Foul odor when burping-Why?

I am a 63 year old female and had a gastric resection in 1998
due to a blockage.  Everything turned out just fine, with completely normal bowel and stomach function, but recently I have had some pain in the stomach area, not restricted to any particular location.  I have had a barium enema for the lower GI with negative findings.  I am having frequent bloating and gas accompanied by discomfort and upon burping there is a foul smell not unlike flatulance.  I could not find any articles addressing this issue.  I also have researched the various foods that could cause gas and this does not seem to be food related.  I was also told about a year ago that I have/had a fatty liver and my blood test done in January shows everything w/in normal limits. I am in the process in getting an appointment for an upper GI series and Ultra sound.   Could you advise?

[Kevin Pho, MD]

The upper GI series and ultrasound is a reasonable next step.  This can evaluate for most upper GI disorders - including an ulcer, a mass or reflux disease.  A more comprehensive test would be an upper endoscopy which can be considered after the upper GI series.

The ultrasound can evaluate for any anatomical abnormalities of the liver function as well as the gallbladder.  

If those are negative, you may want to consider irritable bowel syndrome - which can cause the feeling of excess gas and bloating.  Increasing the amount of fiber in the diet and antispasmodic agents can be considered.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[PAJ]

Sounds like small intestine bacterial overgrowth prematurely fermenting food.
The most common cause of bad breath is the poor digestion of food. This results in undigested food being fermented in the intestines. The odour is capable of escaping back up through the mouth from the intestinal tract


A few bits of info

Testing
http://www.gsdl.com/assessments/bacterial_overgrowth/faq/


1: Am J Gastroenterol. 2000 Dec;95(12):3503-6. Related Articles, Links

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[momo2022]

A related discussion, why the bad odor? was started.