Quit smoking leads to severe digestion problems...

oh lets hope so! That's what Im praying for on a daily basis!!!

Did the water retention and slowing down of your digestive system ever resolve? if so, how long did it take? Thank you!

I've smoked for about 15 years and now I am 18 days smoking free and I've never had stomach pains like this! Bloating, constipation, heart burn, sharp sudden pains, burping, feel like someone is literal twisted my stomach, feels on fire, some days struggle to pass wind.
I've been to doctors who referred to hospital who did tests but couldn't find anything. After reading more and more similar cases is all part of quitting in some people.

I am experiencing these exact symptoms. Losing weight, stomach distress, diarrhea and all the other thing, even the bile. I am vaping, but do not crave a cigarette unless it magically made these horrible side effects go away...in which i do not think will work...I'm too far in so....back on probiotics, watch the diet, nexium for (GERD), already take plenty of fiber and ride out the storm. I'm vaping 12 mg, as I was not a heavy smoker, just a long time smoker. I definitely this this is a detox. I hope it doesn't last too long....

Hello I am in the same boat. Your story is basically mine. I have gotten help from Probiotics, digestive enzymes, and because of the constipation I have been going to a colonic therapist, the procedure helps me release toxin's and gas and waste that is not releasing on its own. I have had this for 3 months and I have gotten different levels of relief from all the above and the gas and bloating are not near as bad as they were and I am getting accupunture tomorrow to see if it will help more. I found out I can not eat
avocado I flare up and Ice cream I flare up like Im pregnant . I really think
colonic's are important to consider. they help all the organs that are involved in releasing waste and toxins while we are in the healing process
best of luck

thank you. I might try this. I will keep in touch and let you know if I find any cure!

Exact same symptoms here. Bloated, pregnant belly, burping, heartburn weight gain (no change in eating habits or exercise) after quitting.

Someone must have found a remedy by now. Can't be that this is NEWS to the medical world?

I am 9 months quit and am still having these issues though not as bad as it was. I am also going through Menopause though so it's hard for me to know if it's just from quitting smoking or if that is contributing as well. I'm not going to go back to smoking so what choice do I have? I just hope it will continue to improve and keep checking back here whenever I get an email stating there's a new post hoping for some good news!

I had the same issue with horrible bloating/gas/constipation issues to the point I went to several doctors and no relief. I developed insulin resistance and am now taking metformin along with Digestive Advantage pills from WalMart and Turmeric. I can tell you I am 200% better!!! Look up Turmeric Curcumin and see all the benefits for digestion along with tons of other health benefits. The Digestive Advantage has stopped the severe constipation along with the Turmeric and I now feel like a milion bucks. I wish you all the best.

Going on now for 15months since i had a cig but my stomach issues have just gotten worse and worse. Started vaping 2 weeks ago and the bloating is gone,the gas reduced,and the diarrhea. Limited to mostly when i eat dairy.when i quit smoking i would get bad gas and diarrhea mainly after coffee then i lost the ability to handle caffine next to go was ice cream.By the 1 year mark i could not eat any dairy, limited amount of caffine, no acidic foods,no yeasty foods,no alcohol. Last month i could only handle 1 cup of food a day at which point my husband said enough is enough and forced me to start vaping. This summer the bloating wss so bad my best friend of 20 years told me i wss so bloated i looked more pregnant than when i was pregnant. I went from a size 7 to a size 12 but only in the belly.2 weeks of vaping and i am back down to a size 9. I have tried just about everything with zero answers or results. Sorry for the ramble its 2am here and my brsin is not firing on all cylinders

Hello everyone! Here is my story... It might be helpful for someone. I am 29 and its 5 months i quit cig. I smoked for 8 yrs approx ... 2 cig a day to 8/9 cig a day when i finally quit. Peaked to 2packs when ever i had alcohol. Alcohol consuption frequency was more earlier but very less in past 3 yrs. All these 8 yrs, my food habits are worst ... Like cig for breakfast, oily/fatty/spicy stuff... My choice was always beer for alcohol.... My past quitting incidences were 6 months quit in 2012 and again 6 months quit in 2014....
When i quit earlier two times, I didn't had any side effects and life was at its best... any side effects were only for first 3 days.....
Let me tell you all why I quit finally. It was due to excess gas, heartburn, dizziness and head aches.
Now, after I quit finally everything was better for first 2/3 months. Any cravings were only for first 3 days.
Last month, for an hour GMAT prep, i screwed up my sleep time and diet. I took took too much caffeine to stay awake. I don't think these are the reasons but sure they acted as catalyst. I had a dizziness and chest pain incidence just a day after exam.
I thought it was heart attack and rushed to emergency ward of a multi speciality hosp. They checked ecg, sugar, BP and Troponin T. Every thing is fine and troponin negative. Doc told to take antacid. Oh i forgot to tell u all that i was consuming too much antacids from almost past 6/8 months due to indigestion feeling. This was also one of my reason to quit.
So, within a week i booked a chest pain screening health test plan at a highly reputed cardiac hospital. Every possible test was done except 64 slice CT. Again every thing was normal. That interventional cardiologist told me to start exercising and have good life style changes. He also told to visit gastroentrologist in case chest pain persists. For 10 days it was fine (i think it is due to mental stress relief that I don't have heart problems) but some 10 days back i again had bloated stomach, gas, burping, severe chest pain and dizziness. Next day I visited a senior gastroentrologist. He asked abt my stool and pain (luckly my stool isn't black, which means internal bleeding, and I don't have stomach pain problems). Then that doc suggested to go through endoscopy and ensured me that it will last for 4 mins with no pain and no sedation. I accepted. Endoscopy done. Those 4 mins are worst. Doc gave a pictured report and explained like this.... Every thing else is fine except, moderate chronic gastrisis in stomach and grade I (minimum) reflux esophagititis. Now the important point is abt the RUT test with the biopsy he took from my stomach. Its positive, means I have Helicobacter Pyroli heavily in my tummy. Doc told reflux and gastrisis might be effect but the cause can be H pyroli.... This bacteria is contagious and it severely screws your tummy lining... and reduces acid in stomach... Which results in indigestion and this when accompained with gas generated by bacteria will result in bloated stomach and burping and eventually reflux and that screws your esophagus and resulting in Heartburn/chest pain.
Now doc gave 10day regimen with PPI (omeprazole), amoxicilin, Clarithromycin and Tinadazole.
That clarithromycin has ugly side effects.. you can read online. Three days to complete this regimen... i am feeling very fine except that clarithromycin side effects.... Doc told to use PPI (40mg) for 6 weeks to help esophagus heal.
Till now i thought its an act of that deadly bacteria, but after reading your posts i am afraid that it has to do something with my smoking past. Hope things will be fine after i complete this medicine.

It might be SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth). Might have to see a GI doc to order the test for you. It's an easy test, you blow in a bag then drink a sugar mixture. You then blow in a bag every 30 mins for three hours. If your levels are high, the doc will give you antibiotics to get rid of it. Might have to do a couple of rounds. The antibiotic is xifaxan. It mostly stays in the digestive tract so it does not cause problems like most antibiotics.

I am not a doctor, but i have been dealing with the same issues along with on and off brain fog, major mental confusion followed by partial mental clarity, brain feels like it vibrates, vibrating eyes, etc.
I believe it has to do with acetylcholine and GABA play along with dopamine, seratonin, opiod, etc.
Our intestines have a literal mind of there own. Nicotine connects on these receptors, and they control many body functions.
I have found certain foods to help my mind however their role on my intestines is debatable. These foods are:
(please note all foods are ORGANIC)
oranges
apples with crunchy peanut butter (i have read of people eating solely apples for a few days as an effective body detox)
grapes
organic dark chocolate limited ingredients
pineapples
mozzarella cheese (i am working to get off this food due to milk sinus problems, but I enjoy it with onions, olives, and beans, garlic and a splash of lemon to bring it back to alkalinity)
blueberries
cherries
turmeric
celery
beef once a week to once a month
brussel sprouts
carrots with crunchy peanut butter
sweet potatoes in moderation
figs
cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios though i rotate tjese on different days
I find googling acetylcholine foods, as well as gaba foods, dopamine foods, seretonin foods and thinking about what sounds most appealing helps me out best.
I too found milk to cause me great distress, especially now that I have quit. Peanut butter can also cause inflamed sinuses, and do so on occasion for me. I still crave the niacin though as it hits the GABA.
Some people create food logs.
I quit cold turkey as I was getting sick far too often for a 24-25 year old .
I was also a vegetarian for 11 years and gave it up to include small amounts of beef

I am hoping to become more stable so that I may eventually become employable again. Best of luck!

Thanks Shayla
Lots of common sense advice. Gives me back hope for next quit....
Thank you, thank you.

Water, digestive vegatabke enzymes, fiber, probiotics, and exersize will help