Lump in throat after quit smoking

ive just quit smoking... got a slight infection from my mum when she was ill and i was looking after her, carried on smoking when i was ill and ended up with what felt like a cut in my throat and decided to stop... after a day or two i felt like i had got a lump in my throat...got sooooo paranoid about cancer and ive basically gone cold turkey after about 8 yrs of smoking...im 26, i feel like a mad hypochondriac right now....my mums a nurse and is going nuts from all the times ive asked her to check my glands in the past week or so.

i took ibuprofen and the swelling on the right side of my neck seems better after a week or two. been taking loads of tyrozets (throat lozenges) too...

gargling with warm salt water works wonders with the lump in the throat.

although all of us are in pain or discomfort...im quite relieved to find others with the same issues....although it doesnt rule it out it calms the cancer fears.

lets just try stay strong and not give in.

peace

I'm with you 100% this is the first page i've gone to (via the search engine) and to be 100% honest I'm glad to hear people are having the same/similar problems I am. Just as background I'm 28 and smoked for about 8 years, 6-8 on average a day (not counting when I'd go out drinking) It's been five days since my last smoke and two since last nicotine (used the gum for a couple days, then said the hell with it... my thought is it'll clear faster if I do it cold turkey.) I to am experiencing anxiety at night (usually wake up and can't go back to sleep) and not really eating during the day. (Althought today I am forcing myself to eat some solid food after 4 days of not eating anything solid). I to have the lump in my throat/chest (which I attributed to acid reflux) it's really brutal, but from everything I've read and spoken with my doctor it will pass in about a week or two. Hopefully I'll stay sane for that time :-) The up side is i've had such sever withdrawl symptoms that I haven't had any cravings for a smoke at all, because i refuse to go through this again EVER!



I'll comment the same way everyone else tells me "hang in there, only a few more days and you'll feel fine" Best of Luck!

I came across this page as part of me bine a "Cyber-chondriac" (I like that and am stealing it :-P and to be 100% honest I'm glad to hear people are having the same/similar problems I am. Just as background I'm 28 and smoked for about 8 years, 6-8 on average a day (not counting when I'd go out drinking) It's been five days since my last smoke and two since last nicotine (used the gum for a couple days, then said the hell with it... my thought is it'll clear faster if I do it cold turkey.) It's strange this time around when I quit I'm experiencing the exact opposite symptoms that I had on a previous quit attempt, (that was more sterotypical of quitting, snappy to people, antsy, craving a smoke, etc) This time around it's the exact opposite I am experiencing anxiety at night (usually wake up and can't go back to sleep) and not really eating during the day. (I will still take the emergen-c vitamins and some centrum once in a while when i can tolerate swallowing something to keep my vitamin levels in check) Today I am forcing myself to eat some solid food after 4 days of not eating anything solid. (the positive side is i lost 7 lbs :-)) I to have the lump in my throat/chest (which I attributed to acid reflux) it's really brutal. The not eating and not sleeping are the two things that are practically killing me!! (and I KNOW the two are related) I did go to the doc who basically told me it's jsut major withdrawl symptoms that should go away in a week or two. (I'm lucky my doc isnt' one to push anti-anxiety meds or anything I'd have to wein off of later on down the line) I will say that he recomended melatonin which i was nervous to try last night, but I took one 1.5 mg tablet of "MidNite" and it helped with the anxiety (unfortunatly the acid reflux didn't go away and kept me up all night)

Well that's my story, and it helps typing it all out, but it helped even more to see many other people going through this as well!! (I especially like hearing from the poepl who already went through this and it passed 'cause that means they didn't die neither will I :-P ) Hopefully I'll stay sane for that time :-) (and my fiancee' won't kill/disown me in the mean time) The up side is i've had such sever withdrawl symptoms that I haven't had any cravings for a smoke at all, because i refuse to go through this again EVER!

I'll comment the same way everyone else tells me "hang in there, only a few more days and you'll feel fine" Best of Luck! Another thing that I came up with that I keep telling myself as a personal mantra of sorts is "Noone ever died from quitting smoking, this too shall pass"

Best of luck to ya'll and I'm definitly bookmarking this page to see how everyone is making out!!

All I can really say is wow! I am amazed at how many people feel this. I smoked half a pack for 8 years & have only been smoke-free for 4 days now with the help of patches. In the early a.m. hours I woke up with a horrendous pain from my throat that stretched all the way up to my left ear. I had no idea that quitting would be so painful, although I know it's worth it. The first couple days I had really bad muscle/body aches, now the throat thing, and it's looking like I'll have a lot more problems to come. I also have been really anxious even though i'm on anti-anxiety medication! I've had heart palpitations too. The only thing that has soothed my throat temporarily has been taking Dayquil & Chloraseptic. Good for now, but I know I can take that stuff forever, so you can say I'm panicking...just a little. :-(

I've quit smoking exactly 3 weeks ago cold turkey; 9 years of smoking 15-20 cig./day (26, male)..I am feeling great, except that damn right lung pain; I felt the pain somethimes when I was smoking and now I am feeling it every day since the past 10 days..the left lump is great but the right one it feels like a have a bump..I feel the pain more powerful when a smell cigarette smoke or any other strong odor (food, parfume or even steam water....weird)..or when a drink a glass of wine/beer (I am just an ocassionaly drinker :-P ); the doctor said I have some kind of infection..and gave me and antinflamator..it worked but I still have the pain especially at night

Similar symptoms anyone? A treatment maybe?..I dont trust the doctors :-D (I have reasons..trust me!)

hi, I just want to share with you some of my symptoms to show you you are not alone there with that lump in the throat or some other new symptoms

1st of all you should know that I tried (almost?) everything to quit smoking: uncounted patches and lozenges, etc. They did not worked!! Cold turkey gives you the best chance. Look for a book titled" The easy way to quit smoking"
But this message is about the symptoms not how to's

So my symptoms: Lump in the throat, went probable four-five times to my ENT, done sonograms, etc. Just a small white spots on the throat which I was afraid of being malign. Luckily it wasn't. Apparently it was caused by an Acid refulx developed when trying to quit with nicotine lozenges !!! BEWARE !!!

This entire misery lasted about 6 months after I quit smoking
I was even having an empty paper cup on my desk to spit into it during the day.

Then (or same time) pain in the throat !! Same cause by the end....\\
Also went to my Gastro ENT dr. having an endoscopy, nothing but acid refulx

I also had pain in the knees, in the legs, everywhere possible.
It is also true that I was scared of cancer as a loved family member recently went cancer surgery.

So hold on there, it IS POSSIBLE to quit smoking. Just don;t give away!
You and your body will need to adjust to not smoking.

I enjoy the mornings when I no longer light up 1st thing i wake up, no longer have to step outside restaurants for a puff, and many more.

Please don;t let your kids smoke!

hi, I just want to share with you some of my symptoms to show you you are not alone there with that lump in the throat or some other new symptoms



1st of all you should know that I tried (almost?) everything to quit smoking: uncounted patches and lozenges, etc. They did not worked!! Cold turkey gives you the best chance. Look for a book titled" The easy way to quit smoking"

But this message is about the symptoms not how to's



So my symptoms: Lump in the throat, went probable four-five times to my ENT, done sonograms, etc. Just a small white spots on the throat which I was afraid of being malign. Luckily it wasn't. Apparently it was caused by an Acid refulx developed when trying to quit with nicotine lozenges !!! BEWARE !!!



This entire misery lasted about 6 months after I quit smoking

I was even having an empty paper cup on my desk to spit into it during the day.



Then (or same time) pain in the throat !! Same cause by the end....\\

Also went to my Gastro ENT dr. having an endoscopy, nothing but acid refux



I also had pain in the knees, in the legs, everywhere possible.

It is also true that I was scared of cancer as a loved family member recently went cancer surgery.



So hold on there, IT IS POSSIBLE to quit smoking. Just don;t give away!

You and your body will need to adjust to not smoking.



I enjoy the mornings when I no longer light up 1st thing after i wake up, no longer have to step outside restaurants for a puff, and many more.



Please don;t let your kids smoke!

I too like so many others am so glad I found this site. I have been going OUT of my mind. The nicotine withdrawls I had when I quit 4 months ago, were the LEAST of my problems with quitting smoking. I smoked for 16 years a pack a day. I'm 32 now.

I too like sooooo many people here, had the intermittent lump in the throat, buring sensation in my lungs (after I quit, not before) waking in the middle of the night, fatigue, shortness of breath sometimes, anxiety, depression and lack of ambition and energy. I had a post nasal drip at one point and in the beginning of my quit I experience pains in my lower abdomen and a general overall feeling of discomfort in my digestive system, gas too. Lovely. That is mostly gone thankfully.

I never did develop the hacking cough. I did cough, don't get me wrong, but no huge gobs of tar or anything ever came up. I am not getting the lump in my throat much anymore (only sometimes) but I have discomfort in my lungs. It is an aching dull discomfort, it almost feels like my lungs are tight.

So of course I go and do a google search on "aching lungs" and the first result is information on... Lung Cancer. Which totally freaked me out. But I'm 32, so the likelihood is low, but none the less the ongoing chest discomfort I've had since quitting is really uncomfortable and bothersome. It even caused me to just break down and cry/sob. I was happier when I smoked, now I'm a trainwreck of a hypochondriac. I hope I can get to a point where I feel normal again. I don't regret quitting, because I know it was right thing. My quit also led to my Mother quitting, so I'm glad for that.

But still, I'm miserable with the lung discomfort. Anyone else end up with chest discomfort *4 months* into their quit? I'm not coughing up anything, just feel tight and achy. I want nothing more than to feel like this tight achy feeling is going to go away before I go spend a bunch of money on CT scan or something. I didn't have this tight/achy feel before I quit.

Lastly, I hate cigarettes now and I dislike smokers. I can smell their cigarettes from a mile away now, and I just cringe. It's really gross, I just can't believe I smelled like that! Absolutely horrendous. I never used to believe we (smokers) smelled quite that nasty, but now I believe it. I feel sorry for them when I see them now.

I NEVER want to go through this again. I can't believe I did it to myself in the first place. This is the first I've ever really written about this. My God, what a nightmare.

I am 37 years old and gave up smoking on the 29/6/08 it is now nearly 4 months later and I am still getting the lump in the throat.
I am so glad I found this site I think it is so important for all ex smokers to know what others go through so that we dont think we are going crazy.
This is my story. It started of with nausia shortness of breath and dizzyness for the first 10 days of quitting. My doc sent me to get a lung exray which came up clear and I also had a lung function test which was also clear. This is when the lump in the throat started. I went to the ENT
and had a langyoscope which came up clear except for possible acid reflux or anxiety which eas causing my throat to feel like it was closing.
During the throat closing episodes it is scary especially when you arent convinced that acid reflux is causing the problem. I went on the internet and ofcourse that first thing that pops up is cancer! During this time I when be to the doctor in tears as my thought felt as though it was permanatly closed and the only releif was when I was asleep.
After 2 weeks no change with my throat I went to another more experienced ENT who said my thoat was very irritated and gave me strong anibiotics and suggested to continue to take the reflux pills.

I must admit this did releive my symptoms a lot and I am now sure that giving up the smokes has given me acid reflux.
The throat still closes at least once a day some times for 5 minutes sometimes it is all day I probably only have 1 day a week whereby my throat feels normal.
I will never smoke again!!! I will not go through this hell again. I am now realising that the cigarette companies really did make smokes chemically difficult to give up. Well done to you all for giving up we are all fighting many chemist designed chemicals to keep us hooked.

I quit smoking almost 9 months ago and have been deeply depressed since day one. Having been a smoker for more than 45 years, it was much more than a habit but really had become a way of life. Having said that, I went cold turkey after a serious sleep aepnea episode. Side effects include depression for which I have received counselling, coughing mucus with traces of blood, headaches, increased appetite, sleeplessness and short temper. BUT! I do not regret quitting one little bit. I am prepared to endure the side effects even though the depression is sometimes a little hard to cope with. If you have made the decision, don't look back !!

I quit smoking this time last year for 5 months and didn't really experience any withdrawal symptoms at all except maybe being a little irritated every now and then. But then my anxiety got the best of me one day and I started back smoking again. I smoked up until about 3 weeks ago and this time let me tell you I have headaches, sick to my stomach as soon as I wake up and it last all day long, the feeling that something is in the back of my throat, a hunger feeling that you can't get rid of, coughing up brown and sometimes black nicotine and tar. And the scariest of all is now after clearing most of that out now blood is following that. Besides the post above me has anyone else been throwing up blood as a result and have you been checked and what were you told.

Thank you all and God Bless us all!.

If you are coughing up blood, it could be a serious issue that requires medical attention. I haven't been coughing up blood, but I've had achy lungs and shortness of breath since quitting 4 months ago. That going on for a month was enough for me to get into the doctor just this morning for a check-up. If I had been coughing blood, I would have been in much sooner. It may be an infection or your lungs healing after clearing out, but coughing up blood means it's time for a visit to the doctor. I would not delay that. You'll feel better once you do. Let us know what happens.

Even if someone else says they have coughed up blood after quitting, that should not be used to justify NOT seeing your doctor. Coughing blood = trip to the doctor regardless of what anyone else has experienced on this thread.

I have my doctor making me an appointment for scopes to be done (both ends) and a full abdominal ultra scan. They already faxed the referal to the place that will do it all and now I'm sitting here waiting for the place to fax my doctor back the dat and time for the appointment. I'll keep you posted. Stomach also burns and bad chest pains, heart racing.

God Bless!.

It's been about a year for me , I used to smoke a lot of pot, partied hard.

After about 3 months i had the various aches in my lungs. Started off in my front right for about 4 weeks , then that faded away and aching started in my upper back left and right. That lasted for an other couple of months.

Now my lungs ache around the lower left and right , and around the sides.

Couple this with a runny nose first thing in the morning for the first 4 months and i've also had my throat feel realy swollen (this crops up maybe once a month for a couple of days.) Sometimes i have a feeling that i have some phlegm in my throat , but when i try to cough it up nothing is there.

I've been to the docs at least four times this year but they dont seem concerned about it. This is a good thing , but you cant help feeling that they dont take it seriously. They just ask whether I have a stressful job (isnt every job stressful >;) )

It's been a bad year , sometimes i wish i was still living the high life , without all these aches and pains and discomfort and anxiety.

You got to keep telling yourself to keep strong !! one day it will be better