Taste and scent

[Harlequin]

Last week (the third of my new life as a vaper) I started to notice my sense of scent returning. Funny thing is that I've never had much of a sense of scent; when I was a kid I had enlarged adenoids and then I started smoking at 15. Even today I habitually breathe through my mouth rather than my nose, so one way or the other I've never really noticed how most things smell.

I wouldn't compare it to regaining sight or anything, but it's pretty profound to suddenly find myself walking around and experimentally sniffing things. It's like there's a whole vocabulary of scents that I'm only now (at the age of 42) learning to appreciate ...

And over the past couple of days my taste buds must have been healing, too, because this evening I had a cheeseburger - just a cheeseburger, standard bar-food I've been eating my whole life - and the taste was so vivid and complex I actually couldn't finish it. It was almost overwhelming, as if previously, I would have eaten the whole burger just out of habit but not really appreciated it; now that I can really taste it, I somehow didn't need to eat the whole thing.

I guess I'll get used to these newly revived senses over time, but for the moment, it's an amazing experience ...

 

[Dredbull]

I wish my over active sniffer and taster would calm the hell down.. Been vaping since 9-25 and HAVE to smoke a real one from time to time to ...... the overactive side.

I deal with scents all the time and find myself getting pounded in the skull by offensive bo and overly used scents to mask offensive bo.
No not talking yuppy dis here I am talking about migraine inducing funk o rama tastes.

 

[RatRacer]

Being of similar age and timeline of ditching analogs, I concur with your observations. Smell is a major contributer to taste, and since both are returning, there might be a sensory overload. We have been dulling these senses for so long, you will find some favorite flavors now will be overwhelming.
Oh, and if you like spicy food, your tolerence will be less since you're no longer putting a protective tar layer on your tongue.

Enjoy the new senses!

 

[potholerepairman]

did not connect the smell thing till now as I am only a once or twice a week vaper.The smells from places that are familiar but now stink are really overpowering, thought it was the people not doing any cleaning or somekind of mold.I had no clue 1 or2 weekly smoking days killed my sense of smell so much. thanks for the insight.

 

[quasimod]

[...] overly used scents to mask offensive bo. [...]

I've never liked the alcohol smell of perfumes or colognes, but it's the taste that really bothers me. That taste is so awful, I don't know how anyone can wear the stuff.

"Can I get you something else, Sir?"
"No, I've eaten enough cologne for one day, thank you"

I guess it will only get worse, now that my sense of smell is getting better. Lately, I've spent a lot of time playing the "find the smell" game.

 

[Fairlane64]

"Can I get you something else, Sir?"
"No, I've eaten enough cologne for one day, thank you"

LOL! Great comeback!
After only a few days of vaping without any analog at all, I'm starting to just now notice that things have smell again, and taste too. I'm not sure I'm ready for the "eating cologne" experience, but I feel like I'm just starting to get those senses back again.
One downside, I'm also starting to cough up all that crap in my lungs from 30+ years of smoking a pack a day. Not that it's a bad thing, just kind of miserable to go thru the process of lung cleansing. Oh well, I'm glad to finally feel like I can put the analogs away for good, even if I do start eating cologne too!

 

[pianoguy]

I seems to get better by the day for me, too. This morning it was the smell of the coffee my wife was brewing that got me out of bed - I was upstairs in the bedroom with the door closed. That has never happened before.

 

[Ez Duzit]

Yeah, a couple months back, someone made a thread titled something like, "I got back my sense of smell.... and the world stinks". I thought it was pretty funny.

 

[BobbiBilbo]

The big one for me was when I realized just how FOUL an odor "smoking" really is. Co-workers that smoke are actually quite easily identified by odor. NASTY !!

 

[CoffeeFairy]

I was just talking to my daughter about this last night and I've determined that coffee is even MORE appealing...

but cleaning the litter box is HORRID!!!!!!!!!!!