Question about peppermint oil

For those of you who have used peppermint oil in the past, I have a question.

I have been using PO for a week now to help reduce small intestinal bacteria overgrowth. The first few days I used it, it actually caused me to bloat quite a bit, and I even felt a bit of reflux once or twice. No major pain, so I chocked it up to adjustment and continued. After a few day, I was not bloating with my meals, and my digestion appeared to be improving. I was researching info today about stomach HCl, and noticed that PO was contraindicated in low stomach acid people. Mainly because it could breakdown in the stomach due to the low acid environment and cause reflux symptoms. Well, at one week of use, I no longer have any bloating with PO, and haven't had any of the reflux-like symptoms either. My question is, has anyone observed PO having an effect on stomach acid production over the course of using it?

I didn't suspect that I had low stomach acid when I began PO, but due to the symptoms both before and during the beginnings of using PO, I'm making an guess that that was likely. I realize that poor digestion and low stomach acid can be a circular system, but I'm a bit surprised at the rapidity of the improvement, if indeed my stomach acid has improved. Perhaps someone is aware of another reason why the PO would cause me excessive bloating? I used it for a couple of days on an empty stomach as suggested about 20 mins before eating, then later about 5-10 minutes before food, both methods produced the same results.

Thanks for any input.