I am just under 3 weeks out from surgery and have not been able to get rid of my horrible bad breath! I have a sour taste in my mouth all the time and my friends (god love them) told me today that my breath has been horrible the past couple of days. I have excellent oral hygene (I brush & floss) and have never had this problem before. I know ketosis can cause bad breath, but where I am on the liquid diet I am getting carbohydrates in my skim milk, tomato Soup, etc, so I'm not sure if the ketosis is it.

I was curious if anyone else has had this issue and what I can do to help it go away!

Thank you!!

5 weeks out and still have it!! I constantly have some kind of sf mint, gum, etc in my mouth.

I remember having this, both with the band surgery and before when I lost quickly with Atkins. I read back during the Atkins diet, that it was caused by ketosis or something like that. If I rememebr right it is a biochemical reaction to weight loss. You are burning fat as opposed to glucose. And that is one of the reactions, is the bad breath. It will pass!! I will look and see if I can find my book, and get you a better answer, if someone doesn't have a better response for you. Until then, relax, and breath through your nose if someone is around---you are normal!!!

How's the port doing???

Kat

Always have it to the point hubby has to open the window first thing in the morning so he dosent get toxic poisoning from my breath

8 days out Please help!!!!!

Well I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! My breath was worse the first week out, and I thought it was better until I heard otherwise. haha. I'm wondering if switching to mushies will help at all.

Hi Kat - the port incision is doing much better thanks! Still a little drainage, but it's not red and puffy anymore. Doc said it looked great.

Glad to hear it is doing better--that worried me a little--but I am known as somewhat of a worrywart!!!

Try doing a search on ketosis---I do think that is what you are dealing with, and I think the spelling is right. It may change as you progress to mushies, I think it has to do with calorie intake...as well as what type of foods you are eating.

Watch the S/F breath mints and such---they may lead to another problem--they cause massive gas!!! Heck we may have to lock you in your own little room!!!!

Kat

LMAO Kat! You are too funny! I just may have to be quarantined for a while! I will do some internet research and see what I can find out. Thanks again!

This is definitely ketosis. It will go away. You are entering the starvation stage and the body reacts with ketosis. If you get those little ketosis sticks at the drugstore and check you urine, you wil probably find you are in ketosis. But I think it goes away. It's been 6 months since my surgery and no one is griping about bad breath though I suspect that if I go into ketosis again, I'll have bad breath. I'd rather have that than be fso fat. I think it's just part of losing weight. So good for you. You are losing!!

Also consider that you are eating really soft to liquid foods so the top of the tongue is not being scraped away by rough food particles. Try brushing your tongue a few times a day that might help. I know that when I got my tongue pierced it was funky breath for a few days until I realized it was my tongue, I started brushing it in between teeth brushings and the breath was instantly better. ~Mandy

Also consider that you are eating really soft to liquid foods so the top of the tongue is not being scraped away by rough food particles. Try brushing your tongue a few times a day that might help. I know that when I got my tongue pierced it was funky breath for a few days until I realized it was my tongue, I started brushing it in between teeth brushings and the breath was instantly better. ~Mandy

Better yet, buy a tongue scraper at your neighborhood pharmacy. They are cheap and effective.

The bad breath is definitely due to ketosis. Breath sprays work pretty well, if used several times a day. Also, there are little strips you can buy - like congealed mouthwash. I like those a lot - especially the cinnamon ones.

Sounds like ketosis breath (ketosis is NOT "starvation mode", btw - totally different things... you can enter ketosis in a matter of a few days, starvation mode takes a LOT longer, and totally different physiological processes going on). I had to deal with it when I was on Atkins. You have to be careful now though b/c if you accidentally swallow a mint or gum, you could be in for a lot of hurting. I can't think of the name of the mints I use but they're tiny, liquid filled capsules. The capsules are like gelatin - eventually disolve. So if you accidentally swallowed one, it's probably not big enough to get stuck anyway, but if it somehow did, it would dissolve quickly. I think they're under the IceBreakers line.

Oh, and if you like parsley, chewing (not eating) parsley is something that a lot of Atkins people had good luck with. It was one of the best options since it wasn't loaded with carbs, and didn't contain artificial sweetners (which can cause major stalls).

4 months out and still feel that my breathe is bad. At least it is really bad in the morning. I use breathe mints throughout the day and try to be very aware of it when around other people.

The breath thing is common - yep, it's ketosis.

Drink a lot of water - it's not easy soon after banding, but it really does help.

Just make sure you get in the habit of drinking before you eat. :hungry:

It's a chemical process your body is going through as it burns it's stored fat. Don't worry, it might eventually pass.

Besides, not only did I have the breath issue but I had ketosis manifest itself in my underarms. :faint: So even as a heavy person I was never one who sweat a lot, but as my body burned fat, it was secreted in my underarms. I had to use Mens' extra-strength Anti-Perspirant (not the flowery, feminine stuff I like to normally use) for a few months.

Luckily it passed after the 3-4 month mark, but those first few months were something else. (I won't even discuss the stronger u - r - i - n - e but those who were on Atkins might remember that, too. )

Drink LOTS of water to flush everything out.

Something that I've found that helps is Listerine breath strips. They're sugar free and come in a little plastic package. You put one on your tongue and let it melt...helps for hours!

I had ketosis manifest itself in my underarms. :faint: So even as a heavy person I was never one who sweat a lot, but as my body burned fat, it was secreted in my underarms

Oh my gosh! My underarms smell like onions, even after just getting out of the shower! WHat is this?? Hormones? Fat burning? Also, I did notice that my urine was smelling much stronger, not to be gross, but almost like salmon! I apologize for being so graphic, but it did. I added some carbs the past couple of days and it is gone.