Quit smoking a year ago - sick ever since!

Thanks bababooey,

I have got it checked at doctors office 3-4 times in the last 9 months since i quit smoking and it was high but before 9 months whenever i checked my BP at home, when my mother or mother in law was measing theirs , i used to have normal bp 80/120 . I never had BP problem before ...why i am pissed is i quit smoking in the hope of feeling better but problems started after quitting smoking ....all the forums says when u quit smoking within few hours your BP starts declining and in my case it went up .....well just give it some some time ...nowadays taking care of what i eat and doing exercise.. will go for monitor and stuff after some time ....from month 1st to month 6th i was having a very stressed heart , palpiation problems which was fixed in 6 month but it was happeneing 2 weeks back and my BP was high at that time so i am relating the BP with stress and nowadays taking vitamin B complex which gives good support to palpitations ......Thanks for your advice ........even your BP remained high for few months after quitting smoking and came back to bit normal so i am hoping that will be the case with me as well....

Hi Guys,

 

I had my appointment with my doctor yesterday. I had done a full blood test last monday. Blood test turned out fine. BP 120/80. She was a bit surprised as she was expecting the 9 month before reaching this level...I had high BP 3 months ago 155/100 (age 44).

She asked me about all my digestive issues. I told her it was better than 3 month ago (about 15-20% better) but I still have times were I dont feel good. She told me you are still in detox and it will last a few more months. Also the nerves system is still changing in my stomahc and around...

We spoke about the anxiety. I told her that sometimes my anxiety level becomes high, specially when it concerns my health. She told me that many smokers have this and the reason is because now that we quit we want to make sure that we didnt' do it to late. And this is why after tests are done and turns out okay...we need to start thinking that we're fine and the anxiety will slowly go away.

I will post again soon!

 

Istop

"We spoke about the anxiety. I told her that sometimes my anxiety level becomes high, specially when it concerns my health. She told me that many smokers have this and the reason is because now that we quit we want to make sure that we didnt' do it to late. And this is why after tests are done and turns out okay...we need to start thinking that we're fine and the anxiety will slowly go away."

I think everyone can relate to this especially when the detoxing process take months not weeks.

Hey Istop, glad to hear things are getting straight for you. My digestion is getting better also. One thing that helped was I stopped chewing gum, tic tacs, mints, etc. I traded a pack a day cigarette habit for a 20-pieces-of-sugarless-gum-a-day habit...sometimes more. All those fake sugars seemed to have delayed my GI system from recovering. If you're having the same problem, and are chewing a lot of sugar free gum since quitting smoking, try stopping that as well.

Hi everyone,
I quit the smoking habit 6 days ago. Feel really weird, tight chest, kinda blah all over, burping a lot, bloating, heart palps and the works.
Got so frightened with the palpitations that I am wearing a heart monitor now and have to carry it for a whole month for my doctor to rule out anything else.
Will keep posting here.
We need each other to get through this!!!

Absolutely!...same for me. I had to stop any gum/mint/candy for a few months...I started agin at the 6th month mark but very few gum and always just before or just after a meal.

HI Greeksmoker,

Hang in there...we all had the same things at the beginning. Keep on coming back to this forum and post.

Don't be scrrared but this can last a few days/weeks but it can also last months like me and others here posting.

hi istop,

Good to know that you had a good sessions with doctor with positive results. what was the your pulse rate by the way in your last session with doctor and in previous sessions when you got your BP checked? ....

Hi Smokefree, Back at the beginning of quitting in June, my pulse rate was generally fast, even when going to bed. I remember feeling it when lying down. During the night, it would slow down and pick up again here and there when waking up When I saw my doctor last October, my BP was high and my pulse as well. My doctor told me not to panic and that after a few months we should see improvement. During last week's appointment, my BP was perfect. I didn't ask about the pulse because since last november I noticed myself that my pulse was more stable. So, for me it took 5 months for the my pulse to "stabilize" and 6-7 months for my BP. Istop

Thanks Istop, what were the number of the pulse? in My case in 2-3 months after quitting my Sistolic BP was high but not that high ,,it was around 131 in the 3rd month then 141 in the 5t month but i didnt not notice my pulse.... this time i got my BP checked 3 times in the last 20 days and Sistolic BP was 144 at one time then 151 and yesterday it was 155 but my pulse remain in between 110-115 ...........i am just confused that weather i should go for doctor or wait for some time ...i am already in my 9th month quit ........when your pulse was high ,how high it was? was your bp and pulse high before you quit smoking ?

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Hi Smokefree, I don't have the number of pulse at the time it was high but for sure it got close to 2 per second so close to 115. My systolic was between 140-160 until last October. Since I had it checked last week with a 80/120, I'm not sure where in time it got better...I asume during december...So after 6 months. Again I was told that high pressure can last a long time after quitting. BTW yes I always had high pressure wile smoking my 1 pack a day. Also anxiety affects blood pressure. Do you train?

I really feel for you! I am also South African but live in the UK now, and gave up smoking on 16th Sept. It was, as you say, fine for a week or two, and then shazam! and kapow! Suddenly I was assailed by all sorts of issues that I certainly didn't expect! My worst was that my sinuses blocked up completely, and I totally lost all sense of smell, and therefore taste. That was in October and I still can't breathe through my nose, and am congested and feel horrid most of the time. I hate not being able to smell anything, and I hate not being able to breathe properly. I am also absolutely sure, though, that I'll never smoke again. Just hang in there. I have no idea how long these horrible symptons last, but I'm here for the long haul. Good luck to all of you - we'll feel better eventually, I have no doubt! :-)

Hi everyone I'm new to quitting just four months now I feel horrid my body aches from top to toe constantly like flu pains, how is everyone feeling now since it was a few years ago some of u posted , thank u , Tanya

Hi Istop, What do you mean by "do you train" ? well all the websites says that you quit smoking and with in 24 hours your pulse and blood pressure will start going down but why opposite in my case? well the thing is most of the doctors dont understand the nicotine withdrawal symptoms .well in your case then you BP used to stay high and after quitting it is gone back to normal so you got benefit of quittiing which is good .... so lools like in your case it was not quitting smoking which caused high BP and high Pulse

Smokefree – he meant if you exercise – train your body. Don’t completely trust those websites. They do give some good advice but I recommend too stay away from literature online. People tend to think just because you have certain symptoms you are doomed because of what it says on WEBMD but there are tons of illnesses that have the same symptoms and are not serious at all and can be worked on. Online material can be helpful but can also increase anxiety and depression. When in doubt – go see a doctor.  Reading peer review medical journals at your local university or online can be helpful if you want to look more in-depth on certain symptoms. Sadly, there isn’t much literature about recovery symptoms from nicotine abuse.  I’m very fortunate I’m surrounded by universities for easy access but can’t find much at all about in-depth nicotine recovery.  So your right – doctors don’t know squat and live by the book and case studies. I will be glad one day when a doctor was actually a smoker and logged and researched his recovery experience.

To ease your mind – I would recommend you buy a home monitor and test yourself frequently. I know I am going long here but this is how I test myself.

My blood pressure was high my first few months off drugs. I think it was mostly the stress but I remember looking at myself in the mirror and said to myself – I can do better. I used to be an athlete.

130- 140 / 80 -90 range. Obviously when you are stressed you become more stressed when you see these types of results.

I started out slow – I walked half an hour a day. By my 6th month – I was running, biking, and swimming with some intensity. But there are times I’m just bored of it and just go back to walking a half hour to 45 min a day and take weekends off.

My blood pressure averages between 100 -115 / 60 – 90 now. Remember your heart is a muscle and can be worked on. I know it sounds repetitive but try to relax.  I used to test every time I wake up in the morning. [I test it back to back to back (3 times) and average it out for my reading] - Then after lunch – Right after I walk or run -Then after I take a shower at night and about to go to bed. This is when your body is most relaxed.

Sorry went long.

Tanya– sorry to hear about your pains – I had body aches all over as well. It moved around and it was really weird. One week it was my back then one month it was my lover left abdomen then one week it was my left neck – you get the idea. Go for a long walk - Take a long hot shower - do deep breathing exercises while taking the shower - then watch Disney movies or romantic comedies to fall asleep. Hang in there. 

 

I'm on my 6th month and feeling better - still fighting some lower abdominal discomfort and digestive issues but not really any serious pains just really freaking annoying like nerve/muscle discomforts. 

Sorry for the long reply.