I’m a speaker on the IBS & SIBO SOS Summit. I have chronic SIBO myself and share some insights on what helps me when I’m trying a new protocol or new food and get that awful and painful belly bloat.
It’s so bad that I’m in pain all night, tossing and turning and can’t sleep…. and Iberogast, enzymes and peppermint and lavender essential oil on my bloated belly help so much:
Because of the cellulose in one of the Candibactin products, I was getting the bloating. And the Iberogast taken at night just before I went to bed (together with a few other things) definitely helped with some of the bloating.
For me, the problem with the bloating is the pain (obviously), but worse than that is the lack of sleep. If I’m bloated, it just feels like I’m tossing and turning the whole night. And if I don’t get eight hours of sleep, I’m a mess. So, the biggest issue for me is the impact on my sleep.
But if I’ve got this huge, bloated belly which was happening a lot, I take enzymes that help with carb digestion. I will also rub peppermint essential oil on my belly. So I’ve got a little bowl of coconut oil with a dab of lavender (it’s calming and it helps you sleep as well) and a little bit of peppermint oil.
There’s a number of studies showing that essential oil or peppermint ingested in a capsule can help with IBS. And I’ve found that, topically, it can help too. So that works for me to help with some of the bloating.
I also share about my 2 favorite amino acids – you guessed it – GABA and tryptophan. They just have so many applications! In this instance of painful belly bloating they help with pain and sleep and improve motility:
The other thing that helps is GABA which is one of the amino acids. There’s actually research showing that GABA helps with reducing the visceral pain that is seen with IBS (because we’ve got GABA receptors in various parts of the body). GABA is amazing for physical tension/anxiety and it can ease that. I’m thinking that this easing of physical tension may be one of the mechanisms as to how it works for some of the pain issues.
I do want to mention something about GABA – it works most effectively when taken sublingually. I just chew a capsule and get the results. And it works within five minutes.
And then, the other one that I use at night is tryptophan. This really helps with the sleep as well by boosting serotonin levels. It actually helps with motility too – there’s research showing this.
If your SIBO causes increased anxiety, these two amino acids would help ease those symptoms too – GABA for the physical anxiety and tryptophan for the worry in the head anxiety:
And then, it helps with anxiety as well if that’s an issue – for many people with IBS and SIBO, anxiety is an issue.
Shivan shares how LDN (low dose naltrexone) has helped her tremendously (she also has chronic SIBO) and we discuss how too much can increase anxiety and impact your sleep. Since doing this interview I’ve had feedback from two people who successfully used GABA Calm to reduce their anxiety from too high a dose of LDN.
We also touch on some of the possible mechanisms of LDN, I share some of the benefits of berberine, and we discuss benzodiazepines which are so often prescribed for IBS/SIBO (for the anxiety, the insomnia and the pain) and why nutritional approaches are a safer option.
Learn to overcome your digestive challenges at The IBS & SIBO SOS Summit.
This summit is hosted by health advocate and popular TV personality Shivan Sarna. Shivan asks the questions YOU would ask if you were in the room with these experts.
She draws on her own experience with painful digestive issues and years of failed treatments (alternative and conventional) to be YOUR champion for improved health…
…and she’s here to share her knowledge with you!
Join me at The IBS & SIBO SOS Summit to learn more about:
- Identifying the root cause of your digestive struggles
- Saving money from wasted doctor visits and ineffective treatments
- Identifying which foods cause your flares
- Naturopathic and conventional principles important to gut healing
- Strategies for food reintroduction
- Treatments, protocols and diets for IBS and/or SIBO
- And more!
The IBS & SIBO SOS Summit is online and complimentary from September 3-10, 2018!