Is it Lyme gastrointestinal issues or is my gut microbial system wrecked from antibiotics??

Welcome to the forum!

Have you looked into SIBO? The upper abdominal bloating, worsening after eating, nausea, noises, and other symptoms you describe all can come from SIBO, so that might worth testing for with a breath test.

Gut dysbiosis in general, IBS, and gallbladder issues should be ruled out as well. Have you had any stool testing done? Treated for parasites? Antibiotics can really mess up the gut, sometimes even for people who are taking probiotics, and folks with chronic illnesses often end up with some degree of "leaky gut" regardless.

A lot of us here have had GI issues, so I'm sure you'll get lots of good replies!

This sounds like SIBO. A hydrogen/methane breath test is used to diagnose it. Adding in rifaxamin to your antibiotic regimen could be very helpful for these symptoms.

"severe bloating and pain in the upper portion of my stomach"

Gut Candida Albicans or other yeast overgrowth. You feel this more in the stomach and it will / can go up the esophegous too. Instant bloats with sugars and some carbs. If up into mouth (rare in my experience), it presents itself as oral thus on tongue. Has blood test.

SIBO is a little lower, the first intestine. Bloating is not as instant either. Has two breath tests.

They are similar, and both very common.

Post Edited (astroman) : 3/22/2021 9:09:39 AM (GMT-6)

No problem! I second garzies opinion on the keto.

I mentioned the rifaxamin because keto is hard for a lot of people. But the rifaxamin is a layup. It doesn’t even enter the bloodstream, no downside. I also know a pharmacy in Canada where you can get it for cheap

I tried keto once before I knew I had Lyme disease. It made me incredibly sick. I later found out it’s because I didn’t have a gallbladder. I’m definitely going to eliminate more carbs/sugars but I have to be careful with my fat level.

https://rxcanada4less.com/

These guys are awesome. Bicillin is like 1/4 of the price, and it shows up at your door in a frozen container in a week. I recommended them to Soliris as well, and my LLMD who now points his patients to them.

For Rifaxamin, Rite Aid tried to charge me $2800 for 60 pills, no joke. You can get it on Mark's Marine Pharmacy (CanShipMeds link above) for $529.99, or the generic (which used to be the brand before they sold it, true story) for $75!!!! Search for Xifaxan in the search bar, not rifaxamin. You want the 60 550mg pills, thats a standard 2 week coruse. It's usually used for 2 weeks only because of the cost, but for that price i've considered asking for an indefinite prescription as a prophylactic

Yes blueize it's a good idea to start now. As mentioned earlier, Xifaxan is one of the safest antibotics you can take. It's not absorbed systemically in the blood, and really only acts in the small intestine. It's a little miracle pill that I think almost always gets rid of the bloating, even if only temporarily sometimes. My guess is they would diagnose and prescribe it clinically, if not for the exorbitant price of the medication.

Post Edited (dcd2103) : 3/22/2021 3:34:13 PM (GMT-6)

No prob! Sometimes they can. You can try it, if it makes it worse stop. It really depends on the overgrowth you have and the probiotic, and right now we don’t have the technology to predict who needs what

H Pylori can also result in GERD as a major symptom. Thankfully there is a simple test for HP as well.

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Thing is no one can guess on gut issues, and just treat on guessing. To many guess here. If one has insurance or access to affordable tests via online purchase......get tests for HP, the two SIBO, and candida overgrowth (blood).

Its not unheard of to have all of the above plus leaky gut and then immune system food sensitivities on top of all that. (I had all that above minus the H Pylori, it happens.)