Question:
Gas and Odor...returning to work...HELP

I am having a revision from a VBG to the DS on January 9th. I work in an office setting and we share a big restroom. I am concerned with odors that the DS can produce when having a bowel movement or gas. Does anyone out there recommend a personal spray that they have used??? thanks!!!!    — lunastella (posted on December 19, 2005)

December 19, 2005
I carry a purse size can of "Oust" with me. (I purchased it from Walmart) It helps but is not 100%.
   — sherita

December 19, 2005
I WAS TOLD THEY HAVE A PILL YOU CANT TAKE FOR THE SMELL YOU MAY WANT TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT IT
   — MILISEA

December 19, 2005
Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with this issue... First of all, I have tried every pill out there (devrom, innermint, pepto bismol, gasx, beano, activated charcoal, and most recently gas prevention) with no success. Others seem to find them helpful, however. I finally figured out my body and how it functioned. I, too, was afraid to go to work. I find that my gas seems to increase as the day goes on. It is definitely diet related ( I wanted to believe for the longest time that it wasn't, that it just "happened"). Anyway, EVERY morning before work, I am sure to have a bowel movement before I leave home!!! If I don't have to naturally go, I will use a glycerin suppository. If I clear out my rectum, the stool is not sitting there "fermenting" so to speak. Then, it gives me a clean slate to begin eating for the day. I am certain to eat something for breakfast that will not cause gas. (at the moment it's a bacon and egg biscuit from McD's minus the top half of biscuit). This holds me over until lunchtime and then I have whatever I want more or less because the gas doesn't begin for about 3 hours after I've eaten the offensive item. Now, if I have something to do in the evening, then I will choose more carefully. I am almost 5 years postop and it took me about 3 to figure this all out. For years I struggled with finding the magic pill that would take my gas away and it never appeared. So, I manage the gas myself and I live a pretty normal life. I will have to admit that this is my only regret (which is a minor one at that) when it comes to having this surgery.
   — Shelley.

December 19, 2005
By the time I returned to work 20 days after my DS, the smell was much less than the first 10 days (which were horrendous). I also NEVER had a poop at work -- just first thing in the morning and sometimes just before bed. I ate a lot of yoghurt, which helped. I also stayed away from ALL white bread and other processed carbs for breakfast and lunch. And I carry a can of Ozium with me for the gas of undetermined origin, which VERY occasionally happens. It's minor, in the grand scheme of things, at least for me.
   — [Deactivated Member]

December 30, 2005
Laura, Have you posted this question on the duodenal switch forum? If you go to forums and the surgery forums you will find the duodenal switch forum. You'll get a lot of help there.
   — Tuxedo Katz