Question:
I watched Oprah today and there was a lady who said she did not
want to do the GBS because people who have this surgery have bad body odor, gas and bad breath!! I have never heard of this before. Is this true? I am 10 weeks post-op and want a boy friend. I don't want to kiss him and have him say YUK!!!!! LOL I always thought mouth wash and soap would cure this!!!! Please tell me this isn't true!!! — Tammy D. (posted on April 12, 2002)
April 12, 2002
I have heard of people having all three, however, it's not always the case.
I do know the body odor isn't always maskable with soap, a friend of mine
had it really early on for a couple weeks and the gas.... watch what you
eat, it's not totally avoidable.. but you don't have to make it worse :)
Good luck on your journey!
— Elizabeth D.
April 12, 2002
Tammy, I think that the woman who said that on Oprah really doesn't know
the whole story. I know quite a few people who have had WLS and none have
body odor (well,unless they don't shower for a week! LOL)or bad breath. One
has, how can you say this nicely??, really really bad gas. But speaking for
myself and those that I know that have had the surgery, we don't stink! I
did have really bad breath soon after surgery- my surgeon said that this
was because my body was in ketosis. And sure enough about two-three months
later, my bad breath was gone. Please don't take that one persons word that
we all have B/O, bad breath and stinky foo foo's!
— Cindy K.
April 12, 2002
There was a physician doing a chat on this site awhile back, and I asked
him that very question. He said that some do have problems with it because
of the malabsorbtion of certain foods, therefore, he said most of it can be
controlled by showering (which he said would last for 8 or so hours) and
watching the types of food that you eat. Foods higher in fat that are not
absorbed will cause the body odor. Wish I could remember his name, you
could email him directly. It was Dr. Terry (something) from Az I believe.
He's done several chats on here. Best of luck to you!
— Laurie Z.
April 12, 2002
I saw the Oprah show yesterday, too. It was a rerun, but the women on there
spoke so elequently about their life as an obese person, that I wanted to
view it again. As far as the 'smell' issue, I agree that this woman was not
fully educated about WLS. I've heard in the more distal procedures odors
can be offensive but it is mostly due to what is eaten. Personally, I dont'
have an odor problem except some breath issues which are from being in
ketosis, I imagine. I keep sugar free gum or mints on hand and that handles
it nicely. I have noticed that if I'm not drinking my water like I should,
my urine has a strong unpleasant smell. But, thats a no-brainer to fix. I
do believe that for the vast majority of us, odor isn't a big problem. I
hope this woman gets the information she needs to make a truly informed
decision. I would love to see Oprah get a few real WLS success stories to
share their experiences and dispel some of these widespread myths.
— Donna L.
April 13, 2002
i saw the show too,, and was amazed, how the terribly obese woman made
such an issue of gas!! even oprah said, "you won't have the surgery
"because" of gas"?? of course there is some gas,, you are
not eating like you once did, smell? if i do no one has told me. then she
talked about death, there are death numbers in any major surgery, my doctor
has had one death in thousands of operations, and he only does the r.n.y.
open, a woman had a blood clot after she went home, i had a hip implant, i
was told the same thing, dangers "clots, infection" i flew
through that operation at 290#,, 5 months ago at 425#.. i could have died
easily with complications from my obesity. that woman on oprah was just
afraid, and until you weigh what "you have" against what
"you can have",a normal life, many will chicken out and remain a
prisoner in their own bodies,, believe me 135#'s less feels
wonderful,,breath mints, soap can fix what that woman fears, and a little
gas can also be controlled...you can't talked anyone into something they
fear, and i wouldn't want to, but getting healthier, thinner is great..my
doctor says me being 180# by the end of the year is not out of the
question,,i can't wait..
— bruce M.
April 13, 2002
This is an interesting question, and I love all the answers you have
gotten. I have not had surgery, and right now at my weight I have to shower
every morning and by the end of the afternoon I am sweaty. So, since I
already have problems with occasional gas, and sweat, I don't see what is
so bad of a temporary problem that occurs with the WLS. I mean being heavy
can cause some people to have body odor, and conditions such as diabetes
can cause it too. So, for most I think WLS is a win win situation.
— Michelle H.
April 14, 2002
At 180cm bypassed, some would consider my fairly distal and I can say at
over eight weeks I have not had ANY issues with gas. I don't smell either.
However, I am a little cocerned about my breath. Nobody has told me that I
have bad breath, but when I wake up in the mornig and occassionally thorugh
out the day I hvae the nastiest taste in my mouth that A) I am sure must
smell bad and B)definitely started post-op. Oh, well. If I had to buy a
lifetime supply of Listerine Mint strips, I would. For the 45+ pounds and
what more is to come, I'd say the payoff is fair.
— PaulaM
April 14, 2002
Speaking only for myself..I have to say, I DO have KILLER gas when I eat
something I shouldnt. I am surprised my dear family hasnt packed my bags by
now! LOL My ocassionaly 'dumping' doesnt really manifest in pouch
distress: just lots of cramps, gas, and lets just say "tremendous
abthroom urgency" !
— Lisa G.
April 15, 2002
I am only 9 weeks post-op, but I did have a problem with bad breath while
on the liquid / soft foods part of the diet, I assume it was due to
ketosis. The bad breath and awful taste in my mouth is gone. So far I
haven't had a problem with gas or diarrhea (knocking on wood).
— Melissa W.
April 15, 2002
I think you are what you eat! You should smell my very-thin sister when
she eats garlic- whew!!! Stay awaaaaay! It just comes out her body pores.
It usually lasts about 24hr, it's bad enough for me to say the next day-
you had garlic last night- didn't you? I had some bad breath early on
(while in ketosis), but I am no gassier than before!
— Karen R.
April 15, 2002
Actually, since surgery, the only times I have had gas is when my body's
getting ready to have a BM. I often joke that I now have built in Beano,
since I can eat onions, beans, whatever, and never suffer the
"consequences". Bad breath/body odor is from ketosis, and that
can happen even without surgery. 13 years ago, when I was on Optifast, we
were warned about body odor and bad breath, as our bodies would go into
ketosis. Too bad someone didn't remind Oprah (the Carnie Wilson of
Optifast) about that!
— Cyndie K.
April 25, 2002
I watched that show as well. I was incredibly repulsed by the women
shallowness and excuses for not having the surgery. I just wanted to smack
her :)Well I am only 2 1/2 weeks post op but my mother had the surgery in
07/01 and I have not noticed any body odor or gas.
— Ben F.
April 25, 2002
I found myself having more of a body odor before the surgery. When I came
home from my surgery, my body odor decreased because I was not eating a lot
of spicy foods and animal protein. I think as big people and former big
people, we are more aware of such things this woman mentioned. Therefore,
we are more concious of taking good care of our personal hygeine needs. I
have been behind average sized people and they smell and look like they had
just rolled out of bed, slapped on clothes and out the door.
— Jan M.
April 27, 2002
I completly agree with Bruce. I saw that Ophrah show as well and I could
not beleive what a moron that woman was. Let me begin by saying that I had
a Duodenal Switch 8 weeks ago, I have less gas than before surgery. I have
no type of body odor, infact, i notice that those nasty rolls dont smell of
sweat anymore because with only 40 lbs gone the rolls are alot smaller. I
would think at that womans weight, she would have quite a foul smelling
oder simply from the sweat and friction and just being so large and not
being able to reach around and cleanse yourself properly. Then she made an
issue of surgery increasing her risk of dying- she has a much better
chance of dying of a comorbitity thatn from the surgery. That woman was
insane, her story was so rediculous, so don't beleive everything you hear
because apparently that woman is either very misinformed or just in denial
— lauren S.
May 19, 2002
I saw that show too. I didn't get it, my sister is about 3 years post-op
and she doesn't smell, my niece is 1 year post-op and I have not detected
any odor on her. As for me, I am 6 weeks post op and the only gas I had
trouble with is the first week, but they say that is from being opened in
surgery..These women said they were content being obese which we all know
is crap...I think the psychological term is denial. And as for being afraid
of dieing in surgery, I would rather go that way quickly than from a long
miserable life in and out of the hospital because of bad health.
— Elizabeth F.
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