1. < Digestive Health

Intermittent fecal/sulfur breath odor

Posted by pbleonar @pbleonar, Jun 8, 2017

After scouring the web, I'm certain I'm not the only person with this problem, and not the only person who's been told they were imagining it. Anyway, the issue is I have intermittent odors when I talk (yes, I've been to the dentist 10+ times-- all say my oral hygiene is on point and xrays and inspections showed nothing). The only time it's practically non-existent is when I eat an unhealthily low-carb diet. Like others online, I've had CT scans, Barium swallows, endosocopy/colonoscopy, screening for parasites (getting one more from an IDS before crossing that off my list). All showed up negative. I tested positive for SIBO, but after researching that for the past 3 years, I'm certain SIBO is more of a symptom than a primary causal problem. Furthermore, even when I treated SIBO with heavy antibiotics, it did absolutely nothing for my breath-- and yes I was cleared of SIBO after a couple rounds of work. yet, the moment I eat carbs, I still get a "did someone just s*it themselves?" comment.

I guess what I'm getting at is I'm tired of doctors just saying it's IBS and SIBO and then proceeding to do zero investigating afterwards. I want to get down to the root cause of this, but most doctors are either too apathetic or too incompetent to do anything. Are there any researchers who specialize in studying and diagnosing hard to find problems in the GI tract? Between the 3 GI docs, 2 ENTs, 2 NDs and 1 IDS, I just can't take normal doctors anymore. I want my life back and I want a specific root cause so I can work on progressing from there.

Further notes: Diarrhea actually cleared up when I ate junk food and I had zero bloating, albeit the odor remained.

Xifaxan and neomycin did nothing for the odor, nor did the elemental diet. I actually think the elemental diet made the smell as bad or
worse than before.

*******Nitazoxanide********** worked wonders for the month I was on it. Solid stools even with foods that normally cause my ibs to flare up.
It's exactly the reason I felt there was more going on to everything than just SIBO and IBS.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

jojododo | @jojododo | Oct 7, 2019
In reply to @smelly1 "Dear Pbleonar, I suffer from the same condition and feel your pain. I've been to countless..." + (show)
@smelly1

Dear Pbleonar,
I suffer from the same condition and feel your pain. I've been to countless doctors and have even seen a psychiatrist who thought it was all in my head. I've been diagnosed with SIBO. What ever I have is causing the SIBO. I suffer from breath that smell like a fart, feces and butt odor. When under stress the smell come out in different parts of my body. I'm on a round of rifaxin which I've taken in the past and did not work. I believe that it is a parasitic. I visited South America got food poisoning and haven't been the same since. This condition is effecting my life traumatically. I don't like to go out, because of the constant comments. I am a teacher. The kids refer to me as dragon breath. They cover their noses when I speak or put their hoods over their face. No one wants to sit next to at meetings. The staff whispers and talks about me behind my back. The principal is trying to get rid of my despite being a great teacher. I've tried so many things. I have a 3 drawer cabinet full of supplements that don't work. I just tired! I really concerned about losing my job because they think it's a hygiene issue when I take two showers a day. I'm so tired of the medical community not taking this issue seriously. It seems like there should be an easy fix. So many people suffer from this condition, I don't understand why people are ignoring us.

Jump to this post

Treatment of SIBO doesn't always take. You may need to take multiple rounds of antibiotics. In addition, you have to watch what you eat as the wrong types of food may bring the bacteria overgrowth.

A friend has SIBO, received antibiotic treatment and still has to stay on top of it and what she eats. However, she doesn't suffer from bad or fecal breath.

REPLY
msacctnt | @msacctnt | Oct 11, 2019
In reply to @pinkbird "I have this same exact problem. I've been told I smell like rotten eggs, sewage and..." + (show)
@pinkbird

I have this same exact problem. I've been told I smell like rotten eggs, sewage and poop. It is socially crippling. There are certain things that make it worse, for example, if I have an alcoholic drink, eat beans/hummus, bananas, chocolate, fried foods or drink lemon water and certain teas. I would say the alcoholic drinks are the worst for me - after 2 minutes of consuming a drink I emit the odor and it's just continuous from there (with several comments of "who farted").

Another odd thing is when I have a cold or sinus infection, the smell is absolutely horrendous....it fills a room and people can smell me from many feet away.

The crazy thing about all of this is that I can rarely smell it. There was a time when I went back in my car after being out of it for a couple of minutes and I smelled it then.

Some other info - my tongue is always a light white color with white chunks in the back. I've had a two candida tests (a swab from my tongue and one from a stool analysis), but they were negative.

I'm pretty sure this is related also - my thumbs and pointer nails have beaus lines (horizontal grooves). Recently had blood work done and I'm not deficient in anything. My doctors do not know what they are from (asked my regular doctor and dermatologist about them). Also, my hair became very thin and is always shedding.

Digestion related issues: I sometimes have heartburn and am constipated occasionally.

Some other background info - a year ago I was tested positive for SIBO and I was treated with Xifaxin for two weeks. The smell never went away. I believe I do have some sort of dysbiosis (maybe hydrogen sulfide dysbiosis), but I think it's a different bacteria than what was tested when I was tested for SIBO. The test results showed an increase towards the end of the test (which I have read can be a false positive).

My life is a nightmare because of this. It makes me depressed and literally not want to do anything. Going to work everyday or doing anything socially is a struggle. I'm on a mission to solve this. I'm going to order a stool analysis test and will hopefully gain some insight into what's going on. If I come across any answers or anything that helps, I promise I will post it here.

Jump to this post

Same here. I have done a list of things to solve this. Have you had any luck?
3 upper endo's
gall bladder removed
tonsils removed
stopped eating red meat
I take probiotics
floss after each meal
monthly detox
gargle with salt and peroxide after each meal
Nothing works!

REPLY
2 replies
msacctnt | @msacctnt | Oct 11, 2019
In reply to @smelly1 "Dear Pbleonar, I suffer from the same condition and feel your pain. I've been to countless..." + (show)
@smelly1

Dear Pbleonar,
I suffer from the same condition and feel your pain. I've been to countless doctors and have even seen a psychiatrist who thought it was all in my head. I've been diagnosed with SIBO. What ever I have is causing the SIBO. I suffer from breath that smell like a fart, feces and butt odor. When under stress the smell come out in different parts of my body. I'm on a round of rifaxin which I've taken in the past and did not work. I believe that it is a parasitic. I visited South America got food poisoning and haven't been the same since. This condition is effecting my life traumatically. I don't like to go out, because of the constant comments. I am a teacher. The kids refer to me as dragon breath. They cover their noses when I speak or put their hoods over their face. No one wants to sit next to at meetings. The staff whispers and talks about me behind my back. The principal is trying to get rid of my despite being a great teacher. I've tried so many things. I have a 3 drawer cabinet full of supplements that don't work. I just tired! I really concerned about losing my job because they think it's a hygiene issue when I take two showers a day. I'm so tired of the medical community not taking this issue seriously. It seems like there should be an easy fix. So many people suffer from this condition, I don't understand why people are ignoring us.

Jump to this post

I feel the same way! I was actually thinking about getting funds together and paying a doctor to do research.

REPLY
smelly1 | @smelly1 | Oct 16, 2019
In reply to @msacctnt "Same here. I have done a list of things to solve this. Have you had any..." + (show)
@msacctnt

Same here. I have done a list of things to solve this. Have you had any luck?
3 upper endo's
gall bladder removed
tonsils removed
stopped eating red meat
I take probiotics
floss after each meal
monthly detox
gargle with salt and peroxide after each meal
Nothing works!

Jump to this post

Dear msacctnt,
If so many people suffer from the exact same symptoms why is it so hard for the medical community to believe us and take us seriously. It's not hard to do research, the patients are right here!

REPLY
Cbs61752 | @cbs61752 | Oct 16, 2019

I agree....I’ve told Multiple drs- internists, ENTs, dentists. Each one looks at me like I’m crazy. It’s embarrassing and frustrating!

REPLY
basienka88 | @basienka88 | Jan 16, 2020
In reply to @ginjax28 "Please try oil of oregano, grapefruit seed oil, zymex ll & make sure to take probiotic..." + (show)
@ginjax28

Please try oil of oregano, grapefruit seed oil, zymex ll & make sure to take probiotic on empty stomach right before bed. I can't stress enough how much these could help you. If you see a functional med dr or natural path dr they probably really can help you.

Jump to this post

Hello. I was wondering if you can explain a little more why these supplements would help? I read about all of them independently but why this specific combo? Also which probiotic do you think is best? I was recently diagnosed with SIBO with halitosis issues for 10+years... currently finishing antibiotic regimen round 2 which does not seem to be helping. In the past, I have tried the products you mentioned but never together and never for more than about two weeks at a time. Thanks for your help.

REPLY
dailysufferer | @dailysufferer | Feb 20, 2020
In reply to @pinkbird "I have this same exact problem. I've been told I smell like rotten eggs, sewage and..." + (show)
@pinkbird

I have this same exact problem. I've been told I smell like rotten eggs, sewage and poop. It is socially crippling. There are certain things that make it worse, for example, if I have an alcoholic drink, eat beans/hummus, bananas, chocolate, fried foods or drink lemon water and certain teas. I would say the alcoholic drinks are the worst for me - after 2 minutes of consuming a drink I emit the odor and it's just continuous from there (with several comments of "who farted").

Another odd thing is when I have a cold or sinus infection, the smell is absolutely horrendous....it fills a room and people can smell me from many feet away.

The crazy thing about all of this is that I can rarely smell it. There was a time when I went back in my car after being out of it for a couple of minutes and I smelled it then.

Some other info - my tongue is always a light white color with white chunks in the back. I've had a two candida tests (a swab from my tongue and one from a stool analysis), but they were negative.

I'm pretty sure this is related also - my thumbs and pointer nails have beaus lines (horizontal grooves). Recently had blood work done and I'm not deficient in anything. My doctors do not know what they are from (asked my regular doctor and dermatologist about them). Also, my hair became very thin and is always shedding.

Digestion related issues: I sometimes have heartburn and am constipated occasionally.

Some other background info - a year ago I was tested positive for SIBO and I was treated with Xifaxin for two weeks. The smell never went away. I believe I do have some sort of dysbiosis (maybe hydrogen sulfide dysbiosis), but I think it's a different bacteria than what was tested when I was tested for SIBO. The test results showed an increase towards the end of the test (which I have read can be a false positive).

My life is a nightmare because of this. It makes me depressed and literally not want to do anything. Going to work everyday or doing anything socially is a struggle. I'm on a mission to solve this. I'm going to order a stool analysis test and will hopefully gain some insight into what's going on. If I come across any answers or anything that helps, I promise I will post it here.

Jump to this post

Same problem here. I fill up an entire room with a rotten smell. It's been a daily nightmare. I always wish that I can just be away from everything and live alone...

I've had this rotten smell for years and have tried many things. I tried a lot of diets, herbs, medicines for digestive issues to no avail. think my sinus is congested so I've been to ENT's, dentists, oral surgeon many times but they say there's nothing wrong.

Anyway, I had a Sinus CT scan a few months ago and impacted teeth were found. The'ye in the front of my mouth so they're not wisdom teeth. The ENT and oral surgeon that saw the CT scan both said they're fine and nothing needs to be done. I'm desperate so I went to another dentist/oral surgeon to ask to have the impacted teeth extracted. This will be in a few weeks. It's been a daily nightmare for years that I'm willing to try anything.

REPLY
2 replies
Ingegerd Enscoe, Alumni Mentor | @astaingegerdm | Feb 20, 2020
In reply to @dailysufferer "Same problem here. I fill up an entire room with a rotten smell. It's been a..." + (show)
@dailysufferer

Same problem here. I fill up an entire room with a rotten smell. It's been a daily nightmare. I always wish that I can just be away from everything and live alone...

I've had this rotten smell for years and have tried many things. I tried a lot of diets, herbs, medicines for digestive issues to no avail. think my sinus is congested so I've been to ENT's, dentists, oral surgeon many times but they say there's nothing wrong.

Anyway, I had a Sinus CT scan a few months ago and impacted teeth were found. The'ye in the front of my mouth so they're not wisdom teeth. The ENT and oral surgeon that saw the CT scan both said they're fine and nothing needs to be done. I'm desperate so I went to another dentist/oral surgeon to ask to have the impacted teeth extracted. This will be in a few weeks. It's been a daily nightmare for years that I'm willing to try anything.

Jump to this post

Hi @dailysufferer - interesting that you mentioned your sinuses as a possible source. It reminds me of my husband’s very bad breath years ago. Same thing- it would fill a room, nauseating. He had no idea of this problem. I had to bring it up because I’m sure it was not different at work. He first went to see an ENT and was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis- he did not have many symptoms except for post nasal drip. He was put on antibiotics for 6 weeks and that smell has not returned.

REPLY
1 reply
dailysufferer | @dailysufferer | Feb 20, 2020
In reply to @astaingegerdm "Hi @dailysufferer - interesting that you mentioned your sinuses as a possible source. It reminds me..." + (show)
@astaingegerdm

Hi @dailysufferer - interesting that you mentioned your sinuses as a possible source. It reminds me of my husband’s very bad breath years ago. Same thing- it would fill a room, nauseating. He had no idea of this problem. I had to bring it up because I’m sure it was not different at work. He first went to see an ENT and was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis- he did not have many symptoms except for post nasal drip. He was put on antibiotics for 6 weeks and that smell has not returned.

Jump to this post

Hi @astaingegerdm. I've taken antibiotics too - several of them. For some of the antibiotics, they worked after a few days that I felt relieved but then the smell comes back and I'm back to my daily nightmare. Same with allergy meds.

Thanks for the info - hopefully it will help someone.

REPLY
daybyday | @marci1117 | Feb 26, 2020
In reply to @gethealthy1977 "I appreciate all that you shared and have traveled a very similar path. In addition to..." + (show)
@gethealthy1977

I appreciate all that you shared and have traveled a very similar path. In addition to exhausting all of the medical options presented to me (I will list them here in case any are of interest: multiple endoscopies (including one with a Bravo study to measure ph levels), colonoscopy, gastric emptying study, barium swallow test, multiple stool tests and lab work, and hydrogen/methane breath test), I also explored the holistic path (black walnut parasite cleanse, DGL, HCL, enzymes, ginger tea, grapefruit seed extract, and much more).

It seems we have found ourselves in a very similar place = our breath smells like poop.

Currently, I have become interested in studying SIBO caused from sulfur producing bacteria (the current test only measures hydrogen and methane) as well as focusing much more closely at specific dietary changes.

I know that meat exacerbates my issues (I can measure this by my kids saying things like "your breath smells like a rotten garbage")

To be clear, I have seen the dentist numerous times as well as an ENT, both pointed me back to the gut.

I am also an athlete (yoga 5x per week), lean body with an organic plant based diet with very little meat.

None of this is working and my GI is unsure of what to do next.

I also went to see multiple allergists and all of the results were negative.

What is interesting about these and related posts is that despite incredibly strong foul smelling breath (which is important evidence that something is wrong) no one has an answer.

Like many of you I now brush multiple times a day. So....how is it that 2 minutes after brushing and flossing others are smelling feces from one's mouth???

For me, all of this began in Costa Rica in 2006. After returning my gut was never the same. Bloating. Reflux. And for the last 5 years breath.

Jump to this post

I'm just joining this group and noticed your posts. As many have said, you are not alone. And, while I hate that you have to deal with this, I'm a bit relieved to know someone else is trying to sort out symptoms that seem incredibly similar to mine. To the best of my ability, my GI and funky breath issues began shortly before or after my arrival in Honduras in 2005, while serving in the military. Like you, I have had multiple tests and procedures with similar remarks like it must be your IBS, etc. My dentist couldn't find a reason, although I've had gum recession. This is likely due to over brushing in an attempt to remove the foul taste in my mouth. Within a few minutes of brushing my teeth, my mouth tastes like it never happened, to the point that I have absent-mindedly brushed again, Like you, I have wondered about parasites, especially given the location I was in. My labs come back negative. With the exception of occasional low blood glucose, everything seems "normal", which is exceedingly frustrating. I will update this post if I come across anything that may help. I wish you and others all the best as we try to figure out the reasons for this life-altering condition.

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