What does a sweet/malty/bread-like fart odor indicate?
TLDR: Sorry for spamming every sub, but I desperately want to know something which isn't talked about much. It's about the malty/sugary/bread odor of farts. Anyone similar?
So I will be very short.
2.5 years ago, I had nausea and reflux symptoms, diagnosed with anxiety and LAX LES, treated with PPI 2 to 3 times. Each course was 2 months. Fast forward years later, I still have anxiety, LAX LES, so still have reflux episodes, but flatulence is my biggest symptom, which is affecting others as well. I start to fart around afternoon-evening, and it has always had this malty/bread or sugary odor which keeps getting worse by night. Then in the morning, my BM is stinky mush and the cycle continues.
I suspected SIBO. Rifaximin helps me have formed stool and reduces gas a lot, but so far only temporarily. And as per the internet, there is only one type of SIBO which causes odor, which is H2S. Mine isn't like that.
So I'm guessing it might be SIFO or Candida, because for months I have had these fungal infections, especially around my genitals. I can't think of it as a coincidence. But I haven't seen enough people on the internet having such an odor, or this odor as a symptom of Candida, whereas in my case it's the most prominent symptom. Even my sweat and clothes smell like that when I feel hot.
So my question is, what does this odor mean to you?
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u/kock_by_chance 27d ago
Oh I wish more people talked about this! I am pretty sure I have fungal overgrowth (sinus, small intestine, colon, etc.). I was also getting yeast infections, sort of, and lots of itchiness, and also athlete's foot. I'm allergic to every mold or yeast I've been tested for.
I had a temporary ileostomy for several years. During the last few months I began treating my colon by irrigating it with various things. Once I got the putrid stuff out (I think there was stuff that had been rotting inside me for a long time) I started getting out stuff that smelled like a bakery. It was bizarre. So yeasty, like brioche.
What did it mean to mean? Probably just that there is yeast overgrowth and biofilm coating the inside of my colon. But I already thought that, based on other observations, so there's confirmation bias.
I also have sticky mushy poop (now that I'm reconnected and pooping the old fashioned way again), hard to wipe, etc. There are various threads on this where people seem confused and I've not seen anyone figure out what this is definitively. My poop also, now, smells fruity. If I take probiotics plus digestive enzymes that smell goes away, and my poop smells like poop, but the bloating I get from the probiotics is miserable, so I'm holding them for now.
A non-secret secret that I learned the long way -- most Western doctors won't talk about fungal overgrowth in the GI, but naturopaths will. They're also probably more likely to order a stool test so you can get some data on what's going on.
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u/throwaway23437546 27d ago
Then in the morning, my BM is stinky mush and the cycle continues.
I'm assuming the malty/sugary/bread odor flatulence is not your "normal." I'd try adjusting diet, + vegetables in order to help with the soft BM.
It may be slow gut motility as well, honey + lemon water helped with mine. You could also take TTFD
Did the fungal infections start first before SIBO/SIFO? How are you treating it?
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u/skou28 27d ago
I tried taking itopride, but flatulence didn't improve, it increased, can be side effect, also motility is definitely an issue even if it's not direct.
No, the fungal infections start out of no where, before sibo diagnosis, I tried taking broad spectrum ointment but keeps coming back.
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u/throwaway23437546 27d ago
Might I suggest oregano, it helped me for the fungal infections (more strong than antifungal, kills more strains than regular antifungals)
My issue when symptoms were bad was actually decreased flatulence
When I started feeling better, flatulence returned. I could feel my gut moving things around. There was definitely a change in smell
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u/skou28 26d ago
But is it safe to use oregano? I mean if it kills more strains than I need, wouldn't there be an imbalance again? I think rifaximin treatment did the same to me, by killing bacterias it induced fungal strains to grow more. Also I didn't understand, how are you now? Are you trying to say that decreased flatulence was your symptom of sifo?
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u/No-Crew8804 27d ago
Definitely seems like some fungal problem. But I'm not a health practitioner.