I feel your pain. It's been almost 14 years for me. It's a mystery... I don't know how or why it started. All I know is I've tried EVERYTHING to get rid of it. I just don't understand why these symptoms would appear out of the blue one day and never leave. If we weren't born with it, it has to be a way to reverse it, right? And if you can find a way to reverse it, then you can cure those born with it, I would imagine. As far as my symptoms go, it's been called a sulfur smell which is close enough to rotten eggs and still smells equally bad. It worsens the more stressed out I get, so getting through job interviews are tough. I've modified my diet at times, taken probiotics, taken charcoal, and even fasted for periods (helps slightly but is still there). I'm still trying everything until something works. I learned early on that eggs are a no-no, so I don't eat them. Potatoes became problematic. My favorite, ice cream, became another no-no about 8 years ago. Sigh. I'm determined to find a cure-all and share with everyone. Let's stay positive. We can beat it.

Have you checked your tonsils? Rub them with your fingertips and sniff? Look in the back of your throat, at either side of your tongue and see if any white stones are back there. IT would be like a whitehead in your tonsils. If you do, squeeze it like a zit. Then go try some nasal washes to flush your sinuses.

Hi
I have copied Maria's whole blog for you to read - see below. Hope this helps. It can take a couple of months to kick in - and you must follow it to the letter. Also some doctors give a week's supply of Antibiotics , while others give a month - it depends on your doctor and what he thinks is best.

Good luck:

""""I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post as much as I used to since I've been dilligently working on my blog, http://mpdela.blogspot.com/.
I meant to answer your posts, but I just don't have the time. So, quietgemcrissy from MSN forum, researched my previous posts, click on username 'mpdela' where I discuss in detail how my son managed to clean out his extreme 8-year Body Odor . This is a copy of my CureZone post describing what he did. //www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=1131499
NOTE: My son responded well to the low-choline diet, but if you don't, then try low protein diet or low dairy diet, or even low carb diet, depending on what you body can't handle. Each of these diets should be done in conjunction with the protocol noted below.

The actual treatment recommended by the U.S. Nacional Institute of Health (NIH) is short-termed in that the activated charcoal is to be taken for 10 days, the copper chlorophyllin for 3 weeks, and if you use the Antibiotics , only for a short time as needed, and the laxatives hopefully not to frequently but ongoing. Now the Vitamin B2 doesn’t have restrictions as to the length of time, but I wonder if you need such a high dose for an extended period of time.

Actually, this regimen is intended for people who have an incurable disease called trimethylaminuria (TMAU), which is a rare disease in which the liver doesn’t produce enough FM03 (enzyme), if any at all. The consequence of not having this liver enzyme is that in the final stage of digestion, choline is not broken down, and the undigested remains, the TMA, stays in the gut and smells terribly. Sometimes it smells like rotten fish, or burnt rubber, or spoiled garbage. The TMA is absorbed from the intestines into the bloodstream and comes out in all bodily secretions like the saliva, sweat, urine, mucous membranes, etc. Therefore, this diet is intended to reduce the choline intake to minimize the TMA left in the gut, to then neutralize the odor of TMA with charcoal (which is never absorbed into the bloodstream), with chlorophyllin ( a deodorizer), and periodically, the gut is cleansed with a mild laxative to get rid of any residual TMA.

This is why it’s important to be tested to see if indeed you have TMAU in order to determine whether you should stick to a low-choline diet for the rest of your life. My son has not yet been tested, but he tried this treatment, and it worked for him. Apparently, it also worked very well for Marx, who was diagnosed with TMAU. Since this may be an indication that my son has TMAU, then he knows that he has to get tested for it as soon as he can afford it.

After he finished doing this regimen and he stopped taking the charcoal and chlorophyllin, his odor began to come back slowly but surely even as he stayed on the low-choline diet. So, he came up with a modified version of this regimen based on trial and error, and he called this one his long-term regimen. Marx and others in this forum have suggested additional supplements and foods to restore the gut to a healthy state for the long-run.

Here's the exact SHORT-TERM TREATMENT and LONG-TERM TREATMENT that has worked for my son:

Under
http://www.genetests.org/query?dz=trimethylaminuria,

Gene Reviews, Trimethylaminuria, scroll down to Treatment of Manifestations, you’ll get the exact dosage and length of time of treatment to get rid of the extreme odor that is emitted the skin, breath, urine, saliva, and any other secretions. My son and I call this the short-term treatment because it’s prescribed for only for a certain amount of time.

SHORT-TERM TREATMENT FOR EXTREME ODOR
1. Low choline diet (According to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences USA 1998, the adequate daily intake of choline is 550 mg for males and 425mg for females for adults) I don’t know if this also applies to people with TMAU. I guess it depends on how much FM03 you produce.

2. Activated charcoal: 700 mg twice daily for 10 days.

3. copper chlorophyllin: 60 mg three times a day after meals for 3 weeks

4. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): 30-40 mg, three to five times a day with food to enhance the function of whatever FM03 your liver might still be producing

5. a short course of Antibiotics , NEOMYCIN, AMOXICILLIN, OR METRONIDAZOLE to modulate or reduce the activity of gut microflora, thus suppressing the production of trimethylamine (TMA)

6. Laxatives, such as lactulose, to decrease intestinal transit time may also reduce the amount of TMA produced in the gut

7. Replace the lactobacilli, also called the “friendly bacteria”, (L. acidophilus, and L. rhamnosus, B. lactis, Steptococcus thermophilus, and/or L. Bulgaricus) after cleaning out gut (recommended by The Trimethylaminuria Foundation in N.Y., based on other professional sources).

8. use acid soaps and body lotions with a pH factor of 5.5 to 6.5. Trimethylamine is a strong base (pH 9.8) that needs to be brought back down to a normal skin pH of 5.5 – 6.5.

LONG TERM, ONGOING TREATMENT THAT WORKS FOR MY SON (he came up with it himself based on trial and error) Now we just have to see how it works out on a long-term basis.
1. Low choline diet
2. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): 100mg in the a.m. and 100 mg. in the p.m. daily
3. Activated charcoal: 500mg in the a.m. and another 500mg in the p.m. daily
4. cooper chlorophyllin: 200mg in a.m., and 100mg in p.m. daily
5. laxatives as needed, immediately followed by lactobacilli (acidophilus) replacement. NOTE: MUST BE KEPT REFRIGERATED OR THE BACTERIA DIES AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, and then you’re really not replacing the friendly bacteria in the gut.
6. Always use acidIC soaps (preferably with Sea Salt s) and body lotions
with a 5.5-6.5 pH.
7. NO ANTIBIOTICS unless absolutely necessary.

In other words, I think the prescribed dosages recommended by the U.S. National Institute of Health intends to do a major “clean-up”, to get you odor free. Afterwards, I guess it’s up to you to find your own balancing act to maintain your odor-free condition based on the amount of FM03 your liver’s produces, if any. My son believes that the less you take with the desired effect, the better, and I agree.

AN UPDATED NOTE (09JUN08)

You have to do this protocol as you would an orchestrated symphony. It must all fit together and be applied at the correct time for it to work. My son had tried the various supplements, but not at the same dose, and the diet, but not first cleansing his intestines, etc., and it didn't work for him until all were done together.

Try to hang in there I know it is very hard emotionally but don't give up. Everytime negative thoughts come into your head and you are overwhelmed emotionally just pray To God and he will give you comfort and strength emotionally to deal with this bo burden. Also think about how much you love your kids and how much they need you. I go through this bo problem everyday like today I was walking in my backyard getting exercise and fresh air and I smell so bad that the people that attend the church next door to me can smell me from a distance because everytime I go outside all of a sudden I start seeing faces looking at me like I got their attention somehow and not in a good way most likely my bo got their attention. One time a little kid looked out the church window and pointed his finger at me and said you gross. I feel ya on the guys approaching you issue too like there was this one guy who had a crush on me a while back when I did not have a bo problem he use to always compliment me and I recently seen him at a grocery store while I was shopping and my dad also knows him and I just wanted to run out of the store embarassed by my bo but I did not want to look rude so I stayed in the store and I was hoping he won't come anywhere near me for fear of him smelling me but unfortunately he did and he said damn and I knew he was referring to my bo. I don't know if he knew it was me cause we were in a big store with many people around so he might have thought it was somebody else but still the fact that I was there and he could have possibly known it was coming from my direction was embarassing. I only have 2 friends and my family I lost alot of friends once I got this bo but the way I see it if they were really my friends they would have stayed friends with me so in reality I only found out who was really a true friend and who was not and I don't need fake friends. I also don't have a job due to this bo the last time I worked was 3 yrs ago and I ended up quitting because I could not take the rude reactions of other employess no longer they made me the mockery of the job like I was a thing not a human being who had feelings I can't tell you how many times I went home and just cried and cried. I don't have a social life either.I pray and hope you find a cure for your bo and just keep in mind when you are feeling very down there is someone else going through the same thing. Life can always be worse. What helps me alot is to count my Blessings like my family, pets, home etc. If you just dwell on the negative that's all your gonna see but when you think about all the good in your life you realize I am Blessed in many ways this is just one burden I need to ask God to help me with. I pray that God helps you and comforts you when your feeling down he is real and loves you and knows the emotional pain you are enduring and will give you peace if you call upon him and ask for help. Take care:)