Gut & Digestive Health
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
SIBO means there are too many bacteria in your small intestine, where they do not belong. Instead of staying mainly in the large intestine, these bacteria move up, feed on sugars and carbs from your food, and make gases like hydrogen and methane.
Common Symptoms
- Bloating that worsens as the day goes on or minutes after eating
- Excess gas, burping, abdominal cramping, or visible abdominal swelling
- Alternating constipation and diarrhea (often tied to methane or hydrogen overgrowth)
- Nausea, early fullness, or discomfort after just a few bites
- Food sensitivities or reactions to foods you once tolerated
- Brain fog, fatigue, irritability, or trouble focusing
- Unexplained nutrient deficiencies, skin changes, or worsened IBS symptoms
Likely Root Causes and Contributors
- Slow gut motility can let food and bacteria sit too long, increasing fermentation, gas, and bloating.
- Structural gut issues such as adhesions, diverticula, or narrowing can trap food and bacteria.
- Low stomach acid and weak digestion can make it easier for bacteria to survive and overgrow.
- Medication-related microbiome disruption from antibiotics, steroids, and other drugs can upset gut balance.
- Diet and lifestyle stress such as high sugar intake, frequent snacking, poor sleep, and ongoing stress can impair normal gut function.
- Detoxification and inflammation overload can make it harder for the body to clear bacterial byproducts, worsening bloating, brain fog, and fatigue.
Patient Pain Points We Often Hear
“My bloating hits fast after I eat. By late afternoon my stomach feels tight and swollen, and I start planning my day around how uncomfortable I know I will get.”
“ I feel like I’m pregnant as I’m always bloated. I get treated for SIBO but it keeps coming back.”
“I keep cutting out foods to avoid symptoms, but it feels like the list keeps growing. Even small meals can leave me with gas, cramping, brain fog, and exhaustion.”
Our Approach to Healing
How We Map, Treat, and Sustain Real Recovery from SIBO with the LAM Method™
Most people who come to us with SIBO have already tried a lot. Low FODMAP. Multiple rounds of antibiotics or herbs. Cutting out more and more foods. Maybe things help for a while, then the bloating, gas, or bathroom issues come back. Our approach to healing uses the three phases of LAM Method™: Learn the Why, Address the Root, Maximize Longevity. Here’s how we use the LAM Method™ to address Thyroid Disorders:
Phase 1 of LAM Method™
Learn the Why of SIBO
With SIBO, the Inflammation circuit is most commonly affected, with the Detoxification circuit often closely involved when gas, toxin load, and sensitivities build faster than your body can clear them.
Testing may include:
- SIBO Breath Test for Hydrogen and Methane Gas
- Comprehensive Stool and Microbiome Testing
- Food Sensitivity Testing
- Organic Acids Test (yeast/bacterial overgrowth metabolites)
- Mycotoxin panel (if recurrent/resistant SIBO)
For more information on the tests and labs used to evaluate SIBO, explore our Leaky Gut and SIBO Treatment Service.
Phase 2 of LAM Method™
Address the Root of IBS
Targeted Supplement Support
- Herbal antimicrobials chosen and rotated based on tolerance and pattern (for example oregano oil, black walnut,, berberine, or allicin) to help reduce overgrowth of both bacteria and candida
- Digestive enzymes to improve breakdown of food and reduce gas and bloating from fermentation
- Motility Agents to help move the gas along (eg. Low dose naltrexone, Atrantil)
- Probiotics used carefully only when tolerated and timed appropriately, since some people feel worse if they are introduced too early
- IV Nutrient Therapy to replenish nutrients where malnourished
- IV Ozone Autohemotherapy to target overgrowth and help detoxification process.
Phase 3 of LAM Method™
Maximize Longevity
Lifestyle Foundations
- Space meals 4–5 hours apart to allow the migrating motor complex to clear food and bacteria between meals, supporting pro-motility therapies like LDN, bitters, and Atrantil.
- Support gut motility daily with gentle post-meal walking and consistent meal timing to help food move through the small intestine more efficiently.
- Use simplified or liquid nutrition during severe flares such as temporary elemental diet phases to reduce fermentation and give the gut time to recover.
- Reduce flare triggers during travel, stress, or schedule changes
- Rebuild confidence with food without long-term restriction
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Top Articles
Expert Insights on IBS
Ready to Start Feeling Better? Let’s figure this out—together.
Take the QuizFrequently Asked Questions
Can Lam Clinic help with SIBO?
Yes. We work with people who have persistent or recurrent SIBO, especially when standard diets or protocols haven’t resolved symptoms. Our approach looks beyond bacteria to understand how gut function, stress response, hormones, inflammation, and detoxification interact, allowing us to support digestion in a more personalized and sustainable way.
What are the risk factors for SIBO?
Risk is higher if you have IBS, diabetes, hypothyroidism, connective tissue disease, past abdominal surgery, or gut conditions that slow movement. Long term stress, low stomach acid, frequent antibiotics, and diets high in refined carbs can also set the stage for SIBO.
What foods trigger SIBO?
Foods high in certain fermentable carbs (like wheat, onions, garlic, beans, some fruits, and sugar alcohols) often worsen bloating and gas because bacteria feed on them.
How long does SIBO last?
Untreated, SIBO can linger for months or years and come and go with stress, diet changes, or infections.
How do I know if I have SIBO or IBS?
IBS is a symptom label for bowel changes like pain, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea, while SIBO is a specific bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. A breath test, your history, and how your symptoms behave help us sort out whether SIBO, IBS, or both are involved.
Do you offer virtual visits and where are you located?
Yes, we offer secure telehealth visits worldwide and in-person care at our clinic in Tustin, California. We proudly serve patients across Orange County including Irvine, Santa Ana, Orange, Costa Mesa, and Anaheim, as well as individuals throughout the United States and internationally who seek personalized gut and SIBO guidance from the comfort of home.
The Lam Family has helped thousands recover from fatigue and stress for years.
Using advanced diagnostics and whole-body care, the Lam family looks beyond routine labs to uncover the real reasons behind fatigue—like adrenal stress, hormone imbalance, and nutrient depletion. Then, they create a personalized plan to help you heal fully and feel like yourself again.
The Pioneer of Root-Cause Healing & Whole Person Care
Before adrenal fatigue was widely understood, Dr. Michael Lam, M.D. led the way—developing one of the first clinical approaches to diagnose and treat it. His bestselling book, Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome, became a lifeline for patients around the world. Today, his children—Dr. Carrie Lam and Dr. Jeremy Lam—carry that legacy forward, building on his foundation with advanced diagnostics and whole-person care for lasting recovery.
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