u/oreomcfuryy

I have room filling sulfur like chronic bo and I'm about to start working in public after pretty much being in hiding for over a year. The interview was over the phone and I kind of feel it's the only reason i was hired because I seriously think if they smelled me I wouldn't have gotten the job offer. My odor problem was a daily issue at my old job and I'm terrified that the same thing will end up happening this time and I'll just be fired quickly. I can't see anyone wanting to deal with someone in the workplace who stinks as bad as I do. This will be my first time starting off a new job already smelly. A lot of my coworkers at my last job knew me before this happened so I already had an established reputation as a decent employee so they didn't fire me (I quit the job due to all the rude comments, exclusionary behavior and reactions and the major anxiety and depression it caused but I know better and won't quit this one)

Have any of you gotten new jobs since your odor started? If so, how did you cope and did people treat you normally?

My journey with sibo has been extremely frustrating, I don't know what to do and when I feel like I'm doing the "right" thing, I get information telling me I'm doing things wrong.

First off, I never knew sibo was a chronic illness and doctors don't treat it as such. If anything, they tend to minimize the severity of it but everyone always says "poor gut health impacts your overall health" which is true because if you aren't digesting food properly you're more than likely not getting nutrients from it so idk why doctors simply prescribe antibiotics, tell you to go low fodmap and just send you on your way knowing damn well it probably won't fix the situation and more than likely will come back. I'm starting to think you can only heal this if you have tons of money which I DEFINITELY don't.

Advice I was given that I was also told was "wrong" according to the internet:

1. Eating fermented foods and taking kefir

2. Taking supplements for prolonged periods of time

3. Just eating chicken, rice, and low fodmap veggies and fruits

4. Some people say go carnivore

5. Some people say go vegetarian

6. Do a complete whole food diet (not everyone can afford to do this)

7. Do elemental diet (not everyone can afford to do this)

8. I've been told to fast but also told fasting makes it worse (I'm starting to think it makes it worse for me because my stomach is extremely bubbly on an empty stomach and no it's not just me being hungry or my stomach growling I can tell the difference)

9. I've been told to drink plenty of water but also don't because it dilutes stomach acid and slows down digestion

10. People say talk to your doctor but also don't trust them because they give vague, unhelpful, ambiguous advice so listen to people online who actually have it but don't because everyone is different and people on the internet can't diagnose you

Wtf am I supposed to do then??

And before someone says something like "listen to your body" my body isn't telling me anything. I can't tell what is helping or hurting it. I've been doing low fodmap and my stools aren't looking any healthier, my stomach is still loud and obnoxious, I'm still tired all the time and I'm still burping a million times in a row and my worst symptom is that I have a sulfur/fecal odor that fills rooms and ruins practically all social situations.

I hate that I keep having to run to this app every time I'm upset but I can't talk to anyone in my personal life about this because they think my odor is "in my head" and I can't fucking stand it. I start a new job next Tuesday and I can't even be happy for myself because I don't think it's going to last at all. I was trying to find overnight/night shift jobs so I don't have to be around as many people but I can't find anything so now I HAVE to work at a retail job that my friend helped me get. It's a small store and I'm going to have to be around people all day and be behind a register and deal with customers. I don't feel mentally fit enough for that but I'm starting to become a burden to who I'm living with so I have to take the job. Everytime I think about having to do it I start crying. It's like I'm back at my old job all over again. That shit is not normal! It shouldn't be normal to cry everyday thinking about having to go to work, be in public, etc

I'm really starting to believe this chronic odor thing is one of the worst things that can happen to a person. It seriously feels like a curse. 9 times out of 10 we can't smell ourselves, family and friends can't smell you so they think your problems aren't real and can't tell you what you actually smell like, doctors can't help with shit, you don't know what works and what doesn't, everyone treats you like garbage, it's not recognized as a disability even though it's disabling as fuck! It's hell on earth. This has me questioning if I killed someone in a past life like wtf did I do to deserve this??

Also, idk how any of yall are holding down jobs. My smell was a huge issue at my old job and I never got one day of peace.

I just wanted fo know how many people in this sub have family members and/or friends that are able to detect whatever odor is coming from you and has stated it clearly?

So far nobody that I'm close with has said they can smell anything but at my old job EVERYONE reacted, I was the subject of gossip, when I would go to stores and waiting rooms in doctors offices I would get accusatory stares, nose holding, people having an attitude and being short with me for seemingly no reason and there were moments where I questioned my sanity BUT I've smelled a sulfur odor a few times before and it's been confirmed that I have sibo and for me that is proof that there actually is an odor. I have a partner who can't smell me and the last time I saw my sister she couldn't smell anything so everyone just thinks I'm crazy and when I go to doctors ppointments I have nobody to back up what I'm saying.

I'm currently trying to look for a new job and I feel like I'm about to go through the same thing I was going through with my old one where everyone in the workplace starts "othering" me, I talk to people about it in my personal life and they just tell me it's not happening and it's all in my head.

I wish I knew why the smell isn't detectable to everyone and why it mainly comes out when I'm at work, or in social situations where I'm alone.

Fuck this shit for ruining my fucking life. At the very least I was doing decent financially before this chronic odor shit happened. I feel like I'll never be able to get another job again and if I do the experience will just be terrible bc nobody wants to be around a smelly person so they'll more than likely find petty reasons to get me out. Whether people want to admit it or not, It's fucking expensive trying to find a cure for this. At least for me it is. Idk what anyone else here is doing. I can't afford to do trial and error. I just need to find something cheap that fucking works consistently and doctors can't seem to help me. Fasting is free but even that doesn't completely work. I would starve myself everyday at my old job and I would still get reactions but I would also get reactions if I ate something even if it was healthy. Finding a WFH job is hard as well idk why ppl won't admit that either. If it was easy everyone would have one!! Even ppl who don't have body odor conditions don't want to go into the office on a regular basis! My life before bo wasn't great due to other issues but I had a job that at least took care of what I needed money wise now I have absolutely nothing

Been dealing with some form of chronic bo for around 2 years now. I've seen numerous doctors and so far I'm still unsure when it comes to the main source of my odor. I do have sibo and I'm starting to think my digestive issues have something to do with my smell but then again I still don't 100% know if that's the reason for it, I just don't have any other answers. I feel like I won't find a "cure" or be odor free anytime soon but unfortunately I have to continue on with life and get integrated back into society because I need to make money. A WFH job would be ideal but I haven't had any luck with finding one so I think I'm just going to have to kill that dream.

My odor caused my previous work environment to become toxic and wrecked my mental health completely to the point where I couldn't stand it anymore and quit and I've been unemployed and living like a shut in ever since. I've had some interviews here and there but nothing has worked out and I feel like my smell and anxious demeanor is causing me to be seen as unhireable.

I rarely go out and when I do I'm in a rush to get back home and I always have someone else with me because I tend to get mistreated when I try to do anything alone these days. When I'm in public I'm standoffish and uncomfortable around people until there's some indication that they can't smell anything and I know it would be weird, exhausting and socially inappropriate to constantly ask people around me if I stink. I used to have constant nightmares about scenarios where I'm stinking up public spaces and I often get random flashbacks to instances at my old job where people were reacting and gossiping about my smell. I know I can't live like this forever and I want to just accept that I have an odor condition and try to live life with or without a cure but I feel like this has done irreversible damage to my psyche.

For those who haven't found answers for your odor and still manage to have a social life and a job working around people please let me know how you're managing.

I'm starting to notice a pattern of people putting a paywall behind tips and advice on getting rid of chronic body odor nowadays. Most of the time It's coming from people who claim to have been sufferers themselves and it makes me uncomfortable. We're already ostracized by society as a whole and a lot of people in this community are ridiculed at work to the point where it's taken a toll in their mental health, unemployed, struggling financially, homeless, agoraphobic, etc and the fact that people who claim to understand this pain are making people pay to potentially find a cure just doesn't sit right with me. I know nobody is forcing anyone to pay for anything and it's ultimately a personal choice if you choose to do so but I just know if I ever found something that legitimately worked for me, I would just make a detailed post here for anyone to access. I know this condition ruins lives and I would want to help as many people as possible.

Hi, new to this sub and looking for some advice. I've been dealing with depression and anxiety for a long time and I've recently become agoraphobic due to a condition that causes chronic body odor. I've been seeing a therapist and I like her she's not a bad person but I've been canceling appointments lately because I feel like the therapy isn't "helping" me. Yeah I can vent but that only helps to a certain degree. I've been thinking about taking it a step further and seeing a psychiatrist but I've done this in the past and it felt like a waste of time. In my experience, psychiatrists prescribe medication and do nothing else but my question is...can medication make your care about life or yourself again? Idk if I'm just too pessimistic but I just can't see meds making me suddenly want to be a person. The human experience has never really been enjoyable to me and things have gotten way worse since chronic bo came into my life. I'm unemployed and don't feel hireable anymore, constantly paranoid that my odor is offending people when I go out so I can never really enjoy anything.

Can a simple pill actually take you out of something like this?

I recently tested positive for hydrogen dominant sibo. I was prescribed a round of antibiotics by a gastro doctor (Metronidazole 250 mg) but my symptoms are still here so I'm guessing they just didn't work. I'm going to make another appointment and see if I can take the test again to recheck my levels but I personally feel that doctors aren't going to be able to help with this issue. My insurance isn't the best so I'm constantly being denied "stronger/more effective" antibiotics and I don't have the money to pay for certain things out of pocket. (Currently out of work due to chronic bo that I feel is linked to sibo) I've heard people say do low fodmap, cut out meat, ONLY eat meat, take a million supplements, go crush up some false unicorn root and snort it, I'm tired of getting conflicting information and I feel like curing this shouldn't be this hard or expensive.

Has anyone here been able to treat their sibo with a SIMPLE, SAFE, cost effective diet or routine that ISN'T harmful for your overall health?

I'm starting to get really tired of the prep that it takes just for me to leave the house. I have to watch what I eat days before and fast for numerous hours before I go anywhere, exercise until I work up a sweat, shower to wash the sweat off, then do a "regular" shower again afterwards and remain hungry until I'm done with wherever I'm going for the day.

I have a dentist appointment today and I felt like I did everything "right" yesterday to prepare but I woke up today and my stomach is bubbling (not growling but bubbling) and I've smelled myself before (room filling rotten eggs) and they were all times when my stomach was bubbling so I know I'm going to smell at this appointment. I'm not ready for the reactions and the mistreatment. This shit is so frustrating!!