Surely this can't be it....forever?

[BBtired]

Hi guys, I've been lurking around this forum for a while now, but after today, felt like I needed to reach out ,find some sort of respite and community, and hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) some help.

I'll try and be brief-ish.

I first noticed that I had BB in the summer of 2011. Every time I was around friends they seemed to constantly be touching their noses. Often, I would hug someone and they would do their best to make sure our faces didn't touch - turning their head so to be furthest away from my mouth.

TBH, I hadn't always had the best oral hygiene before 2011: Brush in the morning and at night (but not always), no gargling or flossing, ever. I was also a smoker. But there had never been any breath issues. Then, in the summer of 2011, I got this weird stomach bacterial infection, and was passing a plastic like substance through my back passage. After some tests was told I had high white cell count and given a ton of meds to take. I also discovered my left tonsil was ridiculously swollen (it's never returned to it's normal size. Never told what the crap in my ...er...crap was. Looked like my stomach lining!

Fast forward: I didn't pay too much attention to it, figured it was just a temporary thing that would go away it didn't. I became much more oral hygiene conscientious, but still not obsessive (as I am now). It was hard to accept that all of a sudden I had developed offensive mouth odor! But the reactions became impossible to ignore. Shop staff, small kids, check out girl...all having reactions. I started to realise that every person I came into contact with on a daily basis was exhibiting some kind of reaction. Some people where kind - many people took to talking with one finger permanently placed under their nose.

later 2011 - I met a guy and we feel in love - but even he, I noticed, often scratched his nose around mw, and would find away to obstruct one nostril if we were talking close for too long. Somehow this didn't effective us physically (we had other issues), and when asked, he said he did not smell anything. He never touched his nose when talking to my friends. I also asked another GP friend, who also said they couldn't smell anything - but two people out of several I encounter daily, some several times per week. I couldn't ignore it.

I stopped speaking as much. Then I noticed it was also coming from my nostrils. If I breathed in and out deeply, people would open car windows when we drove, move further down the line away from me...and the kids (they don't even try to hide it) would straight cover their faces, this might have been the worse. If the kids who i'm several feet taller than are smelling it...it's there. PERIOD!

I thought it may have been some impacted lower wisdom teeth - so as I was in thailand and could get the op done relatively inexpensively I got them both done on local anaesthetic on the same day (bad idea for soooo many reasons). I was having daily irrigation appointments and it took a while for the gaps to close. I thought that would be the end of it!

Far from it. Within a few weeks of using the healing as a valid reason for not 'smelling the best orally', the gaps closed...and ..as you can imagine..I was back to square one.

I started to brush my teeth several times a day. Morning, afternoon, after food (100% before meeting friends, usually with my travel toothpaste and a bottle of water directly as close as possible as where we're meeting. Before bed.

I noticed social occasions started to take place to which I was not invited, and social groups/cliches were forming in which i was never really encouraged to be part of. I'm already a bit of a loner by nature; I work online so can spend several hours each and every day only communicating via email and skype. I also started to test how those people spoke with me via seeing only communications. No had to touch their nose every 5/10 minutes!

Mood wise, things have been rapidly deteriorating. Mainly it's this intensive feeling of sadness. Unwillingness to share, laugh, get close, or show affection - not wanting to experience half hearted hugs and luke warm receptions. My gran died this year, I came home for the funeral. All my family members where constantly touching noses, including grieving grandfather. Then I stayed at my aunt's house one night, and when I came out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth, she was like "that was quick?" (it was her way of saying, "brush more and stink mouth goes away"). Not true! It was probably the 5th time I'd brushed my teeth that day.

Now I try to avoid as many social situations as possible. But i'm an outgoing, extroverted person by nature. I like to laugh, get close, be warm and affectionate with people, but I can't anymore. Always sucking on mints (can't stand them), always popping gum (which doesn't agree with my digestive system). Always talking at an angle...or trying to position myself at the farthest distance from their face, but even then...the reactions.

I hate interacting with people...and feel ashamed because BB in others is something I too find really tough to deal with and be around, so as much as their reactions hurt me...I fundamentally understand it!

I've recently started dating a super cute, super affectionate guy, who although has reactions, but seems to be able handle it (ugggh...handle your gf's breath, how embarrassing). However, I hate being around his friends, they all have reactions.How humiliating for him..bet they are talking behind back about his "smelly girlfiriend" uggh.

This is making it hard for me to emotionally and physically intimate with him - in close quarters he often needs to find a way to get some respite from it - he's very considerate, but I'm also very aware. I know what he's doing. When interacting with his friends - he never does those same avoidance tactics.

The other morning - he handed me 1/2 a breath gum (I'd just brushed my teeth) I was devastated, even though it was done in a loving way. I'm scared of getting to close, getting my feelings totally destroyed...I mean being dumped for BB is soul destroyin', right!

I used to think it was solely oral. I stopped using listerine type mouth washes - bought
very expensive dioxibrite mouth was and toothpaste (extremely embarrassing to have in the bathroom as you clearly have a problem, and a nightmare to take on short breaks as takes up half packing space. I have also modified my diet to remove nearly all sugar and carbds (and lost 10kg with it)

My routine:

• brush more 5-8 minutes
  scrap tongue - go back far as gag reflex will allow
  floss (often when I floss between tooth with crown it smells foul, but nothing like my lick test (sour and foul - or fishy and foul - or acidic and foul )
  try and eat as soon as waking, as hunger just makes mine much worse
  drink as much water as possible
  use manual pic to get any stubborn food in top back molar
  gargle with two part dioxibrite mouth wash - usually for a minute of two
  I probably have the best oral hygiene of anyone I know - but doesn't stop them from thinking I just don't maintain myself well.

The toothpaste and rinse, I think it may have helped to start, but now I have BB within minutes of doing that routine.

Also, when I touch my pitted awkwardly shaped tonsils, they stink - but no tonsil stones I can see. I've also had several ENTS examine my tonsils, and they never mentioned stones.

I've started to think it could be tonsil/oesophageal, lung, or gut related. I mean you can smell it when my mouth is closed through my breath. Also if I've been silent for long...it's the first thing you smell when I open my mouth.

Now I never leave the house without mints - I pop an embarrassing amount - it's clear I'm aware I have a problem. Carry a brush and paste in my bag and will brush my teeth mid party - even though it doesn't help much. I was recently in a club and stopped by this guy who said : you're so beautiful", I went to say thank you and he immediately covered his mouth and nose (as did his female friend). I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. I'm already dealing with low mood and depression due to long term chronic insomnia-- which makes the mental strength needed to face this each day even harder to manifest.

Today, I met a stranger who had helped me out of a very horrible situation on a train, and I immediately went up to hug her...I was so grateful...she hugged me deeply the way emotionally open people do...and within seconds of sitting with her and her friends...the reactions. I was too much, I left.

I have a lot of long term digestion issues (resulting in lots of burping), and have tarry stools, so looking into hpolyori, but otherwise flat out of ideas and energy.

Going to try and get some peroxide and baking soda tomorrow and order a water pik - but other than that - I'm drawing a blank. My life at 34yrs old is now severely restricted by not only low energy and mood from insomnia - but even when I do feel up to socialising, I have to deal with having BB and the burden it puts on those around me. And yes, it is a burden. I had a teacher who had it, and she was hard work. Luckily, her classes were also my favourite, so although I didn't get too close to often, I always showed up. Now I feel terrible for her...that must have been so tough. She had fecal matter breath.

I need to find a way over this before I become a hermit. I work from home, so it's easy to isolate, but I love people, and I want to love my life again.

I know this was a bit of a rant (hopefully not in wrong forum), but I needed to get if off my heart. It feels so heavy today. I try not to let it get me down, but I'm already down.

All help is appreciated. Reading the candid, helpful posts of the commenters and sharers here lets me know I'm not alone. I appreciate you. sorry for the length of this post

[jackson]

What do you do for work out of interest? (I'm currently unemployed and finding it impossible to get any sort of job! I'd love to work from home using email/skype ect)

Anyway, I don't think there's one answer.

I'm experiencing fresh breath these last few days for the first time in over a decade! It's bliss. Even my morning breath is fairly fresh.
Usually, my morning breath could melt plastic! It's such a horrible smell/taste.

This 'cure' is from using an antibiotic called metronidazole.
However, in nearly all people (and so I guess that assumes me) the bad breath will revert back once you stop taking the medication.
I don't think you can take antibiotics long term so i've likely only got a few days of nice breath left.

Do you suffer post nasal drip at all?
Acid reflux?

Like you, I often suspect tonsil stones, even though my tonsils are small and I can very rarely see any stones no matter how much I dig around.
I also think that these stones are a likely result of post nasal drip.

It's not a cure, but have you ever used the nasal drops by therabreath? The bottles small and the stuffs expensive, but I did notice a good temporary improvement when using it (compared to mints or brushing my teeth from memory.)

Regardging reactions - I think some people just have really bad sense of smell! For years i've known my breath is bad, but i've been able to manage it to some extent.
My breath felt very bad the other day after a long sports sessions. One person wouldn't leave me alone and wanted to talk in a fairly 'close-up' situation. At one point I spoke directly into his face, and I didn't get a HINT of a reaction. He kept chatting away and asking me questions.
Then another friend cam to sit by us, and within seconds he was turning away, itching his nose, putting his head on the table as if he was tired etc.
Friend A had a bad sense of small and friend B didn't??

Hopefully others here more knowledgable can offer some advice, although the problem I think is that we are not all suffering from the same 'cause'. (though lots of us probably are)
It's a somewhat personal journey.

If my BB comes back in a few days when I stop taking the antibiotic, im gonna try probiotics, and a few other ideas.
If that fails, i'm contempating risking my overall health and just taking the antibiotic forever!

Good luck

[BBtired]

Hey there,

I'm a digital strategist - basically I help companies and brands define and execute their online marketing strategy, with a focus on inbound marketing.

There are lots of online jobs depending on what your skill set is, or equally importantly, what new skill sets you'd be willing to acquire.

A few places to have a look are:

Elance
Odesk
Freelancer
Peopleperhour
Digital point


These are good starting points, but the best work is rarely found here. However, great for getting first initial jobs/clients and building up your resume/contacts/testimonials.

You write well in English. That's a skill you could definitely take into the online space. Webmasters always need fresh content - and the better sites pay well for it.

Hope that helps in some way, and thanks so much for your response. Was a bit worried that my brief-ish introduction was so long I scared you good folks away

[Archimonde]

@BBtired

Did you ever consider that 'touching nose' is not a reaction to BB but an allergic reaction to an odorless irritant?

Did anyone actually tell you that you smell? No, they even told you that you don't smell bad.

So, please consider other possibilities such as: there's an allergen coming from your body, imagine it is like pollen. Does pollen smell bad? No. Yet it can make people scratch their nose.

[BBtired]

Hey @archimonde, thanks for your response, but yeah, I'm very sure this is not an allergic reaction of any kind. Unless you count an allergic reaction to the rank smell coming from my mouth and nostrils

I know how I respond to bad breath - even the mild kind, - and this is that...and tax!

[Archimonde]

@BBtired

How can anyone know FOR SURE they have BB unless somebody has directly told them? You can speculate, you can guess but how can you be 100% sure? What if you're wrongly interpreting the reactions? It's a very real possibility.

You can't have BB for years without anyone telling you, i find that possibility slim to none. On top of that, people are telling you that you don't have BB.

I've read your posts and my conclusion is you don't have BB. I believe you are getting reactions, you're not insane, but they're not from a bad odor, that's your speculation that hasn't been confirmed by anyone.

There's a reason why even the brightest doctors don't diagnose themselves. Please ask more people about your breath

[jamesmcavoy]

This fellow archimonde is paid by PATM COMMUNITY .
i wonder how much they pay him (like a couple of bucks ) .

[BBtired]

Archimonde, I'm not sure how much of my thread you read, but you'll notice I mention different types of reactions. Now while you may find it hard to believe that no one's told me I have BB, I'm not!

However, I do know that I have it, that it's not phantom, and I'm also certain that it's not an allergen problem of any kind.

So unless you're willing to help me try and find a way out of what I am actually dealing with every day, I doubt you'll be able to help me, even if your attempts are well intentioned.

@james. I have no clue what PATM is, and call me selfish, but as it's not what I'm dealing with...I don't really care

Just bought Hydrogen-peroxide today and keen to try this as a mouth wash today. Thanks for the support.

[jamesmcavoy]

Hi
First of all i am not calling u selfish .ofcourse u r troubled already .
Patm is a bulshit thing invented by people like archimonde .
Yhis doesnt have any medical proof coz it doesnt exist .
Its just psychological .anybody can have any kind of way to continue conversation .
But like u said ,i can surely say that u suffer .
Now dont go for hydrogen peroxide .
Right now just buy some epsom salt ,make a saline with epsom and irrigate your sinus cavity .
Now next thing is dissolve a teaspoon of epsom in a warm glass of water and drink it right away .
Its good for ur colon and even furry tongue which causes bb .

[BBtired]

hey @james

Do you mean like with a neti pot?

I did this for a few days at a yoga retreat , what a strange sensation, but defo willing to try again.

Why do you recommend not starting with the HP? Did you have a bad experience? Must admit, I'm a little bit nervous about washing my mouth out with something so heavily chemical, but willing to give pretty much anything a go that could help and not make things worse.

I'll have a look for some epsom salts too! This BB badness, can get expensive, hahaha!

[jamesmcavoy]

Just want to say a very important thing BY EXPERIENCE ,

I have been a strong supporter of type 1 bb but the whole " type 1 " thing is just the symptom .
The real solution to this is purely FREQUENT COLON CLEANSE .

[jamesmcavoy]

Yes i m talkin abt neti pot .
But neti pot with epsom vanishes pnd in couple of days so very helpful .
Dont use peroxide coz its very harsh to tongue skin .
It permaneltly makes ur whole tongue furry causing full breeding tongue surface .
Right now i assume u have just back of tongue furry but peroxide will make ur whole tongue furry .
Instead u can use Sodium chlorite (mms solution) for gargling frequently .

[jamesmcavoy]

A couple of years ago when i was a naive in halitosis knowldge ,i continuously used peroxide and fucked my whole tongue .but somehow i reversed it (well its impossible ) .
Epsom salts are not expensive but cheaper than common salt .
Again like u want ,you should not use peroxide or it will make things worse.

Simple effective things to diminish odor are sodium chlorite solution ,zinc chloride ,zinc gluconate solutions to mask odors and not gums and mints .
Now u must know how to carry them with you .
Gud luck

[sandspiegel]

You said that when you touch your tonsils and smell your finger it stinks? Good indicator for tonsil stones! One thing to notice here: Just because you don't see any Tonsil Stones and when you poke around with your finger etc nothing comes out, it does not mean that you have no tonsil stones.
The best way to remove tonsil stones without a surgery is to use a syringe with a bent front. Inject water or salt water in the holes of your tonsils, also spray water behind your tonsils and on your tonsils themselves.
After poking around and getting a couple of tonsil stones out I thought that's it there is nothing there since nothing comes out anymore. Boy was I wrong after reading this awesome tip with the syringe on a German forum I realized how much shit was hiding in my tonsils. My tonsils were packed full of them as I discovered when first using the syringe. Stones in all sizes, from very small to pretty huge came out.

I really think you should try it if you have stench coming from your tonsils.

This is the Syringe I am talking about:
http://www.amazon.de/Spritze-gebogene-S ... ne+spritze


Also do you have bad odor coming from your tongue? If yes, try Tung Brush + Gel, the best tongue cleaning product I've tried so far.