Re: SIBO caused by fructose malabsorption... help???

Hi, I had a really bad stomach flu 3 years ago causing high levels of bad bacteria. 1.5 years ago I thought I had it under control with Xifaxan (gut isolated Antibiotics ) followed by heavy probiotics, but it peaked again this January. So here's what I've been doing.

1. Dr. at first thought it was SIBO, but breath tests showed it was in the large intestines.
2. The main difference between small and large intestines is that no bacteria should be in the small intestines, so treatments involving probiotics are not recommended.
3. If you think it's SIBO, the book to read is 'A new IBS Solution' by Dr. Pimentel which is kind of the leading doctor in the new SIBO movement. But some of the info applies to bacteria overgrowth in general.
4. Dr. Pimentel recommends Xifaxan and Neomycin (both Antibiotics ) to treat. Alternatively, he touches on elemental diets which consists of glucose + amino acids + vitamins (basically, what food would be like after digestive).
5. I started with the elemental formula for 2 weeks and had a huge improvement in bloating/gas and other symptoms. Stomach was down like 5" in circumference. However, bacteria was still there as small cheats would bloat back up a little. So I've been doing mini elemental stretches mixed in with trying to add food back.
6. I then tried the Xifaxan/Neomycin to see if it was any better. It wasn't, in fact my digestive felt worse after that compared to the elemental formula.
7. I wouldn't do Antibiotics unless it's the above 2, and Xifaxan is around $1200 if your insurance doesn't cover it (which it often doesn't for this condition). Xifaxan stays almost entirely in the gut which is the only reason I was willing to try it as a last resort.
8. The elemental formula available via Retail is called Vivonex and is about $30/day (super expensive). However, with some math and research, you can come up with a pretty close concoction at about $5 per day. I can share my recipe with you if you'd like. Also, siboinfo.com has some ideas for home made elemental formulas. But mine was as close to the original vivonex formula that I could get without going way over board.
9. After mostly killing off the bacteria, I'm now on heavy doses of probiotics, peppermint capsules (anti-bacterial) before meals, enzymes with meals and still being super careful about not eating fructose. In my case, since it's not SIBO, fructose should be absorbed before hitting the large intestines, so the fact I still have problems with fructose is still a mystery to me.
10. if you have recurring bacteria overgrowth (like me), also look into biofilms. The strand that I was originally tested for is one that likes to make biofilms which is why 2 weeks of elemental dieting didn't take care of it fully. I have a bunch of different enzymes for biofilm disruption, but I've been bad about taking due to GI side effects making it hard to leave the house. I'm hoping to get serious about bio-film disruption during weeks of vacation here and there.
11. Look into prescript-assist as a probiotic as it's soil based, and so far I've been doing pretty well on that. You want to avoid probiotics with the lacta strands.
12. As for colostrum, I'm on the 4-life transfer factor, and when I added that in a couple years ago I saw a huge improvement. I also take about 30 other things for other general issues. Basically the initial stomach bug wrecked havoc everywhere.

Anyhow, hopefully that gives you a bit of a starting point on the bacteria thing. Tweet