still in shock

[skeptical]

I have been trolling this website for years. Moreover, I have suffered with bad breath for over twenty years (since middle school) and have tried every breath remedy ever invented. My life has been consumed 24/7 with worry over who was going to smell my bb. I would panic any time someone touched their nose, commented on something "bad" they smelled or got close to me.

Ironically, I have been fairly successful in life, married for 13 year, three kids, an amazing husband but felt like I could never reach my full potential because of the constant fear I lived in that someone would smell my bb. I declined many social invitations and gatherings because I was too ashamed to be near people. Working out is a passion of mine but being in a gym became unbearable once I figured out that gum did not mask the odor. I have a bad taste in my mouth all the time with the exception of when I am brushing my teeth and while I am eating or drinking something.

I was too embarrassed to speak to anyone about this including my dentist or my family members. My husband has a bad sense of smell anyway so I just figured it wasn't too bad to him and he is too nice to say anything and hurt my feelings.

I was 100% sure that my bb was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. I repeat I was SURE. I am college educated and well respected by many people.

Last week I hit rock bottom and figured I had to do something no matter what embarrassment I would have to face. I live in a suburb of New York City and visited a breath specialist on Park Ave. He had me suck in and then count to ten at which point he stuck his head in my face. I wanted to die. He then made me breathe into a halimeter. All the while he did not say anything but just wrote in my chart. I fully expected for him to let me know that this was the worst case that he has ever seen. He shook his head and looked at me and said that he did not smell anything and the halimeter reading was totally normal. I responded that that was impossible because at that very moment the taste in my mouth was gross. He said I was perfectly fine.

He did say that upon looking at my throat he noticed that I am someone that was prone to tonsil stones although he did not see any at the time. I suspect that there probably are times that my breath is bad when those stones are there.

That night my three year old announced to my husband that she had been to the city and I had to tell him where I was. It was almost impossible for the words to come out of my mouth because this has been such a painful topic to me for SO many years. Finally I told him and he looked at me like I was crazy. He assured me without a doubt that he never smelled anything bad. He admitted that he does not have the greatest sense of smell but he said that if anyone would know, it would be him since he is the one closest to me. He has smelled other peoples bb but never mine.

I have spent the last five days trying to digest this information and still not really believing that I could have been so wrong. I am a very astute individual that was sure that all the social cues she was getting were related to this very horrible affliction.

I never felt the need to post anything on this website and never even had an account but I felt that it was important to tell my story. I am not saying that there are not people on this site with a valid problem but there might be a few like me that are suffering needlessly. The sympathy I feel for people with this problem is very deep. It can be a living hell.

Good luck to all who are still in search for their cure.

[ithurts]

wow, I would buy myself a new car if I were you. It seems like my BB is getting worse and worse.

[skeptical]

You're not kidding. I feel like I just got out of prison.

[dreamweaver]

skeptical,

very happy to hear about your positive outcome.

I have a couple questions for you.

Besides the bad breath, do you/did you have any other symptoms, such as dry mouth, white coating on tongue, intolerance to dairy, eczema, sinusitis, etc?

Also, would you mind sharing the name of the doctor you visited and also a phone number he/she can be reached at. Does he/she have a website?

Thanks and best of luck.

[skeptical]

I never had dry mouth or a white coating on my tongue just a lot of mucous. I had given up dairy but don't think that I was ever lactose intolerant. No eczema. I do have PND and currently take zyrtec.

I saw Dr. Daniel Lippiner on Park Ave bet. 38th and 39th. His phone number is 212-683-6505. He has a website which you can google if you put in his name.

Hope this helps.

[ithurts]

skeptical,

How did you come to the conclusion that you have bad breath?

[skeptical]

I had (and currently have) a bad taste in my mouth all the time. It's like I am thirsty all the time but no matter how much I drink it does not quench it. I do not have dry mouth, just a stale feeling. Of course at first I thought I might be diabetic or have some other illness that causes extreme thirst. Over the years whenever I went to the doctor I would always ask many questions based on different theories I had to extract some kind of diagnosis that would explain my problem but I always got a clean bill of health. My blood work is impeccable and my ENT was never impressed with my concerns over my tonsils or my PND. He did prescribe zyrtec which I said in a previous post has decreased the mucous in the back of my throat and tongue but the doctors never thought it seemed abnormal.

With the assumption that a bad taste had to be associated with bb, any comment or gesture seemed to reinforce my paranoia. In retrospect, people make comments all the time and it's pretty egocentric for me to have believed that they were always directed at me.

In a side note, although I am thrilled with my new revelation, I am still bummed that I have this bad taste thing I will probably have to deal with for the rest of my life. Believe me, I will take it over the past affliction but it is kind of annyoing. I am not complaining...just saying.

[dreamweaver]

skeptical,

For a minute I thought you were describing my symptoms.

The taste in my mouth is bitter/sour/bad all the time, 24/7. I also associate this bad taste with bad breath, although, as doctors and other experts say, one does not necessarily relate to the other.

I am also thirsty all the time. No matter how much water I drink, the thirst persists. I can drink a gallon of water and still feel thirsty a few minutes later.

Question for you, do you now have or ever had mercury fillings?

Also, that doctor you visited in NYC, how much did he charge?

Best.

[skeptical]

I have three mercury fillings. Could they possibly be related to the bad taste? I never came across that possibility in my research.

The dentist I visited charged $175 for the initial visit. I am not sure about follow up fees. It was worth every penny.

[thanatos]

All I read from this thread is by all accounts, you DON'T have halitosis.

[elliott]

All I read from this thread is by all accounts, you DON'T have halitosis.

Right. It's amazing to go 20 years, and not be completely sure. Apparently you did not read the reactions correctly, or confirm with people during the 20 years of hell. You tricked yourself into believing something that was false all this time. Sorry, but I can't take anyone seriously who spends this much of their life living in ignorance. Unfortunately people who read this will think that some of us are simply paranoid people with mental problems. I assure you that some of us... especially people with 500+ posts, have already exhaustingly assessed our problem and confirmed it is real. Seems like this board is becomming a "softcore" halitosis site lately. Anyones breath actually stink here and live this fukin life for real everyday?

[hopeful]

I'm still around Elliot...not something I'm happy about clearly.

[skeptical]

Sorry Elliot, you can't "take me seriously" but as I stipulated in my initial post I do believe that there are people on this site with a legitimate problem. I simply relayed my story for the small percentage of people who may be suffering needlessly.

As far as my "ignorance", it is hard to have an awful taste in your mouth 24/7 and not believe you have bb. This was and is a problem for me, perhaps not the same problem you have, but a problem nonetheless.

It's a shame that trying to help is looked upon with such criticism. I didn't bother to go through your posts but maybe I will and critique them as you did mine.

[hello]

Let skeptical post her story. Its entirely possible some people might think they have bb while they do not and some might who have bb and they actually do. Thingking you have bb and you actually don't must be pretty bad too. So if her posts can be a means of helping a few people whats the harm.

[skeptical]

Thank you.