BayouMan

Hello friends. It’s been a while since I checked in here. Thank you all for keeping this forum going and giving us newbies a place to get a reality check. I’m on day 88 and seem to be handling everything okay. I get the urge from time to time, but I divert it and remind myself of where I am now and where I came from.

One curious question, though. Do any of you newly sober folks ever smell odd things for no good reason? Sometimes, about once a day or every other day, I get a distinct smell of cigarette smoke... not second hand smoke, it’s more like I’ve just finished a smoke myself. It seems like it is in my nasal cavity and when I breath, it smells like I just smoked. Now, I gave up smokes 10 years ago and my wife 15 years ago and no one smokes in our house or our vehicles. Maybe some ancient subconscious memory is breaking through via my olfactory senses. I have read and experienced where certain smells can trigger long forgotten memories; but this seems to be the other way around.



It sure is great when you can sleep well at night, think straight and make sound decisions. TTFN, Earl.

Dee74

Hi BayouMan
congrats on 88 days

Maybe not be the same thing but as an ex smoker I can smell people smoking a block away.
D

least

I used to think I smelled odd things, like wine, when there was none in the house. That doesn't happen anymore. It was in early sobriety, the first few months, I think.

freedomfries

If you've been drinking heavily for a while it's normal to have mild to severe hallucinations, so I guess that could include smell?

Caramel

BayouMan - the 'phantom smell' is worth mentioning to a doctor, I think.

DriGuy

I know the difference between the smell of second hand smoke and the nasal sensations of actually smoking. Second hand smoke has a stale smell to it, like day old cigarette butts in and ashtray, but not quite as bad. The smoke you smell during smoking has a fresher smell. On those occasions when I think about smoking, I remember the smell and sensation of smoking. I don't remember the stale smell of cigarette butts, but the memory of the smell associated with the smoking sensation is pleasant.

The question of do I ever smell odd things that aren't there is interesting to me. I have experienced smells I can't account for, and at those times I do ask myself if it's real or something I only imagine. Obviously, I don't know the answer. If it's only my imagination, I'm not going to worry about it, unless of course that smell is sending a secret message to me like "Go burn down your neighbor's house." That would be something to be concerned about.

Steely

I experienced altered sense of smell during PAWS benzo's. Benzos and alcohol work on same receptors.

I could smell oranges, petroleum, rotting meat. Chucked out heaps of good meat. I could smell 'fire'. Incense sticks from a thousand yards, sealed in box. It was bizarre. Other stuff too.

Doesn't happen anymore.

Think I've read that anxiety can produce this effect too. You would need to check that.