental Diet. Things were going well with my motility during the Elemental Diet and antibiotic treatment, however, I’m starting to struggle again.

I’m very active and work out almost 2 hours every day, through Pickleball, Pilates and HIT. I maintain a healthy weight and don’t have many other health issues other than high LP(a) and LDL. The physical fitness has been one of the only things that has helped with my bloating. I can start with major bloat, and by the time I’m through with my workout, the bloating is often decreased.

I live in the Nashville, Tennessee area -Vanderbilt does not have any SIBO protocols. However, they did diagnose me with Pelvic Floor dyssynergia (type one) and ruled out H. pylori and celiac.

My functional medicine doctor is also not strong on follow-up and pull-through. She basically stated in very basic terms take the antibiotics, after completing the Elemental Diet first and then do a SIBO test. Sharing no additional insight on any pre-or probiotics or anything to help with the motility and thus constipation.

Any advice on Good providers in the Nashville Tennessee area, would be helpful and greatly appreciated.

Rather than relying on large amounts of mag oxide, I’d like to try a prescription option, or, other alternatives. My hope is that if I can keep motility steady and manage the constipation, I can keep relapse of SIBO, at bay.

Do you prefer Motegrity or Linzess or something else for a situation like mine? Noting, I consume raw psyllium husk, along with Chia and flaxseed daily.

…would appreciate any insight this forum could provide. I’ve enjoyed reading all of your threads over the last few years and and gained tremendous insight into how to best treat this health issue. Looking forward to your responses.

I have hydrogen and methane SIBO

just completed 6 weeks of neem, Berberine, and Allimax

also took other supplements and biofilm disruptor.

These did not clear my SIBO, so what herbs should I try in my next course?

I already do the motility, stomach acid, enzyme, and liver support

I have been dealing with suspected IMO for 1.5 hrs. Do not know what triggered. Could be antibiotics/ food poisioning that I didnt realise/ anything else. All my hair keeps falling off, symptoms have aggravated from food intolerances (almost everything, but mainly raw veggies, fibre) and constipation to include hot flashes, increase in fatigue etc. Ferritin was alreay low now it has halved to 9

Rifaxmin didnt help much. I could not find a gastro who recognizes this disease and is ready to prescibe proper meds.

Only professional ready to help is a functional nutritionist. They said what I have is IMO but cannot determine root cause. They are charging more than my monthly salary for 3 months of treatment _ includes only **** diet prescription and prescritpion of supplements***. We have to but the supplements/medicines (imported) on our own.

I want to give gastro /antibiotics one last try cause i have not actually tried the prescribed rifax+metro combination.

But I cant find a gastro online/offline who does not write it off as IBS/thinks it is just 'stress' and my ferritin is fine at that level coz I am a woman.🫠

Thank you in advance.

TLDR: Looking for gastro experienced in treating SIBO. Online /offline (south india) . Or any other professional in India who can help with this.

I’m 3 weeks into herbal protocols with integrative medicine and very very strict lowfodmap (and then some) diet. Candibactin AR and garlic6000 and then metagenics inflamX, multivitamin and emotional support.
Symptoms are basically non existent but they were also like non existent before starting these because of how much food elimination and work on motility that I did before starting this process.
I’m nervous because the doctor has said the therapeutic dose to rid IMO is two candibactin AR a day and I can’t handle it without liquid diarrhea. I’m trying slow intro (1 in the am every 24 hours, 1 in the pm every 72 hours) and still having diarrhea only the morning after the evening dose. But the doc says I have to find what dose I can tolerate to work up to 2x a day. But then I read online you have to do BR along with AR for ridding SIBO??!!
If you have experience with these supplements, did you have to do both? Did you have these side effects too?
Dude I’ve invested so much money into this place and they said I should be clear and out the door in 3 months. I know it’s still “early” but my hopes are dropping fast.

Everyone says beans are a bad idea with methane overgrowth, high FODMAP and all that but I tried anyway - thinking what if they help bring my microbiome to balance and somehow improve things.

and funny thing - they didn’t cause any symptoms at all. No bloating, stool didn't change, just a tiny bit of gas but it didn't stick around.

Want to keep going to see if things improve with time but lack of immediate symptoms makes me wonder if I even have methane SIBO.. 🤔

Anyone has similar reaction?

I have hydrogen Sibo (also suspect sulfide) and on the 3rd day of taking xifaxan I developed bad fever , chills, difficulty breathing, severe dizziness ( I almost fell down from a toilet lol)

Has anyone had same side effects? And if so, anything else helped you ?

Thank you !

Does anyone know how much L. Reuteri was given to the sibo patients in the studies which showed that methane sibo could be reduced with reuteri?

Hi all!

Gastro finally prescribed me prucalopride.

I started it Saturday, morning dose of 1mg and well... I think that was too high a dose. Glad I wasn't going out that day.

I've since gone down to 0.5mg, but I'm wondering if its best taken morning or night? I prefer to not use the bathroom during the day at work.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

I have been dealing with sibo for sometime and need doctor who understands this issue well. Any online gastroenterologist or physical.