Incidence of SIBO in rheumatoid arthritis patients

[Anonymous]

Hi

I’m new to this forum. A brief history would be that I had recurrent tonsillitis as a young child until I was six years old when my tonsils and adenoids were removed. Then I had a burst appendix when I was twelve years old and had that removed. Then I went on to have IBS/ulcerative colitis which I managed to alleviate by cutting out gluten and cows’ milk products from my diet, together with most refined sugars and carbohydrates and treatment for candida infection (Mycopryl, Oregano Complex and then probiotics). I began to develop rheumatoid arthritis in my late teens (along with the IBS) and once I had the IBS under control, the RA symptoms went away. I believe that my original health problems were caused by underlying undiagnosed coeliac disease and made far worse by repeated prescriptions of antibiotics throughout my life. Ironically, I was a very fit child who excelled at athletics in spite of being continuously ill.

Thirty years later, I now have the full blown symptoms of RA which have been getting worse over the past year – it is effecting my hands, feet and knees. This followed a course of antibiotics for a chest infection. My grandmother had very severe RA for forty years before she died in her eighties and my younger sister has been on methotrexate for the past five years to control her severe RA. My mother and older sister both died from cancer in their fifties. All of us had problems with severe and recurrent tonsillitis as children.

I can just about control my symptoms by fasting for a few days and then keeping to a raw diet and avoiding allergens, but it is very difficult to continue on this regime. As soon as I eat my normal diet (which is pretty good and excludes gluten, cows’ milk and refined sugars), my tummy immediately swells up and the joint pain returns. If I ever eat any refined carbohydrates or sugars, they always have the same and very immediate effect.

Through recent research, I can see that treatment for IBS has now moved on over the years, and, in my case, it would appear that treatment for SIBO would be a good option to follow before trying the antibiotic treatment for RA. I understand that Rifaximin is contained in the gut and has few side effects. I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who has tried Rifaximin (Xifaxan) as a first line treatment for RA with any success?

Also, if there is anyone who has received successful treatment in the UK, I would be very pleased to hear from them.

Many thanks.

[marypart]

Both my son and I we’re diagnosed with SIBO, so I don’t know if it applies to everybody. We were both treated with oral Vancomycin at the beginning of Lyme treatment. I think my doctor assumes everybody has it, but she tests like crazy so she may have found some indicators of it.

[PhilC]

Hi,
@gold22 wrote:

I can just about control my symptoms by fasting for a few days and then keeping to a raw diet and avoiding allergens, but it is very difficult to continue on this regime. As soon as I eat my normal diet (which is pretty good and excludes gluten, cows’ milk and refined sugars), my tummy immediately swells up and the joint pain returns. If I ever eat any refined carbohydrates or sugars, they always have the same and very immediate effect.

That probably happens because your normal diet contains foods to which you are allergic. You can identify them by a process of elimination (i.e., an elimination diet). Also, there is a whole family of potential culprits that you may not have considered — the nightshade vegetables. They are: eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers of all kinds (e.g., cayenne, chili peppers, paprika, pimento, green peppers, bell peppers, sweet peppers, etc.).

Some additional reading material:
The “No Nightshades” Diet

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[Anonymous]

Thanks Mary, did you notice any difference when you took the Vancomycin, particularly with the joint pain? Also, what is abx?

And thanks Phil. Yes, I think the nightshade family of foods are a major problem because by cutting out gluten and dairy products, I rely too much on potatoes for carbohydrate. I once had some specialised allergy tests done and was found to be allergic to just about everything, so I was told to rotate the limited amount of foods that I could eat which was impossible to do. This is what makes me think that a “leaky” gut that hasn’t been able to heal has been the main problem for me.

I have recently studied the research of Alessio Fasano who is working on the zonulin connection as being a major cause of gut permeability, hence the reason why giving up gluten seems to help so many people. However, it appears that people who give up gluten are still producing too much zonulin many years later so something else must also be triggering the zonulin to damage the cell walls.

I am thinking that if I can bring about the control of my joint symptoms by being really careful with what I eat i.e. either fasting or eating nothing except raw, pure foods and excluding allergens, it would probably be a good idea to work on healing the gut with SIBO antibiotic and dietary treatment before trying the long term antibiotic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

[lynnie_sydney]

Also, what is abx?

It is an abbreviation for antibiotics. Similarly, sx is an abbreviation for symptoms and dx for diagnosis – means you don’t have to keep using those long words.
Some other abbreviations can be found on our main site in the Newcomers section:
https://www.roadback.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/education.display/display_id/157.html

Be well! Lynnie

Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

[Woods1977]

Hi Gold-

Do you know who Barbara Allen is? You might find her work interesting, as she takes more of a dietary approach to fighting arthritis. You can google her- there is a wealth of information about her on the web. 🙂

Good luck!

[marypart]

Gold,

I can’t say exactly, because I was also on doxycycline at the time for a Lyme infection, and the after that Ceftin for the same. It’s hard to say what make me get well. I took so many things.

I you are into controlling joint pain with diet, you might check out kickas.org where some people are using a no-starch diet to control ankylosing spondylitis– a very serious arthritis.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. Your help is very much appreciated.

I’m seeing a specialist in London in April who takes a more ecological view of medicine than the average British consultant, so I will definitely let you know if he has any new ideas.

Thanks again. This site has been very helpful.

[marinastarbucks]

Hi, I have RA and a while back (a couple years ago) I was able to be prescribed Rifaxamin. I took about 3 rounds over the course of a year or so. I can tell you that it made me feel WONDERFUL! Unfortunately my GP who was more open minded left and I have not been successful in getting a new prescription. I also have IBS or have been told so (I am not eager to give myself another dx). All I can say is that Rifaximin made me feel AMAZING!! I had so much energy and felt great!!! I would try it if you can get it!

[Author]

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