Alaia

I was talking to a friend the other day about my ex-abf and she was having a little trouble understanding how I couldn't tell ex-abf was using. When it came down to it she said I should have been able to smell the heroin sweating out of him. Boy was he good at hiding it. My ex used to take a shower in the morning and at night. I thought nothing of it. Just thought he was a little bit of a clean freak. He always put deoderant on before bed as well. I thought this was a little strange as well...but never thought to ask. He also always lit candles (I love yankee candles) around the house, so when I got home there was candles lit and the house smelled so nice. He was always doing laundry, changing the sheets, ect. I thought he was just really helpful. (especially when his mom commented on how much of a slob he used to be) He used to sweat bad sometimes at night, but I had lots of blankets and stuff on my bed and I have a temperpedic mattress (it gets hot sometimes) and I have been hot before too...so I never thought anything of it.

Now that I look back, I see all these red flags. I know it would be impossible for me to know some of the signs he was using but he was so good at hiding it and here I thought he was lighting candles to make me happy, ect. Now i know he was doing it to hide his use. It just boggles my mind.

outtolunch

I have a very good sense of smell and not once did I smell anything out of the ordinary on my AD. It probably varies, addict to addict and may depend on how much/how often they use.

NeedingHelp7

Alaia, What does heroine smell like?

jerect

Alaia,

Your ex could have been doing all the house cleaning and laundery and such because he was high and not neccessarly because he wanted to mask the smell of heroin..

I could always tell when my AH was high, I would come home and the house would be spotless, all the laundery would be done and there would be food cooking on the stove...

cassandra2

Shoulda coulda woulda.....Well all say that. Sometimes we dont want to see the signs or sometimes because we are naive to drugs (since we arent drug addicts) we dont know what signs to look for or what those signs mean. I was always under the impression that crack/herion addicts didnt take alot of showers because the steam from the shower would flush the residue out of their skin. But what difference do signs really make. At some point you saw them and you did something about it. And its always easier for friends or family to say "boy, you shoulda seen that comin" when you are saying things like and then this happened and then he did this....

Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20!!!!

Aesakitty

If someone has been acting a certain way the whole time you have known them, there would be no reason to suspect they were doing something because of drugs. I grew up with a parent high 24/7 and never knew. Even when on my own I used her drug of choice I had no idea she was using too. It was not until I quit myself that I was able to see the signs. If you are not familiar with heroin there was no way you could have known.

Alaia

someone told me it has a sour type of smell and that you should be able to smell it.

GwenMarie30

I was an addict with a solid 5 years of using. My bf of 13 years never once suspected a thing. Not once. It wasnt until my addict friends started coming around my home that he suspected anything. I used my DOC to function like an everyday person. To eat sleep and work. Yes I would sleep at least 6 hours a night. I would eat normal just like my family. No one ever knew. I was a member at schools and my own business. I was very involved with kids.

Now its hard for me to live what everyone else calls a normal life. But since getting clean in 2005, I will choose to live my life clean no matter what. I can feel and apreciate the most simple and beautiful things in life that I missed when I was high. So much more patience now too.