SIBO eradication - 14-day goal

[skoey]

goal: eradicate SIBO by water fasting for 14 days
current weight: 119lbs or 54kgs
height: 5’5" or 167cm
fat-adapted?: yes (I’m carnivore)
exercise level: intermediate (3x/week weight lifting with long-distance walking)

Ok, using this forum as a form of accountability to finally get rid of this methane-dominant SIBO (I had both, hydrogen and methane; however the methane is much harder to get rid of and my naturopath said the Rifaxamin only eradicates hydrogen-dominant, argh). Will starve out this s.o.b. once and for all.

So far day 1, last meal yesterday was around 1930-2000hrs. Had chicken livers in butter and 3 eggs pudding with heavy cream. And the last fatty substance I consumed was decaf black tea with heavy cream. Had to finish the heavy cream since I don’t plan to eat for 2 weeks. Also had a longer workout at the gym as I wanted to make sure I’ve worked out my arms before this extended fast. However, I still plan to lightly work out at home with my kettlebells, but not as extensive as the circuit I do at the gym. Gotta keep it light.

The film festival doesn’t start til Friday. Boo-erns. I bought the streaming package and I’m able to watch 80% of the films in the comfort of my own home (hence why I planned this time to do this fast). It’s only for 12 days though so since I want to do this fast for 14, gotta start beforehand just so I can get over the first-48-hr hurdle. So, will keep busy with duolingo lessons and chores for now.

I haven’t done an extended fast in a while so I’m curious to see how this will go, especially now as a carnivore. Intermittent fasting is easy with this way of eating. I’ve prepared by getting 2 bottles of my electrolytes (I think it’s called Elete? can’t look right now, cat on lap while I write this, haha) yesterday. It’s one of the rare ones without any flavours and sweeteners (there’s quite a few out there with stevia, and I react badly to it). It’s just a concentrated saline solution with potassium and magnesium, and you just need to add 1 teaspoon to 1 litre of water. I’ve also prepared by getting 4 bottles of San Pelligrino in 750ml bottles. I don’t think it’ll be enough so I’ll probably have to get more at some point. (Fun fact: I used to hate San Pelligrino because it tasted horrible before, like it was too salty! Then my sense of taste changed on carnivore and now I really like it.)

So yeah, day 1, so far so good. Just had a coffee so far. This is the easy part since IF is not a problem for low-carbers. Will update again on day 2.

[skoey]

day 2

current weight: still 54kgs

Alright, almost 48 hours in. Hunger pangs are still there and the stomach’s making funny noises, but whatever.

I was doing some more research on SIBO and the consensus (including something my naturopath said) is that SIBO can be covered in what’s called biofilm. It’s like they’ve attached themselves further into the gut lining and, like mussels stuck to seawalls, therefore harder to get rid of.

The reason I assume I have stubborn SIBO is because I already did 2 rounds of Rifaximin and it’s still there. The gas, bloating, and distended stomach never went away even with my carnivore lifestyle. I was taking NAC as well for about 10 days pre-Rifaximin so my intention is to keep going with the NAC 2x/day while fasting. Supposedly it’s a good biofilm disruptor and it’s also a pre-cursor to making glutathione so why not. And even handy is it’s supposed to be taken on an empty stomach.

So not much to report other than the usual hunger pangs. I just mostly studied today and maybe I’ll go finish my book and start another one. According to the LIFE app (the one I’m using to time my fast) I should be making 5x the HGH by now. I’m just waiting to feel that ‘high’ that comes with overcoming the first hurdle. Kind of like being ‘limitless’ (that movie, yes, it’s a good one, I highly recommend it and it’s got Bradley Cooper) and you’re super productive and all that jazz. For now I’m still limiting my movement as I’m getting over the hurdle.

[schmidtsmia]

Hi!
I am about to enter day 6 fasting, and it took me almost 5 days to get into ketosis. I am fasting for 42 days, and maybe even longer. I weigh a lot more than you do, at the same height. I have noticed, for me, wanting to heal Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (chronic), that each cycle of fasting, is getting me closer to healing whatever is behind the dis-ease process.
I enjoy reading others journeys, so thank you for sharing your journey. I wish us both complete healing. Bye for now.

[skoey]

hi @ schmidtsmia, welcome!

day 4

current weight: 53.5kgs

The hunger pangs finally stopped, thank meow! I’ve upped my sodium intake by adding 1/2tsp of Redmond’s real salt to my glass of water solution (along with 1-1/2tsp of Elete electrolytes). I had a cup of coffee this morning (I made the mistake of adding my iodine drops into my water solution and it tasted like ocean water–blechhh, better to add it into coffee) but I didn’t have coffee yesterday so that actually took me by surprise. Still taking NAC 2x/day. Yesterday I had a cup of decaf black tea. I think that was also a mistake because I was a bit itchy at night and I don’t really want to have to take my beef kidney pills (because black tea decreases your DAO for histamine tolerance, while beef kidney increases it). I know it’s very minimal calories and in pill form but I really don’t want to have to ‘eat’ anything while I can. I better stick to peppermint tea.

Overall, feeling pretty good but still not in that euphoric state that some people who’ve done extended fasts have felt. We shall see if that happens after the 1st week.

[skoey]

day 7

current weight: 52kgs

It is now getting easier and easier to get through the days, although I’m still going through food pics on IG and videos on YT. I have written down so many carnivore recipe ideas (by tweaking some things to my own version, or making the keto ones into carnivore versions) that I want to start implementing after my week-long refeed. Speaking of refeed I think the first foods I’m going to consume are a half-cup bone broth and a soft-boiled egg. I have been a fan of soft, runny yokes for a long time because I grew up eating a sunny-side up egg for breakfast on a regular basis for about maybe 4 years since starting school (I started school at 4). I will never get tired of them, maybe out of pure nostalgia and it totally fits my lifestyle.

Here I go, talking about food. Well I tried spending more time on Duolingo but it seems to be down or just not updating any of my progress so I’ll have to give up on it for today.

And by the way I did a full-on workout yesterday. It was actually really good but I did lower my weights for easier reps (I didn’t want to burn through my leftover glycogen stores). I worked out my arms and glutes and core, using 5-pound kettlebells for the weight lifting workouts. I’m always glad I do the core exercises last because those are always the killer workouts, just because you’ve used your core for pretty much all the previous workouts. I think I’ll do this routine every other day, until I can start refeeding and then I can just go back to my regular gym.

I also started meditating again yesterday. I did 10 minutes using the headspace app. The trick is to get into it by making it a habit. I will now take this time to meditate.

[skoey]

day 10

current weight: 51kgs

Not much to report. Still feeling great, still working out, still meditating, still studying.

I’ve been looking up information on refeeding so as I don’t overwhelm myself and get refeeding syndrome. There’s a good video by Dr. Jason Fung on the refeeding process but it doesn’t say how long to do it for. This video has a more in-depth explanation of the process but it’s quite lengthy (bless the commenter who actually put timestamps because that was really helpful). The takeaway is to start really slowly, as in what I mentioned in day 7. Every 4 hours you can refeed but slowly doubling the previous ‘meal’ (ie: 1 cup bone broth, 2 eggs on the 2nd refeed) and not going over 50% of your daily caloric intake (you will have to find this out by using an app [I use carb manager] or some other app of your choice because it will ask you for your height, weight, how active you are, etc.). Because this is a 2-week prolonged fast, it’s best to do the whole refeeding process for a week. As far as my internet skillz have lead me so far this is the slowest approach I can plan out.

[skoey]

day 13

current weight: 49.5kgs

I can smell the end! At 2000hrs tomorrow I can finally start refeeding, woo!

I believe it’s finally working, the eradication. On day 11 I start getting diarrhea, which is a die-off symptom (Herxheimer reaction) of the bacteria, well, dying off and getting released. Of course since I haven’t been eating anything (har-har) for the last few days and I’ve been drinking from the same water sources this whole time I can only deduce that the SIBO is finally leaving my system. It was worse last night as I woke up twice to go to the bathroom, but I feel way better now (though I had a really tough morning since I didn’t get enough deep sleep).

So, for anyone reading this and want to try an extended fast to get rid of SIBO, I believe you’ll need to experience a Herx reaction just to know that your body is finally getting rid of it. Of course, YMMV (your mileage may vary). Other types of Herx reactions could be:

• fevers
• chills
• muscle aches
• exacerbation of SIBO symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, bloating
• brain fog

Also, I don’t recommend doing an extended fast if you’re not yet fat adapted. Days 2 to 4 were annoying for me because I kept getting hunger pangs, but after that I progressively felt better and I was still able to work out. Make sure you get enough electrolytes! I think I take in about at least 3000mg of sodium, 600 potassium and 180 magnesium a day. Those are the numbers that have worked for me and I feel amazing. Well, besides being psychologically hungry

I will keep updating here as I go through my slow refeeding process.

[skoey]

day 1 of refeed!

current weight: 49kgs

Technically I started my slow refeed yesterday when I finally finished the 2-week fast. Woo!

Here’s the first meal I ate yesterday:

That is egg pudding in bone broth, topped with bacon bits and salmon roe. Not pictured is my half-cup of bone broth. Total calories: 267.

For breakfast this morning:

That’s bulletproof coffee with ghee, and eggs and bacon on a carnivore cloud biscuit (the egg was too big, haha). The recipe for the cloud biscuit is 3 eggs, 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar, and 1 tbsp of butter (again, I used ghee). I added a pinch of pumpkin pie spice because it was on sale (we just had Canadian thanksgiving). Total calories: 291.

I’m inputting all my food in the carb manager app that I’m using so I’m not going over my 500 calorie per meal limit. I’m assessing any symptoms I’m feeling after every meal. I had the strangest feeling last night that I found really interesting. It’s like I can feel the tiny food particles going through my whole digestive track. It’s as if I can feel these particles going through my esophagus, stomach, small intestine, etc. I lost track by the time I went to bed. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad feeling, but it was an interesting sensation.

[misszebra]

@skoey thanks for sharing your journey. did the water fast cure your methane sibo?