Month 2 of Using
Dr Pompa’s 3 Step SIBO & SIYO Guide

I continued to follow a mostly carnivore diet simply because I felt great with no digestive upset! On top of that I have little to no bloating and gut distention. I chose to not move to the low FODMAP diet at this time. Let’s face it. Keto Carnivore is already inherently low FODMAP for the most part.

Herbal Killers Used:

• Systemic Formulas #3 Bactrex (Revelation Health)
• Klaire Labs Candida Complex (Revelation Health)
• Designs for Health Berb-Evail

Biofilm Buster Used: Interfase Plus from Klaire Labs

Prokinetics Used:

• Systemic Formulas Bio Function C-Colon (Revelation Health)
• Systemic Formulas Bio Function N-Nerve (Revelation Health)
• Systemic Formulas BIND (Revelation Health)
• Vita Aid Professional Therapeutics Prokine (Fullscript)

Probiotics Introduced:

Usually one month after implementing the SIBO protocol, you can add in one “spore” form of bacteria to killers, biofilm buster and prokinetics. I decided to use Bio-Botantical Research’s Proflora (Revelation Health).

Month 2 Success and Challenges

Diet-wise, I continued with a modified level 4 carnivore for most of this second month. I feel so much better eating this way and have required very few digestive enzymes this month. That’s a win all by itself.

Digestively, my bloating, burping and distention continued to abate. I wake in the morning with a flat abdomen, which is my personal measurement for getting ahead of the SIBO symptoms. Additionally, I have lost some more inflammation, which has shown up as a loss on the scale (I don’t normally weigh myself these days). I can visibly see fat coming off my body — that I will attribute to being solidly in nutritional ketosis and using fat to make an alternate fuel for the cells. Basically, I am feeling about 75-80% better and my clothes are fitting better each day.

Where am I going from here? Well, I decided to use a naturopath that specializes in SIBO and environmental influences (among other things). We meet through telemedicine to discuss what I have done and what my next steps might be. I decided to take another SIBO lactulose 3-hour breath test, which I am paying for out of pocket. I recently finished this test and have sent it off to the lab. The results should let me know if I still have SIBO and if I am making headway in resolving this overgrowth. I anticipate that the hydrogen levels will be high and hopefully the methane levels much lower. At this point, I can only guess based on my symptoms.

After a 2 year wait to see a GI specialist, I received a call two days after my son was diagnosed with Crohn’s. The timing is interesting, for sure. I went to my first visit with the specialist last week and came away frustrated. I had unrealistic expectations, because I knew what I wanted to accomplish with the appointment and those expectations were not the specialist’s. He lined up tests, made suggestions like add fibre (more on this below) and go to low FODMAP diet with a dietitian. Not sure what I can learn from the dietitian, but I have decided to go in with a student attitude — I can always learn something new.

The specialist asked me to take more fibre via supplements and drink 3-4 litres of water daily to “improve the symptoms of constipation.” I have come a long way from where I was a decade ago and am having almost daily bowel movements with lower fibre and increased electrolytes by following low carb/keto/carnivore lifestyle. I’ve tried more fibre with two other healthcare practitioners in the last six plus years with negative outcomes, so I do not want to return to feeling that way again.

From my experience and research SIBO and IBS specialist, Dr Mark Pimentel, author of A New IBS Solution written in 2006, suggests:

“Traditionally, the diet of people with IBS was one that encourages the consumption of high-fibre foods along with plenty of fluids to increase bowel motility and to relieve constipation.”

Pimentel, Mark. A New IBS Solution. (Sherman Oaks, CA: Health Point Press, 2006) 78.

Interestingly, Pimentel said traditionally. When you read further, you discover that adding fibre can be detrimental to some IBS patients.

“The problem with fiber is that it is comprised of carbohydrate chains that humans can’t digest. The undigested fiber supplements make their way down to the colon, where the bacteria ferment it, producing bloating.” (78)

Pimentel, Mark. A New IBS Solution. (Sherman Oaks, CA: Health Point Press, 2006) 78.

Pimentel’s recommended dietary approach is to eat foods that are easily digested and leave little to no “residue” in the intestines for the bacteria to thrive on. If you don’t feed the bacteria, you don’t experience bloating or distention. Furthermore, Pimentel suggests restricting yourself to 3 meals and no snacking daily. This dietary protocol is similar to other healthcare practitioners who work with gut dysfunction.

I believe many GI specialists are behind the research available. Many are practicing what they learned in school. They likely do not have the time in their schedule to keep up with research. I will, subsequently, patiently work within reasonable expectations of those on my healthcare team.

As Dr Ken Berry reminds patients, “Primary care doctors are usually too busy to even think of doing research or considering different or better ways of doing things … Therefore, expecting a doctor to keep up with all the latest research so he can have independent thoughts about his patients’ conditions is just too much to ask.”

Berry, Ken. Lies My Doctor Told Me. (Victory Belt, 2019), 29.

For now, I’ll jump through the hoops to hopefully get to my main objective. My objective is a prescription for Prucalopride, which is excellent as a prokinetic for SIBO prevention. Dr Pimentel suggested this in his webinar, “Prokinetic Prevention of SIBO” in June 2015.

Until next month, my plan is to eat amazing food to nourish your body’s cells. And…wait for the test results and determine my next course of action.

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