The truth. It’s been 20 years since my gastric bypass and my gas and bowel movements are still so stinky it’s become a family joke. Every Christmas morning, in my stocking, I get Poo-Pourri, the before-you-go toilet spray. When I go on vacation with the family at least one of them will ask me if I packed it. Best of all, when we are anywhere, driving in the car for example, and there is a bad smell, one of them will say, “Eww… Was that you?” They even suspect me before the dog.
That’s right, that’s my life. I tell them, when I die, one day, when they’re all sitting around reminiscing about me, the conversation will eventually turn to, “Remember how bad Mommy’s farts smelled?” Then they’ll giggle and all have a nice laugh at my expense.
In case you too want to spray before you go, you can get Poo-Pourri for yourself. I hate to admit it, but it really is great when you are somewhere a smelly poop will be embarrassing.
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The Why of Why So Smelly
Usually, when contemplating gastric bypass, the surgeon casually mentions foul-smelling flatulence and bowel movements as a side effect of surgery. They’ll make it seem like no big deal, something that goes away in a few weeks or months. They are big ‘ol liars. Okay, that might be harsh, but they certainly don’t explain the longevity of the foulness.
If you research online today, unlike 20 years ago, you will see more mention of foul gas and bowel movements, even body odor. It”s still thrown out there like it’s a temporary thing. It’s not. Fortunately for me, I did not suffer from body odor, so I can’t address that, but I will give a quick rundown on what causes us to have this “side effect”.
Gastric bypass surgery causes malabsorption. The body’s digestion process is missing a few steps so it doesn’t absorb all the nutrients it used to and much of the food remains undigested. This is when the magic happens. All that undigested food makes its way to the colon and your body’s natural bacteria and enzymes, “microbes”, go to work trying to digest what they can. Undigested food in the colon stinks it up, causing foul-smelling gas and bowel movements. That’s the basics. Read this complicated Mayo Clinic post if you’d like a serious medical explanation.
What Can You Do
There is not a heck of a lot you can do about it. Your body is going to digest the way your body digests. You can try to mitigate some of the issues by the tried and true list of do’s and don’ts that are always given to most gastric bypass side effects.
- Avoid carbonated beverages. This may prevent excess air in the digestive system.
- Try to avoid fatty foods. The undigested fat is a real stinker
- Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. This way more of the digestion process is done in your mouth
- Don’t drink liquids during meals and wait until 60 minutes afterward before drinking again. Let’s try not to dilute the digestive juices.
- Avoid consuming large amounts of sugar. This can lead to dumping syndrome, which causes diarrhea among many other symptoms.
- Pay attention to what foods you ate prior to any foul-smelling bowel movements or gas. Come on, as if they’re not all foul-smelling.
- Tell your doctor your concerns
I have found that “foulness” is the worst when I have high-sugar foods and drinks. So, I avoid them. Nothing has changed in 20 years. My farts stink and my poop stinks. It’s a fact of life and I deal with it. I wish I could have given you a better more reassuring answer.
I did see this hysterically funny thing on Amazon that I want to share with you. I have no idea if this would even work, but it does make me laugh when I think about it. If it does work, I apologize to all those using it, I guess I’m just immature.
Here is a quick list of gassy foods from Livingstrong.com. Most are not easy to avoid if you are trying to eat healthy. I don’t have a problem with many of these, but they’re good to know about.
- Dairy products
- Beans
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Carrots
- Artichokes
- Apples
- Peaches
- Bananas
- Apricots
- Bran
- Low-carbohydrate foods containing sugar alcohols like sorbitol or maltitol
- Alcohol (especially beer)
- Coffee
- Beans
- Cabbage
- Cucumbers
- Eggs
- Fish
- Garlic
- Onions
- Dried fruit
- Radishes
- Chicken
- Nuts
- Anything with a lot of seasoning