Quit smoking a year ago - sick ever since!

Suz...Hang in there...

 

It's been a long time since I updated my status and I have quit smoking for the second time and one month smoke free! I have been diagnosed with birth defects causing my liver enzymes to not function properly and this explains why I had no detox reaction after quitting smoking (5 months including lots of sunbathing,healthy diet,uphill cycling and not feeling better after quitting).

My worst problem now is that I went from pooping daily to pooping once or twice a week.Just when I have received my supplements to bypass liver defect I started getting this stupid constipation (around 2 weeks after quitting smoking) and I must poop DAILY in order to take things like activated charcoal which I will be needing frequently and for life.I've tried lots of magnesium citrate,tried heavy exercising,tried drinking lots of water (turs out I'm sensitive to chlorine in water and need to buy water filtering system) and nothing helps :(.I cannot picture detoxing the tar in lungs till I am having PURE non chlorinated water for drinking and bathing.It's just so frustrating I'm really a mess and must have a very very strict diet.

Can someone please help me with the constipation? I don't want to take medicine.. :( And yes NICOTINE STIMULATES POOPING and I'm tempted to smoke one if everything else fails! Constipation sucks!

Hi Istvan. Sorry to hear about your digestive issues. I have some too after quitting smoking. They are common when some people quit. I have several friends who were diagnosed with irritable bowel syndome and ulcerative colitis after they quit smoking. One friend was even hospitalized and required blood transfusions. Nicotine is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Have you tried a nicotine replacement like the patch, or nicotine gum? Have you talked to your doctor? Not all doctors know about these digestive issues after quitting smoking, so he may not know the connection or beleive it. I'm not a doctor, but what I did was started eating 4 smaller meals instead of 3 bigger meals. Normal breakfast, normal sized lunch, small late afternoon snack, small dinner Dinner was always the smallest, and I never ate within 4 hours of going to ged. That helped me. Good luck. -Bababooey

Oh yes...digestive issues are common when quitting. I've quit 5 months ago and I still have them...but its getting better. I too had to change my daily eating...



Bababooey...how long did it take you to get better with digestive issues?

My digestive issues are still going on. They started about 2 months after I quit smoking, and 1 month after I quit the nicotine gum.

It got worse and worse for a month, and has been slowly getting better since then (two months later).

-Bababooey

Wow...that's very similar to my case: I quit June 18th 2012 with patches stop patches about July 15th 2012 Started digestive issues beginning of August 2012. So today, almost 5 month from I still have a bit of digestive probs but its getting better...I was told between 6-8 months all together. thx

This is what I have found on a forum:

"A couple months ago I went to see the Dr. because I was still so tired and having trouble concentrating, and in a nutshell he said smoking can mask a hypoactive thyroid (because of the metabolism increase smoking gives) or keep an already hypoactive thyroid under medicated so when someone like me stops, my thyroid isn't getting that extra boost to compensate. We did a test and sure enough my thyroid counts were off."

Smoking masks symptoms of hypothyroid.Constipation is a sign of hypothyroid and I already had the other ones long time ago.This is pretty evident from now,I didn't wanted to take hormones and medication but oh well,what can you do...

Anybody else having situational panic attacks after quitting smoking?

I quit smoking using nicotine patches 12 months ago. And till these day i have situational panic attacks and high anxiety to the point that sometimes i am afraid that i am insane/crazy. I was 100% normal before quitting and before smoking(i smoked only for 4 years) but now i sometimes feel like i am slightly crazy, usually under stress.  Anybody else?

I stopped smoking 5 month ago and I have panic attacks and anxiety...I never had them before. Today i have to go see a shrink....but it helps.



Try to see when they occur...is it when you think about your health?

istop wrote:

Kost wrote:

Anybody else having situational panic attacks after quitting smoking?

I quit smoking using nicotine patches 12 months ago. And till these day i have situational panic attacks and high anxiety to the point that sometimes i am afraid that i am insane/crazy. I was 100% normal before quitting and before smoking(i smoked only for 4 years) but now i sometimes feel like i am slightly crazy, usually under stress.  Anybody else?

I stopped smoking 5 month ago and I have panic attacks and anxiety...I never had them before. Today i have to go see a shrink....but it helps.

Try to see when they occur...is it when you think about your health?

Yes, either under stress or when i am afraid about my health - mental health.

From all i read it's most likely temporary hypothyroid which is very common first 2 years after quitting smoking.

Kost wrote:

istop wrote:

Kost wrote:

Anybody else having situational panic attacks after quitting smoking?

I quit smoking using nicotine patches 12 months ago. And till these day i have situational panic attacks and high anxiety to the point that sometimes i am afraid that i am insane/crazy. I was 100% normal before quitting and before smoking(i smoked only for 4 years) but now i sometimes feel like i am slightly crazy, usually under stress.  Anybody else?

I stopped smoking 5 month ago and I have panic attacks and anxiety...I never had them before. Today i have to go see a shrink....but it helps.

Try to see when they occur...is it when you think about your health?

Yes, either under stress or when i am afraid about my health - mental health.

From all i read it's most likely temporary hypothyroid which is very common first 2 years after quitting smoking.

That what I read too...Something for sure, don't hesitate to get help...even if it is for just a wile. Stopping smoking can really affect our head!

I also have quit for 15 months now,and I have had most of these same problems  here's to hoping it gets better

I quit 4 months ago and have had constant sinus infections. I've had minor heart palpitations and many of the other things described in the thread. However, after talking to my dad who quit in his early 30's almost 30 years ago, he said he felt the same things. He and my mom both remember him being sick the entire winter, cold and sinus problems. So, it gets better. He'd been smoking since he was 16, a pack a day, and said all in all it took about 2 years to get his full health back. Exercise, a healthy diet, and lots are water have helped alleviate the severity of my symptoms. 

thx I have 31 days today

thx istop I am still going through it i have 31 days nicotine free