You do sound like an amazing young man, I’m impressed. I hope you find a solution to this problem that seems to be bothering you, but thank God your outgoing personality won’t let it bring you down enough to destroy your social life. Keep it up.
Now, have you ever gone to see a gastroenterologist, a specialist of the stomach and intestines? If you keep switching from diarrhea to constipation over and over again, you can develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), so you really need to have a doctor check this. You do need to be regular. This doctor is the specialist who could help you get more regular without flipping from diarrhea to constipation. It definitely sounds like you have a problem with this, and you should ask your mom to take you to the doctor for this. Even if you can’t go to a gastroenterologist, you should go to your pediatrician/family doctor. I took both my sons to one when they were a younger than you are now
You might want to see if when you think you’re having a really bad bad-breath day, whether you are constipated and/or you ate too much protein meats and/or choline.
I would most certainly NOT take your mom’s charcoal stick, because it might not be the type you can eat. I wouldn’t gamble with that. Most drug stores in the U.S. have activated charcoal in their digestive aid section, but I have a feeling that you’re in Canada, and I think it would be called Charcodote, or CharcoAid in Canada. However, if you’re going to go to the doctor, you can’t take the activated charcoal because since it makes your stool black, it can interfere with your lab work. If you were not taking activated charcoal and your stool was black, you would probably be in an extremely critical condition in which your digestive system is bleeding, and you could die. So the doctor’s can’t tell if it’s just your digestive aid or that you’re bleeding to death. So avoid taking it a week before you’re going to the doctor.
To answer your question about what my son’s odor smells like, it’s something like rotten, putrid, dead fish or meat. It sometimes smells “deep and dark” as opposed to a sweet and light scent, and other times it’s something like sulphur. It’s hard to describe. It most certainly gets worse when he is constipated, and the odor starts in his breath. Not only the air that comes out of his mouth, but even when he closes his mouth, it comes out through his nose. If he doesn’t take care of the constipation and watches his diet, then it gets in his skin, even if he’s not sweating profusely and he’s sitting relaxed at his computer. Then the odor sticks to his clothes, his leather chair, his bed, and even the wood furniture and walls of his room (and the same with his car). Cleaning out his intestines alone does not make the odor go away. If he then eats only one meal that’s too high in choline and/or meat protein it gets real bad again.
From what you tell me, it doesn’t sound to me like you are having the same symptoms. It was around your age that he started with the strong odor. We believe that his hormone changes in adolescence made it worse. I think that at your age his liver could handle some choline and protein foods, but lower amounts than normal. As he got older, he was able to handle less and less. And yes, when he can’t metabolize these and especially when he’s constipated, the odor is completely overwhelming.
I can tell you about his experience with the gastroenterologist. The main reason I took him there was because as far back as I can remember, he never wanted to wear his pants on his waist because his stomach was too sensitive and it would hurt him. He would have to wear his pants loosely over his hips. I don’t know if you have this problem or not.
The second reason was because of his breath. After running some tests, the doctor diagnosed him with GERD, but that only had to do with acid going up from his stomach to his esophagus because the valve doesn’t close right. This acid reflux eventually burns the esophagus resulting in injury and pain. It is not odor producing, though. So the doctor prescribed Nexium, and that was that. He had checked the liver for hepatitis and some other things, but never for TMAU or other metabolic conditions, and I didn’t think that his doctor would not have checked for those. At least his stomach pain got better, but not completely. Of course, with this condition, spicy foods (which he loves) only make his stomach hurt more.
Now your tongue being white, it could be a fungus/yeast infection, and your doctor can easily prescribe something for it. One scrape doesn’t kill the fungus. If your beer belly is a result of drinking beer, and you have a fungus/yeast infection in your tongue, than you’re adding yeast to yeast. You really need to ask the doctor if you have this infection.
My younger son, who is only one year older than you, is lactose intolerant and has GERD. He doesn’t have body odor UNLESS he takes the multiple vitamins that contain choline. Double check your vitamin bottle to make sure it doesn’t have choline or vitamin B50 (which might contain choline). He also can’t take protein shakes because it really makes him smell and hurts his whole digestive system and give him diarrhea.
He’s also into sports, but he does Cross-Country and Track. On a slow day he’ll run 4 miles a day, and on a good workout, he’ll run it twice a day. BELIEVE ME HE SMELLS TERRIBLY AFTER A WORKOUT! But he sweats so much running, that it seems to help him clean out his body of toxins, and a shower makes it all go away. I think his liver functions better than my older son’s, but not 100%, so he can’t keep up with all the sports supplements.
I’m glad Beano is working for you, and probiotics are always great when you’re cleaning out your intestines or when you have diarrhea. You don’t want to overdose on probiotics either. Ask your doctor what he recommends if you have frequent diarrheas. Remember that if the probiotics is not kept refrigerated, the good bacteria dies, and it looses effect. If it is not refrigerated at the store where you buy it from, it’s not going to help you at all.
Regarding “Recovery From Purica”, I’ve never really heard of it, and I just Googled it, and it says that it contains glucosamine. I know that glucosamine is very good for arthritis, and I have benefited from taking it except that it hurts my stomach so much, that I have to stop taking it. So be careful with your digestive system first and foremost. You don’t want to develop a chronic digestive disorder.
Dark baggy eyes can be normal for some people depending on the color of their skin. Other family members may also have it if it’s just normal for your family. However, if you have rings because you feel sick, that’s different. Then you should go to the doctor.
Hopefully checking your digestive system and your white tongue with your doctor should help you feel better, and possibly reduce or eliminate the odor. However, if it doesn’t, then there might be some other metabolic disorder.
Let us know how it goes for you. Do talk to your mother about this. She can help. Best of luck.
mpdela
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOTE THAT the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommends an Adequate Intake (AI) of choline for men at 550 mg/day and 425mg per day for women. Now for a growing adolescent, you most certainly need choline for your growth, so don't cut back too much because you don’t want to stunt your growth. I really don't think you'll have a problem with eating too little amount of choline because you like your Big Macs and fries...he,he,he. FYI, my son's odor gets bad with fast food hamburgers, but that doesn't mean it should be the same with you.
Good luck.