In up to 2/3 of patients diagnosed with IBS, SIBO is actually causing their bloating, abdominal pain, and abnormal bowel movements. While we have been researching SIBO for the last few decades, it has not been until recently that researchers have been able to clearly elucidate the microbiome of the SIBO patient. This may pave the way for new therapeutics and a personalized approach for SIBO.

While SIBO can cause many symptoms and may lead to other health conditions, SIBO did not just randomly happen. The bacteria grew in your small intestine for a reason and for successful treatment, you need to address the cause. Otherwise, SIBO will recur.

Bloating is the sensation of pressure in the abdomen WITHOUT a change in girth. A change is girth (often described as a pregnant belly look by patients) is abdominal distention. You can have bloating with abdominal distention but you may just have bloating. With abdominal distention, there is usually pain, which we call visceral hypersensitivity

If you have been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), chances are that you actually have small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Normally, you have small amounts of bacteria present in your small intestine. In SIBO, the bacteria proliferate in your small intestine where they ferment sugars from your food leading to digestive symptoms.

If you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), there are a few things you need to know. First of all, IBS isn’t real. This leads to my second point: you don’t have IBS (because you can’t have something that isn’t real).