Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
Hello,
I believe I have some kind of problem with my intestines. When I pass gas, the smell is sometimes absolutely horrible, enough to make me want to vomit. The smell lingers in the air for a very long time. My entire bedroom will reek for hours after just laying in bed watching tv and passing gas on a regular basis. Sometimes I wake up and the smell is there, sometimes when I sweat after playing basketball I feel like I smell it. Sometimes I won't even pass gas, I'll just be driving in the car and I can smell the awful odor. I don't know if it's coming from inside my body, or if the scent attaches itself to my clothes or what. After a night of beer drinking it smells kind of yeast-like. Sometimes it's not even a full blown passed-gas, it just bubbles out and tickles a little bit. It feels like it's leaking fluid, but when I check it's dry. I have diarrhea or just soft loose stool several times a week, and when I have a hard stool sometimes my rectum bleeds, I think I have a cut that gets opened up under stress.
I had surgery a few years ago after a mountain biking injury and had several plates and screws inserted into my body, so I was on a lot of anti-biotics for awhile. It seems this problem sprung up following this surgery, but I do remember a similar period in my youth and can't remember if i was taking anti-biotics then. I'm in my mid-20's with a very average American diet, except that I generally don't drink milk. It doesn't really bother my stomach, it just doesn't taste great to me.
I'd love to just go to the doctor and get my colon scoped and get blood tests and know for sure, but with no health insurance that is out of the question entirely, which is why I am here.
Does anyone know what the problem might be here? I've been thinking about taking probiotics in the hope that the problem is from anti-biotics killing good bacteria after my accident, but I've been wondering if I should do a colon cleanse or a full body cleanse first and THEN start probiotics or what. Also, what is a pre-biotic as opposed to probiotic and is this something I should be taking instead or along side of a probiotic? I've read about acidophilus too, is this a good idea? Also with increased fiber in the form of psyllium husks?
In your opinions, what is the problem and what is the solution? Please keep in mind that I'm working with a limited budget, I know you can't put a price on good health but you also can't make money grow on trees and I'm working on a severely limited budget. If I can get a good idea of what will help this problem I'm willing to dedicate as much attention and money to it as I can. Thanks for your help, this is very embarassing and the internet offers a good medium for hopefully resolving this problem.
Re: Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
Yes, antibiotics can cause destruction of your "good" bacteria and cause "bad" ones to replace them (esp. if you took a broad-spectrum antibiotic). In your stomach there is lactobacillus, which in this case is one of the "good" bacteria in your GI.
After a course of antibiotics opportunistic infections may occur. Probiotics can help restore the lost "good" bacteria and bring your microflora back into balance.
As to bleeding in the rectum, that could be hemorrhoids (nothing big though - its probably due).
I'd imagine probiotics and prebiotics are the same thing.
Most likely your symptoms could have risen due to the course of antibiotics that you took. I would suggest taking probiotics and if your symptoms still persist see a doctor or pharmacist.
Re: Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
Thanks for the reply. I think I will start taking the psyllium husk with acidopholus in it. Should I do some sort of body/colon cleanse first or just start taking the supplement?
Re: Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
Throughout the day I usually drink a sugar-free powdered drink mix. I occasionally have a soda. Meals consist mostly of a vegetable (mixed vegetables usually) meat (steak chicken or pork) and some kind of potatoes. Nothing extraordinary, pretty average for the most part. It's always been that way, my whole life. Only in the past couple of years has this problem come up though.
Re: Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpq921k
Thanks for the reply. I think I will start taking the psyllium husk with acidopholus in it. Should I do some sort of body/colon cleanse first or just start taking the supplement?
Well, generally bacteria -> esp closely related species have special mechanisms that kill/inhibit growth of the other (so there are less competitors for the same food).
psyllium husk is a bulk forming laxative (weak laxative), but yeah it should improve your bowl movements and hopefully show improvements overall.
Re: Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpq921k
Throughout the day I usually drink a sugar-free powdered drink mix. I occasionally have a soda. Meals consist mostly of a vegetable (mixed vegetables usually) meat (steak chicken or pork) and some kind of potatoes. Nothing extraordinary, pretty average for the most part. It's always been that way, my whole life. Only in the past couple of years has this problem come up though.
I would avoid the drink mix and the soda. I would have only two or three meals a day, no food in between. I would eat the veggies in the middle of the meal, not at the beginning. See if it works better for you that way.
Re: Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
I had symptoms just like you. If you have bleeding in your rectum and difficulty with your bowel movements. It is very likely that these are the colon cancer symptoms. I would suggest that you have a GI doctor to take a look at you and have colonoscopy just to be 100% sure. I am very fortunate that I had my colonoscopy done eventhough I am not 50 years old and learned that I had colon cancer at the early stage. I am cancer free now thanks to the colonoscopy. Good luck!!!!
Re: Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas?
jpq921k - you could try one of the yogurts like Activia with probiotics in it and see if that helps. Also, you mentioned this problem started after surgery. Since you're on a limited budget maybe it would be worth calling your old doctor's office and seeing if they had some ideas (out of the goodness of their hearts). You never know, it might be worth a shot. Good luck.
Terrible gas, I feel like I have body odor, gas smell lingers, any ideas? 
