Hey guys. I've been around the site for a couple of months now and just brushing up on what everyone's been saying about issues regarding Body Odor , fecal or otherwise.

Now, there's been a slight shift in my state of mind when I learned about the prevalence of ORS and how intensely it affects people, myself included.

I got a severe case of food poisoning about three years ago and ever since then I've been battling with thoughts about my Body Odor and so on. The food poisoning started out normally enough - I was throwing up and having massive amounts of watery diarrhea for the whole span of a day and it came on within an hour of eating some leftover Chinese takeout from the night before (I hadn't refrigerated it - dumb, I know). As I was feeling relatively okay that very same night, I went out clubbing with my friends and had a large amount of alcohol as well as cigarettes. It's only recently that I have started to abstain from harmful substances like that. In any case, I was in the middle of a busy period of time at work, setting up conferences and shows and stuff like that so I forgot about my problem for the most part and continued to drink coffee, smoke, drink, and eat junk food every now and then.

From what I remember about that month, the only real issue I had was a feeling that I needed to go to the bathroom again - proctitis, or incomplete evacuation, or possibly irritation from all the diarrhea from the food poisoning. I started to get anxious about a hot and moist anus and worried that people might be able to see it through my suit, though every time I went to the toilet, there was minimal wetness or mucus and it never showed through my pants. I also don't remember anybody ever having an issue with my Body Odor at that point.

Fast forward a couple of months and the moistness settled down somewhat and was completely eliminated when I completely emptied my bowels - though it wasn't every day that I was able to do this.

It never really got bad until one day I was so nervous about letting the mucus/moisture out of my anus that I clenched as I hard as I could for as long as I could until I felt a sharp pain. It was like I had pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve along my pelvic or anal area. This was when my anxiety started to worsen and it's all been downhill from there.

I used to be outgoing and sociable and I've managed to be relatively outgoing, but not nearly as much as before. I frequently find myself making excuses or reasons why I have to stay in like attending to work or other matters. My friends never seem to comment on my odor and neither do my co-workers. And any time there's been a comment of "What's that smell?" it usually has an external source that is not me. But then again, there have been times when people have sniffed or coughed at me but I did smoke a lot of cigarettes back then so perhaps it was people who didn't like the fact that I reeked of tobacco?

Anyways, what I'm trying to get at is: is it possible that I'm blowing this whole thing out of proportion? I know that sometimes when people get anxious they can get a musty odor that's pretty strong but by no means horrendous - and even if it was it's much better than the fecal odor that I feel that I'm having.

The confusing thing is that I'm not quite sure where the problem lies since I have been to doctors and have conducted tests. Psychiatrists, gastroenterologists, GPs, the list goes on. My stool tests and blood work have come out normal, and rectal examinations show that I don't have hemorrhoids or fissures so that makes me very confused. I do notice that I get very bloated when I eat foods that are high FODMAPs so I have been avoiding those. I have also been giving some thought into candida as when I started incorporating coconut oil, turmeric, ginger, garlic, onions, and mint into my diet I had a huge breakout on my face and a spring of rashes all over my arms, feet, and groin region - though those have healed up.

It feels like my anus is loose at times, especially when I'm sitting, as if my sphincter isn't as strong as it was before I felt that sharp pain all those years ago. However, when I ask friends or family members if I smell they deny that they have ever smelled anything and have just said that I have a musky odor when I haven't showered for a couple of days - which is fine with me to be honest. But then again, perhaps they are just being nice because after all, they are my friends. And I guess I'm lucky that they still want to hang out with me regardless of my odor, present or not.

TLDR: Is it possible that my "leaky gas" and fecal body odor concerns are blown out of proportion because of ORS? And is it possible for candida and perhaps liver problems to cause bad odors? Sometimes when I put coconut oil around my anus for itchiness or inside the rectum, I feel a warm and slight burning sensation there and the smell intensifies, so maybe that's a candida/yeast/bacterial infection down there? I am also not sure what to make of my weak anus (not sure if its actually weak because doctors have said I have normal strength, but they haven't checked when I was sitting down) as I have a warm sensation as if I am passing silent but deadly flatulence at random intervals. I can hold gas and feces no problem if I'm conscious of it but sometimes it just slips out - so perhaps I just have a large amount of gas because of the food poisoning and candida?

I know that was a freakishly long message, it's just that I haven't been myself ever since this happened to me and I'm only in my mid-20s so I fear for what might happen for the rest of my life. Thanks for reading and the responses in advance.

Stay strong everyone, this definitely isn't an easy affliction.