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.

@saucy

I have the horrible smell all the time. Just like glamma55 it's on my towel, panties, and sports bras after I work out. Thought it was coming from my stomach since I do have Gerd and reflux. Had ulcers and stage C esophagitis. Took PPI's for awhile while they healed but after being on them for many years I read about too many side effects. Also thought maybe smell was off from Covid but that was several years ago. The fact that I smell it from clothing makes me think it's not breath however finally pressing my husband he says he doesn't smell it on my body but occasionally on my breath. I have a very low carb diet and seems like only thing I can eat without stomach problems is meat and I eat probiotic whole milk plain yogurt. I can't digest fruits or vegetables. Had food allergy testing and avoid the foods I have allergies to. Very frustrating! Think our sex life is being impacted but husband doesn't want to hurt my feelings! I also read on the Mayo site that a person that a brain tumor had a bad smell all the time!

Jump to this post

Ask your GI doc for the SIBO hydrogen breath test that checks for three different types. You may get your answer there. Research this for more details.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.