They aren't necessarily linked.Some people with IBS have odor problems, but you can have serious odor problems for other reasons.Some people with IBS have no problem with odor.Bile binding agents are fairly regularly discussed, but you might see it more under the brand name Questran or the generic name rather than that brand. Although a search for Welchol indicates it gets mentioned every so often see: http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?a...lite=%2BwelcholTMAU or "fish odor" can have other smells other than fishy, and it isn't a fresh fishy smell but a rotted smell that can be fecal.If it is just regular body odor than controlling the bacteria may help as a lot of that comes from how the bacteria break down stuff that comes out in the sweat.A lot of health problems do tend to track together, even if they are unrelated. The physical stress of one can often set the other one off.
IBS and Odor
Has anyone experienced a strong body odor along with IBS? I developed IBS-D at age 18, which was accompanied by body odor. This not FBO or a "fish odor," it is a normal odor comming from the underarms, only it is very strong and almost always present, sometimes arising only minutes out of the shower. The severity of the two conditions seem to coencide, such that when my IBS is worse, so is the odor, and vice versa.The things that I have found that help are: eliminating foods that worsen my IBS (fructose, lactose, fired foods), taking probiotics, and eating a substantial amount of fiber. I was also prescribed Welchol, a cholestrol medication that removes bile from the digestive tract. It works well for the IBS symptoms, but it's not something I've seen elsewhere on this site. To help with the odor, my doctor perscribed topical clindamycin, an antibiotic used for acne. These things all help, but nothing has removed either condition completely.I am curious if anyone else has experienced these two conditions together.
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Strong non-FBO odor daily, not helped by normal personal hygiene or anything to cover it up, seeping into clothing, bedclothes, towels, upholstery of chairs where I was sitting, noticeable by others... yes, I had it for several months, in my case, a distinctive metallic/burning odor, not just stronger normal human body odor. I did not even experience much normal human body odor prior to IBS. Someone speculated that this post-IBS odor might have been C diff overgrowth, but I never confirmed that. In my case, a Chinese herbal remedy custom blended by my acupuncturists (previously associated with 2 internationally known teaching hospitals in a nearby major city) and taken daily for about two months considerably lessened the problem, and gradually it mostly went away. Unfortunately, I can't say exactly what was in the remedy because there were several unfamilar ingredients. But I am fairly sure that this was responsible for the improvement, because I had been unable to control the symptom before this treatment, and when I forgot to ask for a refill in advance and ran out a couple days short of my next appointment, the odor immediately escalated, then decreased once I got and started using a new supply.Your experience may differ. Keep in mind that acupuncture/TCM, if it helps, is a long term process, not the few weeks or handful of sessions cited in most Western studies of acupuncture and IBS. I have been under frequent treatment for over a year. It is not cheap either, but I have been able to decrease the frequency of my visits over time. In any case, hope it helps to hear that another IBSer had a similar problem and now mostly doesn't have it anymore.
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