Hi Hope you are feeling better. I feel exactly like you.
I smoked for 20 years and quit smoking like 9 month ago (had smoked occasional) but completely stopped since more than 4 month ago.
I lost my concentration, depression goes deeper and worst. Down to zero energy ..I have quit smoking for two years before but never had any kind of these symptoms.
I went to a doctor and gave be antidepressant medicine but one of side effect of it made to unable to sleep at all so I stopped using his freckling pills. he also gave some medicine to help me for concentration but when I googled the medicine I found it an addictive material then I went back to him to change it and asked him why he didn’t tell me about this addictive point…any way my biggest issue I need to get my concentration back and get rid of sadness and depression …there is no way I go back to smoke again period but thought to chew nicotine if that would help but even chewing is addictive habit …Don’t really trusting this doctor and don’t know what to do …I need to pass my engineering license exam
same thing here....don't understand why
Hi Bill, go through these posts from start to end and you will get most of the answers..
Today --> 5 September 2013
Start Quitting --> 20 April 2012
Now --> 503 days (16 months 16 days)
It's been 3 months I did not update my situation after quitting smoking. I am very good condition before 23 August 2013, I just experienced gas and discomfort at left chest. But everything changed when I started working in a construction company.
I started working on last 21 August 2013. I work together with friends who smoke. 5-6 smokers who smoke around me. They smoke in a closed room with an air conditioner. I indirectly become secondary smokers.
After 2 days I work, the old symptoms come again like:.
- Dizziness
- Feel unbalance
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Dry throat
- Gas
- Discomfort at left chest.
Never thought that being secondary smokers can even cause withdrawal coming back. It’s really bothering me.
hi Iqbal, i have completed almost 17 months and i was doing really good. the annoynig heart palpitations were faded away and then i got excited while sitting with friends 3 weeks back and had one Cigar .... although i didnot smoke much but heart palpitations started from next day ........how weirds is this ? we are almost recovered and only few drags of a cigar take you back .........your story above is really surprising .....now we are at the stage where we cannot start smoking again and staying quit is not completely helping ........ lets hope for the best....
i also thought that i dont see old quitters including you and few others on this forum which means all going food for you guys thats why u r not reporting back but here u go today..
Smokefree...
I think that environment fact is also the factor that you will get your withdrawal symptoms back. Not too much worried because I already experience that symptoms before. The things that really bothering me is ANXIETY, DRY THROAT and DISCOMFORT AT LEFT CHEST.
I quit smoking in March 2009. I felt fine for the longest time. Then about 3 years ago I started getting horrible sinuses issues, the kind where you can't breath, can't blow, can't smell and it eventually got to the point where I couldn't even taste. I'm coming up on the 5 year mark of not smoking & my asthma is worse now than when it was when I first quit.....and I never had asthma issues as a kid or as an adult until I quit smoking. I have terrible wheezing & coughing. My nose breathing is a bit better, but I'm constantly congested, sneezing, runny nose, etc. how long does it take the body to recover from smoking? I smoked for 17-18 years, it's been almost 5 since I quit. Should I still be having these issues, if not worse than the first year of quitting???
Hi All, I am not good either, It is almost 16 months since quit. Have breathing problem SOB, Stomach/Digestion problems, Serious constipation to the point that back hurts. They all come and go together, When they hit they stay for a week or so. I was feeling better for some months then this issue hit me from July end.
quit smoking 5months ago and never even knew all the things that were going to happen..never heard about this before..after a few weeks i became tired all the time...was teaching myself guitar praticed every day and now barley have energy to play it...gained weight and want to excersize but just dont have the energy...it all goes towards my job which if pyhsical....a few weeks ago i started getting weird pains in back of my leg and shoulder and arms ...started pain pills to deal with it and that went away then i was getting ready for work and started having difficulty breathing ..\.very scary and ended up at emergency room..all test came out fine...now i realize its a panic attack cause im getting them everyday,a friend gave me a pill he takes for this and it really helps...going to have to see a doctor and get on them..just wonder whats next..but ill never go back to smoking ..just never realized the damage it does..really helped to read that alot of people go thru this ...someday i hope it all comes back to normal again ....time will telll...good luck everyone
I TOO am on 45 days today. I feel pretty good about it...but I am still in pain.
When quitting, on September 7, 2013... I had cut down, read Allen Carr''s book then went cold turkey as I'm not allowed champex or similar> You'd think that the nicotine would be long gone from my system and the obsession gone also by now, but I too still have waves of craving>>>severe, like now...... .I have at times been very tired, depressed and irritable...and not feeling very stable. I know if I have JUST ONE cigarette the pain will be lifted. BUT I WILL BE AN ADDICT AGAIN. I don't want that.
Allen Carr said to the effect "The pain is the little monster (of addiction) dying.
Rejoice in his death! ..However slow it may be.
I have smoked for 40 years, 40 a day.
My father smoked 60. He gave up and is 87 now.
I know he is very proud of me.
I write this by way of encouragement as I am very proud of you.
And know what you are going through.
MrJhon, Perth, Australia
Hi guys i quit smoking about 1month ago now yeeehaa right not! i am dieing it feels like i got anxiety espically in the morning and evenings any idea g y? at first i hit complete panic mode after about 1 week and i was in and out of the hospital useless doctors giving me narcotics no one would help i did some reasearch on the internet when i regained some of my sanity and i started on a rabbit food diet which seems to be helping and i am taking valearian to help me sleep and i am taking rescue remedy to help through out the day i am going through hell and back ive had anxiety issues about 6 years i took cipralex for a year to help me with that. I felt better so i stopped but i still had panic attacks hear and there and then also got digonsed with sleep apnea so i sleep with a machine can anyone help me i am gona go crazy i feel like grabbing a pack smokes and smoking my brains out but ive resisted thus far
My update on 18 month...
Soon will be reaching 18 months of quit, I am doing OK now. For the last 2 months withdrawals reoccurred for me. I feel it is from huge second hand smoke I got exposed in a road trip with friends. I am sure I myself felt like I smoked 2-3 packs on those days( just in 2 days) due to SHS.
I also quit alcohol in Feb and had some of its own withdrawals.
Even quit coffee sometime in April and had to relapse because I realized that was not the right time.
I still have plans to quit coffee. I only have a 3-4 cups a day but I don't want to be addicted to anything anymore.
-Kumar
I've smoked a pack a day for the last 10 years, and I I've quit 7 months ago (and have been depressed for 7 months). The quitting process has been quite discouraging. For the first couple of weeks I had a severe headache/lightheartedness/light sensitivity, then add in a horrible soar throat, and of course a bad case of irritability. However, as time progressed my physical symptoms disappeared- but only to be replaced by mental/psychological strain.
For the first month I got a feeling of loss and grief, as if I had left something important behind all the time. Later on extreme sadness and helplessness set in. Initially I thought that this was routine, and my body was just adjusting- but clearly, this was not the case. I slowly got worse as time progressed, for month 4-6 I had all the major depression symptoms including suicidal thoughts (nothing was fun anymore, didn't want to do anything, all tasks seemed ridiculously daunting even though they were simple, guilty, helpless, worthless). But it seems, that I am in better spirits now- I still have some mild symptoms, but nothing compared to before. I have not seen a doctor/psychiatrist for this (I have given myself 2 more months to see whether or not my body will get better, before I see a doctor about it). But I would advise anyone reading this to seek professional help and work through any major depression (I wish I had- and I didn't because I didn't want to admit that I had a problem, once I admitted it to myself and spouse, I was able to move on).
Chemically speaking, Nicotine causes quite a disruption in our neurotransmitters. When we are happy, we experience a larger amount of dopamine and seratonin. When we get nicotine, what it does is that it bombards our neurotransmitters to produce a whole lot of "happy proteins"- which is why, when we smoke- we feel "happy" (or at least, a degree of happiness). So the constant instruction to produce more dopamine and seratonin overwhelms our brains, and somehow we stop producing so much dopamine and feel absolutely miserable all the time after we stop smoking. Eventually these proteins can to be produced again- but this takes time (apparently, lots of time). I have been checking online for a correlation between the information above and not smoking and I have not found one! I blame it on the lobbyists. The information is there, it just doesn't connect one to the other. All we rely on, is smokers are more prone to depression- albeit, apparently nobody knows why.
Whichever the case may be, you are not alone. Yes, you are miserable- but you are not alone. One day at a time.