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.

migizii | @migizii | Nov 24, 2019

In reply to @docjay1961 "Is there help for poop breath" + (show)

I am having the same problem with some of my connect messages and they end up in my junk mail. I can’t seem to find a way to move them to my inbox. I will try your suggestion. Thx.

migizii | @migizii | Nov 24, 2019

In reply to @migizii "I am having the same problem with some of my connect messages and they end up..." + (show)

As I just looked up what to do, I am lost.......I must not be any good with written directions......any other ideas, if you have any?

plm2019 | @plm2019 | Nov 25, 2019

In reply to @docjay1961 "Is there help for poop breath" + (show)

Has anyone seen a gastro doc for this problem? You could be having stomach or digestive problems...just a thought. I have gotten all my teeth pulled and I have that issue off and on, but I also have blisters, cold sores, and thrush alot so I have other problems besides that. I would try a gastro doc and see what they say. Has your primary recommended anyone?

docjay1961 | @docjay1961 | Nov 28, 2019

In reply to @ethanmcconkey "HI @docjay1961 that must be so frustrating to have this poor breath. You may have noticed..." + (show)

We've been working on it for the last three years I've had colonoscopy endoscopy I've been sent to an ENT doctor I've been given series of antibiotics probiotics stuff for GERD it's just so frustrated

docjay1961 | @docjay1961 | Nov 28, 2019

In reply to @plm2019 "Has anyone seen a gastro doc for this problem? You could be having stomach or digestive..." + (show)

The first thing I'm going to do after the holidays just call my primary and get a GI consult

plm2019 | @plm2019 | Nov 28, 2019

In reply to @docjay1961 "We've been working on it for the last three years I've had colonoscopy endoscopy I've been..." + (show)

Definitely would...have you been to a Gastro yet or just ENT, because Gastro should of known better to look for it...Well I wish you luck and if that doesn't work I would get me a new Gastro doc, seriously

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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)

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.