Zpol
Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 929
- Age
- 45
I'm wondering if anyone here can offer advice or perhaps suggest someone that may be able to help? Please :)
I suppose I have acquired some sort of antibiotic derived SIBO or something.
Last December, I had a fairly severe sinus infection. My doctor prescribed a 10 day course of Augmentin which surprisingly cleared up my life long constipation issue! (It did not clear up the sinus infection however). I was able to completely discontinue the cascara that I had been using daily for years (I had been taking approximately 1/2 teaspoon daily). This effect lasted for a good 3 months or so after completing the Augmentin course. Another thing I noticed was that there was no odor accompanying my BMs. It was crazy... I thought I was cured. But, the effect was not long lived. Now the constipation is back and it's considerably worse. I have begun taking cascara again at 3x the dose I used to take. It's a lot of cascara to take on a daily basis, and it's not pleasant to be taking this much.
There were some bad side effects that happened after the Augmentin as well so I don't really want to take it again. I'm hoping to figure out some alternative treatments. The side effects included severe dry mouth (which lead to some dental issues) and fungal overgrowth. The latter seemed to clear up on it's own but it was quite freaky at the time (TMI... stools were covered with white dots and mucus, plus I had a minor yeast infection). On a side note; I have used both doxycycline and rifaximin (not simultaneously) in the past with zero effect on gut health.
Other than the constipation, my health is pretty good. Occasionally I have other SIBO symptoms like bloating or heartburn but they are minimal.
I managed to clear up the nightmare sinus infection through other means fortunately.
My thyroid is in pretty good shape; TSH is at 1.14 uIU/mL which could be better but my temps are in good range so I'm not too concerned with trying to get it down to 0. My morning temp on average is 97.7 F and gets up to at least 98.6 F by late morning (99 F when I take progesterone) my pulse is pretty much always in the 80's per minute.
My energy level is good. I go for inclined walks pretty much every evening after dinner. My my 25OHD is in the 50's.
My diet is zero starch. I eat organic, extremely ripe fruits (usually grapes, oranges, apples, over-ripe bananas, dates, mangos, canned pears and peaches), eggs, beef, fat free chicken and fish, coconut oil, ghee, daily carrot salad w/ EVOO, bamboo shoots, well cooked greens, coffee, Uncle Matts OJ, organic additive free grape, apple, and pomegranate juice, coconut water mixed with juice and salt, Jennies coconut bites and chocolate chips, occasionally Mexican Coke or sugar gingerale. I avoid casein since it has caused autoimmune flare ups in the past.
I figured the Augmentin probably threw off some nutrients, particularly thiamine, so I've been taking 100mg Thiamine Tetrahydrofufuryl Disulfide every day for the last month or so in addition to the other B-vitamins (except folate).
I'm in process of researching to find out if Augmentin is known to deplete any other vitamins or minerals. Or if it affects bile flow or other organ functioning. Maybe someone here has some knowledge on this?
I suppose I have acquired some sort of antibiotic derived SIBO or something.
Last December, I had a fairly severe sinus infection. My doctor prescribed a 10 day course of Augmentin which surprisingly cleared up my life long constipation issue! (It did not clear up the sinus infection however). I was able to completely discontinue the cascara that I had been using daily for years (I had been taking approximately 1/2 teaspoon daily). This effect lasted for a good 3 months or so after completing the Augmentin course. Another thing I noticed was that there was no odor accompanying my BMs. It was crazy... I thought I was cured. But, the effect was not long lived. Now the constipation is back and it's considerably worse. I have begun taking cascara again at 3x the dose I used to take. It's a lot of cascara to take on a daily basis, and it's not pleasant to be taking this much.
There were some bad side effects that happened after the Augmentin as well so I don't really want to take it again. I'm hoping to figure out some alternative treatments. The side effects included severe dry mouth (which lead to some dental issues) and fungal overgrowth. The latter seemed to clear up on it's own but it was quite freaky at the time (TMI... stools were covered with white dots and mucus, plus I had a minor yeast infection). On a side note; I have used both doxycycline and rifaximin (not simultaneously) in the past with zero effect on gut health.
Other than the constipation, my health is pretty good. Occasionally I have other SIBO symptoms like bloating or heartburn but they are minimal.
I managed to clear up the nightmare sinus infection through other means fortunately.
My thyroid is in pretty good shape; TSH is at 1.14 uIU/mL which could be better but my temps are in good range so I'm not too concerned with trying to get it down to 0. My morning temp on average is 97.7 F and gets up to at least 98.6 F by late morning (99 F when I take progesterone) my pulse is pretty much always in the 80's per minute.
My energy level is good. I go for inclined walks pretty much every evening after dinner. My my 25OHD is in the 50's.
My diet is zero starch. I eat organic, extremely ripe fruits (usually grapes, oranges, apples, over-ripe bananas, dates, mangos, canned pears and peaches), eggs, beef, fat free chicken and fish, coconut oil, ghee, daily carrot salad w/ EVOO, bamboo shoots, well cooked greens, coffee, Uncle Matts OJ, organic additive free grape, apple, and pomegranate juice, coconut water mixed with juice and salt, Jennies coconut bites and chocolate chips, occasionally Mexican Coke or sugar gingerale. I avoid casein since it has caused autoimmune flare ups in the past.
I figured the Augmentin probably threw off some nutrients, particularly thiamine, so I've been taking 100mg Thiamine Tetrahydrofufuryl Disulfide every day for the last month or so in addition to the other B-vitamins (except folate).
I'm in process of researching to find out if Augmentin is known to deplete any other vitamins or minerals. Or if it affects bile flow or other organ functioning. Maybe someone here has some knowledge on this?