Quit smoking a year ago - sick ever since!

I will list you some possibilities what you can do if you are a chronic 6+ months sufferer after you quit smoking,especially if you quit smoking easily but still not doing great.

-Take high amounts of vitamin C - choose a reliable quality brand and take 2-5 gramms of vitamin C in POWDER form.
REMEMBER,vitamin C has withdrawal so you will need to build your levels up.Start by taking 500 mg and days later go up to 1000 mg etc.
Up or Decrease your dose with 500 mg for several days,don't stop abruptly!

-Check your liver health,maybe it is clogged but remember the golden rule.Treat the root cause not the symptoms.You could detox your liver with Milk Thistle but MT causes adverse reaction to 70% of people so better ask a doctor you trust and who has brains inside his head for further instructions about fixing liver.Don't choose hormones.

-Check your methylation,see if you are UM or OM! This is a genetic mutation,a birth defect but don't get scared! Smokers are prone to addiction,because smoking is an addiction and healthy people are not prone to addictions.

-Check your digestion,see if you have "leaky gut syndrome".That's one nasty thing to deal with and takes time and patience.It usually starts with going on a sugar free,gluten free diet and taking enzymes and probiotics.
If you've been taken lots of antibiotics,SSRI or any other psycho drugs in your life chances that you have an inflammed intestine lacking of healthy bacteries that caused you further problem with your thyroid and adrenals are high.

-Check for food intolerance,food allergies other allergies.

-Check for heavy metal toxicity in your body.

That's all I could think of now.I have most of the problems I listed above and it's sad but had to realize after 3+ months of quitting and the toxins are trapped in my body and haven't felt this bad in my life but now slowly recovering by following the above mentioned.

What I'm doing is first fixing my gut with enzymes,probiotics,glutamine,healthy diet (forget that you eat another chocolate or pudding,pizza or any junk food in your life again),slowly cut sugar (no fruits) out of diet (hypoglycemia&diabetes warning!),minimize stress,fix circadian rythm,stop watching the tv & computer screen,global lifestyle change.
If the gut is starting to absorb vitamins and minerals then bring on the heavy artillery,supplements for methylation and vitamin A,C,D3 (ask your doctor about vitamin D and you should only take D3),E.
You need to do this healthy lifestyle change for at least a year and then you will see it's benefits.

I quit 50 days ago and have been sick since. I quit once before and the same thing happened for about a year before I started to feel good. Stick with it. It takes about a year for your body to adjust to the change but then you can lose the weight and start feeling normal again.

Great post. You are right, most people are not aware of this but for me it takes about a year before my body and mind get back on track.

This thread has been a God send, at one point I was sure I either was dying from emphasema or I was going insane.
Panic attacks, anxiety, depression, chest tighness, chest pains. breathlessness, stomach pains, nausea, heartburn, hot flashes, bleeding gums, I have had them all.
Heaven knows what I will have tomorrow.
If I walk away from cigarette smoking with my health intact every symptom will have been worthwhile.

I quit 3 months ago and i have been getting sore throats fairly regularly, the cravings are difficult to deal worth at times particularly when drinking but I have learned to say no, whatever happens I'm not going to do it as I dont smoke anymore.

I quit 48 days ago, cold turkey after 30 years of smoking...I don't feel like myself , I m suffering a major depression,shortness of breath, tighting in my chess,gas and LOW energy..but my hair, clothes and car smell GREAT!!!I keep telling myself to be positive, but sometimes it =s extremely hard and I feel like I'm losing my mind..I guess I need the doctor to increase my Celexa dosage....I need to do this for me, my daughters and granddaughter. Best of luck to all of us....

I think your body is habitual of smoking. There are many good ways of quitting ways. Because its a kind of habit that can't quit in a single day. So taking help of alternate source like electronic smokeless cigarette is a good idea.

I'm so glad I found all of these post and read them. I'm 23 years old and quit cold turkey 18 days ago. I've been feeling so confused to the point I'm scared to go anywhere, keep daily headaches, and stay terribly tired. All the sites I read said that your physical feelings would get better after 2 weeks therefore I thought hey i'm 18 days in this has to be something else, something serious. I've been so terribly scared that I was dying or something. How long before this does get better? It would really help having someone who has done been through this to talk to, so if anyone would like to email me and give me some info it would be mush appreciated.  ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed*** Please read our Terms of Use

hello every1!!!!

oops i forgot to tell how long i quit ,,,i successfully quit smoking about 8 months ago and i am feeling awesome!!!!

I am 22 years old and smoked since age 14 and quit smoking 4 months ago.

I'm not gonna lie to you the first month was horrible and I felt like s***.


The second month was a bit better but still...


In the third month I grabbed the last pack of smoke and tear it apart then threw it in the trash can.


Now,in the fourth month I was repairing my computer and while repairing I had to do hand motions quite similar to when I was smoking.I even opened the window I only open when I was smoking.I thought for a moment that "holy c**p,what if this activates the old feelings in my brain and I get the urge to fall back".It didn't happen.I have succesfully quit smoking.


But I am left with shortness of breath,which I didn't have before smoking.When I quit in the first 2 months I had panic attacks and anxiety,twitching,hypoglycemia etc.

The hypoglycemia and shortness of breathe didn't go away and I never experienced them before smoking.Thankfully the anxiety and panic attacks went away.I'm starting to get scared.I'm not eating junk food since 2 months but I feel the same and not improving I don't want to scare you but this is the truth.For me,it didn't worth quitting smoking,I thought that magic will happen and the birds will sing and nature will call my name,colours will be more vibrant and I can smell things better and will look better,and even gave up the junk food and eat veggies.

NO! IT'S JUST A FAIRY TALE,IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!ONLY LUCKY PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THAT.

Anyway the only reason I don't go back to smoking is because my family is poor and we need the money.Hope it helpes.

I'm 36 year old male and I smoked for 18 years roughly 10 -12 cigs a day on average.

I quit smoking almost 4 months ago and these are the symptoms I have had or are ongoing.

Anxiety - I never expected the level of anxiety to be so high but it is calming down.

Chest tightness - Its related to the anxiety - that I've noticed or if I'm coming down with a chest cold.

Insomnia - I still have rough nights - I can get to sleep but if I wake up in the middle of the night, well I'm up.

Chest Colds/flu - I think I'm on my 4th one presenty - good news! they don't last as long as thery did when I did smoke.

Plegm - Still cough some out at times, usually has some sort of tar in it

Diarrhea - comes and goes

Weird thoughts - That I had no future, this is it, I'm dying etc..

This experience has been very draining but reading this blog has really helped me. I've also had a chest xray and everything is clear.

I have noticed that my breathing over all is better.

HI, Just curious and worried coz I stoped smoking around 3 mos ago and I've been feeling the "off-balance". I couldnt even drive and go out of the house as I'm afraid I might just fall. I'm alse exoeriencing some headaches but the off blance feeling is the one that's really bothering me. It wouldnt go away. It wasn't as worse as 2 weeks ago though. But what I want to know is if you experienced the same thing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll start to feel better too like you after a year. That means I have 9 mos to go! :)

Hello,

 

I am 32 and just quit smoking about 7 months ago, I understand that there have some people who have posted on this site that have quit smoking for years now and talk about how they have also had symptoms similar to the ones being mentioned above.  I myself have been having these symptoms as well, but the worst are the panick attacks and shortness of breath symptoms. I am sometimes house bound and cannot leave my panick is so bad. I also have this issue with clearing my throat due to thick phlegm being pumped up by my lungs on a regular basis. Got everything checked by my doctor, and they found nothing wrong with me, thank goodness! I was wondering when the panick attacks go away ? If there is anyone out there who was a former smoker and has been quit for years, if they can remember OR if there is anyone else out there who has any idea when this particular symptom goes away.  Just need some advice.

jeetonmars

This is all related to quitting smoking. Smoking causes long term damage and it can kill you, however in the short term when you are young, the chemicals in smoking do kill alot of the harmful things that are ingested by the mouth and lungs. When you do quit your sensitive lungs and throat are now reintroduced to all of these harmful things and the body does not know how to deal with it. It over-compensates and overproduces mucus because these new irritants are affecting your newly sensitive body and you will "get sick" more often because of the out-of balance state. Sickness is your bodies reaction to fighting disease not the disease fighting you. Your body needs to adapt that's all. It will adapt and when it does it will be stronger than before you started smoking. Stay strong