health problems after stop smoking

Hello......its my 5th day since I quit smoking....I'm in disbelief???? as I was smoking 75grms to 100grms a week!! but after witnessing the affects of opcd from a partner..it was enough to make me realise this could be my destiny too...Fear stopped me for years in stopping smoking ....fear of the unknown and the loss of a 31year old companion,who in actual fact was never a friend only out to take my money healthy...bring misery pain and suffering and eventually death,and its not just about me either..how about the people that care about me ...it affects those too..much more than I realised.its a day at a time...all I have is right here right now...and I know i'll make it and I wish the same to all the other quitters too don't give up its worth it in the long run!! good luck Mary

That's really weird - I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease about 6 years ago after a year of feeling absolutely awful following getting a tic stuck in my leg in the Highlands (I knew nothing about it at the time, so didn't think to worry when I got a bullets-eye rash round where the tic head and leg had stuck in my body after inadvertantly swiping the rest of it off - just put it down to a normal reaction to having an 'alien body' in me, and as it disappeared when the dead tic finally worked it's way out thought no more about it). Having smoked for 38 years, have kept trying to stop with little success (other than when pregnant - which was no effort at all), but since the Lyme's every time I try to stop I end up wheezy, permanently nauseous, disorientated and incredibly weak in my legs to the extent that I can barely walk. Over the last few months I have been gradually replacing the 'real' fags with e-cigarettes to minimise the severity of the symptoms, and so far, apart from the wheezing and night coughing (and retching in the morning to clear out the gunk) seem to have far less pronounced symptoms than previously. I'm now down to one or two 'real' ones a day, as opposed to my years of 20+, and despite the intense irritation my coughing is causing my husband (who is still a never attempted stopping smoker who has never had a smokers cough) feel like I may be getting on top of it. Until I read your post, I hadn't even though that the worsening Lyme's symptoms were connected with my stopping smoking attempts, but in retrospect they obviously were - I never 'regressed' symptom wise at any other time. The only advice I can offer is what seems to be working for me, and I know people can be funny about e-cigarettes, but in the pantheon of things that are bad for you I think they're way below the medley of 4000 toxic chemicals I was previously ingesting on a daily basis. Had a lightbulb moment today, when I realised I hadn't had a single 'real' fag, despite having a packet in my handbag, and was quite content sucking on my glow-tube(as my hubby calls them) Good luck....

I am having every problem you had (quit 3 month) and its really bad at night. Is your problems gone now?

I don't think you will get a reply since the post was back in 2008. I can tell you in my 3rd month I was really bad with shortness of breath and bad anxiety. It was 24/7 for me and was really depressed of the whole situation. I'm now in my 9th month and it's much better. I just take one day at a time as I have read it can take over a year to feel better. ~Keith

Better get checked for copd

I have not smoked in 12 days because i have asthma and i was in the hospital for 4 days due to phnemonia. I have used the patches and done pretty good. But now im so tired i wanna sleep all day. Im a college student, i have a small child to take care of and a million people telling me how im letting them down. but i can think i cant concentrate i just wanna crawl up in a little ball and sleep. I keep telling myself to smoke until i get to summer break and then i can try and quite again. Help what do i do?????

Do not quit until you are ready. Sounds like you have been through a lot so now may not be a good time. Summer break is soon you may want to try then.

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I smoked two packs a day for 42 years and quit one year ago. I am very proud of myself and think that every day I feel better physically and mentally. I will never go back to smoking and hope that you can hang in there. I used the nicotine patches and had no problem sticking with the program. Not everyone has all these terrible side affects. I was lucky and did not suffer with depression. Good luck, keep trying until you succeed.

What if any mental issues are you having from the quit? I quit 10 months ago and developed anxiety which I never had as a smoker? It's getting better but such a slow process. When I have the anxiety then I get short of breath. Thanks

Hi i quit smoking weed 3wk ago and feal worse in my body /chest minds getting loads better ,but had loads of pain s,flem,and now snore realy bad,iam not giving up thou ,but is ne1 else fealing like this,i do still smoke fags and do not drink,im 30.please ne ideas would be grateful.katy

I quit smoking in March 2014 after 13 years. 

I had a lump in my throat and naturally thought the worst -throat cancer.

Turns out I had GERD - reflux disease that had turned into LRPD (laryngopharyngeal reflux) which reaches all the way to your throat and it is why I had a "lump" or rather swollen throat. I now have worse stomach issues and am going to see the Gastro doc. 

I have a rash all over my scalp which I thought was allergic reaction to shampoo but after reading all these post I guess I am just detoxing. Also couldn't figure out why I am having skin breakouts - thought a hormonal but probabaly still detoxing. 

I don't feel too good either. Trying ot drink more water and eat better.

 

 

What a great post! Thank you! I can vouch for ''looking for reasons why it was better to smoke''. I've quit several times over the years, sometimes for a few days, a few weeks, and twice for over 2 years. Every time, my body (my mind?) sends me 'reasons' why it's 'unreasonable' to quit just now. I think some of the quitting symptoms are physical because our body is busy cleaning up the mess we caused while smoking - the revived cillia gets busy ridding the lungs of the goo in there, a bit like the mess we make in a house when we deep clean and remodel and other organs are bound to feel the disruption for a while - and other symptoms are anxiety driven because we 'hyper-focus' as mentioned in the posting. We think that by quitting everything will be immediately rosy as non smokers would have us believe and because it's not so, we panic. And, we all know that panicking about something will amplify it 100 folds.

I firmly believe that whatever the negative symptoms when we quit smoking are better than continuing smoking. Let's not fool ourselves, the damage gets done while we smoke, it's just that cigarettes manufacturers are very clever, some of the chemicals added in cigarettes masks the damages so we think we feel great. Did you know that one of the chemicals dilates the bronchial tubes? In other words, cigarettes actually makes it easier to breathe so they can do their damage all the better while you 'breathe'. I hope this time I'll be strong enough not to start again even if only out of spite for the cigarette manufacturers!

Not only do I have a persistent sore spot on the right side of my throat,can't sing for c**p,I generally feel worse then when I smoked,not to mention;I feel like I've lost the best friend I ever had.

I quit 9 months ago. I have had an awful time. I don't know what to do with myself. This void won't go away. I never had allergies, now I feel I am bothered with them all the time. Not to mention the weight gain which has made me feel miserable. Somedays I feel like quitting was the worse thing I did. My husband told me I have become compulsive and obssesive about certain things. I know it's because of the "void".