SIBO - is it a real thing? Has anyone managed to treat combined type?

[BiscoffByTheSpoon]

Has anyone tested positive for combined SIBO and managed to clear it? Was it via the NHS?

I've been having gut issues for years - on and off for 20 years, pretty bad for about 10 years and really very severe for the past 2 years. My 'safe' foods have been getting smaller and smaller and in the past 2 years almost everything sets me off. My triggers are things like artificial additives (of almost any kind but especially citric acid and preservatives). And foods high in 'food chemicals' - glutamates, amines, salicylates (like cocoa, soy, miso, cherries etc). Also high FODMAP foods (barley malt extract, beans, cauliflower).

Gastroenterology refused my referral and said I just had 'bad IBS'.

I've paid for a private SIBO test and it's just come back as combined type SIBO (hydrogen and methane).

So on the one hand I feel good I've got maybe an actual cause, but I'm now reading online that it's not necessarily acknowledged to be a real thing?! Has anyone treated and cleared this with just diet and herbal options?

What type of private practitioner did you go with if you went private?

I'm despairing at this point, I've had to shift my entire career because I can't cope with going away and I'm just so fed up of restricting my life and avoiding meals out/drinks/anything that involves food. And I'm also scared of spending ££s on endless rounds of treatment that don't actually work.

I have a friend who knows about this. I will try and find out and come back to thread.

Rifaximin. 550mg. She has been very ill with a condition that causes very slow transit. A combination of daily movicol and a very limited diet consisting of very small meals of fish, chicken, potatoes, fresh fruit and veg keeps sibo at bay. If she feels it is coming back she gets Rifaximin. Only available privately in uk. NHS will not prescribe.
I hope this is helpful. It is a truly horrible condition.

Thanks @Toomuchtroublethesedays. Interesting that it's only a private prescription. I seem to know more than my GP at this stage.

Maybe I just have to bite the bullet, save up and accept I'll be spending a lot on a private GP and private clinics.

IME most HCPs know practically zero about SIBO.
My friend has MALS.
It took them over a year to convince them to investigate properly. Her own diagnosis of MALS was absolutely correct.
She still can't get NHS support and her GP won't prescribe the ABx as it isn't allowed on the NHS.
She diagnosed her own SIBO too.
She sees a private specialist once a year.
Luckily she has private insurance but still has to pay for the Px.