Man Am I Falling Apart

Try smelling an essential oil. Perhaps swipe a bit under your nose or somewhere on your body or clothes. Also, try spraying the car with Febreze or a similar product. Be sure to wash all the clothes you were wearing in the house.

I had lung surgery and I had a lingering chemical smell for awhile. It eventually went away.

About the hiatal hernia. You have pain. If it's not a hernia, it's something else. I suggest seeing a specialist/gastroenterologist as the next step. What did your doctor recommend?

I had increasingly more serious abdominal pain and it took years of seeing an OB to finally learn it was endometriosis. At the time, endometriosis was relatively unknown. It takes time and many visits to the same doctor sometimes for a diagnosis. Once the gp has reached the end of their knowledge and skill, move on to a specialist.

Please DO NOT use dryer sheets to counteract the smells – most brands are EXTREMELY toxic for you and your children.

There are safer products that may do the job. Air filters with carbon are useful. Smells-b-gone is an ordorless spray that works well on many smells, even skunk (first-hand experience on that one!). I'm sensitive to many smells and airborne chemicals, and find that adding toxins only makes the problems worse.

And as PrincessMomma said, pregnancy does make most women more sensitive to smells. It's nature's way of helping us protect our children. Plus, the increased internal pressure of pregnancy would almost certainly make stomach/hernia issues more intense.

K., from your previous posts, you sound like a person with many health-related anxieties. There may well be physical causes, and I'm not telling you it's all in your head, but anxiety can make any discomfort worse. I've learned this through first-hand experience, as well. I hope you'll talk to your doctor about this. If he/she can't listen to you seriously, find another doctor.

In my experience motherhood makes your smelling abilities a super power lol. I can walk in a room and immediately know someone pooped or farted. And I can smell cigarette smoke from a passing vehicle while driving.

Young Living has superb essential oils !

Take out some dryer sheets and put them in your car. That should help get rid of the smell.
Or get some Febreeze. That could help too.
But, my husband works for a car dealership in the detail department and they put dryer sheets in the smokey cars (after they "bomb" them...which you could do too!).

I would take the car to get it detailed in order to get the smell out. I wouldn't allow anyone to smoke in that car, or if someone has the odor of smoke on their clothes to get in the car. If you can smell smoke on someone's clothes, skin, or hair then that's second hand smoke and it's just as dangerous as if they blew smoke in your face. So you're not crazy and smelling phantom smells.

Breathe, okay? These kinds of things are fixable. Please, please don't let it stress you out so much. Don't go to your sister's place again because if her boyfriend smokes anywhere in the house this will happen again. Visit her in your own home or somewhere neutral and smoke-free. If she asks why, tell her that you're allergic to cigarette smoke ever since your pregnancy and you're hyper-sensitive to the smoke and lingering odor. I have a consumer that I work with that I'm going to have to stop meeting with because he won't/can't stop smoking and I get sick for days after every meeting. It's just terrible being so sensitive to it.

I'm sorry that you're having gastro issues. Those are no fun. Have you considered that maybe your diet has something to do with it? What types of symptoms are you having? I missed the previous posts.

I also agree that you seem to have a lot of anxiety, and might I suggest some post partum depression. I think you might want to talk to your primary care physician to get a recommendation for a local Psychiatrist or Psychologist for talk therapy. If you're not against the possibility of medication, a Psychiatrist would be a good option. Please take care of yourself, and don't downplay what you're feeling. I've been where you are.

1. Smoking sister and bf...Calmly explain to her that you need them not to smoke near you, because it makes you sick. Explain how it makes you sick other than you don't like the smell. Do you feel like throwing up? Do you get chest pain? Chances are they will stop smoking around you, if you explain why, but it can't be just that you don't like the smell. You're just visiting not staying forever, right? So think of it like that.
2. You had an upper GI done and no hernia or a disapearing hernia....I don't like that either. Also you didn't have a lower GI, which is a good idea to have. You should not have pain. Pain is our body telling us something isn't right. You have to be really persistant in letting the doctor know you definately have pain. Something is wrong and it needs to be thoroughly checked out. See another doctor. You need to get more than one opinion. Something could be blocking the hernia or it was something else, but something's wrong. You need to tell the doctor details like when do you get the pain, is it intermittant or constant, exactly where is it, do you get pain after you eat certain foods, etc. All those details help. Some things show up on one type of test, but not another so you might want an MRI or a CAT scan. Keep pursuing the issue. It may be more than just diet or it could be GERD.

It is hormonal. After a baby, your senses are sharper so that you can tend to baby properly, it just happens to stink(no pun intended) that ALL other things other than baby are magnafied by 10. Do not use dryer sheets...TOXIC!!!!

http://www.mrsmeyers.com/
Try the MEYER'S line of products. They are natural, smell wonderful and have a variety of cleaning products to help you re-scent the car or any room.

You sound like you have anxiety above all other issues. This makes matters worse. Talk to your general MD, your gyn and see what can be done to help you. Get a hold of the anxiety and the rest will be better. Good luck.