Question:
Bad breath - post op
My wife tells me I now have terrible breath, even after brushing. She said it's happened since having the surgery 6 months ago. Anyone else have this? Any solutions? — Robby E. (posted on September 19, 2002)
September 19, 2002
Yes .....alot of WLS people have the bad breath syndrome. I think it is
called hallotosis( not sure on spelling). That is what a friend of mine
called it not sure if that is right either, maybe look in the Library under
bad breath and see if you can find anything. Good Luck.
— DRutherford
September 19, 2002
Halitosis is the "clinical" name for bad breath. Yours is
probably due to either ketosis (the state your body enters when forced to
deal with a high-protein diet) or dehydration which can give you dry mouth
and bad breath. If it's ketosis, it's a good thing cuz you're burning fat
and there's not really a whole lot you can do about it other than keep
using breath mints (sugar free, of course :) or those little listerine
strips. You might try a tongue scraper or vigorously brushing your tongue
(especially the back) with your toothbrush to see if that will help.
— ctyst
September 19, 2002
altoids were my best friend post op. Make sure that you go to a dentist to
make sure you do not have any problems with your teeth and gums. BUT, most
likely it is the ketosis. It will go away, all in good time.
— Vicki L.
September 19, 2002
This is a common problem after WLS. My 6 year old son was the person who
"told me like it is". I'm glad he did. I brush as much as 3 and
4 times a day and it doesn't seem to help much. It's one of those things I
have just learned to deal with. So I ALWAYS have either gum, breath mints,
or candy with me. All of them being sugar free of course. :)
Hope that helps.
— Laurel C.
September 19, 2002
Like a car burns gas and the fumes exit the exhaust pipe, we burn fat and
the vapor exit our mouths, a process called ketosis. But my boss also had
this problem really bad and although she visits the dentist every 6 months,
she has teeth that are horrible (most likely from the ulcer she developed
post-op, so you may want to double check with the Dentist. I keep Breath
Savers in my purse at all times. Good luck!
— Dana B.
September 19, 2002
hi there i have this problem too. i also had the most unbearable taste in
my mouth which made everything taste terrible for the first couple months
now thats gone but the breath is terrible. i had open rny on feb 8 02 and
still no releif from funky mouth LOL i brush alot and i chew gum alot. i
know your not suppose to incase you swallow it but i dont swallow my gum
and i fear if i dont chew it id melt someones eyelashes off with my breath
:)
— carrie M.
September 19, 2002
Don't worry about it.Happens to most of us for the reasons already
mentioned. Practice good dental hygiene, including brushing, flossing, and
scrubbing the tongue. Most importantly, drink all your water. The condition
will pass.
Hang in there.
PS. Actually, the word HALITOSIS was a word made up by an advertising
agency in the 50s or 60s in order to help the sales of a brand of
mouthwash.
— Chuck O.
September 19, 2002
Pretty interesting how you get bad breath when you don't eat/drink very
much, isn't it? It's like the bacteria have a heyday. My solution in
those early post-op months was to constantly be sucking on a sugar-free
mint or chewing sugar-free gum. Now, at 17 months post-op, the problem has
entirely passed, and brushing is once again just fine to keep me smelling
great.
— Terissa R.
September 19, 2002
I don't know how common this is but after my surgery (4/8/02) i had bad
breath and my mouth felt like cotton all the time. Came to find out i had
thrush, you know that yeast infection you associate with infants?? So i
had to swish and swallow this medicine called nystatin, it tasted horrible
but the thrush went away after the period of time the swish was perscribed.
never hurts to find out if this could be the problem.....HTH!
— Mary S.
September 20, 2002
Ketosis. Simple as that. It is a good thing, however because you know that
your body is burning fat. There is really nothing you can do about it. When
you brush, make sure to brush your tougue, too as that is where most of it
lands.Just brush more often and things should get better as time goes on.
— sammygirlwpc
September 20, 2002
I have the same problem and I'm 6 weeks post op. My doctor told me to chew
sugar free tums with calcium. It helps and the calicum is good for you.
The orange flavor is very good.
— Lora T.
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