Lump in throat after quit smoking

moko · Newbie Joined: 16 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

I am male, 35 and just like many of you I have a lump in my throat and issues swallowing since I quit smoking.
I remember it clearly.... I quit on the 27th of May 2007 and about 4 days after quitting, whilst drinking a class of water, I was struck with a lump that seemed to swell within seconds to the point I couldnt finish my drink.

From that day on my quitting got tough, sinsus issues with blood in my snot ( this went away after about 6weeks) I developed a nasty and very sore lung infection that actually stung like my lungs were raw.
The lumps in my throat have persisted, they come and go daily and can be multiple or singular when they appear, they can last for minutes or hours, they seem to have no real trigger and usually appear on the right side of my neck. Sometimes the lump that I get on the upper right side of my throat throbs and hurts seemingly without reason. Other lumps or throat swellings can mess with my ability to swallow or just feel comfortable.

I have sudden bursts of sleepiness on occassion and have had nothing but sinus and lung infections one after the other for almost a year now.
I have developed a rather irritating anxiety reaction that triggers also without warning and makes me feel like i cant breath for a few moments, kinda like im out of oxygen... it goes as fast as it comes.

You name it I have had it since quitting smoking, itchy skin, lack of energy, weight gain, depression, infections, low immunity in general, inability to think like I used too, ( find since i quit my brain finds it harder to hold and locate words and thoughts - hard to explain unless youve experienced this, almost leaves me unable to finish words like im tongue tied) Tests show Im healthy as an ox .. according to my doctor anyway.

I dont feel healthy... I feel crap... and I hate being sick, I hate feeling vunerable and like im a damn hypochondriac, I have never been the kind of guy to get sick in my life, even when I smoked i was the one who never caught the flu, never had sick days, always had energy, as a smoker and a semi pro bodybuilder I often lifted and trained harder than many of the non smokers I knew, but now since i have quit, my joints feel like crap, my lung capacity is shocking, my energery levels are dreadfull. etc.... I could whine all day about how poorly I feel.

The best part is.... I have been to 3 different doctors... all three have suggested its all in my head, so I am concidering sending them a regular ongoing collection of my infected sinsus and throat secretions until they get the point that what I feel ... is real.

I will not smoke again... but am tempted just to get these damn side effects to piss off...22years of smoking did me no favors, but 12 months of quitting has devistated what used to be a very healthy & positive mindset.

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Guest · Guest

I quit smoking after 20 years Feb 29 2008 and two days after I quit I got sick with a sore throat then a sore neck (front and back) ear's hurting on and off , my ears also are clogged on and off daily and recently my lungs have been hurting and I have been coughing up gross stuff a few times a day, I also have been getting sores in my mouth and on the back of my tongue. My sinuses also got infected and I'm currently on antibiotics.( which is my first sinus infection I have to take antibiotics to get rid of) Before when I use to smoke I never hardly got sick, except for seasonal allergies but they soon went away just buy taking my over the counter allergy meds, and I never hardly took antibiotics at all , but now since I quit smoking cold turkey I have been more sick then I ever was as a smoker. The antibiotics I'm on now because of my sinus infection have help me a bit but I'm afraid that once I'm finished with my antibiotics that the infections will come back. I have been detoxing my body also with herbal meds and teas and eating a raw veggie diet and it does seem to help some and it has made my body stronger. I also have been to the doctor twice about how bad I have been feeling since I quit smoking and the doctor said that it's a good possibility that my body is detoxing from smoking and she gave me prescription pain relievers to help with my hurting throat and other symptoms. I do recommend that if you are sick from quiting smoking like this ,please visit your doctor and try to at least get some type of pain medication or antibiotics if you have a infection, if you let any infection go for too long it will only get worse. It also works to eat healthy and take supplements, if you have a juicer, juice carrots and apples and green veggies daily , You will feel really good if you drink fresh homemade juice and it helps detox your body . I also have removed dairy products out of my diet for now since dairy produces mucus ..I'm staying off it for now until I'm feeling 100% better, (ive been using rice milk in my cereal in the morning ands skipping cheese in my food) Taking vitamin c ,muti-vitamin is a must as well..I also take spirulina daily which is wonderful! I'm slowly feeling better , the pains in my neck are gone,my sinuses no longer hurt and my sores in my mouth are starting to go away ..I'm still dealing with my throat hurting me and my chest hurting , drainage, ears popping and feeling stopped up sometimes , but I know with everything I'm doing to heal my body will be worth it.. Im so glad I no longer smoke Very Happy

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I am a 40 year old male who smoked cigs for about 15 years. I quit smoking just 4 days ago and after the initial withdrawal symptoms of cravings to smoke after meals and waking up at night wanting to smoke I thought that was the woest of it. The last two days I've been coughing up clear phlegm many times during the day and have a sand paper throat and what feels like a lump when I swallow anything. My neck is so stiff and I think it is because of the violent coughing spells. I had a complete physical just a month ago and the doctor told me I am in execellent health. I never coughed at all when I smoked for 15 years and now that I've quit I cough throughout the day. I suppose from others who have quit smoking that the symtoms of detoxification can last many months. It's annoying and absolutely causes anxiety over my health but all in all it must be better to stop smoking than to continue, knowing how many chemicals are in cigarettes and how the body must expel them. Best wishes to all here.

quitbad · Newbie Joined: 11 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

I hope some of you guys post how the progress has been.
I have been through heel but I am improving, but all I can say is quitting smoking is the best decision. Here are some research facts which I have done.

1) What has gone inside for more than 10 years will take time to come out. Imagine beating yourself for 10 years, dont expect the wounds to heal in a day, right? SO be patient

2) kill any thoughts of cancer. Reasons , the average age for cancer is very high. It does not happen below 40 years of age . It is highly unusual. One is very unlucky if it happens so. For safe side get a CT done.

3) I have experienced all these symptoms mentioned here. Now it could be GERD for some, anxiety for some, LPR for some but please be rest assured that nothing worse has happened. These are temporary phases which can be cured easily.
For GERD and LPR get a barium swallow or Upper GI Endoscopy done. If all these reports are normal, it is most likely anxiety.
Yes the throat does feel tight because all that mucus is cleaning out. All the tar is coming out.black phlegm and greem phlegm is okay. If it is red, just tel your doc. He might want to do a bronchoscopy.

4) How to realise it is anxiety. It will happen within two - three weeks of your anxiety medicine. Twitcing, chect pain, sensation of lump in throat are all signs of anxiety. If you get a feeling that your throat is closing up, it is just that your throat muscles are geting tensed. Just takes a lozenge, or honey or keep sipping water and you will see things getting better. Do gargles occasionaly. helps to get the bad mucus out.

5) Nothing is wrong. Smile and tell the world we have quit:)

Things which help.

Increase intake of Vit C. Mild exercise. Grape juice or Lime juice along with honey. Lozenges

Enjoy. It will get better.

debmoreno · Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

I QUIT SMOKING IN FEB 08 WHEN I HAD BRONCHIOTIS I STOPPED COLD TURKEY AFTER 30 YEARS I'M A FEMALE 48 YRS OLD AND LIKE MANY OF YOU I HAD TO KEEP GOING BACK TO THE DR. FOR A BREATHING PROBLEM. HE GAVE ME AN INHALER AND ATIVAN FOR ANXIETY. I DIDN'T GET NO MUCUS AT ALL AND ITS GOING TO BE THREE MONTHS. NO LUMP IN THE THROAT JUST FEELING THE NEED TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND IF IT GOES THRU GREAT IF NOT TRY AGAIN ALTHOUGH IT DON'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. DOES ANYONE GO THRU THIS. LAST WEEK HE SENT ME FOR PULM TEST AND CHEST XRAY HAVEN'T HEARD NOTHING YET NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS. ANYBODY OUT THERE FEELING THIS WAY/ OH ALSO GOING THRU PRE-MENOPOSE. THAT'S JUST A BONUS AIN'T IT???

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I feel the same way. I have gained 15 pounds. I used to work out before i quit smoking but now I just can't find the energy or the ambition to do it. What can I do? I'm not going to start smoking again. I've been quit for over 9 months. I'm just sick of feeling tired all the time. Can anyone help?

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To debmoreno. I am a 50 year old female who quit on Dec 1, 2007. I know exactly what you are talking about. Aside from all the other issues, I have the same thing about the deep breath. it is happening less and less often though. I can push through it most of the time when I focus on it ,it's worse which makes me think it's physcological. I also wonder how often I needed to take a breath like that before. I was not concious of it but I am now very aware of how I breath.

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broken-heart · Posted: 05/07/08 - 10:24 Post subject:

I had the decision to quit smoking made for me quite abruptly. On July 1st 2007 at age 38 I had a massive heart attack. There was a 95% blockage in the main left arterie. They told me they call that particular blockage the 'Widowmaker'. In fact my grandfather died of the exact blockage when I was 2yrs old. I had an emergency angiplasty done and am now the proud owner of a stent and 4 medications per day. The emergency doctor at the initial hospital I was in said to me to remember when I had my last cigarette...I was actually smoking when the heart attack started. Within a day my throat had a feeling of needing to be cleared and it has still not gone away. I wouldn't say it is sore, more of an annoyance and irritated. At night it will start with a tickle which leads to a violent coughing fit. It still goes on to this day. Now I must admit even after what I went through getting off those death sticks has been hell and I still crash and burn. I was told in the hospital that cigarettes are harder than cocaine and heroin to quit. I was off them for about 6 months straight using the nicotine patch and I did feel much better in some ways especially breathing stopped coughing in the morning but I remember constantly having to blow my nose and this stupid throat thing. When I crash and burn and start smoking the throat feels better. But physically in other ways feel like absolute crap. Another issue I have is a hiatus hernia which gives me lots of acid reflux. Some of the heart medications are not good for acid reflux so I am also on a medication for acid reflux. Last december I got a very bad throat infection which led to laryngitus, I literally could not talk the entire month of december. It cleared up but still have that annoying feeling that something is caught in throat and it needs to be cleared. Smoking will kill you. I don't know why they are even legal aside from the taxes it generates for the governments, makes them hypocritical I think. The more people that quit the more they jack up the taxes to compensate from lost revenue while at the same time banning smoking everywhere saying how bad for you it is. After using patches for so long I think they prolong the addiction to nicotine. They are good to help break the social aspect of the addiction, but everytime I go off the things I crash and burn very quickly. I think these patches should be better regulated as well. I find the no-name brands to be useless and a waste of money and just plain don't work. The only one that works for me is Nicoderm the most expensive one. Pretty sad when it is cheaper to smoke...except for life saving trips to the hospital. I hope and keep trying to get off these things for good and get off patches as well. But it is a very tough road to travel. Wish this darn throat would clear up too.

Lump in throat after quit smoking

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