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 Posted: 05/09/08 - 21:37 Post subject: |
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| Guest wrote: | I too, recently quit smoking..about 7 weeks ago..and no one told me that the withdrawal symptons would literally make me think I am loosing my MIND!
My symptons started with not being able to sleep. I could go to sleep but not stay asleep (which is something I have always been good at). Next the depression/anxiety, terrible mood swings have set in...
I am now experiencing numbness in my face and legs! I can't wait to see what is around the corner..
I smoked for 30+ yrs and the worst part of it all is these CRAZY things that are happening to my body....I knew I was a addict, just never realized the withdrawal process could be like this... |
I quit on Jan 31 2007 after 25 years of 1 pack a day smoking. Initially it was smooth sailing but about 8 weeks later I had a major anxiety attack from which I had trouble recovering for the next 8 months. Every day I was worrying about everything and nothing but I think I was stressing about my health issues too much. Eventually I turned to meds for this (under doctors supervision of course) taking Klonopin and Zoloft.
- I started experiencing severe nausea losing appetite completely - this lasted for 4 months straight. I was able to fall asleep but would wake up around 3 am....the sleep disorder passed once I started taking anti-anxiety meds.
- I had skin issues - diagnosed as guttate psoriasis on my legs, trunk and scalp. Was absolutely petrified about the prospects of having this long term. Started taking steroid lotions and creams. After 12 months the red spots had cleared - ouch!
- In the first 2 months after quitting I had several throat infections - the doc was even speculating that I may have some Coxsackie virus. I took strong antibiotics which really aggravated my esophagus and made me feel as if I had something stuck down there as I was swallowing liquids or solids. This really freaks me out - I thought 100% cancer from smoking that finally caught up with me. Eventually this passed as I stopped taking antibiotics and esophagus healed on its own. But talk about scares....
I am fine now. Off the anti-anxiety drugs. Gained some weight but am in generally good spirits. I don't have to take afternoon naps on weekends any longer and my energy is up overall.
Please if you are going through this mental issues - don't under estimate this, seek help. These things may cause you to get wrapped up in a downward spiral of unnecessary worry.
Remember that those god damn cigs have tons of chemicals that have dramatic effect on chemistry of our brains and had literally reprogrammed it over time. This explains why we are all going through this detox process but what really interests me that NOWHERE, NOWHERE will you find any warning about these nasty symptoms and steep road to recovery. Funny, even when I mentioned it to the doctors that this and that may have connections to my quitting they had dismissed the idea without thinking about it twice.
I have done it  . Got myself through it and looking at this from perspective of time and experience I can't believe that cigarettes are not banned all together!!!!
Stay strong and live you will! Cope knowing that whatever you are experiences and no matter how weird it is it is a direct result of the quitting and you will eventually overcome it.
Brake these chains of dependency, financial misery and slavery to Big Tabacco  Good luck and DO NOT WORRY - i will pass.
Oh, one more think - stop searching for your symptoms on the internet - it does not help - there is a lot of over exaggerated bullshit out there  Been there done that.
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plent2d
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| Posted: 05/22/08 - 19:51 Post subject: |
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I gave up cold turkey 2 weeks ago after 42 years of smoking. No real problems except massive irritation at times. However for the last few days i've had really bad diarrhoea and feel nauseous every night..?
Great thread btw very informative..how come this sort of thing isn't more widely known and publicised. |
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santolla
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| Posted: 07/02/08 - 08:57 Post subject: I quit smoking over a year ago and I still feel crap!! |
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It's rubbish!! How long will this last. I've given up over a year ago now and nothing has changed. The only thing is that i dont' crave cigirets anymore. But I feel like crap!
I've gained 10 pounds that I can't loose, i'm always getting infections. Ear infections, sinus infection. You name it... i'll get it. I've gotten severe bleeding gums that may be linked to giving up. I can't poo! I suffer with sever gas and bloating.
Now when I smoked, i swam 60 laps per day. No problems, giving up i'm still the same. But I stuggle with that energy to do it.
Any ideas when this will end and I go back to normal? I smoked 15 per day for 25 years.
Thanks all! |
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| Posted: 07/09/08 - 22:07 Post subject: Re: I quit smoking over a year ago and I still feel crap!! |
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| santolla wrote: | It's rubbish!! How long will this last. I've given up over a year ago now and nothing has changed. The only thing is that i dont' crave cigirets anymore. But I feel like crap!
I've gained 10 pounds that I can't loose, i'm always getting infections. Ear infections, sinus infection. You name it... i'll get it. I've gotten severe bleeding gums that may be linked to giving up. I can't poo! I suffer with sever gas and bloating.
Now when I smoked, i swam 60 laps per day. No problems, giving up i'm still the same. But I stuggle with that energy to do it.
Any ideas when this will end and I go back to normal? I smoked 15 per day for 25 years.
Thanks all! |
I feel really really bad for you and I know how it feels. You quit smoking hoping to feel better when what you get is just the opposite, at least for a while...
How long is the while...I don't know. The key to understand here is that everybody is different and bodies tend to take different paths to restore the natural order. For some recovery is instantaneous, for others it will take more time, and for some it may take a very long time before things get back to normal.
Bodies also have their own way to detox. For some the process is mild and barely noticeable but for others it maybe more pronounced, severe and unnerving. I am not a doctor so I cannot give you medical advise but I want you to have faith and not give up. You have to have faith that things will stabilize eventually and understand that it is your smoking for all those years that had really poisoned your system to such extend that it is taking your system over a year to get rid of the crap. As you are detoxing, your immune system maybe be much more susceptible to infections than before....it should be able to win eventually, that is how we are designed and built.
You have to realize that your sense of normalcy had been destroyed by constant delivery of poison into your brain for 25 years. The perceptions are distorted and the chemical balance has been compromised - the drugs in the cigs are designed precisely to do that. Some parts of the brain have been constantly stimulated by the poison while others were being reprogrammed. Feelings of happiness and self confidence should be able to return in time as well as the brain re-learns how to function without the stimulants.
So it is normal to have not so great feelings after you quit, that is part of the addiction.
Anyway... I have gained more than 30 pounds after I quit and I am not happy about that either. However I would rather deal with 10 pounds only - so you are not in such a bad shape.
Energy will eventually return and the infections will stop. Think positive but don't forget that medical help is available....
Stay strong!!! I know you will !!! Do not give up!!!
It is better to have gas than die having your interior eaten by a cancer. |
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santolla
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| Posted: 08/13/08 - 15:41 Post subject: Re: The Easy Way to Stop Smoking |
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Did you know the writer of that book "alan carr" died of lung caner. Ironic isn't it? He quit for all those years, wrote amazing books, the kills over with lung cancer. Should have just kept smoking. he he he |
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| Posted: 08/30/08 - 14:19 Post subject: Re: The Easy Way to Stop Smoking |
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| santolla wrote: |
Did you know the writer of that book "alan carr" died of lung caner. Ironic isn't it? He quit for all those years, wrote amazing books, the kills over with lung cancer. Should have just kept smoking. he he he |
I actually didn't know - that's sad, very sad.
Anyway... it has been 19 months since I quit. I still have issues to deal with directly linked to chemicals I have been poisoning my body with for such a long time but these days I feel more and more often convinced that I am winning the war. The road to recovery was rocky but it was well worth it! |
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jerry T
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| Posted: 09/13/08 - 20:31 Post subject: Re: I quit smoking over a year ago and I still feel crap!! |
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| santolla wrote: | It's rubbish!! How long will this last. I've given up over a year ago now and nothing has changed. The only thing is that i dont' crave cigirets anymore. But I feel like crap!
I've gained 10 pounds that I can't loose, i'm always getting infections. Ear infections, sinus infection. You name it... i'll get it. I've gotten severe bleeding gums that may be linked to giving up. I can't poo! I suffer with sever gas and bloating.
Now when I smoked, i swam 60 laps per day. No problems, giving up i'm still the same. But I stuggle with that energy to do it.
Any ideas when this will end and I go back to normal? I smoked 15 per day for 25 years.
Thanks all! |
i know whats this is like. i gave up smoking 3 months ago...i didnt have any truoble with stopping. but i started getting ear presser and then my sinus started giving me trouble..and i have bloating. i can poop just fine and my gums are ok. bu ti cant sleep .. i wake up 2 or 3 hours after falling asleep. i have been to a couple of doctors and all of them say the i am ok.. they just give my pills and send me on my way. i havent been smoking as long as most of you . but i am only 27 years old. thanks for you people putting this stuff up here... i was thinking i was dying of cancer or smothing. |
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| Posted: 09/13/08 - 20:44 Post subject: Re: I quit smoking over a year ago and I still feel crap!! |
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| santolla wrote: | It's rubbish!! How long will this last. I've given up over a year ago now and nothing has changed. The only thing is that i dont' crave cigirets anymore. But I feel like crap!
I've gained 10 pounds that I can't loose, i'm always getting infections. Ear infections, sinus infection. You name it... i'll get it. I've gotten severe bleeding gums that may be linked to giving up. I can't poo! I suffer with sever gas and bloating.
Now when I smoked, i swam 60 laps per day. No problems, giving up i'm still the same. But I stuggle with that energy to do it.
Any ideas when this will end and I go back to normal? I smoked 15 per day for 25 years.
Thanks all! |
know whats this is like. i gave up smoking 3 months ago...i didnt have any truoble with stopping. but i started getting ear presser and then my sinus started giving me trouble..and i have bloating. i can poop just fine and my gum's are ok. bu ti cant sleep .. i wake up 2 or 3 hours after falling asleep. i have been to a couple of doctors and all of them say the i am ok.. they just give my pills and send me on my way. i haven't been smoking as long as most of you . but i am only 27 years old. thanks for you people putting this stuff up here... i was thinking i was dying of cancer or something |
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A. Smoker
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| Posted: 09/18/08 - 17:23 Post subject: Don't blame it on quitting! It could be something else. |
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I quit smoking at the end of 2007 and started experiencing all these symptoms described above - physical and mental. I went to the doctor and complained about my lack of energy, trouble concentrating, and general malaise. He said that I was simply going through the changes that people experience when they quit smoking and didn't offer any more help than that.
Finally, after five months I went back to smoking so I could feel like myself again. And guess what?! It didn't help. I was still suffering from the same symptoms and finally got treated for depression. I wish my doctor would have recognized the clear symptoms of depression instead of blaming it on quitting smoking. Maybe I wouldn't have started again.
So if you're going through any of this, don't let the doctor (or anyone else) tell you that it's normal for you to feel this way. Get treated for whatever is ailing you and good luck!
I'm still smoking and the depression has been treated and I "feel like myself" again. But at what cost??? |
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