Please help--SIBO pain...cure & doctor recommendations

Hi there, hope ur well. A brief summary of me, hoping u can help guide me in any way thru my painful journey--thx in advance!

2009 traveled to India 1 month, 2011 severe pain in stomach (screaming in fetal position, landing me in the ER for a night but largely subsiding after--no diagnosis), 2012 Mexico City for a few days, 2013-2014 ~6 trips totaling ~2 months in China. 2014 pain started bad again...diagnosed w/ food intolerances after standard food panel (no dairy, wheat, eggs, shellfish). Did stool WBC calprotectin tests in 2014 that were normal (no ova, parasites, cysts, inflammation). 2017 stomach pain back strong...abdomen/pelvic ultrasounds clean, breath test results showed SIBO (predominantly hydrogen, but I think also methane). Did Xifaxin (Rifaximin) 550mg 3x/day 14 days (failed), linzess, ibgard, peppermint oil, dicyclomine, ibuprofen, probiotics (heard may be bad for SIBO?) + Siebecker's SIBO diet (not strictly)....some of these help a bit, but I dont want to be reliant on drugs and crazy diets the rest of my life, I want to fix the underlying cause and live like a normal human again before this causes even bigger health issues. Pain levels seem highly correlated w/stressful times. Previous GI ineffective/highly unresponsive.

Now looking for Anthem-covered Dr. specialized in curing SIBO, no more than ~45 min drive from Oakland CA (by San Francisco). Plz share what u recommend for cure (what worked for u?) & any detail about ur doctor e.g. (1) Track record of success treating SIBO. Did they cure u & fix ur underlying cause or r u on path to it? (2) Availability. Whats typical turn-around time to get answers, appointments? (3) Did they care enough about u/ur issue/finding a cure in least amount of time/pain/cost possible (4) Are they open to alternative treatments such as herbals (r they more effective? Some say NDs/functional MDs r better but theyre not covered so that's last resort + there's only 1 published report of herbal Antibiotics for SIBO treatment). (5) It would be ideal if this doctor can also sign disability paperwork (short term disability probably being the best one) or at least put in a strong vouch for it, as my PCP is not willing on her own.

Much appreciated! Tweet