Smelling Cigarette Smoke (Phantosmia): What could it mean?
At some point in the past week or two I started smelling cigarette smoke where there definitely was none. Initially it was just a brief whiff while sitting in my easy chair and then it would be gone, but now I smell it everywhere. And it's no longer just a brief whiff - it's almost constant and to the point where it sometimes makes me feel nauseous.
I have recently increased the amount of Gabapentin I'm taking from 300 mg/day to 500 mg/day. Is it possible the increase in Gabapentin has anything to do with this?
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I never had COVID nor am I anti-seizure medications.I can taste & smell fine. And I too experienced this. The worse episode was right after my brother died of lung cancer. He was an extremely heavy smoker & try as he might, could never quit. Beyond addicting to the brain. In the middle of the night, I was sitting alone on my sofa. Suddenly the smell of cigarette smoke was overpowering. I truly felt it was my brother’s presence in the room.
I still do smell it occasionally but not as often now as he is gone 7 years. I took my only sibling’s death very hard. I needed grief counseling for a couple of years. That’s my take on smelling cigarette smoke. My brother’s presence comes to me. He knows how I was grief stricken when he died.
I had phantom smells of cigarette smoke post covid December 2020
I still have them periodically today. I purchased an air purifier as my neighbor smokes outside and even though our windows are always closed I will periodically smell smoke. My husband thinks I'm nuts 🙄
I had taken 900 mg 3 times a day and gabapentin has not effected the smell of smokr
I had this several years ago and it was God awful.. After many appointments and antibiotics finally a CT Scan which showed I had a dangerous sinus infection deep in the sinuses . With lots of meds finally they did sinus surgery. It finally went away after surgery.. Please see an ENT
I saw an EMT for an ear issue and discussed the smell of cigarette smoke.
He did a CT Scan of my sinuses. Nothing was found.
I grew up with both parents smoking and soon as my brother was 18 or so he joined in. He too smoked in the house but not in front of my father. I remember being in the car during the 1960s driving down the Jersey shore, car windows would be closed and everybody would light up. I am surprised I have not developed lung cancer from 2nd hand smoke. Very dangerous. As I said earlier, my brother was an obsessive smoker. And it killed him.
When I smell it, it's my memory in my brain chemistry tricking me. I believe it's psychological in my case. It's the presence of my brother my brain is remembering. And his smell was always cigarette smoke.
Linda61: That explains my own situation. For years I would smell cigarette smoke. (I grew up with both parents smoking in the house. I'd like to add my father never smoked until he joined the Army Airforce in WWII and the GIs were given cigarettes for free, I think to have them all addicted when they got out) Anyway, I went to an ENT many times for a constant burning sensation in my left nostril and pain above my left eyebrow. The ENT would bring up the actual MRI scan on the computer in his office and say, "no sinus infection." Then the ENT retired and I went to the Ear/Nose/Throat guy who replaced him. I said, "I recently found out I have a meningioma. Could that be causing my burning nostril and eyebrow pain? (I never thought to bring up smelling cigarette smoke.) He said "no" and ordered a new MRI and once again said "no sinus infection" as the prior doctor did. After 5 years of smelling cigarette smoke I started to get a kind of double vision my eye doctor called "ghosting." I self referred to a neurologist. I told him despite the fact that my primary care doctor, ENT, and oncologist all told me not to worry about the meningioma in my brain that I thought it was causing my problems. He brought up all my scans on the computer in his office and agreed it could be causing my symptoms. He referred me out of my health care network. And this is the crux of my reply. (My husband says I'm not known for my short stories.) I saw the neurosurgeon at UCSF as a pre-visit for surgery to remove the 2.7 cm. meningioma that was pressing on my optic nerve and was compromising my vision. As an aside, as the neurosurgeon was shutting down his computer with the scans, he said, "By the way, you have a sinus infection. It's chronic." (meaning not acute, sudden onset) This chronic sinus infection was caused by the meningioma, a foreign body inflaming my sinus cavity. After the craniotomy to remove the meningioma I no longer have a burning nostril, pain above my eyebrow, or smell cigarette smoke. (except if I travel to states that allow smoking in their restaurants) So, the cause of smelling the cigarette smoke was the chronic sinus infection. Makes sense but I never connected the two until I saw your post.
Post Script: And what I would like to add is that I find it pathetic that I saw two different Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors many times (4 times over a 5 year period) and they did not see/diagnose the chronic sinus infection that the neurosurgeon referenced when looking at the same scans sent over by my health care network to UCSF. Because of this, and the fact that 3 doctors told me not to worry about that meningioma in my brain, ( "We find them incidentally all the time when scanning older people for other issues..." I no longer take at face value anything any doctor tells me but do my own research. My gastroenterologist advised me to stick with reputable websites, and he specifically recommended the Mayo Clinic website. I also read studies posted by the National Institutes of Health to help me make my decisions regarding my health care.
I smelled burning things prior to finding a meningioma in my brain. And not after it was removed at Mayo in 2007.
Seems like we're seeing a pattern here.
Do get an MRI of your brain!