SIBO & Leaky Gut
Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:05 pm
Hi all,
I have had restless legs for the past 6 years of so. It started off as occasional and mild, and in the past year it became nightly and severe. I had a sleep specialist prescribe me ropinirole, but after reading about it in this forum, I quickly got off of it and began a search for a natural solution.
During the same 6 years I also stopped eating meat and my ferritin levels dropped. Supplements didn't help, so I hoped that by going back on meat, my iron would improve (it did) and my RLS would stop (it didn't).
Then I tried going gluten-free and dairy-free. This helped some at first, but then it didn't. During this time I started keeping a food diary and began noticing a correlation between what I ate and how bad my legs were at night. Tomatoes, red peppers, asparagus, turmeric and spinach are big triggers. At first I thought I just might have some food allergies and if I isolated them, then all would be ok.
Meanwhile, I found this doctor who claims that a high percentage of patients with RLS also have something called SIBO, and when he treated the SIBO, the RLS would go away. http://www.gidoctor.net/restless-legs-syndrome-rls.php
I tested positive for SIBO and have since learned about Leaky Gut as well. Leaky gut can be caused by SIBO and is basically increased intestinal permeability and one of the symptoms of it is food sensitivity. The toxins from certain foods leak into my body and cause discomfort in my joints and RLS at night.
Since my diagnosis, I have been on a very restrictive diet called the SIBO BiPhasic Diet. I started at the restrictive level, and also omitted the foods I'm sensitive to. My SIBO has not been cured yet, but my RLS is near non-existent.
https://sibotest.com/handouts/SIBO_Diet_FINAL.pdf
Apparently, once my SIBO and leaky gut is cured, I will be able to eat whatever I want, but may want to avoid foods that cause leaky gut: gluten, processed sugar and dairy.
There is a cure for SIBO, it involves antibiotics or herbal antibiotics (just as effective as traditional antibiotics) and diet. Leaky gut can also be cured. There are some amazing Functional Medicine and Naturopathic Doctors that specialize in this. I still have a way to go in my recovery, but I can't tell you how relieved I am to be treating this and I truly believe the majority of us can be RLS free.
Restless legs syndrome is associated with irritable bowel syndrome and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=21570907
Here's a link to the most comprehensive website on SIBO:
http://www.siboinfo.com/
I have had restless legs for the past 6 years of so. It started off as occasional and mild, and in the past year it became nightly and severe. I had a sleep specialist prescribe me ropinirole, but after reading about it in this forum, I quickly got off of it and began a search for a natural solution.
During the same 6 years I also stopped eating meat and my ferritin levels dropped. Supplements didn't help, so I hoped that by going back on meat, my iron would improve (it did) and my RLS would stop (it didn't).
Then I tried going gluten-free and dairy-free. This helped some at first, but then it didn't. During this time I started keeping a food diary and began noticing a correlation between what I ate and how bad my legs were at night. Tomatoes, red peppers, asparagus, turmeric and spinach are big triggers. At first I thought I just might have some food allergies and if I isolated them, then all would be ok.
Meanwhile, I found this doctor who claims that a high percentage of patients with RLS also have something called SIBO, and when he treated the SIBO, the RLS would go away. http://www.gidoctor.net/restless-legs-syndrome-rls.php
I tested positive for SIBO and have since learned about Leaky Gut as well. Leaky gut can be caused by SIBO and is basically increased intestinal permeability and one of the symptoms of it is food sensitivity. The toxins from certain foods leak into my body and cause discomfort in my joints and RLS at night.
Since my diagnosis, I have been on a very restrictive diet called the SIBO BiPhasic Diet. I started at the restrictive level, and also omitted the foods I'm sensitive to. My SIBO has not been cured yet, but my RLS is near non-existent.
https://sibotest.com/handouts/SIBO_Diet_FINAL.pdf
Apparently, once my SIBO and leaky gut is cured, I will be able to eat whatever I want, but may want to avoid foods that cause leaky gut: gluten, processed sugar and dairy.
There is a cure for SIBO, it involves antibiotics or herbal antibiotics (just as effective as traditional antibiotics) and diet. Leaky gut can also be cured. There are some amazing Functional Medicine and Naturopathic Doctors that specialize in this. I still have a way to go in my recovery, but I can't tell you how relieved I am to be treating this and I truly believe the majority of us can be RLS free.
Restless legs syndrome is associated with irritable bowel syndrome and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=21570907
Here's a link to the most comprehensive website on SIBO:
http://www.siboinfo.com/