I didn't recommend the probiotics since that can make things worse. Prebiotics could be a trigger. SIBO can be tested for, but getting someone to order the test may not be possible. Even naturopaths usually start with an elimination diet, or sometimes an anti-fungal in case it is a yeast overgrowth (SIYO). As you can see from the reaction Cody's wife got, it is often not taken seriously unless you wish to take the various prescription drugs that cover the symptoms but don't solve the problem. Have you had to address the issue @John Brunner ?
Your comment made me go look to see if probiotics could survive hot water. I read an article that said "probiotics that have been deactivated and sterilized (deliberately heat-killed) can be as beneficial as traditional live probiotics." This shocks me. The article is talking about preventing and treating disease, and not necessarily populating your gut with bacteria. The article also said "Killed probiotics were effective in conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, eczema, allergies, infections, and obesity)." That makes me wonder if taking a probiotics that has been heat killed (and you could do it at home) might be a way to address IBS without the risk of bacterial overpopulation if you have SIBO, because dead bacteria don't reproduce.
No, my issue was mild bowel issues after I had a slight case of diverticulitis. The issues might have been caused by my taking a course of antibiotics that did not work, and then taking a second course of double the dosage. Even the pharmacist was taken aback by the volume. I doubled my probiotics during that time, but there was no scientific method to that quantity. I've seen products containing way more than double the 30 Billion CFUs I routinely take each day. Then there's the blend of strains... I forget which path led me to the prebiotics that have made such a difference. I know I was researching to see if there was specific info on bacterial strains regarding their behaviour & benefits, and then tried to find similar info on prebiotics. That led me to the IBS forum, where some of those folks had tried different bacterial strains and were asking each other the same questions about probiotics and prebiotics. One interesting thing is that I read you need 20-25 grams of prebiotics a day to make a difference. I've been doing fine by supplementing somewhere around 6-7 grams total of a few different types, but that's in addition to diet.
Prebiotics can be had by what you eat. Some will agree with you and some not--like inulins. That might be why doctors don't come back with an answer. too many possibilities and if they suggest eating differently than the patient does, they get an argument. Antibiotics screw things up in the gut and people are finding that out. Reactions after eating out requires some personal research which people often don't want to bother doing. We all would rather a doctor just give us a magic pill
I always eat a fresh salad (with several kinds of lettuce, carrots, radish & radicchio) and usually have a veggie with lunch and/or dinner. I brew chicory and keep a couple of canning jars of it in my fridge to amend my morning coffee with. So I get about 8 oz. of it in the AM. My habitual after-dinner drink consists of 1TB instant chicory plus 2TB of the chicory-based Teeccino Yvonne turned me on to, steeped together for about 10 minutes. That being said, I read that inulin is not that great of a prebiotic because it takes too long to ferment in your gut, so you pass it before it's available for your bacteria to eat (they do pre-ferment inulin and make the prebiotic Frutco Oligo Saccharide/FOS out of it.) I have some Inulin FOS and a couple of other powdered prebiotics that I sweeten my evening drink with. Regarding doctors and diet: I've heard "Mediterranean Diet" from my doctor a few times and I've not changed, so I won't cast stones.
What happened to the days you just ate because you wanted or needed to without having to to become a chemist and pick things apart?
The era of mass produced [factory] foods has caught up to us. Some may have the capacity to grow & can their own veggies, while fewer can do that with meat and fruit (or can hunt), and a tiny number can do that with legumes and grains. You can't mass produce and distribute food without preservatives. Then there's the profit motive...and corrupt government oversight. That being said, there's many things about our modern institutions that thwart Darwin. Allergies and other "defects" one might be born used to take people out of the gene pool. Now those people are saved, their traits get passed on, and their progeny are saved to pass their genes on.
We read online, then again, everyone says "don't believe everything you read online" which is very true (we found out), that stress can cause IBS-D. We were "stressed out" this last time we lived in Colorado, both by our neighbors and by the changes that were happening to the city. Now we are "stressed out" here, not so much by neighbors (thank God), but by the city in general. Funny, most of the time, she doesn't even want to drive here. Just too fast-paced!
After thinking about it, I should have waited until I felt better to take my first capsule of the IBS Clear. We are both fighting what could be a Variant of Covid 19. Got around way, way to many people the last two weekends! Fortunately, no fever, but, basically, "achy" all over. For now, I put the IBS Clear in the kitchen closet separate from the other vitamin supplements.
The one thing that always helps me is to consume soluble fiber. Like pinto beans, baked beans and semi-green bananas. The absolute worst is anything with lactase and / or gluten.
The fiber in beans is a good prebiotic. So you might also benefit from using a prebiotic supplement. The article I just read says that the bacteria Bifidobacteria helps IBS. Apparently so does lactobacillus to a lesser degree. So a probiotic containing these may provide relief (again, with the SIBO cautionary note.)
Bifido doesn't make it through the digestive juices. They should make it into a suppository. Never understood why they didn't. Covid vax seems to have wiped it out in some people.