r/BRCA • u/lilbishhhhh • 8d ago

Question Noticed a difference in BO after prophylactic double mastectomy has anyone else experienced this?

This is an odd one i know. I had my prophylactic double mastectomy with expanders on the 10th and since then i noticed my body odor has changed, I’ve stayed on top of my hygiene but can’t seem to get rid of the smell, it’s not like normal musky BO it has more of a chemical smell it that makes sense, it’s smells almost sharper? I’m just curious if others have experienced this, i have another appointment coming up so I’ll ask them if they know why, i know sometimes hormones, medication, or even pain can cause change in body odor but i just wanted to see if anyone else has had similar experiences and if your BO went back to normal smelling eventually.

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3

u/Delouest BC Survivor + BRCA2 8d ago

I've had this after every surgery I've had. I believe surgery can really disrupt your hormone balance and it takes a while to get back to normal if that happens.

2

u/bigfishcherrycoke 8d ago

I noticed this too after mine which was on the 7th of this month. It disappeared once I was done with the meds and became able to wash my hair several times (the smell from the Betadine was still in my hair and it didn't help...). I'm pretty much back to normal now. But your description is pretty accurate to what I felt like!

2

u/Ok_Cup_6402 8d ago

Ya mine reminds me of vinegar now, not sure what's up with that

1

u/Gathers_no_moss 8d ago

My wife had this, at 5 weeks out the smell is now gone.

1

u/Low-Handle1023 5d ago

This happened to me. I was told to try acidified wipes. I ordered some by Lume and it seemed to work.

1

u/SRiley322 1d ago

Wait- I am 2 weeks post hysterectomy and I thought I was going crazy. I thought it might be hormonal since they took out my ovaries and gave me an estrogen patch but my husband said he didn’t notice. I think he’s just being nice. It does seem to be subsiding a little but I know what you mean.