Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

I am so glad I stumbled across this forum! I honestly thought I was the only one with an ongoing bad breath problem.

Here is my story.

I am 22 and have suffered from bad breath for the last 5 years. I was in year 12 when I realised my group of friends avoided sitting next to me in class. It got worse though, they pretty much stopped talking to me. One day one of my friends sent me an sms telling me I should do something about my breath. I started brushing and flossing religiously and started chewing gum. I thought the problem was gone, until one day in class I opened my folder and saw a print out of causes and cures of bad breath that a girl in my group must have printed off and slipped into my folder when I went to the toilet during class the day before. She has written on the printout "Sorry, but it's not getting any better. Have a read of this". I could have died right there. I was so embarrassed. To make matters worse, another friend was sitting next to me and she saw me open the print out. I became paranoid talking to people, I was ostracised from my group of friends which caused me to keep to myself. The group started calling me a hermit and picking on me. Nothing I did would get rid of my bad breath.

One day in the car with dad he said "did you clean your teeth this morning?". Yes, I cleaned my teeth, I clean them 3 times a bloody day. My family would often tell me my breath stunk in a really vindictive manner. They don't understand I have tried everything to cure my breath.

I started uni in 2005 and and also started chewing more gum and ate mints, which I thought cured the problem. I thought that this was a new start for me, I could make new friends. I sat next to a girl in a lecture and we started talking, I was so happy because it was honestly the first time I had sat in close proximity of someone since high school and she didn't react to my breath. The next day I saved a seat for her, but she walked straight past me and ignored me from then on. I found out she told people my breath stunk, which caused others to not want to sit next to me. I quit uni at the end of 2005, because I didn't have any friends.

Now, I work 1 day a week, have no social life, rarely leave the house and study via distance education. I have a wonderful boyfriend though who I have been with for the past 4 years. He accepts my problem, and tells me discreetly when it is bad. I so desperately want my friends back, I wish I could sit next to someone and be myself without having to worry about my breath. People think I am shy and quiet when I am the complete opposite, the truth is I am so paranoid people will smell my breath. I wish I could go back to life before bad breath.

Thankyou all for reading my story. It is great to know I am not alone. I really hope we will all be cured in the not too distant future.

Aria

I was in a very similar situation, just finished university myself.

It was extremely traumatic, at times almost embarrassing for me.

I'm glad it's all over and I currently have a lot of extreme disappointment to contemplate getting over. However, in general, I am pleased that my years of hell at university has finally come to an end.

Aria, don't feel bad, your life is the same as most of ours on this site. Friends never made it any better. I always used to see a group of my friend looking at each other with the villian eyes going from side to side and then one of them would offer me gum, then they would talk about another person who had bb and laugh, which was a hint to me. BTW spoke a few times to the girl that they were laughing about and her breath was fresh as a daisy so they just used her as a scapegoat to let me know what they think of me. I would leave those conversations immediately and that would make them even madder as if I am smelly on purpose. I never did well in school, this bb consumed my life and still does. It is just too much so embarrasing!! While people were trying to pass, do well, achieve move on to better and bigger things, all i wanted to do was just get by and survive. I hate it!

When i went to university, i took as many online classes as possible and the ones i had to attend, i'd make sure to pick ones i wouldn't have to work in group. By the time i was done with school, i bet that less than 10 people knew my name.

i feel for every SINGLE thing you said.... i went from a social butterfly to an anti social girl...pathetic.. i am a christian.. every single day i ask God why this happens to me... JESUS save us..

Jesus won`t help you, sorry. All you gonna get from praying is courage to move on with this problem.

As my breath is getting worse and worse so is my life.

I started off being very smart , graduated HS with 4.0 GPA and accepted to all the colleges i applied to. My college started going great but i stopped going since i noticed my breath was starting to be really bad.

I had many friends, still do but i hate hanging out with them because i keep worrying about my breath and i would rather play vid games or watch movies at home than hang out with them. I still dont understand why they invite me to places because i have heard one say when were were playing poker and i was getting ready to leave. I went to the door and one of them said "Gosh his breath stinks" yet that same friend loves to hang out with me and always invites me to places.

My am afraid i might have to quit my job or step down as a supervisor. I started off so well youngest supervisor in the store, and probobly district in fortune 500 company. I become supervisor at 20 and i was team leader at 19 but now i think i might have to quit. GRRRRRRRR

I have suffered the same ridicule as all of you. It's really taken a toll on my self esteem. I would be such a better friend and have more friends if it wasn't for this. It's like a ton of bricks on me, weighing me down everyday. I've always been one to make friends and talk to people wherever I go, and now I just keep to myself. I have friends and a family that loves me, but it is wierd to think that I won't ever make any new friends in life.
Just wanted to let you all know that I feel your pain. I've been there. I AM there. It's unfair. It's not right that anyone should suffer with this. Hang in there!

I have met a few people who havent been kind at all but on the whole I can deal with it mostly, I have pretty bad fecal BB but luckily my job as field engineer means I spend nearly all my time driving about and repairing pcs mostly in the car on my own which means I can relax and the times I do come in contact with people I can control which means I have time to clean my tongue brush and pop some chewing gum in, a lot of you guys seem to have pretty mean friends I have a group of 4 really close friends none of which mind and have pretty much accepted me for being me for which im So grateful they couldnt imagine some days i do get really down and my whole life pretty much revolves around the problem but there has to be a cure out there !

Aria,
I'm a newbie here and saw your post. It was actually the first one I read and it brought tears to my eyes.

I'm sorry you've been going through so much pain with this hellish problem. It's a unique problem for all of us I think; to be so close to society and yet be so far removed from it. When people like your former school friends make jokes out of us they can never know how much turmoil it causes us.

I'm sorry to hear that you dropped out of uni, but it's understandable that you felt you couldn't keep going. I'm there now-in my last year as it happens. It was tough in my first year because I have to participate in small group discussions which were a nightmare. I've kind of solved the problem though by getting quite drunk beforehand and therefore all my confidence comes back.I think I'm danferously close to becoming an alcoholic now though.

We've all got to hang in there somehow. It is a cruel world and millions suffer with diseases like us. You've just got to find pleasure where you can and hold on tight.

I hope you find peace and prosperity someday.