Quit smoking a year ago - sick ever since!

I'm happy to have come across this forum for many of the same reasons i think a lot of you all have as well. It's reassuring to me that I'm not actually going crazy and that others are experiencing the same thing as me. I'm 31 and quit smoking two months ago today. I'm proud that I've made it this far but I'm not exactly celebrating just yet because god i feel fairly awful right now. I smoked for roughly 13 years, about a half pack a day. I also smoked pot from when i was roughly 16-24. It took a particularly rough bout with bronchitis that nearly led to pneumonia I snapped and basically said enough is enough and finally made the decision to quit with the help of nicotine gum.

The thing thats messed with my mind the most is the fact that I don't consider myself especially naive, (i knew the gravity of my decision and didn't expect it to be easy), but damn, its been a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be! Most support groups and websites focus on telling you that "oh yeah, the actual physical withdrawal is tough but it's over in a few weeks and the psychological angle they talk about seems to focus exclusively on cravings alone. Does this make sense? I mean at the 2 month point now I am feeling pretty depressed and I get SUPER anxious over every ache, bump, odd feeling I have in every nook and cranny of my body right now, you know, turning into a real hypochondriac. That being said I'm not imagining all my symptoms....my lungs ache with varying degrees of annoyance still, i'm still feeling rather fatigued, and god....this runny nose i've had for what seems like the entire month is just flat out annoying! I understand I pretty much poisoned the hell out of my body for the past 15 years and certainly I don't expect to heal overnight or entirely ever. I guess each individual experiences their own personal hell when quitting smoking. I'm sure as heck glad I did though. I've gone to the doctor, gotten a physical, been poked and prodded, gotten my blood tested, gotten a chest xray, had my oxygen levels checked and everything looks good from that end of things but it sure doesn't feel like it, you know what i mean? :-)

Well good luck to everyone here in their journey because quitting smoking is one heck of a journey....and I've only just begun too. Ya'll get a pat on the back from me for making a courageous decision to better your health. Again, good luck to all. Take Care!

Well I'm now at the 4 month mark, well in 2 days and I'm still having problems. I'm not sure what is going on but I've been to numerous doctors and once I went into the ER because I didn't know what was happening. I had trouble breathing one morning and I started driving and all of a sudden my heart started pounding really fast and my head was all foggy I thought I was going to crash the car so I went back home and got my dad to take me to the ER. But by the time I saw the doctor I had gone back to normal. Well whatever normal is. They told me I went back to normal but I haven't felt normal since I quit smoking. I think I might have had an anxiety attack.
Anyhow my chest still feels tight, I get this horrible feeling under my left rib that comes and goes, I still can't sleep at night, my palms sweat when I'm short of breath, I swear when I burped this morning I tasted blood. My arms get sore, I get strange shooting pains in them. My body is shaking all the time, I can see my heart beat move my stomach. I know my anxiety is fairly high right now. I always think I'm dying. I'm kind of scared of going to work. Because I feel pretty horrible it will be hard to put up a happy face. Or pretend that I'm feeling normal. I still cough but its a forced cough to get some relief. Maybe working will help get my mind off things. I'm waiting on the results of wearing a halter monitor almost 2 weeks ago because I'm still having palpitations and it was one day short of catching my anxiety attack. The doctor says I might have a heart arrhythmia but I've had that my whole life. They just called it an irregular heart beat which is the same thing as an arrhythmia. Things are not going smoothly right now.

5 month mark coming up and i feel great. the symtoms are diminishing one by one, what i can tell you is that im more social again. I can go out and have fun with out the anxiety!! that for me is the best thing. For a while i didnt even want to go out any where stuck at home worrying about everything. But now im better almost back to my old self.. I still get stressed more often and the stress gets to me worse than when i was smoking but in due time i know i wont be saying that. Enjoy life I just found out something really aweful and im going through some hard times, but i know i can get through it i got through quitting smoking and i believe that was the hardest thing i have ever gone through ever!! bring it on life! i can take on anything.

just passed the 9th month mark

all the c**p i was feeling ended up being pre-diabetes symptoms.

after quitting smoking my system just went into revolt so i had blood work done. fasting blood sugar was borderline diabetes.

changed my diet. lost 85 lbs and now my pre-diabetes is basically gone and my blood pressure is always under 100 over 79

i'm still not a 100% but 85 or so ain't too shabby! ;-)

I just wanted to thank this website and the people on this message board who took the time to write their experiences. I quit smoking 15 weeks ago cold turkey and had no idea the effects it would have on my body. After taking major tests (chest xray, blood work, EKG) with clearance, I have concluded my body is just healing. Healing Hurts!!! Who knew? I thought I would feel better right away. The physical, mental, and emotional toll it took on me was shocking and my family members and husband thought i was losing my mind. I felt alone, and thanks to you people and this website it helped me cope and to put it into perspective. It helped me not to panic, which assisted the who process entirely. Please people, hang in there!!! It does get better!!

Ha! Spoken like a true non-smoker. I can't stand it when these folks get on their high-horse when they obviously have no idea what we deal with. Just a bunch of bs talk. Oh of course its true but who wants to hear this c**p especially when it doesn't answer the question.

I am at the 3 month mark I am still feeling sick to my stomach all the time and being dizzy. When does it stop! I won't ever smoke again but darn it I don't want to feel like this forever.

Good site, great thread. I have visited here on and off over the last month since I quit a 23 year one pack a day habit. Now on day 30 and the physical withdrawal has been relatively light (cross fingers). Mentally I have found it quite tough but thankfully there are some great suggestions and words of encouragement from some inspiring people here. Thanks so much and be strong all of you.

So glad I found this forum! I thought I was going crazy and getting really down that I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then it hit me! It must be related to having quit smoking! Lo and behold it is.

I have been feeling terrible since I quit 8 weeks ago. Hacking cough, sneezing, running nose, headaches, stomach aches, digestive problems, dizzy, sore throat, ear ache and just plain ugh. I went to the doctor, like so many of us on here, and he gave me antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection which didn't do sh*t. Now I have read that with nicotine withdraws antibiotics are worthless. This is going to have to run its course. I suppose people like me who have a low immune system get it worse then others. My bf quit and had nothing, nada, zilch. He never gets sick though. So I am going to take something, not sure what yet, that will help my immune system. I also read that eating bananas, drinking loads of water and drinking Red Clover tea will help. There is also a tea by Yogi that is a detox tea and I am going to try that too. I am having a MAJOR medical treatment in 7 weeks and cannot be sick! Anyone else have some remedies that help?

Hi and congrats on quitting, I have the same thing with even panic attacks almost on a daily basis. I think I may have had them before but they seem to be much worse since I stopped self medicating with cigarettes. I wake up most mornings with a sore throat, sore back, generally feel like c**p and what seems to help honestly is light exercise like walking and swimming, relaxing (laying out in sun), drinking plenty of fluids (especially water) but dont overkill it, eating less fatty foods and really just stay off the plain junk food. The only thing you can do is give yourself some time. I too have known people who havent had any quitting problems but since reading this site I really think that most of our symptoms are our bodies trying to repair. I have had an ear ache also which is odd, and digestive problems. My cough is mostly dry but when I keep busy I notice that most of these symptoms dont really bother me! Do you have any Shortness of breath?

Hi there. My shortness of breath isn't as noticeable but I do have a heaviness in my chest that seems to climb up to my throat.

Last night I got some Detox tea, Acai berry supplements and Echinacea drops to add to water. I am going to do my best to boost my immune system while cleaning out my system of toxins. I am a pescatarian and eat only veggies and fish. I got off that diet when I quit and started eating really bad to replace the need for a ciggie with c**p food. I am going back to a healthy diet asap!

i know a particular site which will be helpful for you .check this site.
[ ***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed

so glad i found this site, i have been checking the web to see if anyone else has had bleeding & sore gums since they gave up smoking (like i have) I gave up smoking in sept 2010, i smoked from the age 17 till 39..
ive also had a cold since nov & a wicked chesty cough thats only starting to go.
reading all your posts has helped me alot knowing im not alone going through these symptoms.

Well Done everyone Keep going.
im proud of myself & you for quitting :-)

I had been smoking for 7 years and I gave up smoking 3 weeks ago today, I wasn't planning on giving up but I was ill with vomiting and just didn't feel like smoking. I therefore decided to keep it up. Ever since I have felt quite panicky and anxious. Have got a really bad appetite. And generally just don't feel myself. I also have bleeding and sore gums and ulcers.
I used patches for a week and then stopped using them for 2 days, when i suddenly ended up in tears. Put a patch on and I was o.k. again.
Im seeing the smoking nurse this week so hopefully she can advise me. I have also been reading self help books which do help when I feel a bit anxious.
Just wondering if anyone else has felt like this? and how long it lasted for?

I have been smoking for 15 years and gave up 3 weeks ago. I never ever get ill, but during my first week the cold symptoms started. Sore throat, congestion and coughing. Generally feeling really low on energy. I read that because nicotine fires your metabolism up, without it your body is suddenly forced to run at a 'slower' rate. It can take weeks, even months, for your metabolism to level out on it's own again. So, the tiredness is due to your body lacking it's stimulant that it was dependant upon. The cold and flu symptoms are due to a flagging immune system less able to fight off infections because the body is still trying to right itself after losing it's nicotine fix. I hope this makes sense, but things will get better.