# Wondering if anyone has similar symptoms



## ibsing (Sep 9, 2015)

Hi all,

This is my first post but I've been lurking these forums for awhile now as my condition has gotten worse over the past month. I wanted to know if anyone had similar symptoms and have cured it through a Candida diet or just good diet and exercise and how long it took.

I am a female and mostly healthy except for the fact that I've suffered from IBS-C and fecal body odor since I was around 14. The scent is not around me 24/7 and I've been able to live a semi-normal life for the most part until now when it's become more frequent.

*In a nutshell: *

IBS-C + Fecal Body odor for 10+ years due to terrible diet and anxiety

Candida symptoms

The smell has gotten worse on probiotics?

Working on diet + exercise to cure problem

*Long story:*

I have always been IBS-C. I have always had stomach problems as a child when I'm nervous and having trouble going to the bathroom every day. A normal BM would be every 3-4 days. At one stressful point in my life I remember I did not go to the bathroom for almost a month despite trying anything in my power to do so. I have changed my diet significantly over the past few weeks and for the first time in 10+ years I am having a BM every morning.

The first time I remember realizing I had a bad odor was when I was at a concert and the group behind me commented on "someone smells like shit". At the time I didn't realize it was me until later on when more comments were made at school. I seem to release an odor only when I'm nervous. It's gotten to the point that when I know people are standing/sitting behind me I start feeling super anxious and it happens. Up until recently, I was able to be around others as long as they weren't directly behind me. Now, it seems like the odor is more constant and far reaching. People are avoiding me within five feet. Other people begin to sniff or sneeze when they get close to me. I can't smell the odor myself. When I get nervous, I get a pressure feeling in my butt area and a slight wetness, which is an indicator of odor. Other times I have felt no anxiety/pressure and there is still a smell. Since taking Florastor a week ago, the "wetness" feeling has seemed to have disappeared but the pressure is still there.

My diet for the past ten years has been pretty awful, I have always been skinny and snacked on pastries, candy, junk food, processed food, etc. Seriously, I would live on muffins, donuts and slices of cake and not think twice. It was only until recently when I realized everything could be food related that I started seriously changing my lifestyle around diet and exercise.

*What I'm doing to try and cure fecal body odor:*

For the past three weeks I've been on a low fodmap diet including lots of fruits and rice. Only yesterday I discovered posts about Candida and FBO and realized my problem might be revolving around sugar so starting today I am cutting out all sugars including fruits, all grains including rice and certain vegetables. I plan on eating a strict diet of leafy greens, safe vegetables + salmon/chicken for the next few months. I drink lots of water and have been incorporating lemon detox tea in the mornings and evenings.

I have been jogging 2-3 miles every morning for almost three weeks now since the problem had gotten worse. I plan on this being a permanent lifestyle change. Running has definitely helped improved my anxiety.

I started binging on probiotics this past week. I started taking Florastor, a daily multivitamin, and even more probiotics. Today at work I had this constant bad odor around me (I couldn't smell it but I could tell by my coworkers reactions). I have read that taking probiotics makes the smell worse for the first few weeks, but does it eventually go away? Is this a sign of Candida?

I have never seen a gastroentologist for my problem but in high school I did tell my doctor who told me it was constipation and also put me on anti-depressants. I want to make an appointment with a gastroentologist but I'm nervous/embarrassed.

I don't know why all of a sudden the odor has gotten worse and is more constant. I feel like I'm going to lose my job. I'm too anxious to go out in public. Every time someone sniffs or coughs near me I feel incredibly hopeless. I'm wondering if anyone has had similar symptoms as me and have gotten better? I know these things take time, I would just like reassurance that I'm on the right path to recovery.

That's all for now, any advice/wisdom would be appreciated.

Thank you for reading all of that.


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## Kehndy12 (Mar 17, 2015)

My symptoms are somewhat similar.


I've had people tell me or imply to me that I smell like poop, but I can't smell it myself.
People sniff around me all the time.
My anus often feels wet, and it seems to be food related.
I used to have constipation, but now my BMs have been rather small, they're usually 1-2 times a day, and they feel incomplete.

I tried various probiotics for several months in large doses, but I didn't notice any change with them.

I've been trying a low FODMAP diet that has helped my wet anus a ton! I mostly eat potatoes, carrots, and cashews. Sometimes I eat oatmeal. I do not eat milk, eggs, wheat, or gluten. Peanuts are allowed on the diet, but dry-roasted peanuts make my wet anus problem so much worse. I'm assuming that my fecal smell has improved since my wet anus problem definitely has improved.









Have you tried a low FODMAP diet?

Right now my theory is that my body can only handle certain kinds of food, so I'm trying to figure out my safe foods.


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## ibsing (Sep 9, 2015)

I am on the low fodmap diet at the moment! Actually, I'm on the Candida diet which is a more strict version of the low fodmap. I'm basically eating nothing but leafy greens and animal protein (no carbs, no sugar at all including fruit, no nuts even) and drinking lots of herbal tea and water.

It's only been about a week and I have been feeling effects of Candida die-off (fatigue, sore muscles, lightheadness/dizziness) which never happens to me otherwise. I'm planning on doing this until the end of the year and incorporating probiotics and anti-fungals later on.

So far, exercise and healthier eating has been making me feel better mentally and helping somewhat with anxiety, but the main problem isn't gone. I'm staying optimistic in that if I continue this healthy lifestyle the smell will eventually go away. I've had this problem for almost a decade, so I don't see it going away overnight.


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