Hi, I’m Brianna and I have SIBO🥰💗
If you struggle with gut health, this is for you ↴
Hi, my name is Brianna and I have been battling SIBO for for the past 2.5 years🙈
My gut health journey is a long one so buckle up 🚘
The very first time I noticed something was off in my gut was in January 2021…
At first it started with mild bloating. Mild bloating after eating quickly became waking up bloated, and ending the night looking 5 months pregnant (this might be an exaggeration but I felt like I was going to pop any moment)🙃
Then came the food intolerances. My entire life I could eat whatever I wanted and I was fine. Nope, not anymore. Slowly I started to cut things out of my diet (gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, caffeine, alcohol, artificial sugar..etc). This gave me temporary relief until my mental health couldn’t take it and I said F**K IT and I would go back to eating the standard American diet.
Fun fact, my mind is very black and white (I’m working on this), but for me there was no in between eating super restricted or eating whatever I wanted, and by whatever I wanted I mean typically not the most nutritious foods🙄
This slowly became a cycle where I’d eat “clean” for a few months to manage my symptoms until I just couldn’t take it mentally then I’d flip and eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I had never struggled with a binge eating disorder in my life, and this is a post for another day, but having SIBO made me feel like I was battling a binge eating disorder.
Then came the weight gain. In January of 2021 I had been maintaining a weight loss of 30 lbs that I had gained as a result of binge drinking and eating junk 24/7 in college.
To date, I’ve gained back those 30 lbs and have struggled to lose it.
With a background in personal training, I always thought losing weight was black-and-white, it was calories in versus calories out, but after dealing with SIBO I know that’s just not the case. Losing weight relates to a multitude of things including having good gut health, balanced hormones, managing stress… there’s sooo much more to take into consideration.
I would count calories for 2 months, live on turkey, rice, a few veggies and oatmeal, which actually helped manage my symptoms until my cravings came back stronger than ever and I couldn't fight it for the life of me.
I chalked it up to "not being disciplined enough",
"I'm being too lazy", "just brush off the cravings", but if I'm being completely honest, it just wasn't that simple. Being stuck in that cycle was and is a mental battle every single day.
Imagine having an itch that keeps persisting and the only way to get rid of it is to scratch it.. That's what the cravings feel like when you have poor gut health, and that's why I felt like I was battling a binge eating disorder for the past year. It wasn't until I found my new practitioner did I realize these binging tendencies were a side effect of having poor gut health.
Then came the skin issues. I had always relatively nice skin, until the past year. Within the time l've been dealing with gut issues, I also developed rosacea, which I had assumed I just inherited it since my grandma also had it. Come to find out having rosacea is a side effect of also having SIBO. I'm not sure if it's going to go away once l heal but we'll see!
So let me share some of what l've tried to manage my SIBO (which clearly has not worked):
* l've done a low fodmap diet, keto diet, carnivore diet
* I cut out gluten, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, artificial sugar, eggs, soy, nuts, (google the top 14 allergens, l've eliminated those)
* I've done 5 or 6 rounds of antibiotics (xifaxan & neomycin) since being diagnosed in September of 2021
* I've done about 3 or 4 rounds of antimicrobials (candibactin ar/br, berberine, garlic, mastic gum, ox bile, oregano oil, colostrum, a biofilm disruptor, psyllium husk)
* I had a colonoscopy done at 24 - came back normal
* Before I knew I had SIBO, I had a few ultrasounds done
* Generic routine blood work
* I saw an endocrinologist because "I had to manage my stress"
* I started taking antidepressants because my gut issues were "all in my head"
* I've adopted a low tox lifestyle (I buy organic, I got a reverse osmosis water filter, I buy clean beauty/hair products/oral products…)
I've done a freakin lot, and at times I had some relief but the SIBO always manages to come back.
So here we are. If you've made it this far thank you and I truly appreciate you taking the time to read my story. I pray that you're not in the same boat as me because I wouldn't wish this on anyway, but if you are, I'm going to be sharing absolutely everything I can to hold myself accountable on my journey and to hopefully help you feel less alone on yours❤️
My journey with SIBO hasn't just been an internal battle; it’s manifested in ways that are hard to ignore, especially when it comes to how I look and feel. I remember looking in the mirror and seeing a person who was constantly battling her own body, and it was disheartening. The physical changes, particularly my face and belly, were some of the most challenging aspects to cope with, making me feel like my body was publicly betraying me. Let’s talk about the dreaded SIBO belly. It wasn't just a little discomfort after a meal; it was a constant, visible distension that sometimes made me look genuinely pregnant, even when I hadn’t eaten anything. The OCR image of me looking significantly bloated truly captures this reality. I’d wake up feeling relatively flat, only for my stomach to expand throughout the day, regardless of what or how much I ate. This chronic bloating impacted everything. My clothes stopped fitting, and I often found myself avoiding social situations because of how self-conscious I felt. It’s hard to explain the physical pressure and discomfort – it's not just cosmetic; it’s a constant tight, stretched feeling that makes simple movements painful. I learned that this is often due to the excessive gas produced by bacteria in the small intestine, and knowing the why didn’t make it any easier to live with, but it did validate my experience. Then there were the SIBO face issues. I always had relatively clear skin, so when rosacea suddenly appeared, it was a shock. My face would often be red, inflamed, and sensitive, which the OCR image aptly shows. It wasn't just an occasional flush; it was a persistent redness, sometimes accompanied by bumps, that made me feel like I was constantly blushing or had an allergic reaction. I initially dismissed it, thinking it was genetic, but discovering the link between rosacea and SIBO was a huge revelation. It made me realize just how interconnected our gut health is with our external appearance. This constant facial redness and inflammation chipped away at my confidence, making me feel less like myself. The concept of a SIBO before and after isn't just about weight loss or a clear complexion; it’s about a complete lifestyle and emotional shift. Before SIBO, I took my gut health for granted. I could eat anything, maintain my weight easily, and my skin was clear. The ‘after’ in my journey is still a work in progress, but it starkly contrasts that easy past. The bloating, the skin issues, the struggles with food, and the mental toll of constant cravings and restrictions have transformed my life. The side-by-side comparison in the OCR image, showing my pre-SIBO fitness versus my bloated state, speaks volumes. It highlights not just the physical changes, but the immense effort and mental resilience required to keep pushing forward. This isn't just a weight battle; it’s a fight for my overall well-being and reclaiming a sense of normalcy in my body. It's a journey of understanding that true health goes far beyond what we see on the surface.
What finally worked to help you? I'm currently in the same boat and being told it is in my head. I am uncomfortable in my own body🥹.