Sorry, this is super long but I am desperate for help. I am worried about my future job stability due to bb and bo.
I am in a predicament. Apparently, I smell horrible but am unable to smell myself. I honestly wouldn't be as concerned about it (since I am clean and take a thorough 30 minute shower or 2 showers a day) except that I am going to be looking for teaching jobs soon and am afraid I will not be hired or even worse, fired, over my body odor and bad breath.
I don't know how long this has gone on for because I only just realized it was happening about two years ago. Just before I found out, I had come out of a horrible time in my life. I was drinking heavily and partying at least three days a week for about a year and eating a lot of junk food. This was out of extreme depression over the loss of my grandfather (he was like my father since he took me in when I was two years old and raised me as his own) and the break-up of a relationship that had lasted 5 years.
The day I put it all together was when one of my coworkers said that my breath smelled really bad. He said it under his breath but I heard it and then began understanding why people at school changed their seats so they didn't have to sit next to me and why my professors covered their face when I spoke. Since I found out, have been searching non-stop for a cure. The one thing I know for sure is that my breath smells foul. I know this because I work in retail full time and when I speak to others, sometimes even across the room, I get the stares, the nose-wipes, and sometimes even covering their entire nose with their hand while I speak and then lowering it when I stop talking. Of course I've noticed also that people will rub their teeth with their tongue or put gum in their mouth or apply scented lip gloss while talking to me also. Unfortunately, the few friends and coworkers that I have all lie to me and tell me I smell fine yet will cough or cover their nose at times. I know they are just trying to be nice but I expected more honesty from them. My grandmother knows about my problem but as she is almost 90, cannot smell much at all. My boyfriend has horrible sinus problems and cannot smell the Yankee candle store let alone my odor, but even he said I had a "spicy" scent naturally (though he actually likes it).
My two main problems:
1. The BB.
2. Body odor.
3. Another kind of odor or "scent" (PATM?)
Underarms:
I cannot smell my body odor but I can sometimes get whiffs of my underarms which to me smells spicy or musky. My underarms are always sweating. Especially when I'm nervous or excited and always during work. I've tried prescription strength deodorants but they didn't work. I then tried salt crystal and natural deodorants which didn't work either. My doctor gave me a prescription and that helped control the sweating and odor for a while but I think my body has become used to it and it has stopped working :(
Feet:
I know my feet smell also. I was wearing sandals in a middle school that I was interning in and one of the girls very innocently said, "Something smells like Doritos!" I looked at my mentor teacher and then asked to use the restroom. I sprayed my feet with vanilla body fantasies spray and came back in the room. My mentor rather awkwardly said, "Oh, well that sweet smell that you just put on smells really nice."
There has been other occasions that people have smelled my feet also. I CAN notice that my shoes smell like feet after awhile. To remedy this I've tried foot soaks (epsom salt, vinegar) on a daily basis, tea tree oil, scrubbing off dead skin, etc. The problem is, I can't smell them even before doing this so I have no idea if it works. I also went out and bought a new collection of shoes and put odor eaters inserts in them and use clean cotton socks and foot powder each time before putting on the shoes. I let them dry out for 24 hours before wearing them again.
Breath:
I was never able to detect my bb until recently when I realize the presence of a sulfurous taste in the far back of my throat. It happens alot after or during eating. I've tried every mouth wash/breath product. I brush and floss twice a day. I know that I have a chronic post nasal drip (at least 7 years with PND) and have been doing nasal rinses for about three months and using Nasonex and Alavert to help dry it up some but it only works for a few hours and the BB, while possibly decreased, is still alive and kicking. I did notice my first ever tonsil stone earlier this month and removed it. After reading all the posts on this forum, I was excited, believing that gargling with salt water or peroxide and using a waterpik was the answer. So I went out and purchased a waterpik and blasted away. I found a few small stones but nothing to write home about. I still use the waterpik every few days and while it seems to reduce the bb a little, I still cannot talk to people without them reacting. It just seems to diminish how far the scent carries. My tonsils, according to my ENT, look good and my ears and throat do as well. I am getting a skin allergy test next month but for some reason I'm not so sure this is from allergies.
Colon issues:
I do have colon issues. I have been constipated since I was a child. After going to the Dr. for stomach pain when I was 19, he diagnosed me with IBS and said I had a long, narrow colon. He recommended more fiber. I was already vegetarian but I ate more apples and whole wheat fiber bread thinking it would help. Here I am at 28, still constipated. I just went back for another colonoscopy/ednoscopy and this time he told me I have delayed emptying, proctitis, possibly GERD (even though I have no symptoms!) and rectal prolapse. I've also tried herbal remedies for constipation which sometimes work but the best (for bowels) was the salt water flush. Unfortunately, with full time work and student teaching, I cannot do the flush for the next 4 months because I do not have even one day off. I'm taking 4 magnesium pills a day and its only helping a little.
I've done salt water flushes, FOMAP (or whatever it's called), gastroparesis diet, gluten free diet, candida diet, GSE, Oregano oil, enzymes, etc. Nothing seems to budge the bad breath. I also have a ton of clear mucus in the my throat. It comes out when I brush my teeth, irrigate my sinus, or use the waterpik on my tonsils.
I'm suspecting this is all systemic but I can't seem to figure out what it points to. I've had my blood tested for the general stuff (only thing was that I had vitamin d deficiency which I've now been supplementing).
-Bloating
-Constipation
-Bad breath
-Strong body odor
-Post nasal drip
-sticky clear mucus in throat
-white coating on my inner cheeks and lip
-Grayish tongue with a yellowish coating in the back (this changes often depending on what I eat but bb is always there)
-Strong sulfurous taste in throat
-bad taste in mouth often and especially when waking
-rectal itching and mucus (not as much anymore since doing diet and flushes and probiotics)
-Itchy scalp that smells like mold or like "dirty scalp" (I manage this using apple cider vinegar)
-Psoriasis on my arms and occasionally, my face. It is very mild though, and hard to notice on my pale skin. It looks like small, translucent, flaky patches.
Diagnosed (so far):
-PND
-Proctitis
-Prolapse
-GERD? (my Dr. literally does not know if I have this)
-Delayed stomach emptying (Dr. said this could be due to constipation)
The last issue is that wherever I go, people sneeze, cough, or develop sudden runny noses or headaches. It is the weirdest thing. A diner full of people will suddenly start in fits of coughing a few seconds after I enter. Initially I thought this was due to wearing perfume so I stopped, but it continued. Then I thought that my body was reacting to deodorant (still a possibility) so I tried all natural but they don't work on me, and I end up smelling like onions.
What I eat, lifestyle, etc:
I am a pescatarian for lack of a better definition. I eat tons of fresh veggies and salads, fruits, yoghurt, kefir, and occasionally, fish or shellfish.
It gets worse with alcohol, sugar, and coffee so I have minimized these things in my diet but I get dizzy if I don't have sugar so I at least eat fruit to keep myself going at work.
I chew Eclipse gum almost constantly but the bb is still there and does not go away after food or drink of any kind.
I don't have time to work out much because of my schedule but I literally stand all day almost everyday for 8-16 hours and I move around a lot at my retail job. I am slender and weigh about 130 and am 5'10" so I am definitely not overweight.
I believe I may be allergic to Crest Pro Health because of the white gunk in my mouth. I just started using Tom's Natural toothpaste and I think it is helping with that though its too soon to say.
I took a blood allergy food test which came back negative.
Hi EverSearching,
For your constipation I would take one or more cleansing enemas. Also cleansing your liver may help your odor problem, so do coffee enemas on a regular basis.
Please read my blog titled "My challenge", link below.
Propaul
My Challenge
Hi EverSearching,
Yes, you can take enemas daily for a long period, I am thinking of years, but please do not use lemon juice exclusively, switch to salt solution, baking soda solution, soapsuds, etc. All these enemas are for cleansing. Trying coffee retention enemas for odor. Can't be sure they will work but I believe it is worth a try.
My experience with coffee enemas as a deodorant, was after taking garlic enemas for 3 days I smelt pretty bad. But after taking my two coffee enemas in the morning most of my garlic smell did disappear.
Propaul