Question:
body odor, acne, bad breath, and very emotional....HELP

since i had rny i have lost 48 lbs in a little less than 3 months...its great. But i have noticed things are happening that didnt before. First i have terrible body odor(underarm) i never had it before, iuse the same deoderant. i have started taking 2 showers a day instead of just one. but within an hour or 2 i can smell myself. I have also begun to break out on my face terribly i have never had skin problems, even as a teenager. i clean it several times a day now with no improvement. Now no matter how many times a day i brush my teeth i have horrible breath. I now chew gum all the time. I am a nurse and getting close and talking to my patients is becoming hard. With my BO and bad breath. I have also noticed recently i cry at the drop of a hat. Things on tv, anything makes me cry, i recently was in a heated argument with my boss and began to cry and could not stop... which made me mad...and made her think she had the upper hand. If anyone has experienced any of these things ....and knows how to make them STOP...or how long they will last...PLEASE let me know...    — courtney B. (posted on December 19, 2002)


December 18, 2002
Boy do you describe my wife when she was a new post op. Bad breath , BO, and such is from ketosis, like the atkins diet gets. Once your loss slows a bit it will go away. Hormones made Jens life ( aand mine ) tough but by 3 months they settled out and she became her sual only emotional sometime self. Just hang in there it does get better. Jens a nurse too and said much the same things. How much have you lost?
   — bob-haller

December 18, 2002
Well the breath thing is very very common, due to ketosis. The acne is somewhat common, due to hormonal fluctuations. The emotional upsets are very, very common, which hormones are to blame again. I had the underarm/deodorant problem, and felt like I was the only one. I couldn't find anything in the library on the subject and asked my bariatric case manager/RN/also 2 years post-op, and she had never heard of this as a side effect. Mine was very persistent even with trying several different products. And it didn't start until I was about 6 months post-op. It will get better. I don't know when mine stopped, but it did. I also had the terrible acne, and breath thing. I never experienced the emotional aspect of this, but I seem to be in the minority on that one. It will get better! And you have lost a whopping 48 lbs.!!
   — Cheri M.

December 18, 2002
Sounds like your hormones are messed up. Mine were too at that stage. I saw my GYN and he put me on the pill. Within 2 months it was all cleared up. You might want to try switching deoderants too. The brand I used before surgery just didnt cut it afterwards.
   — Monica H.

December 18, 2002
I had the same thing with the body odor. I use Mitchem anti-bacterail, gel, it is a light green container. Works great for me. I also always carry Listermint breath strips and just pop one im my mouth when I am going some where. They are small and you can just carry them in your pocket. I also use sugar free tic tack and they help.
   — paulsgirl

December 19, 2002
Same here.... I get spouts of bad body odor on and off and the deoderant I used pre-op doesnt work on me any more so I had to change. I keep tic-tacs and smints in my pocket at all times - although my breath isnt too too bad. As far an emotions go - im on the other end of the scale... I want to choke the living crud outta someone at the slightest hint that they are gonna piss me off. Im 5 months out. I dont know how much of my anger state is hormones.... and how much is from finally being fed up with peoples baloney. LOL
   — Valerie H.

December 19, 2002
Goodness! I thought I was the ONLY one that had the bad underarm odor! My medicine chest is literally exploding with partly used deodorants...really, I think there's like 7 or 8 in there right now. I tried EVERYTHING...and suddenly this month (I'm 7 months post-op), not only did the BO stop, but also my hair stopped falling out. I did finally find a good deodorant, Gillette for Women's Soft & Dri with the green Power Stripe, that works well. But, still, previous to the 7 months, any deodorant would work for about an hour, and then quit. But now I notice I stay pretty odor-free all day. I was applying a second dose of deodorant in the middle of the day all along after surgery, and even that was not helping. As Seinfeld says, "it was <b>mutant</b> BO". Sometimes, even after a shower, I could still smell it! It was only on the underarms though, thankfully. I began washing with my regular soap and also using Hibiclens anti-bacterial cleanser on my underarms. This helps temporarily, but not really. So, anyway (too much information, I know!), I cannot tell you how happy I am that the mutant BO has finally abated. It was like a mixture of regular sweat plus the odor of onions or vegetable soup (I don't eat either one). The breath thing was icky for about the first month or two, but I went back to regular breath around month 3 or 4. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water...this really helps with the breath, I've found. Also, I have my teeth cleaned THREE times a year as an extra measure to keep plaque away and make sure I'm checking every 4 months for cavities and gum problems which can be more common after WLS. Also, I'm a big crier and am being treated for depression, so crying at the drop of a hat it totally normal for me. I don't think being "sensitive" is necessarily a bad thing, but I know it can be horrifying in a work situation to have the tears start falling uncontrollably. If that happens again, just excuse yourself and walk away to a quiet place until you can get calmed down. Then return to the meeting, apologize for the interuption, and go forward. It's much better than standing there crying...it only gets worse that way and you'll never get it under control. We're very fragile beings in so many ways after surgery...but hang in there, it does get better. Hugs, Joy
   — [Deactivated Member]

December 19, 2002
I wonder . . . Does anyone else notice the odor? I mean, not people shouting at you on the street, "For cripes sake, lady take a shower!" but maybe you have a trusted friend that could tell you for sure. I know that lots of posties have an oversensitivity to smells. I don't for some odors but for foods I do from time to time (pizza smells the WORST!). Is it possible that you really DON'T smell all that bad? I remember one lady posting that she made her whole family brush their teeth several times a day because they smelled like they had bad breath. LOL It's just a thought . . .
   — ctyst

December 19, 2002
You may want to consider changing deoderants - again - I found that I could not wear any deoderant with perfumes in it. They only enhanced the body odor. Also, you may want to wash your clothes in a different detergent. Sometimes detergants do not clean as well. I had to change my detergent. Even though I was washing my clothes after one wear, I was noticing a faint odor. I changed my detergant and it seemed to help. As far as bad breath is concerned, I had the same problem. I asked my doctor about that and he couldn't figure it out. I always carry cinnamon tic tacs or chew Orbit gum. That seems to help me. Your body is going through a lot of changes and your hormones are raging. I can always tell when things aren't right and I try to avoid conflict.
   — dolphins94

December 19, 2002
Sounds like your body is releasing a bunch of toxins and is flushing them out. Drink lots of water, and if you think you are drinking too much, drink more! Your hormones are crazy right now, just let your body take care of things naturally. You'll be fine. Best wishes...aims
   — chickiewickie

December 19, 2002
hi there! :) sorry for what you are going through. things should return to normal for you as time goes on. youll expereince hormonal changes through rapid weight loss. you may not smell as bad as you think, right after and some time after my rny, everyone smelled terrible to me. everyone smelled like rotten solomi breath LOL :) my sense of smell was so much more vivid but returned to normal in time. to make yourself feel better though, i think mitchem for ladies has got to be the best deodrant on the face of the earth! i like the baby powder scent and its true what the add says, you really could skip a day and still smell good. i used it right after the hospital and hadnt taken a shower every day as i usually do and the pits still smelled good! :) best of luck to you, it will get better :)
   — carrie M.

February 19, 2003
You're not alone!!! I noticed that my body odor and the smell of my urine was REALLY stinky, when of course pre-op, that was not the case. I had the bad breath, too. The bad breath is most likely caused by being in a state of dietary ketosis?? I use those little Listermint strips-- they help a lot. As for the BO, It may not be as bad as you think. I did use a product years ago that was a super-strong antipersperant that blocked the sweat glands in your armpit, so there wasn't any smell ever. With the skin problems, try not to wash more than twice a day-- it will just produce more oil (if that's what the problem is.)
   — lizinPA




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