Major smell changes (BAD) after testosterone, chest surgery - HELP!

[JennyBreeze]

Hello everyone!

New to the site and praying I can ask a brutally honest question about body odor. I have always loved the way my partner smells. Kind of spicy, musky, and good! In the past 6 months as the testosterone built up and then after chest surgery this June - something has changed. And I'm not talking about just a different smell. I've been with primarily men in my life, so I'm crystal clear that men smell different than women.

But there is a powerful, strong funky odor that just radiates from him now! And it smells like Penicillin. That's the best way I can describe it. I remember when I was in college I had an antibiotics prescription that I left in the bottom of my purse by accident. It spilled out and covered the bottom. When I went to use it again it reeked of this funky smell. I tried it for a couple weeks because I loved the purse, but finally threw it away.

THAT is what he smells like. And it's not little. It radiates from him - like out of ALL his pores - so much that I ask to open windows in the car and breathe through my mouth when we're snuggling. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Is this typical? Is it temporary?

I know this sounds awful, but it's such a hard thing to talk about to someone. It's so personal.

Thanks,
Jenny

[mrs izzy]

Jenny Welcome to Susan's

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Can not say my husband ever had that kinda of smell either before or after. I have been with him from start of T through his BR and Hysto.

Maybe its something more happening with his endo system?

Has he talked to his Doctor about it.

Mrs. Izzy

[JennyBreeze]

Thanks Mrs. Izzy.

I've very gently dropped some hints, but it's such a vulnerable time healing from surgery and all the emotional changes of the procedure that I just don't feel right saying something. I mean - how major a problem it is for me right now. It's tricky because I know he needs EXTRA love, reassurance, intimacy, support, etc. right now. And I never considered how much someone's smell impacts your desire to be close to them. But it has a huge impact. And I don't want it to prevent me from behaving like normal. But it is potent. It literally fills the room after just a few minutes. *sigh*

And thanks for the links too. I read through everything I could find about changes to body odor before posting. Figured maybe someone else is experiencing it, but was too afraid to say something.

Jenny

[Adam (birkin)]

I'm trying to imagine that smell in my head lol. Erm...but either way...I think body odor change is normal, but, if it becomes offensive it is not normal, regardless of the person being cis or trans. I'd consider approaching him about it because he might benefit from even seeing a doctor, if it's that bad, and he has good hygiene and diet otherwise.

It's also better for him to know so that he isn't going out smelling horrible without being aware of it, because it could cause problems at work, for example, or with friendships. I know it's hard to be direct, you don't want to hurt his feelings of course, but in the end it's better to just be upfront so he can address the issue. I would be thankful if someone I cared about took the courage to be honest with me about my odor, so that I could address it and not have to worry that others (like coworkers or strangers that I am not close to) were talking about my smell behind their back.

[JennyBreeze]

Thanks Birkin - all good advice. I think what keeps me on the fence from doing so is maybe it's ME. Maybe I'm having some primal reaction to the change. lol We've been together for 8 years so from a pheromone level we've got to be pretty synched up. Maybe I'm just recognizing the change in smells and my brain is somehow translating it being offensive, when it's not. OMG I bet that sounds nuts. hahaha

Then again, I just looked it up. And penicillin is a fungus right? So I have to imagine your nose detects stuff like mold, fungus, etc.  pretty easily just from a biological/safety perspective. I don't know.

[mrs izzy]

Is he on any meds from having the surgery?

Sometimes a change in meds will make a change in his endo system and that could lead to the issue.

I had my GCS done and let me tell you the smell from that was so nasty for the first few weeks.

He said something to me being i did notice a odor but not knowing it was that bad.

Support is also being honest.

[blueconstancy]

That doesn't sound nuts at all; in fact, it was my first thought, that you're confronted with the fact that this *particular* man smells "wrong" to you on the subconscious level. In other words, it seems possible that it's not as pervasive or offensive *to everyone else* as you perceive it. That's not saying you're making it up, but rather that it's a fundamentally incompatible scent for your particular brain/preferences/whatever. I've known people like that, who didn't smell strongly or bad (and who found plenty of dates!) but whose personal scent made ME kind of ill. Which sucks - usually we filter out people like that after the first date, but in this case you'd already fallen in love with him long beforehand.

There's even some research suggesting that women who are on the Pill react differently to personal scents than they do when they aren't taking hormonal medication, and in some cases they go off of it and find their partner suddenly smells "wrong" and not-desirable, so there's precedent for this. Doesn't make it any less awful, though.

For me, I found my wife's previous smell appealing and the same is true of her on-HRT smell, but they ARE different. Even though I don't dislike the new scent, it took me probably months to get over this hindbrain reaction that there was a stranger living in my house, b/c she didn't smell right. I minded it more than our cats did, for heaven's sake.

I'm afraid I don't have any useful suggestions beyond patience and hoping that as his body chemistry settles down it straightens out, but I wanted you to know you're not crazy or alone in this.

[Sayra]

Our minds are funny. We think we've evolved beyond such primal reactions, but we haven't. They are powerful reactions!

A change in body scent that is chemically induced by either illness (diabetes) or medication (some antibiotics can alter the scent of urine) happens a bit. Perhaps it's a little known side effect of one he's on? Not too much a stretch to think if an antibiotic changes urine smell to having it change sweat smell.

We've got this thing we do for fun (granted we're switched in situation), where we both go to shop or browse for new scents. It's a fun way to find a happy smell medium for both of you? Sephora is a good place to go as they give samples to take home.

[Felix]

None of your feelings or reactions sound crazy at all. It's likely he has had a major change in his scent, and I don't doubt that it's hard for you to enjoy.

I would wonder how much of it is from medications or surgery. I have a child who had to have some surgeries, and after each one she had a surgery smell, for lack of a better term, for several weeks afterward. Anytime she goes on a new medication she smells different until either her body adjusts or my sense of smell adjusts (I'm not sure which), or maybe both.

I've had lovers and friends whose smell changed according to their diet, and sometimes it seemed like even their emotional state had a hand in their scent. I don't know.

If you give it a substantial amount of time and still can't get used to it, it's probably worth gently talking to him about it. If he has some kind of fungal infection - people can get all sorts of kinds on different parts of their bodies - it might could be kept in check with topical antifungal medicine and he might be able to ask his doctor for fluconazole or whatever other systemic drugs are available. If this is just how his body smells now you might want to help pick out deodorant or something you prefer that might mask it a little.

[Bunter]

You are not crazy, I have known at least two trans guys who had the same smell when they transitioned. I know exactly what you are talking about, it's almost a metallic or chemical smell, but hard to describe. Driving in a car together, the smell was really overpowering, and it started after they started transitioning. It's not like anything I have smelled before (not a male smell). I have been wondering what it is, too.