All I can smell is booze!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 9
All I can smell is booze!
So I'm in the beginning stages of drying out after nearly ten years of some pretty heavy drinking, but all I can smell when I walk in the house. Or am trying to sleep is the overpowering pungent scent of alcohol. Its disruptive to my sleep and makes me insecure about having guests over. Is it just my body odor/sensory memory, or does the house really smell this awful of booze?
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Depends on how long it's been since you had your last drink as to whether or not you yourself smell of alcohol. Regarding your house, do you keep empty bottles around or have you spilled a lot of it on the carpeting or furniture?
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 12
It could be body odor. I'm on day 1 and haven't gotten to the point of physical withdrawal yet, but I do know that my sweat usually smelled bad the day after drinking. Today as well.
Also, I used to smoke and for a few days this tobacco-like smell came oozing out of me through my sweat. It was my body getting rid of the mess.
And with smoking I also noticed that I became more sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke as well. Maybe you're noticing it more now.
You can test if it's your body odor by taking a good shower and putting on clean clothes. Notice how you smell. Then wait for a while and notice if your body starts to smell like alcohol.
My guess is that your body is starting to purge out the mess. If that's the case, it'll pass.
Also, I used to smoke and for a few days this tobacco-like smell came oozing out of me through my sweat. It was my body getting rid of the mess.
And with smoking I also noticed that I became more sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke as well. Maybe you're noticing it more now.
You can test if it's your body odor by taking a good shower and putting on clean clothes. Notice how you smell. Then wait for a while and notice if your body starts to smell like alcohol.
My guess is that your body is starting to purge out the mess. If that's the case, it'll pass.
Marchia in Aeternum
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Georgia
Posts: 11,094
I vote for body odor. Wash your sheets, all your dirty clothes, febreeze your upholstery, toss all your trash. When I quit smoking, I had to fumigate my truck after three days. The first time I quit drinking it was several days before the smell went away.
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 7
It is the by-products of alcohol metabolism escaping via your pores. Day 65 here and still an issue for me -- although less so than it was for the first month.
Despite being an attempt to manage it, taking vitamin B made it worse for me -- my sincere thanks to friends on SR for suggesting that it may be contributing. (!)
For some reason it doesn't make the list of symptoms listed for alcohol withdrawal on most sites -- perhaps they don't want to discourage people from quitting? There is an article on the web that sums it up well -- I don't have enough posts to post a URL (?) -- but if you google "5 things nobody tells you about quitting drinking" your will find it.
From the article: This isn't normal stink. If it was just persistent body odor, you could do something about it. No, this is stink on a demonic level. This is Stinkotronicus: Master of Stinkalarium, and it will make you do its bidding, lest it destroy you and all of those you hold dear. Showers do help, but their effect is very temporary and only seems to provoke it.
How bad is it? Another Cracked writer on the wagon (who posts as Yowhound) was actually kicked off of a public bus because of this ... in Europe. They've tolerated the French for thousands of years, but they couldn't handle one bus ride with a recovering alcoholic.
I drank hard for the last 10 years (including upwards of 2 to 3 bottles of wine per day for long spans of time) -- and gained about 50 pounds -- so I fear some of the by-products may be in my fat cells, and that the stench may haunt me as I lose the weight. But as I said, it is not as bad as it was -- and sooner or later it will be history.
Despite being an attempt to manage it, taking vitamin B made it worse for me -- my sincere thanks to friends on SR for suggesting that it may be contributing. (!)
For some reason it doesn't make the list of symptoms listed for alcohol withdrawal on most sites -- perhaps they don't want to discourage people from quitting? There is an article on the web that sums it up well -- I don't have enough posts to post a URL (?) -- but if you google "5 things nobody tells you about quitting drinking" your will find it.
From the article: This isn't normal stink. If it was just persistent body odor, you could do something about it. No, this is stink on a demonic level. This is Stinkotronicus: Master of Stinkalarium, and it will make you do its bidding, lest it destroy you and all of those you hold dear. Showers do help, but their effect is very temporary and only seems to provoke it.
How bad is it? Another Cracked writer on the wagon (who posts as Yowhound) was actually kicked off of a public bus because of this ... in Europe. They've tolerated the French for thousands of years, but they couldn't handle one bus ride with a recovering alcoholic.
I drank hard for the last 10 years (including upwards of 2 to 3 bottles of wine per day for long spans of time) -- and gained about 50 pounds -- so I fear some of the by-products may be in my fat cells, and that the stench may haunt me as I lose the weight. But as I said, it is not as bad as it was -- and sooner or later it will be history.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by stinkycanuck 
I drank hard for the last 10 years (including upwards of 2 to 3 bottles of wine per day for long spans of time) -- and gained about 50 pounds -- so I fear some of the by-products may be in my fat cells, and that the stench may haunt me as I lose the weight. But as I said, it is not as bad as it was -- and sooner or later it will be history.
Thanks everyone for your input, I do shower frequently and do change the sheets, cleaned the house etc. Just really hope I'm not wandering around smelling like a booze hound. I dont even think I smelt like a booze hound when I drank.. But I'm sure I did!
2Cor5:17
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Between Doctor's opinion & pg 164
Posts: 4,187
It could be carpet or clothes which are the fabrics that hold odors commonly. Clean house(literally & figuratively) coz that smell will drive u bonkers & right back where u came from!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SE England
Posts: 18
That is so weird you posted this! I would notice a foul sort of cheap wine smell, especially in my kitchen, for a good few days after I quit. I had put this down to maybe a spillage or something but it disappeared by the end of week 1 without me changing the cleaning routine.
I guess it was actually me, how revolting!
On an aside, it is so lovely not to have to avoid family members before the morning shower because I smell like a rancid bottle of wine.
Just another benefit of stopping we hadn't even realised, excellent!
I guess it was actually me, how revolting!
On an aside, it is so lovely not to have to avoid family members before the morning shower because I smell like a rancid bottle of wine.
Just another benefit of stopping we hadn't even realised, excellent!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: TX
Posts: 137
Most likely it is body odor. Last weekend I was with my brothers who all drink heavily still. The next afternoon after they finally woke up we went to get something to eat and almost instantly the entire car reeked of alcohol. It wasn't from their breath, it was something else... it was coming out of their bodies.
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