Smelling Cigarette Smoke (Phantosmia): What could it mean?

i developed smelling smoke after I had a stroke in 2015. I still get the problem and doctors are not concerned. I have them say it could be a worst smell. when it happens to me it also takes away my energy and I am short of breath more. I also have voice changes when it happens but not all times and I had voice problems before stroke. The voice started when the doctor decided I had fibromyalgia. Good luck getting it gone- it is annoying.

To @lesion I was very surprised to see that someone else has the voice changes. I have that problem as well. Mine tends to come and go and I haven’t found anything that fixes it. I have had success with the smell issue with the drug clorazepate. Although I was never given a firm diagnosis and my story is too long to type, I also think I had some sort of stroke about four years ago. The voice issue is so annoying. I’m sorry you have to deal with that.

I haven't lost my voice. But I have a lot of problems swallowing and the doctors don't know what to think of it. Like when I take my vitamins in the morning and I have them in my mouth with water, and for some reason it's like my throat is not when I swallow which also keeps me from eating sometimes. I can't wait to quit smoking

@veteranspouseipain- Cigaretts can cause more than cancer. They can deaden your mouth and other areas, They can do so much harm that I would have to write a book to go into all that. But I'm sure that you know it anyway. I smoked for 35 years and have had lung cancer for 22+ years. I am wondering why you haven't stopped smoking. If you can''t wait, than don't. I quit because I found out that I had lung cancer. It's very very hard, especially for women. You might feel horrible for a a while but it gets easier and more tolerable and if I did it, anyone should be able to. It's such a relief when you do.
Here is some help. I wish you success and that healthy life!
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/stop-smoking/about/pac-20385048
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/addiction-recovery/
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ways-to-curb-your-cravings-for-nicotene/

It is really hard to quit smoking. I am grateful that our Province offers free quit smoking aids to anyone who wants them. The only limitation is that we can only be granted the regime (for free) once a year. I didn't quit until year 3. I tried the gum, inhalers - and then finally the patch. I quit (after 40 years) because I thought I had a health problem so was strongly motivated, but it was still really hard. Sending you positive energy to help get you through the quitting process.

@iceblue- You bring up something very important, no matter how tough it is, keep trying until you succeed. !!!

Hello from England , iam so sorry to hear your suffering on top of the daily issues your already having to handle most of us would have given up by now, so don't focus on stress of giving up smoking if your Dr asked you to stop eating chocolate that would be hard enough, so take one tiny step at a time, ( my ddaughter has been through ruff time long story short her husband is disabled and has cancer too she has been sick from stress , here they have rest bite care where you get to have a break time for you just to recharge your precious batteries) might be able to get something like that where you are living and maybe even try drinking before having vitamins in morning lemon water with honey and ginger root might help settle your throat know it's helped me and my darling daughter, they have two precious children that get stressed by things , and my dearest precious beautiful friend are handling similar to you caring for her disabled husband she too has rest carers to support her she's no longer able to do everything herself ,. Seems to me you have enough to deal with walking your precious dog might help when you think about needing to smoke instead of... HUG from England kind regards swift * your so brave take little time to breathe...

Update: The smell of smoke has stayed with me all this time (about 3 weeks), although began to reduce yesterday and has remained reduced today.

I saw my doctor today and described the smell, frequency of the smell, the headaches that felt like sinus headaches - and confirmed that I have NOT been congested. He conducted some in-office tests (e.g. follow my finger, tapped on various areas on my forehead and face), and concluded that the problem was almost certainly in my sinuses. He said the symptoms I described are not unusual as precursors to sinus infections, and suspects my immune system may have prevented an actual infection, but if I become congested to come back and he will give me antibiotics.

Yesterday I only smelled smoke for about 4(ish) hours rather than 14(ish), and the headaches have mostly subsided. I am hoping all symptoms will be completely gone within the week.

Oh! And while I had reduced the Gabapentin down to 300 mg - it did not seem to impact the smell, so I am back up at 400 mg/day.

Whew! This has been a trip I don't want to repeat!

@iceblue
So, did your doctor say that this was going to be an ongoing problem or did s/he not make any kind of prediction.
Take care,
Jake

@jakedduck1 - I think we both assumed that because the amount of time I am smelling smoke has decreased over the past 2 days that it's on it's way to disappearing. Geez 😮 I hope it won't be an ongoing problem!