My sense of smell has returned and I'm overwhelmed

[Coldemort]

I gave up smoking new years day. So just shy of a week. I started when I was 12 and I'm now nearly 40. In that time I've never gone more than half a day without a cigarette, and that was only odd occasions when I couldnt, flights etc

Anyway, I woke up this morning and I can smell EVERYTHING. I can only assume that as I started so early I've just never noticed that I've never really had much of a sense of smell.
I know this sounds utterly dramatic, but I'm lying in bed and I cant sleep as everything smells so strong (I don't mean bad smells, just smells!). I can smell the washing powder, what I suspect is stale perfume , toothpaste. Just everything. I made fried rice for dinner and it made me heave it was so strong.
Not sure what I want from this thread, but is this how it's going to be now? Who knew the world was such a smelly place -and have I ever had BO and not known-

Well done on giving up! That’s fantastic! Keep going! Was looking for applause emoji but couldn’t find one
I think you will probably acclimatise to your new awareness of smell over time. I’m sure it’s a bit overwhelming right now.

I was the same smoker as you - started at around 12.

I'm now 7 years cig free & still have an intense sense of smell & love it - apart from farts!

And it does calm down - a bit!

Many congratulations on giving up.

Next you will discover what smokers smell like. It's awful.

Good for you for giving it up. Airing the house does bring in a more neutral, fresh scent, so try that. Go easy on perfumes, deodorants, those toilet perfumes et cetera. You probably chose them when you couldn't smell and you might want to change them now.

I'm so jealous. I gave up 8 years ago and my sense of smell hasn't returned. It's that bad that I sat in my garden last summer and didn't know my nextdoor but one neighbour's kitchen was on fire. The first I knew about it was when I nosed out the front because I heard a loud engine running. A large red engine, d'oh!

Well done on becoming a non smoker. Not smoking related but my DH lost his sense of smell when he had nasal polyps, he had them removed and some sense of smell has returned. He found there were good and bad smells. Enjoy the good smells.

Ah OP it'll settle. You'll be able to taste stuff so much better now your smells come back.

Once you get a whiff of a smoker you'll not go back. But honestly it does settle down.

God yes, realising how much smokers stink. You should be very proud of your progress and why not buy somethings with lovely smells like scented candles as a reward?