bloated-stomach-in-australia

Why Do I Suffer From A Bloated Stomach In Australia?

Do you suffer from a bloated stomach in Australia too? Not sure what causes bloating as well? I’m sharing my story of what it’s like having a bloated belly for the last couple of years. I too had no idea what on earth was wrong with me and why I was suffering from gut problems.

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This is a topic that’s been far from easy to write about; it’s my stomach. Nope, before you ask, I’m not pregnant and I’ve been asked that a lot recently.

What I mean is, I’ve had the most swollen, could be 8 month’s pregnant looking bloated belly for over two years now. Yep, you heard it, TWO WHOLE YEARS.

I think there are a lot of people out there who might have had the same thing so I wanted to share my story to hopefully help you understand to not give up on finding out what’s wrong and to keep pushing for answers.

I’ve been through the worst time, having no idea what on earth was wrong with me. It’s been unbelievably painful (physically and mentally), confidence destroying (to put it lightly) and food limiting experience of my life. Until recently, the heavens opened and some sort of magical angel came down and just like that, I got a diagnosis!

I HAVE SIBO

You’ll see some pictures of my stomach throughout this post. I actually only took them of my severe bloating to send to my brother back in England so he could understand what I was going through. It’s a bit weird showing them to you but I knew I needed to, to be able to create this post. 

before-sibo-now-with-sibo

Here’s my before SIBO days as a size 6-8 and currently now with SIBO, size 14+. The difference is dramatic.

SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. When you’ve been on a journey, having no idea what’s wrong with you for so long, having a diagnosis means everything.

It’s been horrendous, but I’ve sort of been waiting to finally get somewhere with this before I shared it on Londoner In Sydney. I wanted to be able to tell my story, of how I over-came it and what I did to at least help others going through it and to let you know you are not alone.

I haven’t over-come it yet, but I think (and hope) I’m on the right path which is the biggest path I’ve been on since this started.

I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of money on trying to sort this out, but money becomes priceless when you go through this kind of pain. I’ve been to so many doctors and I’ve screamed at doctors, had surgery, scans, been on various diets, and even seen a Medium in the hope they would be able to foresee my future without this problem. I basically tried anything I could do to find out what was going on with me.

Here’s my story of how I’ve had a bloated stomach in Australia for 2 years which led to me finally finding out I have SIBO.


My Back Story About Having A Bloated Stomach In Australia

In June 2015, I woke up one night with the worst stabbing pains in my stomach that I actually passed out on my floor on the way to the bathroom. It worried me but because I was so busy with my job,  I actually put it down to being over worked, stressed and tired (a classic doctors diagnosis).

My stomach started to flare up randomly. I thought it was down to eating chocolates sometimes in the office (that would be all I could eat when I was working until 9pm most nights) after I’d been on a very healthy diet for 18 month’s previously.

By December 2015, I was in so much pain with my stomach and lower back, I was calling in sick from work. After having many scans, CT scans, blood tests, poo tests, and so on, the doctor referred me to a gut specialist because there were no red flags.

I decided to go down the route of having a gastroscopy and endoscopy where they put tubes down my throat to see what was going on. Again nothing came up. I just didn’t get it; how could there be nothing wrong with me when I’m seeing a dramatic change in my body?

bloated-in-australia-sibo

Another before and after image

The only thing that would clear up my bloated stomach was by doing a 10 day juice cleanse which is what I did every 3-4 months. This worked for about 6 weeks and then it would just magically came back out of nowhere.

I put it down to certain foods but it was so random, it just didn’t make any sense. I gave up alcohol which helped but when I did drink again, it would just add to my swollen body. You see, my entire body was swollen, from my thighs, legs, boobs, even hands, it wasn’t just my stomach.

During Christmas 2016, I was in a hotel room in Melbourne crawled up on the floor in the biggest pain of my life. I didn’t know what to do. It felt like someone was actually stabbing my stomach. We waited it out for half an hour and in two minds whether to go to hospital, but it got better. I went to the doctors the next day to be prescribed some constipation tablets. I knew there was more going on with that pain than constipation.

In January 2017, I started the year with another juice cleanse. I knew it would help big time before I started a new job. I didn’t want to be in pain, or worrying about this with a big new job on my hands, worst of all, it seemed to cause depression and I wanted to be in the right frame of mind for this job.

It worked for about 2 weeks until the bloating and pain started to come back with random bouts of depression from time to time.


Diets To Cure My Bloated Stomach

I gave up alcohol again on Jan 1 2017 to help with it all and I decided to go down the diet route seeing as no-one could work out what was happening to me. I’ve had so many people think I was ill because I was vegan, but the funny thing is, it all started six months before I even turned vegan so I knew that wasn’t right.

I Quit Sugar Diet

I started on the Sarah Wilson 8 week I Quit Sugar diet. Now I love my fruit and although I wasn’t a big fan of her ethos, I was desperate and started to think, it must be from all of the fruit I eat – it’s feeding it. So I gave her diet a go for 8 weeks. It made me worse.

Her diet was bizarre, which included processed pastries, eating loads of processed carbs like pasta, freezing most of my food, and basically just consuming a lot of foods I wouldn’t usually eat.


The No Carb Diet

So I went and saw a herbalist and she gave me a load of concoctions to take. I told her my symptoms and she said she had something similar to me before which felt amazing to hear that someone had been through something similar and had been CURED.

She directed me to a Chiropractic naturopath based on the other side of Sydney (1h30m drive each way from my home). I thought, if she can be cured, then so could I! So I went to see her.

She put me on an extreme version of the Low FODMAP diet, literally called a no carb diet and as a vegan I could only certain veggies that were only grown above the ground, avo’s and nuts. I ate A LOT of nuts and it was THE worst diet I have ever done. I was very ill, with zero energy and I’d fall asleep with exhaustion as soon as I got home from work everyday. I did that for two very long months.

After 6 sessions of muscle test after muscle test from the Chiropractic Naturopath, every week she was making me buy more pills from her pharmacy in the reception of the clinic. It was making me worse. The pain used to be on my left side by my bowl, now it was consuming my entire stomach to the point where The Aussie couldn’t hug me, it hurt too much.

So I sacked this chiro off. I was angry, I’d spent a lot of money again with her to only feel worse.

Through all the pills I was made to buy, my digestion was getting worse. Food felt like it was sitting at the top of my rib cage and burping was all that would relieve it for me. I was constantly burping all day long. I also didn’t have a period for months. From Dec-June 2017 I had like 2.


The Medical Medium Diet

I was at the point of having absolutely no idea what to eat, or what to do anymore. A friend guided me to Anthony William, known as The Medical Medium. He’s claimed since the age of 4, he could spot and cure unexplained illnesses through his spirit guide he magically calls ‘Spirit’. I bought his book straight away and read the whole thing in a day.

Finally, I found other people with unexplained illnesses. This was a huge relief.

I signed up to his Facebook page straight away and started his protocol diet of eating only raw food with pure celery juice first thing everyday. He claimed celery juice is the only cure for stomach problems. And it worked (for a while).

As soon as I ditched the awful extreme no carb diet and started having smoothies and fresh salads, I felt amazing. My skin cleared up, I could finally exercise again and it was amazing… for 2 weeks.

I noticed with all of these diets, within the first 4 days, I felt much better, like I thought I had cracked it with what was happening to me. In actual fact, I was wrong.

The Medical Medium diet was the longest working diet for me and made me feel great for two whole weeks. I continued on the diet, mixing in spiralina, barley wheat grass and wild blueberries into my diet. At least my concentration was back and I felt focused again.


The Digestive Wellness Clinic

Eating a raw diet only made my digestion worse. Food just wouldn’t stay down at all. I got to the point of not knowing what to do anymore so Steve found a naturopath gut specialist in the city called Matt from The Digestive Wellness Clinic.  

Matt had this understandable presence about him and so the next steps were to do another poo test which I did. It came back clear and after reading about SIBO thanks to The Medical Medium, I asked if I could do a SIBO test which he was also going to suggest. After breathing into a bag every 20 minutes for 3 hours at home, I sent it off and it came back positive! 

Amelia-liana-SIBO

Amelia Liana taking the SIBO test. She talks about her battles with SIBO in her You Tube video here.

I also went to a doctors to do some blood tests as well which came back negative and it was THE worst doctors I have ever been to. The doctor was terrible. She never had any recollection of my previous appointments with her, so I’d turn up for a blood test and she’d say why are you here?

She also didn’t have any idea about SIBO which I’ve noticed none of the doctors I have ever been to have heard of SIBO. I had to advise her on how to help future patients with similar symptoms! I ended up walking out with the dramatic, I’m never coming back here again fiasco.


The Emotional Trauma

So after more than two years of going through a painful, bloated stomach where it’s not only been physically painful but also mentally too. Having such a swollen stomach which would flare up at any given moment has meant that I’ve had to give up on my love of fashion because I just can’t buy anything anymore (probably a good thing for the pennies). Also, I’ve ended up selling most of my clothes because I just can’t fit into anything after putting on so much weight. I now have to wear floaty (baggy) tops and dresses most of the time to the point where I’ve had heavily pregnant women ask me where I got my dress from because they wanted to buy it too!

I’ve also aged a lot in this process as well. It’s funny because I’ve been told that it’s all emotional and that your emotions can be related to your stomach, but how does one get out of this cycle? I have done loads of meditation and yoga courses during this time to help but I’ve noticed that it doesn’t matter whether I’m happy or sad, I still have a bloated stomach.


How Did I Get SIBO?

How did I get a bloated stomach? Here’s the interesting but heart breaking fact I learnt. I was invited to a sit down press event dinner at a well known Sydney restaurant back in February 2015. As I sat opposite the oyster farmer from the restaurant that night, he went on to explain how his oysters were the best in Australia whilst we were eating them (pre-vegan days).

That night and for the next three days, I had food poisoning. It turns out this is what caused my SIBO. If only the restaurant knew what they had put me through all this time…

my-experience-with-sibo

I ended up buying new jeans a few weeks ago (3 sizes bigger than I used to be), yet they are now too small.


How To Cure A Bloated Stomach

Matt from The Digestive Wellness Clinic told me there’s two way to cure SIBO, either take some herbs called BACTRAX and follow a similar Low FODMAP diet or splash the cash ($670) to do the Physicians Elemental Diet.

The Elemental Diet is a diet originally formulated for astronauts in space which consists of nutrients condensed into a powdered form to be taken with water for 2 whole weeks, five times a day and only that – no food, just a powdered drink that’s supposed to be pretty foul tasting.


The Elemental Diet kills off the SIBO

After spending so long with this problem, I decided this was the avenue I wanted to take. I’ve researched the option of antibiotics but there’s only a 45% chance of it working or worse off, making it worse. The Elemental Diet gives you an 85% chance of it succeeding. If it just means drinking a rank drink for two weeks then sign me up!

the-elemental-diet

The Physicians Elemental Diet comes in powdered form and shipped from USA.

If it actually works, the next process will be keeping it from coming back. There are a few elemental diets to choose from, one where you can make it yourself, one by Nestle (of all companies!) and this one, the Physicians Elemental Diet which is where you need to get a prescription from the doctor. It’s also meant to be the best of the three and not as bad tasting either.

I’ll be documenting the elemental diet, going into more details about it with a video of my entire experience throughout the two weeks,  so look out for my next post and I’ll keep you updated with my ongoing road to recovery.

Have you had any gut problems similar to this or any unexplained illnesses? I’d really like to hear about them below because it seriously helps to have the support from others who are going through or have been through something like this too.

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Why Do I Suffer From A Bloated Stomach In Australia?

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  1. Totally understand! I’ve been diagnosed with IBS for over ten years and it keeps getting worse. I also saw Matt from the digestive clinic in October last year but the herbs and supplements I was taking just made me MUCH worse so I stopped. Did the gastro/endo and muscle testing but so far only Low fodmap diet is helping. My next steps are to treat my anxiety (mostly caused bye the IBS/vicious circle) and RTT hypnotherapy. Like you I’ve tried so much and nothing works very well. It means I don’t go hiking or do anything far from a bathroom, it affects me every time I eat that sometimes I prefer not to eat at all. Feacal transplants seem to be an option but I don’t know if the research is there yet to consider this form of treatment. In any case you aren’t alone and having you and Amelia Liana talk about it openly is helping us break the stigma as digestive issues are scarily common! Thanks for sharing

    1. Hi Steph, your comment has made me feel like publishing this post has all been worth it. It’s unbelievably comforting to know I’m not alone on this journey. When I found Amelia’s you tube video, I just couldn’t believe someone else was going through the same as me. I have also been considering the feacal transplant as a last resort. Amazing to hear you went to see Matt as well. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt a lot recently is what works for one, doesn’t work for another. Matt put me on BACTRAX supplements but I haven’t noticed any difference to be honest. The main supplement that has worked for me recently is wild oil of oregano. But I talk about this in my next post about the elemental diet. Let’s keep in touch as it’s very comforting having someone else in the same city who’s going through this as well. Thanks Annie

  2. Oh I’ve never heard of this before! I wish you the best of luck getting through this and getting back to yourself!

  3. Great post. It takes courage to share your story. It’s challenging for me sometimes too. I am the creator of SIBO Survivor a website where I’m dedicated to providing helpful content to people who are struggling. I’d love to connect just to chat if you’re interested, maybe see if there is anyway we can collaborate.

    Josh

  4. Great post! I have been struggling with tummy issues for years after getting a nasty parasite in China. I’ve done the low FODMAP diet on and off (it doesn’t work for me), had a gastroscopy and colonoscopy (no answers) had a billion blood and poo samples (no luck there either) and the only other thing the gastroenterologist suggested was going on anti depressants! I came across the Medical Medium a few days ago actually, and have started drinking celery juice every morning. I haven’t seen any improvements yet but I am going to stick with it a little while longer. I am going to look up Matt from The Digestive Wellness Clinic and book in for a SIBO test, pronto. You’re not alone!

    1. Hey! Matt is great and very understanding. I think that’s what I’ve found the hardest was seeing various doctors that just didn’t get it and were actually far from compassionate and rude. Matt on the other hand gets it. Best of luck with him, hope you get some answers!!

  5. Hey Annie,

    Great work on your article. I was so shocked to see it, I’ve been checking out your blog recently as I’m moving to Sydney in a few months and as a fellow Brit loved your insiders tips! But I have been plagued with SIBO for the past 5 years living in Singapore after getting a nasty parasite from drinking bad water in Indonesia. Thousands of dollars, test after test, one diet change after the other and weird treatment protocols have not got me anywhere yet, so I have been looking into practitioners in Sydney for when I arrive to check out, and the digestive clinic was top on the list! Im intrigued to see how you go with their treatment as it seems pretty good. I totally know how you feel as this is just the worst thing I’ve ever had to deal with.. and my wardrobe is also now full or baggy shirts and dresses (and some lovely spanx too ;)). Keeping my fingers crossed for you with Matt. Would be awesome to stay in touch and see if we can help each other out with this 🙂 Fran x

    1. Hi Fran, it’s amazing to see how many people are going through SIBO. Since I published this article just a week ago, I’ve had so much amazing feedback and it’s made me feel much better about going through it as I’ve found it quite a lonely experience. I even got a skype call from Josh from sibosurvivor.com the other day as well. It was amazing to actually talk to someone else going through SIBO as well. I’ll be posting my experience on the elemental diet this week as well, so make sure you look out for it. Let me know when you’re in Sydney so we can catch up!

      1. So glad to hear that, I battled it solo for years as no one knew what was wrong with me and it made me crazy! I got to the point when I started studying a functional medicine course I was so interested in how the whole Digestive system works and literally controls everything! Iv been backpacking this year so am far from finishing it and instead have been battling some of south americas finest stomach bugs instead ??‍♀️ But I just can’t wait to get back on track.. keeping everything crossed it goes well for you over the next few weeks. Would be great to catch up when I get there (December if my visa ever gets approved!). Good luck!

        1. How have you found it backpacking? I’d love to know how you found it eating wise and stomach wise apart from the South America bug you picked up?

          1. Well the backpacking and Travelling itself was obviously amazing, but eating wise was really tough (been on the road for a year now). I had to forget having control over my diet a lot of the time and so unfortunately I had to eat gluten and dairy and sugar again which I normally avoid as a lot of the time when your in the middle of no where you just have to eat what you can find. I cooked as much as I could to keep control. I also got sick in most countries I went to (South America) despite being super anal with hygiene and drank bottled water everyday so that was a little tough and annoying to deal with. Overall having not been sick for a while (I’m still Travelling but in USA) I definitely feel the same as before so not much change despite all the diet changes and tummy bugs. If you have any other q’s fee free to email me! Are you feeling like the elements diet worked? How did you find the digestive clinic? Xx

  6. Thank you so much for your blog. It is reassuring and encouraging to read. I have had digestive issues as long as I can remember. I was diagnosed with Chronic Gastritis at the age of 16 and had stomach problems ever since. My digestive issues took a significant turn in 2015 when we got flooded with a burst bathroom pipe. I had to move all furniture by hand and try to save our belongings. Couple of months later the pain in my abdomen stated to get so strong that I wasn’t able to lie in my back or eat anything without pain that radiates to my back. Several large number of tests showed that I developed blastocystis hominis and dientamoeba fragilis. After a number of different antibiotics it showed up that the bugs are gone but my pain still around. So more tests and more investigations with hundreds and hundreds dollars spent. I joined bugs and other stuff Facebook page where one member recommended to see a naturopath and do further investigations, so here a go again. After a breath test it showed up that I have SIBO both methane and hydrogen. I tried a number of diets and a number of different herbs (can’t even remember their names) all to make my symptoms much worse. So I’m a braking point of feeling defeated and lost as this pain is taking the best years of my life. I want to enjoy my kids and be a fun mum but I feel I’m most of the time feeling down and depressed. I would love to try other options and would love to hear your experience if you feeling any better and what helped? Please share. Thank you so much and all the best.

  7. Sydney is the earth’s cancer. I’ve been going through the same stuff for 8 months now. Been diagnosed with “IBS” for now after having my blood taken 6 times, a colonoscopy, CT scan and several other checks, although I don’t really believe that it’s that simple. Still investigating further because I really need some relieve finally.

    I still can’t believe how quickly a country can destroy one’s life. Terrible place, probably gonna have nightmares about Sydney for the next few decades.

  8. Hi Annie, thank you very much for this post! My tummy looks just like yours, and has done for two years since I had food poisoning in Panama then three surgeries in a row, all with antibiotics. I’ve also been a victim of the mesh scandal so had to have big open surgeries where my bowel was handled a lot.

    My SIBO test with glucose came back negative, but apparently it can give false negatives. My gastroenterologist wants me to try the SIBO antibiotics for two weeks, then move on to Symprove and a low FODMAP diet.

    My only reservation is what if it is SIFO (small intestinal fungal overgrowth). I wanted to mention this to you as from what I’ve read it has all the same symptoms and oregano is a good antifungal. I am considering the Candida diet, but also feel a bit lost with too many options! Thanks for posting this pictures, I can understand it was weird for you but they are just like mine, so thanks for sharing.

    Jen

    1. Hi Jen, really sorry to hear what you’ve been through. I think everyone’s case is different but yet we all have similar symptoms. I’ve been back in Australia for three months after my travels to USA and England and I’m back to being swollen again. For me I don’t so much have the pain anymore which was the worst thing about it, I’m just swollen after everything I eat. But, I’m back on the path to finding out more about this bizarre thing I have again. I hope you manage to heal as well. x

  9. Hi Annie,
    I had appendectomy almost a month and a half ago and ever since I have bloating in my stomach that I did not have before. I am suspecting sibo. I read somewhere that the appendix could be I volved in MMC as it is believed to be a reservoir of good bacteria involved in the MMC. My question is how many of you guys have sibo as well as a history of appendectomy? Any of you was able to have a relief from sibo inspite of the fact they don’t have an appendix?
    Thank you

  10. Hi Annie,
    As many people have contributed and shared, I too have SIBO. It took almost 9 years of dieticians, naturopaths, gastrologists, GPS’s to finally get diagnosed. I’ve had salmonella and food poisoning while traveling abroad. The sharp pains you had on the hotel floor, I’ve been there. It sounds a lot like gastritis. I have been to the emergency department because I felt like my stomach was being stabbed! They gave me PPI’s which are the worst for stomach lining which exacerbates the problem and makes it worse in the long run. When I found out I had SIBO I did a range of protocols with a wellness coach with one in particular giving terrible die off symptoms. I thought my body was shutting down, I had no energy and was so queasy. When I changed practitioners she put me on Bactrax which I am doing a course of now. I’m still bloating SO much, I feel pregnant if I eat the ‘wrong thing’. It’s created a fair amount of health and food anxiety which is so unhealthy. I’ve been researching and listening to so many podcasts about SIBO which is helping me feel more empowered. I am thinking of trying the Elemental Diet. I’d love for you to link the blog and documentation you captured during and post Elemental Diet. Have you had any relapses? Thank you!

    1. Hi Bron, thanks for the comment. Yeah, I’ve still got gut problems now unfortunately. The Elemental Diet actually helped me a lot during the worst of it. I’m hoping to find a new naturopath to help me combat this because it’s gone on way too long.

      Here’s a link to my experience on the Elemental Diet: https://londonerinsydney.com/my-experience-on-the-physicians-elemental-diet-to-treat-sibo/

      What happened after: https://londonerinsydney.com/sibo-update-elemental-diet-work/

      And my new findings of why I only have bad gut health in Australia: https://londonerinsydney.com/gut-health-issues-in-australia

      Why I can eat anything in England: https://londonerinsydney.com/gut-health-update-since-going-back-to-england

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