Sweat, bad smell🤢

[birkie]

I've never posted this before because I'm unsure if it's got anything to do with thyroid medication 🤷‍♀️ but I'm beginning to think it may have.Firstly I have a good hygiene regime shower nearly everyday ect.

before I became hyper (graves) i was a gym bunny had a trainer and trained 4 times a week with aerobics, gym ball and weights, of course I got a sweat up and anyone who sweats through exercise knows it will smell a bit, even when I had to stop all gym exercise due to hyperthyroidism I still sweated due to sweating being one symptom of hyper.. But again it was a normal sweat smell.

Since starting thyroid hormones (2019 after full thyroidectomy) I have noticed my sweat is very pungent in fact its horrid and embarrassing, since going on T3 it's became worse, it smells like death!!

I shower and only use simple shower wash, and as soon as I get out within 2 minutes I'm sweating bad and the smell is there again .. I've done everything.. Shower cool not hot.. Run very cool water before exiting the shower, nothing works.

I'm here in bed and I stink... Had a shower yesterday I've never smelled so bad.

The reason for the post was because of this awful smell, it's not like a normal sweaty pit smell, it's different as I say like death, just awful.

Does anyone else suffer from exsessive body odour while talking the thyroid medication?

Is it something I should mention at endo appointment in dec🤷‍♀️

[Buddy195 Administrator]

My body odour increased with peri menopause and my aromatherapist recommended oregano oil (I put a few drops in some coconut oil- which acts as a carrier) and this worked for me. I now use a mix of essential oils as I like the smell of lemon & frankincense.

lalaessentialoils.com/blog/...

[birkie in reply to Buddy195]

Although I was diagnosed in 2007 as peri menupausal I never sweated I only got red in the face, it was when I got hyperthyroidism that I sweated profusely but no real bad smell.Thyroid removed 2019 put on thyroid medication r4, then T3 this is when the smell started, I'm 62 in Jan and labled as post menupausal now.. 🤷‍♀️

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to birkie]

I feel for you birkie & hope you find a way to alleviate the issue.

[helvella]

Is this just your perception, or have you had it confirmed by someone else?

An eternity ago, I had a month of fairly high dose antibiotics. And my sweat absolutely stank. If I could have done, I'd have shut the door on me and run away.

But no-one else could smell anything untoward. And that wasn't just one person being polite!

Slowly, very slowly, it reduced over the following months.

[birkie in reply to helvella]

Well my son was here this year and I asked him does it smell bad, he very reluctantly (saw it on his face) said.. "well yes" but are you managing to get regular showers mam".... "Yes I am".I've got to confess when my father was dying of cancer I was washing his pajamas, he was sweating profusely before he died, his body and pajamas stunk.

I asked the nurse about it, she explained it happens when the body breaks down during death, I've smelt the smell before off my father, I smell like that.

Its been a year now on this particular T3 Roma and it's way more noticeable helvella... Now not saying I have cancer, but the smell brings back awful memories for me.

That's why I posted, because it's awful and just reminded me of my father's pajamas.

I know there is a thing if you say eat a lot of garlic, your sweat can smell of it..... I don't eat garlic, just using it as an example.

[helvella in reply to birkie]

I have a little understanding - though what you are describing sounds much more challenging for you.

Maybe someone else can come up with a more helpful reply?

[birkie in reply to helvella]

I've just been looking on line helvella, I came across kidney problems related to sweat smelling bad and there is a link to it.My creatinine is always off as is my eGFR.. I had stage 1 and were diagnosed with CKD in 2020, but this is thought to be through my primary hyperparathyroidism diagnosis in 2020.

So maby it's my kidney function causing the smell, maybe I'm not getting rid of the toxins that can build up in the body👍I'm going to look into this futher👍

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to birkie]

How long have you been taking Roma T3 birkie? I had an awful reaction to this (extreme anxiety/ palpitations & sweating!) so I’m wondering if it’s the medication

[birkie]

Same here, but I also had awful reactions to T4, and teva t4, t3.. (colitis /lactose intolorent) so all the thyroid medication as given me diarrhea, cramping, inflammation in bowles, but this smell is just so noticeable, I've put off posting about it because I didn't think it could be the thyroid medication, but I'm not sure now, I do have kidney function problems in that my creatinine and GFR are alway off, and got diagnosed with CKD in 2020.But I think it's worth mentioning to the endo👍

[Buddy195 Administrator]

I would definitely mention it to your endo. I filled in a yellow card about my reaction to Roma Liothyronine.

[birkie in reply to Buddy195]

That's what I'm on😯... I've noticed the smell is off (bad) this last year, been taking the Roma for over a year now, I can't say I noticed it as being this pungent when I was on the other thyroid drugs.And I was diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism in 2020 and thought maby it could be that, but other members don't recall having a really pungent body smell.

I just have a feeling if I come of the medication all together, I think I'd known if it was the Roma, actually I'm hoping the endo sorts this out, but whatever happens I want of the synthetic hormone 👍

[Hidden]

A person with kidney disease recommends Lume products to kill the smell.

Haven't tried it myself but worth a go?

[Hidden]

Oh, and I started stinking before I was on NDT.

Even a hypo can sweat excessively and besides showering before going out and again before I go to bed, I'm having to wash most of my clothes after one wearing.

[birkie in reply to Hidden]

I can sympathise with you Dioryth, I'm the same, clothes are right in the wash after one wear, I have around 6 robes,, I have to have that many as I wash one everyday.It's filppin exhausting, shower get out, go to make a cuppa or get changed and I need to get back in the flipping shower again 😠😠

Only way to find out if it's the thyroid medication is to come off it, if the smell remains it's something else 👍

[Hidden in reply to birkie]

For me it was happening years before I went on NDT.

[WhyAmISoTired]

This happened to me when I first started on levo six years ago. It was embarrassing! It went away by itself after a while so I don't have any advice sorry, just wanted to validate you.

[HealthStarDust]

Have you had this confirmed from somebody else? I ask as sometimes our senses can be affected.

[birkie in reply to HealthStarDust]

Yes my son😊 although I could see in his face he really didn't want to tell me, but I asked him to be brutally honest, he said well yes it smells nasty.He then asked if I was getting showers regularly, I'd just filppin had one before he came, so he just said "it shouldn't be that bad if you've just had a shower today."

I get a shower, I can't have the water to hot because I'm always hot and sweaty anyway, come out dry myself, within minutes I'm sweating and there it is... The pungent body smell, and I've tried underarm deodorant, roll on ect, the smell is even on the palms of my hands🤢

It's possible it could also be toxins from the kidneys, but I'm going to mention it to the endocrinologists anyway 👍

[HealthStarDust in reply to birkie]

Poor you. But, don’t just take your son’s word for it. His own sense of smell could be off!

I’m sorry you are going through this.

[birkie in reply to HealthStarDust]

I think the endo needs to sniff it.. 👃.. I will of course get a shower, use my roll on deodorant, but I guarantee I'll stink before I get to the appointment 😂

[RedApple in reply to HealthStarDust]

Sense of smell is very much affected by our hormones. Sometimes, we are absolutely convinced we can smell something, and are bemused when no-one else can smell what seems to us to be very strong. Things I recall being mentioned here over the years are cigarette smoke, burning, and our own body odours.

[birkie in reply to RedApple]

Yeah, but this is really pungent, I did mention in a post, I'd smelt it before... My father's pajamas when he was dying of caner, my mother gave me 2 sets of his pj's every day to wash ,as she'd had a big operation and wasn't allowed to do much ,so I just took my fathers stuff to mine to wash.But his pj's stunk, I washed them immediately, I'd never forget that smell.

The marie Curie nurse explained to me it was my father's body breaking down before death, he was sweating really badly.

My sweat reminds me of his pj's 🤷‍♀️.

[misky]

Hello Birkie,

I would definitely see your GP about this, or talk to the endo and get to the bottom of this. It could be a symptom of something serious, don't you think? Even people who are sick with some regular virus smell differently, so a change in body odour and especially such a dramatic change could signal some illness.

Don't get fobbed off by doctors, be persistent and get the help you need. This must be very unsettling and unpleasant for you. Good luck! And update here on the forum how you're doing

[BabsD]

Hi did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have just been diagnosed with Thyroid issues and on Levothyroxie and i am smelling exactly like you say. Its so embarrassing.

[birkie in reply to BabsD]

Yes I came off the synthetic t3 t4 I'm now on ndt and that awful smell as gone👍 so I'm definitely blaming the synthetic thyroid medication for it.

[BabsD in reply to birkie]

Thanks Birkie. Did you DR prescribe it without any issues?

[birkie in reply to BabsD]

No the nhs are not licensed to prescribe NDT😡My poor son is paying privately for my prescription as I'm on disability benefits, no one at my surgery has helped me in anyway to try to obtain ndt through a private endocrinologist, I think if it's done that way some patients manage to get ndt.

My GP knows its working and my gastric issues have gone along with the awful metallic taste and that God awful body smell, but GP insists I go back on T4 ...😡

You just can't make it up, I asked her " why would I go back on a thyroid hormone drug that makes me feel awful? That never put my levels into range?

All I got from her was.." I can't monitor your thyroid levels when your on ndt as we don't prescribe it.

It's a bit frightening of late as my sons just got engaged, and there looking for a house, I don't want him paying for my ndt forever 😔