Quitting Smoking

RachNRich

I've always heard that when one quits smoking, their taste buds become more enhanced. So, essentially things start tasting better once they quit smoking.

But the opposite has happened to me; I quit smoking--and I swear things taste worse. 

For instance---I get coffee daily from Dunkin' Donuts, and I love it. Or at least I used to. Now, it just tastes off---and has tasted off since about the time I quit smoking. 

For the other smoking/former-smoking ladies out there, have you ever experience this?

temerityjane

Just because you can taste things better doesn't mean they taste BETTER. Some things taste like crap and you didn't even know it!

Surprise!

RachNRich

I was hoping you'd say the opposite, TJ. Mainly because my brain CANNOT comprehend Dunkin' Donuts coffee actually being bad to begin with. 

So basically, my taste buds returned---and can identify crap that my smoking taste buds thought were awesome? Bummer. 

laurenclaire1386

My dad said that he could taste and smell better after quitting smoking. I still smoke. I will say though, that I can't drink coffee without smoking. They just go together really well. Maybe that's why your coffee tastes off?

ac_in_dc

I think coffee may be an exception to this rule. Cigarettes and coffee are a match made in heaven IMO.

anna.oskar

i agree rach.  I'm on day 4 and I just tossed out my blt for lunch because it tastes weird.  i've been told that it takes a bit for everything to balance out and that this is normal.

tlv204

Honestly I did not notice a single change in my body after quitting smoking other than less coughing. I didn't lose or gain weight, my skin/hair didn't get better or worse, and my taste buds didn't change at all.  At least not that I noticed.  My only change was that I was a raging whiny bitch for a few months. But actually that's not much of a change. So basically I'm no help.  Sorry!

aMrsin09

yep, TJ nailed it.

When I had quit, my sense of smell came back the week they decided to mulch all of downtown DC.  Yep, the world smelled like horse manure.  I wasn't happy.

mandysmear

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_quitting-smoking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0076a47-dd07-412f-9849-3f7f6e5b45f8Post:335e6986-db33-4961-8414-5d249619aa6e">Re: Quitting Smoking</a>:
[QUOTE] I will say though, that I can't drink coffee without smoking. They just go together really well. Maybe that's why your coffee tastes off?
Posted by laurenclaire1386[/QUOTE]

I can agree with this.  I don't smoke that much... a pack lasts me a week, sometimes a week and a half.  I don't HAVE to smoke with coffee, but I really enjoy sitting on my back deck on Sunday mornings with a cigarette and a coffee.  Ditto with wine.  Something about the combination.  If it weren't for wine, I could probably quit smoking completely.

RachNRich

Lauren and AC---I think you guys are on to something. As in I should allow myself one cigarette a day whilst drinking my morning coffee. It would make my day better overall, thus worth it.....but, alas, I cannot.

Anna: YAY! Congrats on the quitting! 

tlv--the only thing I have noticed is the coffee tasting thing. I didn't cough before, so no coughing now---no change in skin/hair/etc. that I've noticed. But I was in the worst mood for a week/two after quitting---I'm not craving them any less now, but I've stopped with the smoking-related rage. I think. Oh god, I want a cigarette!

temerityjane

I have trouble drinking coffee still because, as several people mentioned, it just goes so well with cigarettes that it's hard to enjoy it as much without them. At just over 4 months out now, I don't think about smoking every minute of every day anymore, so it's uncomfortable when it does come up like that, with a cup of coffee.

Buddy says like tlv, he hasn't noticed ANY changes at all, but I have. I had a cold recently and the cough was not NEARLY so wracking as it used to be when I'd get a cold as a smoker (though it IS sticking around for a long time - now that I think about it, it's been a month) and at first, I kept getting lightheaded and couldn't figure out why - then I realized it was because I was getting WAY more oxygen than I was used to. I was dizzy constantly for a few weeks.

As for taste of things - I still LIKE coffee, aside from the smoking cravings. Buddy and I have noticed, though, that a lot of recipes we initially wrote off as too bland or boring actually deserve a second chance now. Before, we really only truly liked things that relied on really strong flavors - garlic, etc. I've been cutting back on a lot of seasoning, salt, pepper, etc just because I no longer need it to be able to TASTE the food at all.

julezlee

I'm the same as TLV, I didn't experience any change in taste, skin,etc.  Which was really effing annoying since I had a dermatologist and a crazy Russian esthetician (sp?) tell me my acne was caused by my smoking.  Guess not.

RachNRich

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_quitting-smoking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0076a47-dd07-412f-9849-3f7f6e5b45f8Post:7f4d10d6-92ad-40ac-a407-133a0ee66441">Re: Quitting Smoking</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Quitting Smoking : I can agree with this.  I don't smoke that much... a pack lasts me a week, sometimes a week and a half.  I don't HAVE to smoke with coffee, but I really enjoy sitting on my back deck on Sunday mornings with a cigarette and a coffee.  Ditto with wine.  Something about the combination.  If it weren't for wine, I could probably quit smoking completely.
Posted by mandysmear[/QUOTE]

<div>This is where I was at. A pack a week---but, I smoked cloves. I figured when the doctors told me my lungs were not "normal" on a scan that I needed to quit.  But my morning coffee was always with a cigarette. </div>

danieliza1127

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_quitting-smoking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0076a47-dd07-412f-9849-3f7f6e5b45f8Post:cb0674d7-6c7c-4638-bc43-089d23271429">Re: Quitting Smoking</a>:
[QUOTE]Just because you can taste things better doesn't mean they taste BETTER. Some things taste like crap and you didn't even know it! Surprise!
Posted by temerityjane[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's my line of thinking.  I've always heard that smokers can't smell or taste as well.  So it's not that things will taste better when you quit smoking, it's just that you will be able to taste the real taste of things when you quit smoking.

laurenclaire1386

I tried quitting a few months ago, it didn't stick. I did notice one really weird thing when I quit for about three weeks. My blood pressure dropped drastically. It made getting out of bed in the morning an adventure, because a lot of the time, I blacked out for a second. I have ridiculously low blood pressure anyway, and apparently smoking keeps it at a normal non pass out level.

RachNRich

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_quitting-smoking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0076a47-dd07-412f-9849-3f7f6e5b45f8Post:adc0271e-8a96-40fc-8920-00c53cbae4ab">Re: Quitting Smoking</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Quitting Smoking : Yeah, that's my line of thinking.  I've always heard that smokers can't smell or taste as well.  So it's not that things will taste better when you quit smoking, it's just that you will be able to taste the real taste of things when you quit smoking.
Posted by danieliza1127[/QUOTE]

<div>This definitely makes more sense this way. I think I was just "telling" myself that smoking just dulled my tastes---so everything would be more tasty upon quitting. I never considered that smoking masked the taste of certain things.</div>

RachNRich

Beach---I'm going to have to try doctoring my DD with flavoring; hopefully it will help.

There are a lot more smokers here than I though!

danieliza1127

Oh yeah, I'm a smoker too but not trying to quit.  Yet.  I mostly smoke when I drink, which is a couple of times a week, or in the car or if I'm really upset about something. 

RachNRich

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_quitting-smoking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0076a47-dd07-412f-9849-3f7f6e5b45f8Post:f2292f4f-5a44-4b1a-8365-a5909e20b4e7">Re: Quitting Smoking</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh yeah, I'm a smoker too but not trying to quit.  Yet.  I mostly smoke when I drink, which is a couple of times a week, or in the car or if I'm really upset about something. 
Posted by danieliza1127[/QUOTE]

<div>If you've mentioned you were a smoker before, I never caught it. But--I'm surprised; you don't seem like the smoking type (not that I know what the smoking type is...). </div>

danieliza1127

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_quitting-smoking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0076a47-dd07-412f-9849-3f7f6e5b45f8Post:48ce3dc9-9273-4288-b36f-523a04beace0">Re: Quitting Smoking</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Quitting Smoking : If you've mentioned you were a smoker before, I never caught it. But--I'm surprised; you don't seem like the smoking type (not that I know what the smoking type is...). 
Posted by RachNRich[/QUOTE]

Haha, that's what I thought about pretty much everyone else in this post too. 

MeaghanandMichael

Well, aside from my confession yesterday, I am surprised this topic has not come up more often on this board. I have no idea most of you smoked.

I am exactlyyy like Mandy in my smoking habits. Dani - I smoke in the car too, but more out of boredom. I still have never crossed the pack a week line too unless I have a big weekend. In that case I can smoke a pack out drinking for two nights. I feel like hell the next day though.

tlv204

GUYS this post needs to stop.  I really want a cigarette.  For the first time in at least a month I really really want one. And I quit almost a year ago. Wow I've been here too long.

Kati0105

I haven't had a cigarette in exactly 8 days.  I should probably exit this thread immediately

salt78

I smoked for like 13 years and will never ever understand why someone would want to have a cigarrette after eating a delicious meal.

julezlee

I'm still absolutely shocked that Meaghan smokes.  And now I'm shocked that Dani smokes.

I also really want a cigarette and some coffee.  Too bad I don't do either anymore

tlv204

Salt I don't understand it either, but I always wanted one. That was one of my favorites.  Driving, drinking, stressed out, and overly satisfied (either with food or sex).  That's when I smoked.  I still sometimes crave one after a big meal.

RachNRich

I was just eating broccoli. And it was awful. And then I read Beach's post again about broccoli tasting weird. I'm now starting to put the pieces together.

Salt--that picture of yours is great. It's funny too, which makes it more great.

aMrsin09

Salt, they say smokers want a cigarette after a large meal becuase the nicotine does trigger a chemical response that speeds up the digestion, or some such stuff.

I am impressed at those that were only cranky for a few weeks.  I had quit for 8 months and frankly, I thought about having a cigarette every minute of every day of those 8 months.  I was pure evil.

mandysmear

I stopped smoking in the car.  H is allergic.  Even on our roadtrip, 30 hours of driving I might have had 2 in the car.  I would just wait til we got to our destination.

Quitting smoking in the car cut down my smoking HUGE!  I'm glad I did.  Sometimes I'll have the occassional one if H isn't with me though.  Just because it's winter and cold out.

kate51485

I have never had a cigarette, ever, and I think everyone in this post is too pretty to smoke.  Stop for an adoring knottie pal?

salt78

Hmmm that is interesting. I have never heard this before. Even when I smoked, I never felt the urge to do that.

Thanks Rach! You look Prettytown USA in your dress!!!