Could It Be SIBO? Bloating, Gut Motility & Finding Answers with Shivan SarnaCould It Be SIBO? Bloating, Gut Motility & Finding Answers with Shivan Sarna
The Synergee Podcast
57:16•2 Nov 2026
Bloating, SIBO and Being Told “You’re Fine”: Gut Answers with Siobhan Sarna
Episode Overview
- SIBO often underlies IBS-like symptoms and can be missed when tests are poorly read or incomplete.
- Accurate three-hour lactulose breath testing and seeing your own report are crucial for a meaningful diagnosis.
- Gut motility can be disrupted by food poisoning, adhesions, endometriosis, opioids, certain medications and surgery.
- Diet changes and probiotics may help some people but can worsen symptoms for others, so they need slow, careful trials.
- Patients are urged to seek clinicians who take their symptoms seriously and to change providers if they feel dismissed.
- sentiments": ["Informative", "Honest", "Supportive", "Encouraging", "Eye-opening"],"shortsummary": "A detailed conversation with SIBO educator Siobhan Sarna about chronic bloating, gut motility problems and the struggle of being told tests are normal while symptoms persist. The discussion focuses on proper testing, root causes such as surgery and adhesions, and practical ways people can advocate for more thorough care."}
“You’re not crazy and you’re not alone.”
Curious about how others cope with the challenges of staying bloated, uncomfortable and dismissed by doctors? This Synergee Podcast episode sits right in that gap where gut misery meets a lack of answers, and shows how people can start joining the dots for themselves.
Functional medicine clinicians Lori Esarey and Kelly Englemann chat with SIBO educator and author Siobhan Sarna about small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and why so many people are told “everything looks normal” while their bodies are clearly screaming otherwise. You’ll hear real stories of post-surgery bloating, years of constipation and diarrhoea, and that haunting experience of looking “six months pregnant” after meals.
Siobhan breaks SIBO down in plain language: overgrown bacteria in the small intestine, gas production (hydrogen, methane, hydrogen sulphide), and a gut motility system that’s slowed by things like food poisoning, adhesions, endometriosis, opioids, and even certain modern weight-loss drugs. She stresses the importance of proper breath testing—“make sure you get the test, make sure it’s three hours, make sure it’s lactulose”—and of working with providers who actually know how to read those results.
The episode also digs into tricky topics like probiotics that sometimes help and sometimes floor people, low-fermentation diets that manage symptoms but don’t fix the root problem, and the role of visceral manipulation and pelvic floor therapy when adhesions or structural issues are involved. Beyond gut talk, Siobhan and the hosts weave in wider health themes: how oestrogen affects motility and the microbiome, why pelvic exams still matter, and the need to “be the CEO” of your own health.
Her message to anyone who’s been repeatedly told they’re fine while feeling terrible is clear: “You’re not crazy and you’re not alone,” and it’s okay to change providers if you’re not being heard. If chronic bloating, gut discomfort or medical brush-offs sound familiar, are you ready to start asking different questions and seeking better support?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.