The Hydrogen Breath Test is a useful tool for understanding where bacteria reside in the digestive tract. Patients with digestive complaints or a diagnosis such as Small Intestinal Bacterium Overgrowth (SIBO), Irritable Bowel Syndrom (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), or other digestive diseases can use this test to see the extent of the bacterial spread.
But good preparation is key to accurate results.
Fasting
The Hydrogen Breath test is a fasting test. Patients are recommended to drink only water for twelve hours before the test. While this alone will provide accurate results, there are some other ways we can make the results as accurate as possible.
The day before the test, limiting your diet to certain foods can help secure accurate results. By eating baked or broiled chicken, fish or turkey with only salt or pepper, white bread, plain steamed white rice, eggs, and clear chicken or beef broth, it prevents any additional bacteria from being introduced to the digestive tract and potentially changing the outcome.
Blood Type Fasting Prep
For Blood Type As, please limit food the day before to baked or broiled chicken or turkey with only salt, chicken eggs, and plain steamed white rice. Do not eat for 12 hours before the test. Water is fine.
For Blood Type ABs, please limit food the day before to baked or broiled turkey with only salt or other basic spices, egg whites, and plain steamed white rice. Do not eat for 12 hours before the test. Water is fine.
For Blood Type Bs, please limit food the day before to baked or broiled turkey with only salt, eggs, rice milk, puffed rice or plain steamed white rice. Do not eat for 12 hours before the test. Water is fine.
For Blood Type Os, please limit food the day before to baked or broiled turkey with only salt, eggs, and plain steamed white rice. Do not eat for 12 hours before the test. Water is fine.
Treatments
There are other ways we can impact the test results. Taking antibiotics within 14 days of the test can change the results. Any physical exams of the digestive tract such as a colonoscopy can also affect the results. If you are currently taking Protron Pump Inhibitors, aka PPIs, please wait at least seven days after completion to take the test. Patients also should not sleep, smoke, or exercise for an hour before or during the test.
What Happens If I Don’t Prepare?
The Hydrogen Breath Test is used to determine the location and quantity of bacteria in the digestive tract. If we eat the wrong foods or eat too soon before the test, we will have extra bacteria that will skew the results. The only way to ensure accurate results is by following the above steps.
What Happens During the Test?
After coming to the office, you will be given a syrupy sweet solution followed immediately by a breath test. These breath tests will continue over the course of 2-3 hours every 15-20min. This allows the solution to travel down the digestive tract and allows the doctor to determine where in the intestines there is bacterial overgrowth. This will help to determine Dr. Brody’s treatment plan.
The hydrogen breath test is usually covered by most major insurance plans.
What if my results come up negative but I’m experiencing GI symptoms?
It is possible to have SIBO without having positive results on the hydrogen breath test. While less likely, there are bacteria that produce methane gas (CH4) or hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) that can be causing the symptoms. If this is the case, you can speak to the doctor about other testing and treatment options. Click here to learn more!
Appointment
To schedule an appointment, please contact the front desk at the Personalized Natural Medicine Clinic, located in a beautiful Victorian house in the heart of Newtown, Connecticut.
