SIBO Breath Test (Lactulose)

Yes. It is an at-home test: you order online, the kit comes to your door by DHL, you collect at home and the prepaid DHL return takes it to the lab. No GP referral or clinic visit is needed. We send kits to any UK address, and international delivery is priced at checkout.

They look at different parts of the gut. The GI-MAP is a stool test that maps the bacteria, parasites and pathogens of the large intestine and checks digestion and inflammation. The SIBO breath test looks for bacteria in the small intestine, which a stool sample cannot see. If your main symptom is bloating soon after eating, start here; if it is a mix of gut symptoms, or symptoms beyond the gut, the GI-MAP is the broader first test, and the two are often used together.

Yes, and that is often when it is most useful. IBS is a description of symptoms, not a cause, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is one of the causes most often found behind it. The breath test either finds an overgrowth, which can then be addressed specifically, or rules it out so you and your practitioner can look elsewhere.

The laboratory measures hydrogen and methane in each of the eight breath samples and reports both against reference thresholds, so the result is a curve over three hours rather than a single reading. Lactulose is used because it is not absorbed, so it reaches the whole small intestine. Breath testing is the usual non-invasive test for SIBO, and like any lab test it is a snapshot: preparation matters, which is why the kit comes with a prep diet, and a practitioner reads the curve against your symptoms.

Sometimes, for a specific question and usually after a gastroenterology referral; waits can be long and not every area offers it. This test is the same type of hydrogen and methane breath test, done at home and ordered privately through a clinic. The price covers the kit, the lab analysis and your lab report; having the report interpreted is a separate, optional consultation.

Pick a morning when you can stay at home for about three hours without eating, exercising, sleeping or smoking. The day before, eat only from the prep-diet sheet in the kit (plain protein, white rice or bread, eggs, clear broth, water, black tea or coffee), then fast for 12 hours overnight with water only. Stop probiotics 24 hours before; wait at least four weeks after antibiotics and seven days after laxatives or antacids, and ask your practitioner about anything else you take. On the morning: baseline sample, the lactulose drink, then a sample every 20 minutes until the tenth. Post the kit back within two days.

Yes. Book a Lab Findings Review with us and a registered nutritional therapist will take you through every marker against your symptoms and history, whether you tested with us or elsewhere; bring your report to the session. If you then want a personalised plan, that is the Comprehensive Consultation.