Lump in throat after quitting smoking

This is miserable:

1. Sore Throat
2. Hurts to Swallow
3. Tightness in throat
4. Lump in throat
5. Click when swallow
6. Muscle, body, and joint aches.
7. Flu-like symptoms
8. Exhaustion ~ Desperate need for sleep
9. Mentally in a fog
10. Have the blues/mood swings
11. Constipation
12. Dehydration - desperate need for water
13. Headache - as if my head was in a vice

same symptoms exactly for me. My last cigarette was about 3 months ago and since then I have been to my doctor many times already. I went to specialist because I also had lower abdominal pain. I've had 4 blood tests for different theories and all came back clean. I went to a GI and he did an upper endoscopy and abdominal ultrasound. the only thing he found was acid reflux and a very small hatial hernia.

I am paranoid it is cancer or something serious but after reading all these many posts I am very much relieved that this is a very small possibility. To relieve a lot of this pain I've been drinking chamomille tea at night and have been going to a chiropractor which helps with the sore joints and neck. You couldn't pay me enough to start smoking again.

I am almost 2 weeks from quitting smoking. It has been a worry-some road. I am experiencing the odd but scary bout of the shallow breathing. It almost feels like I have to concentrate on making sure I am breathing normally. I have yet to start coughing up anything, and generally feel good for the most part. The shallow breathing keeps me awake at night, worrying...I read everyones posts and feel better knowing that it seems to be a normal reaction to quitting. Still I worry....am I being ridiculous!

o.O its been day 8 today of no smoking and im pass wanting a smoke because im mad at smokes I can not sleep at night my chest is so tight and feels funny at night and I feel like i need to gasp for air during the night - I prop myself up but after reading this i think its heart palpatations also.. Im soooo mad at tabacoo industries and myself for becoming addicted to anything in my life :-( I am moody and my body hurts muscles and joints as well! wtf was I thinking smoking my throat is killing me... I cant sleep well. ugggg this is pure misery and im not smoking again because imagine what it does to the inside of our bodies when we do it.. gross... please let this stop!

I wanted to post the progress of my "lump in throat, hurts when swallowing" condition. I quit smoking 2 months ago today, and still have that condition on the lower right side of my throat. It felt better sometimes, however it was chronic more the less since I stopped smoking. I assumed the worst, and went to my ENT. He did a scope on the throat and only found the larynx were red and irritated. He said it was possible it was LPR/GERD but probably irritated due to the lack of smoking/nicotine. Also the larynx is very susceptible to dehydration and that might be the cause. I wanted to reply, as I read this and the other post regarding these symptoms of quitting smoking and it made me feel better others were experiencing the same side effects. Anyways, don't sweat it if your experiencing this...your probably not dying of cancer...yet XD Quitting that terrible habit is the best thing you can do for your health! BTW I smoked for 16 years and quit cold turkey, the first week is hell but it gets better!!

Hello all..I am also really happy to have come across this site. I have been experiencing the lump in the throat sensation since quitting smoking over 4 months ago. I went to the doctor and they found a small skin tag on my uvula but since it is soft and movable stated it is not cancer or pre-cancer. They did say that I have post nasal drip and ordered flonase (expensive!) and claritin d. This seemed to help a bit for a short term but the lump returns and seems to get worse around dinner time every day. I guess I cannot expect 15 years of smoking to resolve itself in 4 months but I do hope this feeling goes away. No matter what the doctors say my irrational brain always whispers cancer when the twinge gets brutal in the afternoon. Even though I know that you rarely feel cancer until it is huge. Throat spray and keeping talking at a minimum have helped a bit and I will try the tumeric thing.

I hope everyone else is feeling better. Smoking is horrible. I guess the pain will be a heady reminder not to go back to past habits.

Thank you everybody who has commented here so much for making me feel better! I'm SO glad I found this site! I quit smoking (mostly joints, weed mixed with drum dark tobacco) about 2 months ago now, if you don't count one or two hiccups in the first few weeks where I had a couple draws of a friends cigarette.. Recently I have been freaking out, thinking I must have throat cancer or something. I have had this mad itchy palate for several weeks now, always way worse in the morning, then gradually getting more bearable through the course of the day. (why?) I also have mild cold/flu symptoms, soreness at the back of my throat and slight fatigue. Also the odd random pain at various points up and down my throat. It's weird that the first month or so was actually not THAT bad, but all this sh*t has really kicked in after over a month now of smoking abstinence... Anyway, having read through this and the previous post, I have faith that these symptoms will eventually go away, and I can lead a happy healthy life. And I will NEVER EVER smoke again.

Also, I went to the doctor today and he was useless. He looked at my mouth and couldn't see anything. The only advice he gave me was to take some paracetamol for the pain! I told him I had quit smoking 2 months ago, expecting him to say "aha, that's why!" but instead he just said that shouldn't have anything to do with it. However reading everybodys first hand experiences here, I can see that quite the opposite is true. An hour or so on google and a bit of reading certainly seems to give a better diagnosis than any doctor. Why the hell doesn't anybody speak about these side effects of stopping smoking? Has anybody been to a stop smoking clinic? do they tell you about this stuff? I'd really like to know. They bloody well should!

Anyway, thank you all again!

I too have just quit smoking. I've made it 5 days so far, but i'm only 20 and smoked half to a pack a day for 6-7 years. I read everyone's concerns and the heart palpitations, i get them too, unfortunately cannot be reversed as they are caused by scarring in the heart and arteries due to all of the chemicals dumped in the body from the cigarettes. A good workout everyday or when possible will ease with problems that don't go away, it just helps the body push out the toxins faster and just plain makes you feel better. You're body is regrowing right now, and at this point it is very necessary to take in as many vitamins and minerals also anti-oxidants as possible to help build back your immune system, so your don't have as bad withdrawl symptoms like sore throat and that stuff, but it won't make it to where you don't experience it. As for asthma, you lungs and airways have been through so much after all the smoke coming and going constantly, just be happy you're able to breathe again. The asthma is caused by long term constriction, irritation, and lack of oxygen of your airways which most have been lined with mucus and unfortunately in some people it either stays the same or can get worse even after quitting, but in most cases will get better. It just depends on how long you smoked for and how much you smoked. Usually it takes 8 to 10 whole years for your lungs to almost completely rebuild, clean out, and return to as normal of a state as possible. Hang in there, you're not dying, i feel it too, as I said you we have put our bodies through so much and now its pay back time and their showing us the pain we haven't felt because the cigarettes make you feel good in a way, the healing process is an incredible thing and most people underestimate it. Yes, you will have some damage remaining, but your body does an incredible clean up job. Good luck to you who are still trying and congrats to you who have made it..Just remember, one step at a time, don't stress even if you can't quit the first time, you'll get it eventually. sh*t i was 13 when i dragged my first cigarette, since then i did so many drugs and smoked a pack a day and tried to quit from the 3rd day i started, didn't work until 5 days ago. go talk to your doctor or your closest friend, believe me the support and ability to talk about it makes all the difference.

i quit cold turkey 6 days ago after smoking for 6-7 years with the last 5 year being a pack/day, im 20 now. I also got different withdrawal symptoms: mood swings, heart palpatations, sore chest/back-while moving and breathing in deeply. But i feel better then i've felt in years, no morning coughing marathons and i dont smell like an ashtray anymore:)

Hi, I quitted smoking some three months back.Since then I feel like I am always tired,and in a very confused state.I fell like my heart is beating faster,sometimes sweat in my palms,and sleepless nights.Since one month I am
suffering from sore throat and stuffy nose.I always feel like my chest is congested.I am very much afraid whether I am swine flu or all these symptoms will be quite common after quitting smoking.

I have been smoke free for almost a month! I am so proud of myself for quitting smoking. I am 22 years old and have been smoking for 7 years. I also suffer from severe anxiety, so as you can imagine they symptoms which have been described started taking over my life. Shortly after quitting smoking i had gotten sick, i am not sure if this was allergies or a virus as my whole family became sick as well. Anyways it was the usual sinus pressure cough cold and feverish feeling but no fever. Since then i have been feeling much better but the last week or so has been accompanied with a lump in throat feeling. My throat feels as if i have some mucus in my throat which i cannot clear. When i try and clear it my throat becomes irritated, i start coughing, then my anxiety kicks in and i think the worst (cancer) everything that i have read states that it is very rare etc etc. Finding this post has calmed me down significantly. I think anxiety has a huge role in my symptoms. Someone stated that they saw a throat doctor who said the larynx was red possibly due to lack of smoking and nicotein so i am assuming thats the case on my end. I hope this clears up sooner or later.. As much as i loved smoking, my anxiety got the best of me and i realized i need to better take care of myself. I recomend to anyone viewing this post reading all the terrible withdrawl symptoms to bite the bullet and quit, it will only get worse.

I am super glad I found this site...I am still wearing the patch, level 3, the 7mg...and am 34 yrs old, found out I have emphysema already, luckily, its in the mild stage and shouldnt progress if I can keep this up...its day 20, and the last 2 days, felt many of the symptoms everyone has been describing - severe cold, coughing, restlessness...so, I just wanted to say thanks to all for sharing!

I'm really glad to know that you caught emphysema so early! Since you did, you should be doing well and enjoy many more years being able to breathe. Let me know how you're doing okay?

Thanks healthsupported, will do...this is day #23 now, the urges have subsided more, but still feeling cruddy at the moment, any phlegm or mucus I get rid of is dark and I still have the sniffles, congested...and when I try to breathe, or clear my sniffles, I have just an awful smell and taste that I'm hoping goes away...with the emphysema diagnosis, I'm a little more nervous when I get sick like this - is it a result of the non-smoking? Is it a result of the emphysema? Or is it just normal, seasonal sinus and allergies (which I also have)...but the post has helped tremendously!

Thank god for finding this site. Stoped smoking almost 5 months now and i have never felt so ill. constant sore throat. pain in my ears and lump in my throat. At the moment i am waitng to have a tongue biopsy because of the pain. All this started days after a gave up the smokes. would i go back to smoking a big fat No. I had been smoking for 33yrs and i will stay off them if it kills me. :'( And another thing developed nodules on my voice box my ENT specilaist says it because of shouting to loud or singing none of which i do. its crazy.
one thing though i do not have a cough. I have not coughed anything up my chest feels tight somtimes like a sharp pain in my back thats all.