Anti Reflux Surgery

[halitosisux]

grav, what sort of BB did you have? Thanks for coming on to tell us this story. Can you please describe some of your symptoms?

[grav]

I am not really sure how my breath smelled - in other words, I can't really connect a well-known smell to it. I knew it smelled (and I got constant reactions), but I couldn't smell it really well until the day after I took the higher doses of Betaine.

All of a sudden, my throat begin to clear and I could smell the magnified odor of what I always knew was there. I knew that is what others were reacting to. I suffered for about 20 years. I think my initial problem started because of dairy - which I now realize I cannot tolerate - even in small amounts. They pumped me full of allergy meds as a kid - never once addressing my diet. Ugh.

Once I could smell it, I got to work on getting it cleaned up. That took a few weeks, and I had to figure out what would work for me. A tongue coating plagued me for years. I no longer have that problem, and I don't attribute that entirely to the Betaine. The first thing that I do each morning is poke my tongue out and look in the mirror. I don't think I've ever seen such a pretty pink tongue in all my life. Lol.

I have researched bad breath in my spare time for years. Oh, my word - the time and money that I've spent seems unreal now. I am so glad to be better.

There are things that I must do to stay on top of the odor, and if I get lazy for a few days the coated tongue starts to come back ever so slightly. Eating the wrong foods can trigger a coated tongue overnight. I think there are just some genetic predispositions, or perhaps some unresolved issues that need a little more time to resolve themselves.

I won't stop researching until I know it all. The main reason that I still lurk around these parts is because I am actually finishing up a book about bad breath. Plus, I'm eternally curious and I still have some questions and theories to ponder more. I've always wanted to post and say that I was better.

I know that Jimi wrote a book, and I don't want to be disrespectful by mentioning that I am finishing my book up. I just want everyone to know that there is hope and I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying to help other people. Don't give up. I've been better for a few months now - when I had never previously seen even a few days of improvement. My bad breath wouldn't budge.

You can run in circles forever chasing theories and ideas about what is wrong. In most (but not all) cases, I think that it boils down to some basic fundamental processes that have been disrupted or that have gone wrong. These in turn can relate to digestion, oral environments, etc - the list could go on and on I suppose. I read of people chopping out adnoids and tonsils, and not getting better. That makes me so sad.

I couldn't begin to explain everything I've learned in one post. I wish that I could.

I found an interesting study that made me think more about genetics. It involved twins that were both suffering from halitosis - both identical and non-identical. It lends some credence to genetic dispositions, and bad breath does run in my family.

I also found some research about low levels of antibodies in people with dense tongue coatings.

Anyway, I don't mean to be long winded . . . . . my main symptoms were: coated tongue, very bad breath that did not respond to any other treatment, damp-biofilm sensation in throat and back of mouth, food intolerances (especially to dairy), and body odor. I am pretty sure there were some lymph connections, and I did ultimately find some teeny tiny stones. I found the post here on lymph health very interesting.

Last thing, I promise.

I used far too much Pepto-Bismol, over the course of a few weeks, to attack tongue coating and odor a few months ago, and it has left me with long-lasting insomnia and an unsettled feeling at night. I did a bit of poking around, and found some documentation that it happened to others. Please be careful! Sometimes I worry that I won't ever return to normal. 5-htp is at least helping me sleep better.

Don't give up - ever.

[halitosisux]

Lots of interesting information there.
Do you have links to those studies on twins and the one about the low levels of antibodies?
We probably do have certain predispositions that make us vulnerable to BB.

When you think about it though, it's amazing that anyone manages to have clean breath, with intestines full of shit, and mouth with billions of bacteria and constant stream of mucus and debris to feed them, but yet some people's breath smells as fresh as mountain air, no matter what.