Is a distinct, unpleasant body odor common from Gastric Sleeve surgery? And if it is, how long does it last?

If it is just me... well that's embarrassing ?

i am 4 months post op and i havent noticed anything and no one has told me anything.

It may be ketosis. I had the worst breath - and it didn't matter how much I brushed - for the first few months when it was all protein, all the time. If you are eating no or very few carbs, that could be the culprit. My program isn't carb restrictive, so once I could start integrating them back into my diet, it resolved itself.

I haven't noticed anything. And my kids would DEFINITELY tell me if they did lol Being a big person, I'm always paranoid about how I smell. I shower every day, wash my hair 2-3x per week, wear deodorant (and refresh it at least once) everyday, brush my teeth twice a day, choose a soft and pleasant perfume to wear everyday (even if I'm staying home). And I wear clean clothes everyday (I have friends that will wear the same thing for 2 or 3 days if they're staying at home, but I just can't do that). This has been my routine for the last 20 or so years.

Your body is in ketosis meaning it is effectively burning your fat stores. Yay!! Body odour is just an unfortunate side effect. Google & you’ll find thousands of articles about it. Any of your body secretions can smell unpleasant - breath, perspiration &, unfortunately for women, our genital secretions. It does pass. I took a toiletry bag to work with toothpaste & brush, mouth wash, body wipes, deodorant, etc, to refresh & reduce the bad smells.

Yes I ditto Arabesque's answer. I defiantly had ketosis smelly parts especially my breath it was ghastly

No body odor that I ever noticed but my breath was gross for a few weeks/month after surgery.

Also, I think (still think) my pee smells like protein powder. lol I don't use protein powder but I drink a premade shake every morning and the smell is still the same. Very particular.

Yes, likely ketosis, and basically means that you aren't eating your vegetables. It will improve as your diet improves and gains more variety. I never had any particular problem with it as I always maintained at least an homage to a varied balanced diet (no keto/Atkins stuff,) and let the calorie restriction do its job.

I have this problem! I'm down 118 pounds, I'm a year out and my deodorant DOES NOT WORK. I shower regularly, I eat my vegetables, I am not in ketosis, and am well hydrated. I'm baffled and embarrassed. I bet i've tried 10 different kinds of deodorant and none of them work the way they did before my surgery.

10 hours ago, pintsizedmallrat said:

I have this problem! I'm down 118 pounds, I'm a year out and my deodorant DOES NOT WORK. I shower regularly, I eat my vegetables, I am not in ketosis, and am well hydrated. I'm baffled and embarrassed. I bet i've tried 10 different kinds of deodorant and none of them work the way they did before my surgery.

Have you raised this with your doctor? If you can rule out the likely culprits like ketosis & dietary changes (like eating more spicy foods), there may be an underlying cause like hormonal changes, a bacterial issue, etc. which your doctor can identify.

I can relate to this! I'm 10 weeks (2+ months) post-op and I was wondering the same thing, but I thought it was just me, so thank you for bringing this topic up! I now can eat more fruits/veg along with my protein, so its going away. I'm still not 100% on normal food though. I was so worried that I wasn't keeping myself clean, which I knew couldn't be the case because with my weight loss so far, its EASIER to take a shower and all that!