quit smoking & asthma

Hi All,

I'm Zac in the UK recently quit smoking had asthma since i was 7 but never in the last 10 years had a serious attack just needed a puff of ventalin every now and then, now though i'm also using my inhalor a lot more but guys and gals relax this is totally natural, I smoked since i was 16 and now I'm 38 (well very nearly) thats 22 years worth of nasty stuck to my lungs.

When I spoke to my doctor about quiting he explained that I will possibly get every cold flu and lord knows what over the next 6month and when I get a cold my asthma flares up. Also don't forget that asthma can be brought on by stress so the more you panick the worse it may be for you.

The person I cant remember who, who mentioned loss of voice again totally normal and really if you think about to be expected, I am a vocalist by trade and can highly recommend Sandersons Specific mixture i use it all the time but and I do stress its evil tasting but it does strip the nasty from your vocal chords and will bring your voice back.

Im only 6 weeks a reformed smoker and my voice has returned to an incredible range i get up with the lark and have gone from 10 stone to 11.5 which for a 6 foot 1 guy is not a bad thing.

give it a while and dont give in guys every thing should and probably will normalize over time.

But and please not this is quite important I am not a doctor or a medical pro i'm speaking from my experiance and what has been told to me if you really feel tight chested and as asthmatics we normally know when its bad seek proper medical help.

SMALL STEPS DEEP BREATHS & GOOD LUCK.

It's true, smoking suppresses the symptoms of asthma. Quit smoking and the asthma comes back full force. The smoke makes the cilia in the lungs less sensitive. If the cilia is less sensitive, it doesn't react nearly as strongly to asthma triggers, like dust and pollen. If it doesn't react strongly to asthma triggers, asthma attacks don't get "triggered," so to speak. I quit smoking in the easiest way possible, I switched to an e-cigarette, AKA vaping. (I use a KGO, but a 901 model works as well. Use the tank, rather than the cartridge. Viola, no withdraw symptoms. Lower the nicotine level in each successive batch and you'll eventually break the nicotine addiction. Simple, easy, and painless.). So, within a month of quitting tobacco, my asthma went out of control. No, the vaping didn't trigger the asthma. I went several days without vaping and it didn't affect it at all one way or the other. What brought my asthma back under control within minutes? A cigarette. I was breathing deep before I finished that first cigarette. So, what now? After finding a way to finally quit smoking, I don't want to have to smoke in order to breathe. I'm thinking I may have to substitute smoking cornsilks, one or two a day, in place of tobacco cigarettes. The smoke from the cornsilks should suppress the asthma symptoms, without having to smoke a nicotine-laced cigarette. I'd vape until I got the nicotine down to zero during this time. And bingo, no nicotine addiction and asthma remains under control with one or two smoked cornsilks. For those who choose to drone on about smoking only making asthma worse, I'd suggest you go learn what the Hell you're talking about before preaching to those of us who have to experience all this first-hand. And for the self-appointed experts who claim e-cigarettes are as bad for your health as tobacco cigarretts, you're just wrong. :)

I'm 30 years old and quit smoking two years ago from a pack a day down to "only smoking when I have drinks" - which was, realistically, about a pack a week. Soon after I made this change I started to get symptoms of asthma. I, like many of you, had asthma as a kid but had grown out of it by the time I was a teenager. I went to my doctor and expressed my frustration. It seemed that the less I smoked, the more asthmatic I was. The more I smoked, the better I felt. The doctor told me this is very normal. As we know, when we quit smoking our lungs begin to release the toxins from the cigarettes. For a non-asthmatic person, this is a mere annoyance... like coughing up phlegm, clearing your throat a lot, sometimes getting mildly sick. For an asthmatic person (either who always has been since childhood or developed it from ciggie smoking), it can be a nightmare. Wheezing, chest pains, tightness, pressure, coughing attacks, asthma attacks and ridiculous use of rescue inhalers. At one point during this nightmare, I was up to 6 to 8 uses a day of Albuterol. And the worst symptom of all was the mental voice that told me to smoke to get rid of the symptoms. And for about 8 months I did do that. And what a vicious cycle I put myself into. I would smoke, feel better for two days and not smoke, have asthma for 4 days, smoke again, feel better again, and on and on. All I could think about is smoking and quitting smoking. I also became very depressed. After all, if you can't breath... how can you enjoy life? That's when I went and saw an asthma/allergy specialist. He understood exactly what my problem was and worked with me to get it fixed. I was able to let go of cigarettes once and for all... and one year later I can breath amazing and I'm moving into physical activities like cardio workouts and hiking. I'm here to tell you not to give up hope if you are trying to quit smoking and get asthma. It might take some meds to help you at first- like Advair, for example, is what I used to control the asthma when I quit smoking. But slowly you can wean off the asthma meds as your lungs continue to improve and expel less toxins. (And for those of you who don't have insurance, many asthma meds, including Advair, can be purchased with coupons provided through the medication web sites. I paid $60 a month for my Asthma meds which was FAR less than the cost of ciggies.) Just understand that with patience, the symptoms will begin to alleviate. I also ate right and did research online. I discovered that milky foods, for example, can trigger asthma. I had my carpets shampooed, I ate lots of fruit and veggies, I took vitamins, I lost some weight, I avoided dairy and other foods that can cause inflammation, and most of all... I avoided ciggie smoke at all cost. And with these things and the asthma meds, I did eventually move past the scary asthma that happened when I quit. Be patient! It took me months to notice a difference and a full year before I felt "normal" again. This IS worth it as it can add years to your life. Don't end up like Bill Hicks, people. Ciggies don't just kill you "ten years early"- they can take your life at 35, 45... ANY age. Good luck on your journey!

My asthma symptoms stopped after I started smoking (again). I smoked on and off in high school then from around 22 to 33 I smoked about a pack a day. After I stopped smoking at 33, I felt awful and developed asthma so badly that I had to take oral medication daily and had to use an inhailer several times a day. After 8 of being a non-smoker with asthma I started smoking again. That was 19 years ago and during those 19 years there's only been 1 time that I any problems with asthmas and that was on a day that I had to do a lot of walking, uphill during a sand storm. -- Because of the cost and smell of smoke on my clothes, hair, etc., I'd like to quit smoking (again) but I am afraid that if I do I'll end up with asthma again. On "Wikipedia" it says that studies show marajuna relieves asthma and that the tar and some of the chemicals in marajuna and cigarettes are the same. Read the whole article but espcially the section titled "Clinical applications". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis

I quit smoking nearly three years ago and developed asthma straight away. I relapsed with the smoking a couple of months ago and barely used my inhalers in the few weeks I was back on the cigarettes. I've quit again and the asthma is back with a vengeance and I have to have a puffer around.

I'm much happier being a non-smoker with asthma than being a smoker and the risk of cancer.

I was on singulair for 6 years. Besides the nightly nose bleeds it caused, it also got me locked up in the psyche ward for 3 weeks. There is a lot of investigations being done into that medication, please
Be wary

I find this thread very interesting, mostly because I thought I was the only one. Let me start by giving a little history on myself....

I was diagnosed with asthma at 6 months. I was up north at a cottage with my mother, when I suddenly fell asleep. When they tried to wake me, my eyes would half open and I would fall back asleep. My mother and grandmother rushed me to the nearest hospital as my lips began to turn blue and my breathing became more and more shallow. The doctors in emerge put me in isolation and strapped a mask on my face pumping albuterol into my lungs. My mother watched for 24 hours until the nurses asked her to leave. when she said she didn't want to in case something happened she calming informed my mother that I was on "death watch" and they would be monitoring me every second until I stabilized. Death's hand were tight around me that day. I survived, but the battle had just started. 

I remained on multiple control inhalers and was taking my rescue daily until the age of 8, when my symtoms lightened. Doctors had hopes that i would grow out of it, but this was not the case as I was hit by several life threatening asthma attacks, spaced a few years to a few months appart. I t was around this time when I found out about another nasty condition that can accompany asthma; a sever allergy to anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants. This was discovered when my father gave me an advil for a headache and I woke up in the ER. 

After being on several different medication (One being singulair which had horrible adverse effects) I finally managed to get things semi under control. 

I started smoking at 19, I am now 24. While smoking I rarely take any medications for my asthma, and seem to breath easier. This is useful because my medications are very expensive and I have to pay out of pocket. I have quit twice, both times I've had to back onto the medications to control my asthma. I now smoke full time, and although I want to quit, I fear my asthma coming back twice as hard. I still suffer from asthma attacks and was hospitalized for one a few months ago. The hope of growing out of it is long gone and now it's just a matter of surviving. I am trying to find more information to help all of us and would love to hear about ANY information anyone can get. This seems to be a "lesser of two evils" situation. 

 

Hey saw this thread and was glad to see it's not just happened to me, i'm 29 i've never suffered asthma in my life i started smoking at the age of 14, i guit smoking 6months ago and started getting the typical tight chest and gasping for air, as i'm emergency first aid trained i quickly got myself in to the doctors for a check up and after being given Bricanyl reliever and a peak flow monitor the doctor said i appeared to have asthma and today 21/11/2012 i received my first Clenil Modulite 200 (preventer) to be used daily, what sucks is i'm active and this knocks me for six but due to a very high cancer risk in my family and the fact that my partners about to have my 4th child i really wanna stick around for as long as possible as you can imagine. i'm adamant i will not smoke again and like anyone i do tend to lapse now and again and have the cheeky smoke or a couple of puffs but all in all from smoking 10 - 20 a day to smoking the odd puff every odd week i didn't use any NRT's or E-cigs i just straight out stopped using will power alone ( which isn't easy when my partner smoked and her dad smokes and he lives with us). However i did notice that when i smoked i did not get a tight chest or shortness of breath my asthma went, as a result i'm considering experimenting by smoking Marijuana (without cigs/bacco) and seeing if this helps prevent the asthma. i'd rather inhale marijuana and get a little high for a few hours a day than use inhalers and stuff especially as it seems the longer i quit smoking the more health problems i am uncovering. I shot from 1.5 stone for the past 10 years to over 12 stone in 6 months and standing at 6 foot i can handle it well but i can't do the exercise to get fit without an attack :/ 

that should be 10.5 stones

Smoking 1 cigarette will make your lungs passages numb for 4 hours, ive read that smoking kills cells and like veins that go through are lungs that start to grow back when we quit smoking... not using these parts of are lungs for years can cause asthma to come back and alot of coughing and chest pain.

I have just quit smoking after 36 yrs and had asthma which was diagnosed in my 30s. After 2 weeks off the cigs my breathing is magic..much cleaner and not getting out of breath so much as before. I have found I dont need my inhaler as much and never use the ventalin at all anymore. I hardly cough anymore and when I do its not that hacking grating cough it used to be...Im still coughing up some nasty flem but expected that for at least a month or so till my lungs are clears but have to say stopping smoking is the best ever thing Ive done and would say to anyone PLEASE STOP NOW BEFORE YOU END UP WITH COPD OR WORST !!! it may save your life !!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you all! I am typing this from my phone in a hospital bed in Australia- 1 week after quitting cigarettes, having smoked on & off (mainly on) since I was 18... I am 33 now & was diagnosed with asthma as a child- my mother also has it still from childhood (she was a definite non-smoker) so genetic disposition yay. I picked up a bug/cold last week- stupidly being irritated with a runny nose & shortness of breath, wheezng; coughing etc decided I must quit these "death sticks" forevs!!!" Which has resulted now a week later with a severe chest infection in which im on 50mg prednisone a day, oral & iv antibiotics, regular ventolin & atrovent nebs & symbicort twice daily. Now I feel like complete ^ utter c**p BUT am determined to stick with this for the long term benefits- it comforts me to know other ppl have been through the same intense asthma post-smoking cessation - sorry for all the mutual pain. it HAS to get better than this; my lungs have to clear eventually - I look forward to a future where I can control my asthma- not be controlled by it & nicotine

Really? Because im a 14 year old girl and I suffer from asthma and I was smoking cigarettes a year ago at the age of 13! I quit (I was never really addicted in the first place) and my asthma was TERRIBLE and it took months for it to get back to normal! But recently that screwed up (excuse my language) and I couldn't breath and today I breathed in cigarette smoke and my asthma went ballistic! Do you think I should turn back to smoking ?

I'm 61 and reduced my smoking dramatically and then  began having asthma attacks, so I quit all together and now have frequently daily attacks.  They seem to be associated with air-conditioning.  When I go outside I feel better.  Could smoking have kept my lungs warm all the time preventing asthma attacks?  My sister has had asthma since she was 3 yrs old.  Perhaps smoking has been masking an inherited asthma that I was unaware of?  I want to know if anyone's asthma went away after they started smoking again after having previous quit?

Try acupuncture. It helped me!