Originally Posted by DavidHC

I'd like to run a theory by those of you who have the scientific expertise that I unfortunately don't; though I'm trying to address that by copious amounts of reading, I'm definitely no expert in this area.

I have a theory about the potential cause of my SFN. SIBO, a bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, is known to cause all sorts of problems, and if left untreated, could cause kidney failure and all sorts of other problems. Put simply, it does this via causing intestinal permeability. Once this happens, the bacteria and food products leak into the blood stream. This can cause plenty of food sensitivities in people who don't even have allergies to said foods, which allergy testing has confirmed in my case (i.e., no allergies to various foods, but serious sensitivities once ingested, causing immediate nerve irritation and damage). Long story short, and to put it simply, the bacteria in particular, but also various other things leaking out through my intestinal wall, cause nerve damage. I basically imagine my situation as one in which my blood is loaded with bacteria (and perhaps other toxins that should have stayed in the gut), a body-wide infection really, causing damage to my nerves, skin and organs, all of which I've experienced over the past two years. So I basically have toxic blood flowing throughout my body.

I've had low WBC since this all started, often poor kidney function tests, skin problems and in places significant damage, generalized inflammation, and various other signs that I could have an infection of sorts.

I'd appreciate any input about this. As things stand, this is all I have, given how strongly my gut is implicated in all this, and how no tests have given me a path forward. What's certain is that I have some serious gut issues and that diet is very much implicated in my case.