SIBO---Breath Test

[Guest guest]

I would urge anyone considering the lactulose breath test to research

its efficacy. 2 years ago, I cajoled my then GI into giving me the test,

trying to explain my increasing food intolerances.

I did the test, was told it was negative, and the GI told me I had IBS

and to " live with it " . Telling him I was running out of foods to eat was

apparently irrelevant.

A year or so later when I was much worse and my IM doctor suggested

treating for SIBO and not waiting for the test since I was in such bad

shape, I decided to look up and see if waiting to do the test would be

helpful in deciding on treatment..

ly, I was shocked to see that the studies evaluating the efficacy

of the test rated it anywhere from 19-63% accurate. I have no idea how you

can make a test's reliability so much lower than 50%-- flipping a coin would

be more accurate. Even 63% is a dismal number.

You can do a search for " SIBO test " or " small intestine bacterial

overgrowth testing " . I found the most informative article on

www.emedicine.net and followed that up with researching the articles cited

within on Medline.

Now trying to decide what bacteria any one of us has at any given point

in our 36 feet of intestines is probably impossible. And all the

conflicting research bears out the notion of what's the right balance of

bacteria, what type are where in our system, which ones are pathogenic is

very difficult to determine.

I am quite ticked, however, that doctors will then use the info from

this test as if it is definitive, and cut off a possible means of

diagnosis/relief for any of us.

Sue R

[Guest guest]

I have excessive small bowel overgrowth and my lactulose test

came up negative too. This is not uncommon. However, I have an

excellent GI guy who was able to confirm the diagnosis upon upper

endoscopy. And I do get some relief from the symptoms using a “grainless”

diet although low dose antibiotic therapy has also helped me from time to time.

Jim

From:

BTVC-SCD [mailto:BTVC-SCD ] On Behalf Of Sue

Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 10:43 AM

To: BTVC-SCD

Subject: SIBO---Breath Test

I would urge anyone considering the lactulose breath

test to research

its efficacy. 2 years ago, I cajoled my then GI into giving me the test,

trying to explain my increasing food intolerances.

I did the test, was told it was negative, and the GI told me I had IBS

and to " live with it " . Telling him I was running out of foods to eat

was

apparently irrelevant.

A year or so later when I was much worse and my IM doctor suggested

treating for SIBO and not waiting for the test since I was in such bad

shape, I decided to look up and see if waiting to do the test would be

helpful in deciding on treatment..

ly, I was shocked to see that the studies evaluating the efficacy

of the test rated it anywhere from 19-63% accurate. I have no idea how you

can make a test's reliability so much lower than 50%-- flipping a coin would

be more accurate. Even 63% is a dismal number.

You can do a search for " SIBO test " or " small intestine

bacterial

overgrowth testing " . I found the most informative article on

www.emedicine.net and followed that up with researching the articles cited

within on Medline.

Now trying to decide what bacteria any one of us has at any given point

in our 36 feet of intestines is probably impossible. And all the

conflicting research bears out the notion of what's the right balance of

bacteria, what type are where in our system, which ones are pathogenic is

very difficult to determine.

I am quite ticked, however, that doctors will then use the info from

this test as if it is definitive, and cut off a possible means of

diagnosis/relief for any of us.

Sue R

[Guest guest]

Just want to through my results in here, too. I tested positive for SIBO with

two different stool cultures, but couldn't get treated by the doctor I was

seeing until I had a positive lactulose breath test. But I tested negative on

it. I also checked out the accuracy of the test and found it abysmal (I think I

saw something marginally higher than what Sue found-- perhaps 40 - 60%). The

kicker is that the test results become more unreliable if you have d (duh? One

of the key symptoms of SIBO is d, which I was having at the time) or if you are

taking supplements, even things like fish oil.

However painful this journey has been (I ended up with autoimmunity problems,

and just made everything worse by taking antibiotics for h pylori), in some ways

I'm glad I didn't test positive. The doctor planned on putting me on cipro,

which can do horrible things to the body. I instead found SCD, and while it's

taking a while to get better, I am getting better.

Ellen