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.

david2022 | @david2022 | Aug 3, 2022
In reply to @sanitygirl "You would need to take the breath test to find H. Plylori. The scope probably wouldn’t..." + (show)
@sanitygirl

You would need to take the breath test to find H. Plylori. The scope probably wouldn’t find it. It measures gases, hydrogen and methane, I believe. You will have to blow into a bag, then drink a liquid, wait 15 minutes, and blow in the bag again. For SIBO, you need to take a breath test as well. I didn’t even have most of the symptoms of H. Plylori. I would get occasional abdomen pain, and the fart odor coming from my mouth. If it wasn’t for the odor, I could tolerate the occasional pain.

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A biopsy of the stomach and duodenum at time of Endoscopy is the gold standard to diagnose an H Pylori infection. A breath test is done a month after antibiotic treatment for H Pylori to determine if the eradication was successful.

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david2022 | @david2022 | Aug 6, 2022

An H Pylori infection of the stomach will give you ‘shit breath’. I am a dentist who takes immaculate care of my mouth. So I got so offended when my wife told me I had terrible breath. I subsequently got a diagnosis for H pylori from a biopsy at endoscopy.
This is one real possibility.

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1 reply
phillipramsey58 | @phillipramsey58 | Aug 25, 2022

Hello You are the first person that I was having this belching and it was terrible the odor was sulfur an I would have to run outside holding my breath it started 5 years ago, I went to my doctors, they thought I was crazy , I haven’t had any problems for a year now but I started having digestive problems when the belching stoped I just recently had a colonoscopy and found UC an the symptoms are horrible I’m waiting on a referral , thank you I know that I’m not alone .

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willows | @willows | Aug 26, 2022

I am not a doctor but I do have digestive issues and was just wondering if you have been tested for stomach motility issues. I did have a problem that involved my stomach not being able to actually digest the food I put into it. Not sure if it caused bad breath but it stands to reason if the stomach can’t process the food and it stays there for a long time there could be breath issues. I had an awful lot of tests and was diagnosed with a classic case of lazy stomach.

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lovelybones | @lovelybones | Sep 26, 2022
In reply to @colleenyoung "Welcome new members, @basienka88 @dailysufferer @marci1117 @johnboade and @newports10. Such a frustrating unsolved issue. I'm sure..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Welcome new members, @basienka88 @dailysufferer @marci1117 @johnboade and @newports10. Such a frustrating unsolved issue. I'm sure most of you have googled the issue and the articles like this one provide nothing you haven't investigated. But just in case, allow me to post it here:
- Feces Odor on Breath: What It Means and What You Can Do https://www.healthline.com/health/breath-smells-like-poop

@catt8722 the article seems to verify what your doctor told you that bad breath comes from either gums, sinus/nasal passages or the GI tract/stomach. Here is additional information about amylase testing https://labtestsonline.org/tests/amylase

Thank you for keeping the group posted about your upcoming teleconsult appointment with the gastroenterologist. It sounds like the bad breath and your persistence in finding answers may help to solve a hidden issue with the pancreas. Telemedicine is becoming the norm these days. You may appreciate these tips from fellow members on how to make the most of your phone consult.

– Telemedicine: How to make the most of a virtual doctor visit https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/covid-19-telemedicine-its-a-brave-new-world/

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One doctor told me if the smell in in the nose and throat then it is coming from somewhere in the body. Could be the tongue

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lovelybones | @lovelybones | Sep 26, 2022
In reply to @david2022 "An H Pylori infection of the stomach will give you ‘shit breath’. I am a dentist..." + (show)
@david2022

An H Pylori infection of the stomach will give you ‘shit breath’. I am a dentist who takes immaculate care of my mouth. So I got so offended when my wife told me I had terrible breath. I subsequently got a diagnosis for H pylori from a biopsy at endoscopy.
This is one real possibility.

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I had test for this from biopsy but it was negative

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siackma | @siackma | Sep 28, 2022

I've went through a couple boats of sulfur breath before, and I discovered that when I eat too much protein in the form of meat that this happens to me.

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iamjade | @iamjade | Oct 18, 2022
In reply to @pbleonar "Yea, Most everything under the sun has been tried, including probiotics and enzymes (pancreatic too). And..." + (show)
@pbleonar

Yea, Most everything under the sun has been tried, including probiotics and enzymes (pancreatic too).

And that's what I thought, regarding the nitazoxanide, but the parasite tests-- so far-- have come up negative. That and I had to properly motivate the doctor to take that seriously and test for them. This is the same doctor who wouldn't take the parasite thing seriously after telling her I worked in a sewer as punishment for a couple weeks and that the water supply for the dorms frequently came out different colors at least once a month, and I, like an idiot drank from it on a semi regular basis. With a straight face, she asked me how I knew the water supply at my old base was contaminated if the base never sent us an informative letter. Apparently she has faith in the government being 100% honest with its armed forces and the public in general

Anyway, one more parasite test will be completed, fecal and blood work, some time next week, and then that'll be crossed off the list. If so, I need one great specialist to take this up and start investigating. There are many others out there having the same problem and if someone could help dx and treat the issue for good, I guarantee they'd have a large group of people travelling from around the country to seek the same help.

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Hey have your bad breath been solved I’m dealing with the same issue but no doctor is helping me @pbleonar

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pamp54 | @pamp54 | Oct 19, 2022

My mother had a fecal odor to her breath, and I’ve been told I do also. What the common problem is: Barrett’s esophagus. Barrett’s changes the lining of the esophagus to be like the lining of the colon. Barrett’s is a precancerous condition. Solution?? Lots of breath mints, sugar free gum, and mouthwash.

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linda125 | @linda125 | Oct 20, 2022

Has anyone heard of tonsil stones? That can cause fecal mouth odor.

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