I need to share this because I genuinely don’t want anyone else to go through what I just did.
I took a SIBO breath test (glucose-based), even though my baseline methane was already 30 ppm — which is clearly positive for SIBO.
No one explained that to me properly. No one said: “hey, your baseline is already diagnostic.” Instead, I was told to go ahead and drink the glucose solution.
After that, everything went downhill.
Within days:
- my constipation came back hard
- abdominal pain returned
- my gut completely slowed down again
I had spent years getting to a stable state. And now it feels like I’ve been pushed back two years in my progress — all from one test.
What makes it worse:
- my doctor went on vacation right after the test
- when they came back, they never followed up
- I couldn’t reach anyone
I’ve basically been stuck at home for two weeks, unable to function normally, while I was in the middle of working on my thesis.
I’m not saying this happens to everyone. But if you’re considering a SIBO test, please:
1. ALWAYS ask for your baseline gas levels before proceeding.
If your methane or hydrogen is already elevated at baseline, ask whether the test is even necessary.
2. Don’t blindly agree to drink the substrate (glucose/lactulose) without understanding the purpose and your starting point.
3. Make sure you actually have follow-up care lined up.
I trusted the process, and it ended up destabilizing me badly. Right now it honestly feels like one decision set me back years.
Just… be careful and ask more questions than I did.