My SIBO success story is inspiring you. I was able to treat a pretty serious overgrowth in 6 weeks, after doctors told me it would take 4 months. And I was able to reintroduce all FODMAPs with no problems within 6 months.
And just in time for a birthday trip to Portland. You can see what I ate on vacation on my Instagram page.
While grateful to be done with SIBO and bloating in my small intestine, I’m still dealing with a bacterial infection in my stomach, called h. pylori.
While this infection doesn’t cause any obvious digestive issues it is stubborn and definitely worth eradicating. Especially since it can be a root cause of a SIBO relapse, as it lowers my stomach acid.
I already treated h. pylori once, but the first time didn’t do it. Sometimes one treatment is not enough. Treating h. pylori naturally can take 60 to 90 days and I only treated in for about 45 days.
Sometimes you heal faster than expected and sometimes you don’t.
I suspect I’ve had h. pylori for a long time. And it’s not going to be easy to kill but I’m not giving up. Especially since I suspect that this infection is the reason why I feel tired and moody.
Treating h. pylori does not require a strict diet like SIBO does, it just requires the right combination of herbs and patience.There are foods you should avoid with h pylori, like chocolate and coffee, but that’s not a problem for me.
Also, it is important to test 4 weeks after stopping the last herbs, so you don’t get a false positive.
Why am I treating h. pylori
H pylori lowers stomach acid and can cause all sorts of issues. Nutrient malabsorption, ulcers, possible, but rare, cases of stomach cancer or osteoporosis from not absorbing minerals. And of course, it could lead to SIBO again.
How to make treatment more effective.
There are a few overlooked elements that make treatment more successful.
Biofilm buster
The most important one is a biofilm buster. H. pylori hides under a biological shield and it needs to be broken up to allow the herbs to access the bacteria.
There are a few things that naturally break up biofilms without hurting the rest of you.
I will be using NAC. I like this brand. I will be taking one capsule before each meal.
Stomach acid and HCL
Stomach acid should be on the lower side when battling h pylori. While supplementing with HCL is popular and important, it’s not advised for h. pylori as it can damage already inflamed stomach lining or cause ulcers.
Sooth the stomach lining
Anti inflammatory herbs can help sooth stomach lining that is inflamed from an h. pylori infection. I am going to take some DGL, which stands for deglycyrrhizinated licorice. My protocol details are below.
My h. pylori protocol:
60 days of biofilm buster: NAC: 1 capsule 3 times a day with meals.
60 days of 300 mg of DGL 10 minutes or immediately before the start of a meal. I use this one.
60 days of mastic gum. I really like this brand for it’s purity and quality: 2 capsules three times a day with meals.
30 days of Matula tea. This tea is expensive but there’s a money back guarantee if it doesn’t work. After I contacted them with my test results, they sent me out another box of tea to try again. If the second dose doesn’t work they will refund my money for the first dose. I love that they believe in their product and stand behind it’s efficacy. They told me that sometimes a second dose is needed.
You can learn more about the tea here.
The Amazon links above are for educational purposes only. Since writing this blog post I have learned that Amazon is not the best place to buy your supplements because there is a big problem with counterfeit products there.
For this reason, I now recommend this online dispensary to buy supplements sourced directly from the manufacturer with free shipping over $40 and a guarantee of quality and efficacy. It takes a few minutes to create an account there to see and buy supplements.
Also, I always recommend working with a professional rather than doing trial and error on your own. There are many important personal details involved in an effective protocol, that can make all the difference between success and failure. There is no generic protocol that works for everyone. Thingsusually need to be tweaked and thats when a professional comes in very handy.
Getting personalized help is a wise investment. I work with people over the world. You can find info about working with me here.
Just as important as the protocol
Knowing my body and controlling my stress before eating are two key strategies that will help me be successful.
The key is to take time to calm the body before eating to be in parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode. This can be done with deep breathing, listening to music or stretching before eating. The point is to slow down, calm down and get in touch with your body before eating.
knowing when to eat is also important. I have noticed my body does best with an eating window between 10 and 5 pm.
My stomach acid is strongest during this window. So listening to my biorhythms is important.
One of the tools I use to support my stress response and nervous system is acupuncture. Acupuncture won’t heal h.pylori but will do wonders for supporting my body to heal.
The last part is of course the mindset. It’s important not to worry, stress or obsess over the h. pylori because stress contributes to overgrowth. H. pylori is more active when you are stressed.
Try to do things that bring you joy.
Life is not all about avoiding pain….it’s also about moving towards pleasure. That’s not always easy to do for anxiety types, but it is very good for healing.
Getting off your computers and stopping the “health Googling” is a good first step.
Get help, create a plan and delegate the healing to your body. Healing works better when you don’t micromanage it and let the worry and control go.
It is easier said than done, but a good goal to aim towards. And will help a ton.
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease, but a cry for help from a gut out of balance. When the body AND mind are complaining, it’s an opportunity to examine what’s not working and change it. After solving her own IBS mystery almost two decades ago, Angela became as a health coach to help others. Angela uses root cause medicine protocols personalized to the individual to solve each IBS mystery. Her tools are lab testing, dietary changes, supplementation, subconscious mind work and nervous system rebalancing . Learn more here.