I am a Female and I have been dealing with this for over 30 years and my doctors are not hearing me. I have IBS and Gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease) . I have a poop ODOR That comes from my stomach after I eat,The odor smells like A bowel movement and can fill the room I try not to eat certain foods I am lactose intolerant,I do dairy free and exercise three times a week

i have no Social Life, Please Help Me !   Am I the Only one with the poop Odor I Feel so ALONE !!!   HELP ME PLEASE !!!!!!!!

Completely understand where you are coming from! I get an odour (that I can’t smell) after eating certain foods. I am considering doing a WFPB diet.

Explain What is WFPB diet ?

 I am not sure what You mean

WFPB = whole food plant based

You are absolutely not alone 😢 - the fecal body odor was the first thing I notice when I developed IBS, it isnt going away no matter what I do, no matter which doctor I try. But I can’t bring myself to give up finding a solution.

I have this problem too.  So what I do is if I have a Physical therapy appt., the day before I eat no beans, cruciferous veggies

or other fibrous veggies like cukes.

Also chamomile tea is quite good.

I also try to give myself half hour to eat not 15 minutes.  And chew the food rather than kind of stuff it down as if

I was in a great hurry to finish eating.

A new habit that helps is drinking a cup of tea after the meal and reading something rather than starting to do say laundry

or clean the house before the food settles in.

Maybe this gives the digestive enzymes time to process the food.

Digestion is a slow process and so I find this is necessary in my case.

Maybe you can try a different approach to your problem...best of luck!

I suffer from this too, and it's devastating... 

I've lost all my friends, a couple jobs, and close family members. All due to me not being able to solve this.

Can I ask, does using Cologne or deodorant help y'all? I feel when I use either, it makes it worse. 

I also suffer from this and have been dealing for six years. It is absolutely devastating to one's life. I have tried everthing and mine's does not stop it is constant. Doesn't matter what I eat or don't eat. I commute to & from work everyday, the emotional and mental toll from the embarassment is life depleting. Its no way to live. Weird thing is I can't smell it but everyone else does. 

 

Wanted to suggest this guy, I haven't tried it myself but maybe it may work for you - https://www.healyourgutguy.com/webinar

Do you think it's leaky gut syndrome? That's what I'm thinking.  I can be perfectly fine, having a good stomach day and still smell.  It's so depressing and infuriating, I feel like nothing I do helps. IBS capsules, internal deodorants, Lume. I tried probiotic capsules and it made me smell like a sewer, I was so embarrassed.  Has anyone found anything?  

On 3/29/2022 at 1:45 PM, Veyna said:

I am a Female and I have been dealing with this for over 30 years and my doctors are not hearing me. I have IBS and Gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease) . I have a poop ODOR That comes from my stomach after I eat,The odor smells like A bowel movement and can fill the room I try not to eat certain foods I am lactose intolerant,I do dairy free and exercise three times a week

i have no Social Life, Please Help Me !   Am I the Only one with the poop Odor I Feel so ALONE !!!   HELP ME PLEASE !!!!!!!!

I have the same thing happen, it started when I was 19 (currently 22) and don't know the triggers to or or anything. I think I've detected it twice since it started but I don't even know when it flares up or how to fix it. Doctor told me to wipe better but there is no fecal incompetence what so ever. Been close to Suicide a few times because of the impact on my social lifestyle. I FEEL YOUR FUCKING PAIN

You are not alone. I have been struggling with this for the past 2 years. Just before finding this section of comments I thought I was going crazy. Just like all of you I cannot smell it but others can and I keep getting people making embarrasing comments about the odor all the time when I am around. Workmates, partners, my sister. I also did consider suicide. I do everything alone. I go out alone especially eat alone. I have a very complicated relationship with food. It’s very frustrating. I want to have a social life but this makes it so difficult. I can’t figure out what it is and doesn’t matter what I eat it always happens. Do any of you also feel a slight back pain when u feel like the smell is coming up? (Especially after you eat)

Thank you all for sharing your stories. This sounds so difficult to live with and not be heard by your physicians.

Im 15 years old in highschool and i’ve had IBS w/ odor since i was 13 its literally ruined my life completely I tried everything I could i’ve been on 6-7 different medications i’ve tried every supplement recommended online nothing worked it’s gotten so bad too where I went into online schooling and I have literally no friends I just want too be normal again 

Hello all

Ive had this kind of problem 10 years now, i had no idea what was the main cause, i was diagnosed with other serious illness around that time and this problem started about the same time, finally i have a diagnosis, all symptoms and risk factors etc.

Here in the UK, medical professionals dont seem to see IBS as a problem they like to deal with, no idea why but its very easy to be ignored or dismissed by doctors regarding this problem.

So this is for me the worst part of it, the odour, Lets no beat around the bush here, nobody wants to smell bad, and the odour is what stops you having an otherwise normal life, with friends etc.

Because of this issue i now live on my own, im in my 50s, but i wont go on dates or get involved in relationships because of this condition, and yes like others have stated, i have considered ending it all, Fear, Anxiety, Depression all comes hand in hand with this, its so frustrating not knowing how to deal with it.

I have no magic cures im afraid and im desperate for solutions like you all are, however, there are ways to control and limit the beast from rearing its ugly head, first consider your diets, everything has to change, and 50% of the problem is foods we eat, if you have IBS im pretty sure you already know this, low Fodmaps and everything, but its true, if we want to control the issue we start with diets, change what we eat, drink, get rid of glutens, lactose, avoid eggs even tho they say eggs are fine, avoid cruciferous veg etc etc.

Next heres a tip i find works for me,, Timing and Control,  i find if going for a poop daytime, the odour will be present all day long, its true, but i also found that if i go on a night around 9 or 10pm befor i go to bed, the next day when i wake up, odour free day :), so, if we can control what we eat and what time we eat and go to the toilet night instead of daytime, and get into a habit of this, the next day things should be ok, then the process repeats.

Its worth trying, it works for me, im not a big eater so i dont do breakfast or lunch, i eat mainly vegan and usually im a 1 meal a day person on an evening, this also helps with timing.

Make sure to have a stock of Imodium in the cabinet, you all know what that does right?, Buscopan also helps, but if going out for the day and you fear the dreaded symptoms starting daytime, take an imodium, they work fast and guaranteed to stop you needing to poop when out.

Lastly be aware, Nerves and Anxiety are definitely part of the problem, relax, chill, watch a movie or something, try not to be anxious because it will trigger the bowels.

I hope everyone manages to find some kind of relief from this affliction.  Best wishes to all.

On 3/29/2022 at 1:45 PM, Veyna said:

I am a Female and I have been dealing with this for over 30 years and my doctors are not hearing me. I have IBS and Gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease) . I have a poop ODOR That comes from my stomach after I eat,The odor smells like A bowel movement and can fill the room I try not to eat certain foods I am lactose intolerant,I do dairy free and exercise three times a week

i have no Social Life, Please Help Me !   Am I the Only one with the poop Odor I Feel so ALONE !!!   HELP ME PLEASE !!!!!!!!

Hi Veyna, I have had that too. When I have it because it is not all the time. But when I started smelling it, I thought that I didn't clean myself properly but the dietician told me that it is the gases of the food that were putrid in my stomach because I have mix IBS so when I am constipated I barely eat, one because I cannot eat with my syomach feeling so full and with all the pain from the constipation and two because I know that I will have the food rotting and then all the gas out my throat due to my GERD and smae like others I drink teas to help my digestion. 

I hope one day there is a cure for us 🙏🏼 

On 1/3/2025 at 5:42 PM, Jeffrey Roberts said:

Thank you all for sharing your stories. This sounds so difficult to live with and not be heard by your physicians.

DR. Jeffrey, you are different because you yourself know how it feels but yes definitely doctors don't acknowledge how hard it is IBS and they just say "you are doing great, you will be ok, any pain it is part of the IBS, wear diaper, go outside and confront the outside world and you will be better" 

They are not the ones that feel the pain, the uncertainty of our lives, we are in limbo mentally and physically,it is not white and black condition and it is still a taboo and embarrassing.

One therapist told me "if you have an accident and soiled yourself people will understand", and I was like, really?!  Not long ago there was a video about a man soiling his pants in the public transit here in Canada and they were making fun and jokes out of his situation and I felt angry because that could have happened to me if I listened to the therapist. 

On 2/12/2025 at 12:03 AM, anamoon said:

DR. Jeffrey, you are different because you yourself know how it feels but yes definitely doctors don't acknowledge how hard it is IBS and they just say "you are doing great, you will be ok, any pain it is part of the IBS, wear diaper, go outside and confront the outside world and you will be better" 

They are not the ones that feel the pain, the uncertainty of our lives, we are in limbo mentally and physically,it is not white and black condition and it is still a taboo and embarrassing.

One therapist told me "if you have an accident and soiled yourself people will understand", and I was like, really?!  Not long ago there was a video about a man soiling his pants in the public transit here in Canada and they were making fun and jokes out of his situation and I felt angry because that could have happened to me if I listened to the therapist. 

Actually, I have met quite a few doctors who have IBS themselves. They are also trying to figure out how to cope. One treatment does not fit all.

I do have pain and I do know when I'm going to have a bad day. I try and cope with it by having a bowel movement when I have the urge. If the pain is too bad then I might sleep for 1 hour to get past it. I try and live my life despite the challenges that IBS present.

I’ve dealt with this problem since I was in elementary school. I’m now 21 and this has definitely impacted my self esteem and social life. I literally distance myself from people because I don’t want to bother them with my odor. However, I have found something that has helped me over the years. It doesn’t make it go away completely but it makes it much more manageable and has helped me get my confidence back. I started drinking anise tea in high school. I mean 3-4 cups of anise tea every single night. In the morning your stomach will feel a little funny but you won’t have the same issues. At least for me it has helped. Once you don’t have the symptoms, it’s almost as if the anxiety leaves with it and then I didn’t have to drink anise tea every single night because my confidence was back. It really is all in our heads. I’ve been beginning to have the same problem again because college and life has been getting really stressful so I’m gonna go back to my anise tea treatment lol. Also NO CAFFEINE NO DAIRY NO GREENS IN THE MORNING! 
Really hope this helped, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP THIS TOO SHALL PASS! 

Did you guys find any solution? Has it gotten any better? 

1 hour ago, Priya said:

Did you guys find any solution? Has it gotten any better? 

No permament solution for me except for controlling and timing my toileting to make sure i go on an evening when im home and not going out anywhere, seems to work.  Read the previous comments about Aniseed tea, however thats no better than peppermint tea really just a lot more expensive.

Hello you are not alone, I have been suffering from my condition for about 10 yrs now and I get so embarrassed because my odor smells like fart and fills up the room....I'm getting a endoscopy done soon so I hope that helps to see what the problem is and help me

On 5/3/2025 at 6:32 PM, Mrs.riseup35 said:

Hello you are not alone, I have been suffering from my condition for about 10 yrs now and I get so embarrassed because my odor smells like fart and fills up the room....I'm getting a endoscopy done soon so I hope that helps to see what the problem is and help me

Do update us on how it goes

We deal with odor even when we clean causing us to stress crazy and ultimately making the IBS worse. If that sounds like you.  I was in that exact same spot for 3 years. In my case I noticed people saying I smelled like a bowel movement, and I’m a person who takes their hygiene very seriously. this caused me too stress if I smelled every time I was in public developing horrible IBS-C from stress. I thought that the IBS was the cause of my odor, which was wrong. 

If you’re not fully emptying your bowels correctly very small amounts of stool can remain causing a persistent “not clean” feeling even when you wipe and there’s nothing there. Subtle leakage or smearing, that feeling that you still have to go right after you went, and sensation that you smell even when you’re clean. You may also tense your pelvic and anal muscles, trapping gas or stool residue. 

If you don’t deal with these symptoms you should look into using AI (ChatGPT)  Give the symptoms you have, the supplements/medicine you’ve tried, and how well it works. It will generate a list of all the possible things going on. 

If you do deal with these symptoms you may have.

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD)

Rectal Hyposensitivity 

Dyssynergia

SIBO ( Small Intestinal Bacterial Growth)

Visceral Hypersensitivity 

Vagal Nerve Dysfunction 

I will make another post with some common symptoms for every condition I listed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 20251 yr by Aubree

As I promised here are the common symptoms for every condition I listed. 

 

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD)

• Muscles don’t relax properly to let poop out
• Can happen without any urinary symptoms
• Often missed or misdiagnosed as “just IBS”

Functional Dyssynergia (a type of PFD)

• Your muscles push when they should relax during pooping

• Makes you feel “blocked” even when stool is soft

• Diagnosed with a balloon expulsion test or manometry by a GI or pelvic PT

Visceral Hypersensitivity

• Nerves in your gut are more sensitive to pressure or stretch

• Common in post-stress IBS or trauma

• Makes bloating, fullness, and discomfort feel worse than it “should”

Vagal Nerve Dysfunction

• Vagus nerve connects your brain, gut, and pelvic floor

• Chronic stress or trauma (even social stress like what some of you described) can dysregulate this

• Can lead to constipation, tight pelvic floor, slowed gut movement

• Stimulated through deep breathing, humming, cold water splashes, etc.

Rectal Hyposensitivity

• You don’t get the normal “urge to poop” until it’s too late

• Makes constipation worse because you’re not responding to early signals

• Sometimes caused by past habits like holding in your bowel movements 

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

• Can cause bloating, constipation, or alternating IBS

• Bacteria ferment food too high up in the gut

• Usually tested by a breath test (hydrogen/methane)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been experiencing a lot of the same symptoms as you guys it’s to the point where I take a shower every morning right before I go to work and I still feel like I smell right after which is making me super self-conscious and very depressed. I don’t even like hanging out with anyone anymore And the doctors just tell me I should take laxative which I feel like that Makes it worse. does anyone get that feeling?