Whats imo mean professional#

Your MMC is a digestive process which promotes the movement of food and waste products through your gut (including bacteria and archaea!) so they can either be absorbed and utilised or excreted as waste. One is your migrating motor complex (MMC). In terms of diet and lifestyle there are a number of factors to consider. Laxatives may also be prescribed to target the constipation. In some instances a gastroenterologist will prescribe a motility drug such as prucalopride or linaclotide in order to get the gut moving again to prevent a recurrence. There is no antibiotic treatment currently available for IMO which is not systemic as rifaximin alone has been shown to be ineffective in treating IMO. Both Neomycin and metronidazole are systemic antibiotics, meaning they affect other areas of the body as well as just the gut, which could mean there is a higher level of side effects with these. Treatment can be through antibiotics, diet or a combination.Īntibiotics to treat IMO can be Rifaximin with Neomycin, or Metronidazole. Your gastroenterologist may diagnose IMO, based on results and their clinical judgement. It is also difficult to control levels before a test and so the diagnosis of IMO can be challenging. It is difficult to assess whether these methanogens are present in the large intestine or the small intestine. There are multiple factors which affect your body’s methane levels and unlike hydrogen, they are not easily controlled.

Whats imo mean professional#

A diagnosis of IMO should be through an experienced professional as clinical judgement is heavily relied on. Methane levels above 10 during any part of a breath test are considered high. IMO is a more challenging diagnosis as our colonic levels fluctuate and we cannot control levels prior to the test.If we see a rise before 90 minutes, this is suggestive of bacteria in the small intestine (overgrowth), after 90 minutes, the bacteria is within the colon and not an issue. SIBO is a slightly simpler diagnosis, as we can control hydrogen levels before the test and we can monitor at what time we see a rise in hydrogen levels.

You will then continue to provide breath samples at intervals up to 90 or 120 minutes.

After you have taken a baseline measure you will be given a solution (usually lactulose – a laxative, at a very small dose) which is fermented by bacteria and methanogens, resulting in a rise in hydrogen and/or methane gas.

This will be a baseline measure to ensure the diet has worked and if your initial hydrogen reading is not below 16, the results of the test should not be taken as accurate.

You will be asked to breathe into a machine for around 20 seconds.

The breath test should measure hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide.

Exercise and stress are also taken into consideration.

For one or two days prior to the test you will follow a special diet which reduces all foods that can result in a rise in hydrogen levels within the body.

Referral should be from an experienced healthcare professional, this should not be a self-referral.

This is because they are less invasive and cheaper than other methods. How is it diagnosed?īreath tests are the most commonly used method for the diagnosis of SIBO or IMO. The most common symptoms for IMO include bloating and constipation, but can also include other gut symptoms such as abdominal discomfort or even loose stools in some cases. There is some good evidence that raised methane levels are associated with an element of slow transit. We diagnose an overgrowth when we see a combination of symptoms, alongside a raised hydrogen (for SIBO) and methane (for IMO). High levels of bacteria in the small intestine, or methane within the small or large intestine, can increase gut symptoms in some people. The rise in breath testing and understanding of how the overgrowth of bacteria, fungi and archaea can impact the gut is pivotal in helping a cohort of people who experience gut symptoms such as changes in stools, bloating and abdominal discomfort. This means that IMO is not the same as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), where the overgrowth is of bacteria, and which is limited to the small intestine. Archaea are a group of microorganisms that are similar to, but evolutionarily distinct from bacteria. IMO is an overgrowth of microorganisms called the archaea throughout the gut. What is intestinal methanogenic overgrowth (IMO)?