I have been on the pre op fast for 1-1/2 weeks now. My breath is horrible.....extremely BAD. Mouthwash, brushing, flossing, and gum....nothing seems to help....the gum does just for a few minutes when its fresh.

Has anyone else experienced this and what do you do about it.

Thanks, Carol

The breakdown of fat cells for energy produces a waste byproduct called ketones. These are excreted through your breath, urine, and sweat. The only thing I know that may help is to drink plenty of water to eliminate more through your urine. I used to get ketone breath the first week or two when doing strict low carb diets. I dont have any suggestions of anything else that may help, but it is pretty common and usually gets better after the first week or two...and your right, gum only helps for a short while!

Carol, your body is probably in ketosis with your fast. You excrete ketones in your urine and on your breath. I'm not sure you can do much about it as it's nothing to do with the cleanliness of your mouth or teeth. I just kind of increased the distance of my personal comfort zone somewhat so as not to offend anyone!

Something we discovered on one of the other breath threads... Are you doing whey protein during the fast? It is very healthy but makes your mouth taste (and smell) like you licked a barnyard critter. Soy is less offensive, but less healthy too.

Yeah, sugar free mints are probably the way to go. Congrats on your upcoming surgery.

It's probably from your body burning fat and getting rid of ketones. They are a by product of fat metabolism and when you burn a lot of fat they are extreted in other ways like through the lungs. They can smell like acetone.

I didnt do pre-op fasting but the post op liquids, eeek. My tongue got thiis absolutely disgusting coating of thick khaki slime and I had a 20metre radius clear all around me becuase my breath stank.

The minute I started eating solid food it went away

Ketosis, yuck. Just keep flushing yourself with water and get your protein in. And apologize to your friends and loved ones.

You need to up your protein intake in order to get 60-80 grams a day. Ketosis is not a healthy state to stay in.

When I first started losing weight early on with my LapBand, I experienced this big time. As my weight loss slowed down and became more steady, this problem really did subside.

But the breath wasn't the worst part - that can be quickly/easily handled. The worst part was that for the first time, I had underarm odor. Seriously - when my body went into ketosis (active fat burning state) the secretions (yuck) were released through my underarm pores. :phanvan It was so embarrassing and troublesome for me (even as an obese person, I never was a sweaty type) that I always carried a small stick of deodorant/anti-perspirant in my briefcase or had some with me in my work desk.

I couldn't afford to wear anything sleeveless because I was afraid of having an offensive underarm scent. I could never take off my jacket if I wore a tank or camisole underneath. :girl_hug:

And keep in mind, I could no longer use the nice, flowery-scented Ladies anti-perspirants that I'd always used. Instead I had to switch to the heavy duty mens' active sport deodorant to handle my serious underarm issue. It lasted for months and it was really awful.

I was so glad when this difficult phase passed.

Smelling like a rose again,

Happy Band (and Life) Journeys To All...