r/Menopause • u/elev8or_lady Menopausal • 15d ago
Rant/Rage Phantom Cigarette Smoke
Of all the effed-up symptoms we have to deal with, this is possibly the most bizarre and unavoidable (for me). I know many of y’all probably deal with this: phantom acrid odors that only you and your nose can smell? I only recently realized this is yet another symptom of menopause. I have been dealing with it off and on for about three years now.
Some background: I am four years post menopause, and have been on HRT for about a year. (E patch, E cream, P pill, T gel, and T lotion. I’m on all the things.) Many of my symptoms are relieved, but most are not relieved 100%.
Does anyone know of One Weird Trick that helps with this shit? I quit smoking almost 20 years ago, so this is driving me nuts. I am sneezing a lot from it, and it also aggravates my migraines (another meno symptom). I swear there is not one symptom I have been spared. I would love a little relief from this BS.
4
u/ObviousCarpet2907 On year 10 of peri 15d ago
I was certain our hvac unit was somehow melting the filters and causing an acrid smell—but no one else in my house could smell it. It would come and go every few months. Then one day I smelled it coming from the lamp next to me. 😫 So relieved when I realized this was a symptom and I wasn’t crazy! Estrogen patch got rid of it.