A legit Post-op BO question...

First, a Disclaimer: I took the time to browse some of the previous thread links but with the TROLL factor as high as it has been in the past, I have not found anything that specifically addressed the issue once it was established that the poster was in fact Trolling… But, I brought my flame retardant undergarments for this so here it goes…   I am two and a half years post op and it was brought to my attention that from time to time, and generally occurring post lunch, I have a tendency to give off a scent that has been described as milky in nature to a spoiled milk smell at worse.   I am not sure as to the cause, be it, ketosis, pheromone / hormonal, a pervasive halitosis that is radiating, or just a general malodor that is emanating from my pores, or even a bacterial under or overgrowth digestively or even possibly a deficiency in my vitamin or mineral intake. The issue is, that I have either become accustomed to it or am other wise immune to its occurrence as I do not notice or smell it at all, nor does my spouse or children or even close friends and family that I have asked about it. I wouldn’t think that they would be misleading as my family and circle of friends are pretty frank and when I had a digestive bacterial overgrowth from using a probiotic that was too strong they didn’t hesitate to tell me I was stinking the place up!   Now, I am not trying to perpetuate the DS or WLS stereotype that I stink all the time or that we all have bowel issues, it is just that this was brought to my attention and like I said, I either am accustomed to it or can not detect it because it seems that I can not or do not notice it. For the record, I shower/bathe every day and take care of myself and since I work in an office environment I wear deodorant and cologne and aftershave and the like… I thought initially that it could be a chemical reaction between something in my body reacting with one of those items but I have rotated and or changed the deodorant/cologne/lotions etc to no avail. I have also been known to carb it up at times but that has impact on my BM’s not general scent, or at least not that I or others close to me have noticed. Any Help or Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The only thing I can think of is bacterial colonisation of skin folds (if you have any). If you're not in ketosis then there shouldn't be any reason you're emanating a sour smell.  Get some keytone sticks and get the person who told you this to let you know when they think you're "emanating" and go test your pee to find out.  You may need to pack in more protein and up the carbs a little to off set this.


What is your renal functioning like...might suggest you go get your liver function test, U&E's and CRP looked at in your bloods.  May be that you're emanating a urea type smell and this may be due to up take of protein......or even your multi-vites!!   Worth checking out.


Good luck and let us know what pans out.

I will look into that renal functioning. I know that pre op it was the fact that my liver function was off the chart a-la 24y/o raging alcoholic that was also a key in getting my surgical exclusion overridden as the specialist I went to made the case that WLS was cheaper and easier than finding a 35/40 male a liver after I had worked mine to death with my co-morbidity's. I had a post-op follow up with my specialist about 12-18 months post-op who gave me the all clear at that time, but I know I do load heavily on the protein at every meal and I also know that the multi-vites could also be a culprit as I know that when I am lax in my supplementation and then get back in the swing of things my BM's and flatulence has a different aroma. Not better or worse, just different.

As always, Thanks Kirmy!!!

Hi, Wow to read this brings back some bad memories.  I too had a horrible body odor coming from my skin after surgery. However, I was different.  I had RNY and regained my weight.  So, I had a "revision" done to what I was told the intestinal portion of the DS.  Long story but he really screwed me up cus I started having abdominal pain and body odor.  Well, my intestines were hooked up on the wrong side so food was sitting stagnant in my intestine.  This was only discovered by Dr. K who did a full DS on me.  The odor was very odd and yes it was described as a sour milk smell before. It was also described many other ways too.  I could not smell this nor could most of my family and my son.  My co workers were the ones who smelled it and were complaining to my boss.  I was so humiliated!  It scares me every time I hear of someone else having similar issues as I don't ever want that to come back.  I hope you are successful in finding out what is going on and keep us posted.

Lori

Not sure who did your revision, but this is the perfect case for making sure your surgeon is familiar with DS physiology, and actually *does* the DS!

Although I do not know what causes this, you are not the first person to report that others have noticed a "milk" smell emanating from them.    My first guess is that there is a bacterial overgrowth issue going on.   I hope others chime in.

Yeah, I hope others chime in too, I am looking for any other suggestions or constructive commentary. Regarding the bacterial overgrowth, and Kirmy's questioning possible skin folds issues, I do not have a excess skin issue that causes me problems, or at least that I can readily identify. I have a little extra belly flab at the bottom of my former "gut" and the deflated balloon butt skin issue a-la sharpei butt, yet as I said, I bathe and scrub regularly. So... Still open to ideas and suggestions. Thanks all...

I'm thinking more of a gut bacteria thing.....
I'm thinking of a situation that occurred here on the boards recently.   A lady had her RNY revised to a so-called "extended RNY" that resulted in a gut bacteria problem of monumental proportions.    She ended up being revised to a DS.    People noticed a "sour" odor emitting from her.     Although your cir****tances are different, because we have shortenend configurations now, we ARE more susceptible to overgrowth problems.     Interestting, another male used to post on this board and stated that he had the same odor as you describe, a milky odor.   A  male also just posted on the yahoo boards about people complaining of an odor coming from him as well.    I don't know if this is at all gender specfic, but thought I'd add that into the mix!

 Yep, a few of us on here have dealt with this issue.  It has to do with bacterial overgrowth in the gut. Which is a byproduct of this surgery.  I have been told by my family from time to time, it can smell like sour milk on my breath, to tomato soup, and even sushi breath as my 13 year old says.  I am a very clean person, and have excellent dental health and take good care with my teeth and breath daily.  

I have found for me, taking probiotics, 3-4 times per day really helps the situation.   It seems to ebb and flow for me.  But, the probiotics have really been the answer.

I will certainly look into getting back on a regular probiotic then, any suggestions??? I had used the Garden of Life PCU but like I said I was taking it daily and ended up with a overgrowth of probiotic bacteria and smelly stool because of that. I guess like the Vite issue there will be a fine line and I will have to adjust on the fly and figure it out as I go.

 I will also follow up on the Renal thing as Kirmy suggested as well since it seems to be a good idea in general given my liver issue pre-op. Like I said before I read and have seen the trolls out there looking to shoot us all in the foot and the variou**** and run posters and the few other males who have posted about this issue but I had not seen an accurate addressal, hence my posting. I am not sweating egg odor or any of the other HORROR stories.Like the WLS stories of WOE that some try to sell here where someone died or smells or poops all the time, we all know that non-compliance leads to problems, but like I said, I am unaware of the smell so any lead will be tracked down, as like others have said here, since it was brought TO my attention it is embarrassing and something I don't want to allow to be or become, an even bigger issue...

Again, thanks to all, and keep the ideas or suggestions coming...