Breath smells like faeces (Poo)

Let me start by saying that we are all different and what I am about to share may not be the same as everyone else's problem but I think it is something worth looking into.   Bigdipper, you are in the states so you are dealing with a different medical community to me, Yvonne I am assuming you are in UK, as I am, and I can only speak of my understanding of getting a diagnosis in this country.  

firstly, we are actually on the wrong page. we are all saying this is not an oral problem, yet we are classified under dental and oral problems. 

So I have been suffering for 20 years. 20years of following a candida diet( cos I was told that was what it was) which sometimes worked but a lot of the time didn't .Last April my bad breath because critical, so bad that my husband didn't want me in the same room as him let along the same bad.  I was feeling nausia every time I ate.  It was putting my marrage in crisis and it was this that pushed me to do everything, anything to find out what was wrong, cos you can't cure what you can't identify.

I won't bore you with the details, but finding the right specialist is a mission, and having wasted time and money on a specalist who,wanted to,send me to the dentist.  I found the London Gastroenterology Centre, and in particular  Dr Rahman, who listed had me tested for SIBO ( small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). I suggest you look it up.  Many people with IBS have this, but just cos you have SIBO does not mean you have IBS.  

Treatment is short courses of antibiotics followed by high strength probiotics. And I was recommend to use the FODMAP diet. 

The whole thing is working out expensive, but not only has my breath improved, But my husband says my whole body Oder has become sweeter. The gas imitated from SIBO goes into your lungs and as a result causes bad breath and also,affects body Oder. 

I have a long way to go, I have a dietician advising me on the FODMAP diet. It is complex, but I am now eating things I did not think I could have before but also NOt eating things that I thought were ok, but for me were actually making me worse.

Dr Rahman has told me that the diet alone will not keep my healthy but will help, the probiotics are essential.  And from time to time I might have to take a course of antibiotics. Needless to say I don't want to do that to frequently cos it only causes more problems. 

Lastly.  Probiotics.  You get what you pay for.  The best in is country is VSL#3 but you can't get it on the NHS. Well not in my health authority area anyway. And they are costing me £2 a dose and I take it twice a day.  But I feel well and my husband wants to be near me. 

I have been told it is much cheaper to buy on the continent, so if you travel much you mig want to buy it there, but it must be stored in the fridge, so if you order on line find out how it is dispatched. 

I don't know if this is of help to you,  but you owe it to yourself to at least look up SIBO try to understand what it is and then see if you can push your doctor to help you get tested.

Bigdipper, I think you might find the doctors in USA are more aware of the condition than those in UK. 

Good luck to all of you. 

And I am happy to answer any questions 

Your condition is different. I was tested for Helico but I did not have it. 

I've recently started Allicin & Neem supplements but I haven't been given antibiotics or probiotics, can you give me the name of what your doctor prescribed, I'd like to discuss them with my doctor?

Thanks,

Heather

Chronic bad breath comes from any of the following: An overgrowth of bad bacteria in your body, especially your gut and/or stomach that is constantly letting off foul-smelling gas. You should start eating LOADS of fermented foods, ESPECIALLY sauerkraut. Sauerkrat is loaded with the good bacteria that will kill off the bad ones that smell. Do research on how to prepare your own fermented sauerkraut. It's cheap and it is very easy to make. When fermented correctly, it has more good bacteria in it than an entire bottle of normal probiotics! About a month ago I started eating a few tablespoons of it every day and I have noticed a dramatic difference, not only in my breath but how I feel mentally, too. Eat as much fermented foods as possible every day, this is SO crucial to getting rid of your smell. You should also look up the GAPS diet. GAPS combined with fermented foods will change your life, I promise you. ALSO get checked out by a good gastro doctor to see if you have any problems with your lower esophagus staying closed. A weak lower esophagus will allow all of your foul smelling stomach acid to wash up into your throat. Ask the doctor about prescribing you VSL3 probiotics. The most potent variation has 800 BILLION bacteria per serving. VSL3 combined with fermented foods will FLOOD your body with good bacteria. Be careful with VSL3 when you first start it. Start with about a quarter of the recommended usage and work your way up. It is VERY potent stuff.

Always practice perfect posture. Chin up, head back, shoulders back and up, chest out, and lower back flexed inward, kinda like your belly button has a string attached to it and you are being pulled by someone. Old mucus can still be stuck in your upper throat or between your nose and throat from a past infection. Old mucus can be months old and smell very badly (like rancid perfume combined with old cheese and sweat). Flush your throat and the back of your nose with a Hydropulse or waterpik to see if old mucus could be your problem. Flush these areas WHILE you are practicing perfect posture. Believe it or not, your spine can have a huge impact on your sinuses and mucus drainage.

Make sure your drink a gallon of water a day, too, especailly if you have thick post nasal drip.

I PROMISE you one of the things I mentioned in this message is causing your bad breath. It's just a matter of you finding out which are causing your problem. I am sure you already know this but don't eat dairy or sugar EVER when you have poop breath. You are what you eat. Just remember that this bad breath IS curable. Sometimes a bad bacteria overgrowth can take months to get rid of. Start eating the fermented foods and keep on eating them until your smell is gone. Remember, just because you might have gone on a "clean" diet before and it didn't help your breath, doesn't mean a diet isn't the solution. Consuming LOADS of good bacteria is absolutely vital to your success.

Eating fruits and vegetables is NOT the same as eating fermented vegetables. Fermentation is what grows and multiplies the good bacteria. Yes vegetables are good for you. BUT in our cases, they don't help us with bad breath. They HAVE to be fermented for us to get benefits out of them for our breath.

Yvonne, you must stop eating all the sugar and carbs. Carbs are a lot harder for you to digest than other foods. The sugar is feeding the bad bacteria and possibly the yeast in your gut. The carbs are what's clogging up your digestion. Even if you don't notice a digestion problem, majority of the time when someone has a medical condition, such as chronic bad breath, it IS because of your gut or somewhere in your digestive system.

Just do the diet for a month. What on earth do you have to lose other than your poop breath?

I know how painful it is to be a social "outcast" and not be able to be yourself around other people. I am a "people person" and I love to talk to people, especially with business. I would be devastated every time a customer or colleague would get that look of disgust on their face when I talked to them. If I had a dollar for every time I thought about ending my life I would be a fairly rich man right now. I wouldn't wish bad breath on my worst enemy. In my honest opinion, I believe it's worse than being in a wheelchair. I know that is probably a horrible thing to say, but I believe it. At least in a wheelchair people aren't disgusted to be around you.

But anyway, if you have any questions about fermenting your foods, ask away. Sauerkraut is the cheapest and most potent fermented food available. There is a book called "Cultured Food For Life" and I strongly suggest you read it. The woman who wrote it provides all kinds of recipes and ideas so you can implement the new diet into your life rather easily. It's totally worth the $9.99!

Yes, please let us know what you experience with the diet and probiotics.

Before you start it, please remember this. If you have an overgrowth of bad bacteria in your body, you WILL experience die-off symptoms. You will feel kinda sick. But this is a GOOD sign. That means you DO have a bacterial problem and that's most likely what is causing your problem. I experienced symptoms a few times before it stopped. I almost quit the diet thinking it was making me feel bad. I am so glad I kept it going though!

IF you experience the die-off symptoms, stop the diet until the symptoms go away, then start it again once you feel better. Keep on doing this until you experience no die-off symptoms. Each time the symptoms will last for a shorter period of time. Just hang in there and don't think it's not working because it IS. Some people have experienced die-off symptoms for months! Think about it though, if your body has been in this state for years, then it's going to take some time for it to change into a better state. It just makes sense. Rome was not built overnight.

When the bad bacteria is killed by the good, the bad let off toxins which get into your bloodstream, which makes you feel ill.

You MIGHT want to consider taking an anti-biotic for 3 or 4 days before you start the probiotics and diet. What this will do is kinda give your body a clean slate which is a perfect setting to start the program on. I did not take an anti-biotic to start but I have read that some people do that if they have an extreme bacteria problem. You might want to make an appointment with your general practitioner and ask what they think about taking the antibiotic. Just be honest with them and tell them what you are going to do and why. The more information they have, the better answer they can give you. If you do take it, get a regular probiotic (like Pearl or Align) and take it every day as you take your antibiotic. THEN start the VSL3 once you start consuming the fermented foods. Again, listen to your body. If you feel crummy, stop it for awhile and just eat a clean diet until you feel better. Again, NO sugar or foods that are high in carbs. You do need some carbs obviously for energy but you don't need a lot of them.

Also remember to drink a ton of water to flush out all that dead bacteria and toxins from your body. I suggest a gallon a day, if you can handle it. If you can't, just drink as much as you can every day.

And lastly, even if this diet does not get rid of your bad breath completely, you WILL feel fantastic. I have never felt so healthy in my life. I feel fresh and have so much energy. I used to have a big sweet tooth but now I don't even want the desserts. Sugar is not what our bodies are supposed to eat. The only reason why we crave desserts is because our body and brain are used to it. Sugar might as well be considered a drug because once you don't have it for a month or so, you won't want it again. It's truly an amazing experience.

I wish you the best with this new lifestyle. You might hate it at first, but you and your body will learn to love it.

How are things now, have you been free of bad breath issues since this post and if so, what have you been using?

After 10yrs of numerous doctor, dentist, and specialist visits, along with two surgeries, ( tonsils & GERD ), I've nearly lost my mind trying to find out where this terrible smell is coming from. I finally decided to try a Natural Medicine doctor , who was able to tell me immediately that I had SIBO....and after testing, it was confirmed. I've recently started Allicin & Neem supplements and started the FodMap diet, however, I'd like to know what helped you, I want to fight this with everything possible and I really want my life back.

Thanks,

Heather