Odor, mythbusters please

Well hello former "neighbor" - I grew up in Enfield but have lived in Somers since 1994 - it's a nice small town - we are happy here .....

I'm happy to hear that you don't stink - LOL - that just sounds so funny doesn't it?

Why is there such a "my sugery is better then yours" thing around here? When I had the lap band that was the same thing going on - anyway - thanks for the HIJACK!

DSers don't stink!  I think that is a myth.  However, anyone who is losing weight rapidly may go into a process called ketosis.  This can cause bad breath and a slight odor.  It is very short lived. 

Red

I do not have an odor.  I think I smell better now than pre-DS because I can clean myself better and take more pride in myself.

I guess there's always the possibility of an odor if you don't practice good hygiene!

Oh, but the poop does stink.  No lie there!  But I leave that smell in the bathroom.  I don't carry it around with me.  lol

There are a couple reasons why someone may not smell good:

Heavy ketosis, natural body odor, not enough water, medications, and poor self-care.

The water is a BIG issue. If you do not get enough water you do not have th resources to flush out the junk in your body. Many people think 64 ounces of water is a enough but it's not.

I've met what appear to be perfectly healthy thin people who just reek but then you learn they don't drink water at all and that's why.

If you don't clean yourself you'll smell. Period.

Whether the cleaning is inside with water or outside with wipes and tp.

I'm sure most odor issues do not have anything to do with WLS.  

I'm sure that some are actually hygeine related and could be a result of skin folds, unreachable areas, excessive sweating, etc... so they could be weight related, but not surgery related.

Also, some people have food reactions that cause temporary odor issues.   If you eat too much garlic it comes out of your skin pores (it happens to me when I eat any serious amount of garlic, but is gone in a couple of days).  I've read it can happen to anyone, but some people are more sensitive to it. than others.

Bad breath is a problem in and of itself.  Happens to pretty much everyone, especially if they don't have good oral hygeine.  Even with ketosis I've never met a WLS patient who had a serious problem there, nor has anyone complained about mine and I have live with people who do not sugarcoat things when they have an issue.

As with many DSers, the complaints I get are generally  about the bathroom right after it's used, and that gets old really fast since everyone goes poo and no one smells like roses when they do it.   Fortunately  that issue can be neutralized (mostly) with vinegar in the bowl, M9 in the air, and an open window.

Maybe some people just don't wash their hands well after using the toilet, and it's more noticable due to the more potent linger factor that most DSer poops have?

just a thought

  < what Bill said >   

Wow I'm hesitant to post this cause I don't want to be slammed.  I actually did smell for a while.  I showered every day, sometimes twice, but my gas was soooo horrible that the odor stayed on my clothes.  I was changing clothes twice a day.   I think I pm'd Lori Black with great concern (I know it was Lori that helped me but I honestly can't remember if it was a pm or if I posted a question).  She suggested a round of flagyl, that it sounded like I had an intestinal issue.  After being on flagyl for a couple of days my gas returned to DS normal and the lingering smell went away.  So if someone smells after WLS, be in DS, RNY, lap band, maybe their is an underlying problem they have no idea can be fixed.  I know myself and my ENTIRE family was thrilled when I learned of the miracle of flagyl.

Amber

I know someone who has what is called the mini gastric bypass. There is nothing mini about it except the amount of time the surgeon spends with you. Nine feet of intestine were bypassed and therefore, there is very little digestion going on. The smell is overpowering in the house and lingers in clothing etc for a long time. It can turn my stomach. It is a bad surgery and often people claim to have had a different procedure to avoid conflict.

I smell better since surgery.  There, I said it.

Preop, I would sweat, there would be a yeasty smell from my skin folds, and I don't even want to talk about the powder I had to use to ensure that there was no smell from the vajayjay area.  That made me miserable!

Now, I smell like skin lotion and hair products (and they smell so yummy that someone wanted to know what that great perfume was that I was wearing!).  No more sweaty yeasty funk.

This was interesting to read through, I must say. I am 5+ years from my DS revision from my RNY in 1998. I've been to my fair share of support group meetings, met people with DS, and unless it's caused by ketosis or poor cleansing practices, this is an unfounded "myth", period. Someone even suggests poorous clothing, and again, unless you sit and surround yourself in closed quarters, similarly to a smoker's odor, it's far fatched.

 

The bathroom odor is an ongoing issue, but there are a few things you can try: Vinegar, M9, "Just a drop", flush often, wipe often, open the window, have a evacuation fan installed in your bathroom.  Other ways to combat BM and gas odor is to eat natural foods, no fried foods, processed foods, etc. I changed my diet for about a month now, the odor is greatly reduced, less gas and much less frequent BM's (once a day, instead of 4x/day).

 

I've become much more diligent about my person hygiene now, and it was a natural process... i can only guess that many people can identify and agree for themselves also.

 

David