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.

kidwhoalwaysfindsaway | @kidwhoalwaysfindsaway | Jul 3, 2023

Hello All I used to have this problem & the cure to all this which worked for me was simply a 40 day water fast but becareful it isn’t easy i went blind for a few seconds throughout the third week & was also really dizzy & fainted a couple times due to electrolyte imbalance also puked up alot of bile acid but in the end after about 40 days i was finally rid of that 3 year nightmare good luck to you all

bobbyzzz | @bobbyzzz | Sep 4, 2023

In reply to @kidwhoalwaysfindsaway "Hello All I used to have this problem & the cure to all this which worked..." + (show)

So what were your symptoms?? and since your fast how's it going?

kidwhoalwaysfindsaway | @kidwhoalwaysfindsaway | Sep 6, 2023

In reply to @bobbyzzz "So what were your symptoms?? and since your fast how's it going?" + (show)

My symptoms were the same as the OP & everyone else here & after i was done with my fast life just got better all the symptoms were gone & i was just cured occasionally the constant belching i had still remained but went away after i start hitting the gym

stho6156 | @stho6156 | Sep 19, 2023

Hi, Everyone.
I've had similar symptoms.
There are three kinds of SIBO (Google it--I'm not allowed to post the link.)

If you have the hydrogen sulfide-dominant version, it will not respond the typical antibiotics and antimicrobials used to treat the other two types, nor will it respond to the elemental diet.

The only cure for this type, apparently, is going on an anti-sulfur diet temporarily (very restrictive) and taking sulfur-inhibiting supplements.

Good luck!
Susan

jackielb | @jackielb | Sep 20, 2023

In reply to @stho6156 "Hi, Everyone. I've had similar symptoms. There are three kinds of SIBO (Google it--I'm not allowed..." + (show)

See a gastroenterology doctor. I experienced an odd taste before I had gallbladder surgery.

krisby38 | @krisby38 | Sep 29, 2023

In reply to @natural1997 "Hi, I know it’s been a while since your first comment. I’m curious if you’ve found..." + (show)

It's not in your head, many of us are suffering from the same thing. I am starting to read body language pretty well. I believe they are correct. The fecal smell gets worse with any kind processed foods, dairy, high carb product. Keto is really hard to follow long term ..I have no one to tell me if I smell. I have to watch other people's reactions to me to figure out if certain foods make it worse..if that sounds right...