Shortness of breath after stopping smoking

I quit cold turkey four months ago, without any stop smoking aid. I too am still experiencing SOB, non-productive cough and hoarseness. I did not have SOB when smoking except a couple of times when I had bronchitis I have tried the Mucinex, but it doesn't seem to help. I have an albuterol inhaler that sometimes helps with the SOB for a short time. Have a Drs appointment this next week - hoping for some answers and some relief!

Thanks for the support ! I really need it at this time ! I haven't been able to find any type of support groups in my area which help with withdrawal from quitting smoking. I seriously feel like I am detoxing off of some street drug....Although from what I understand smoking isn't considered any different to some people. I went to a Naturopath and have been given detox meds to detox my nervous system, since he says that it's all messed up due to all of the past smoking. After speaking with him I have been feeling a lot better and getting less anxious with less panic attacks. However at night it's a little bad since I have heard that at night the body is healing so one may have more symptoms in the evening.....I have experienced this so far every night. I do feel that my body is gotten a lot better than when I first quit smoking...I truly will never return to that filthy habit!Oh! and deep breathing exercises and mediation really does help a lot, I have been doing these everyday, makes a big difference,  

Hi. Just wondering what video you are referring to

Hi. I have given up the filthy things 3 weeks ago now and have been having the same sort of symptoms everyone else here has been experiencing. Never ahd anything like it in my life before, after smoking for 30 years !! Ended up at the hospital yesterday, couldn't breathe properly and feeling like I was having a heart attack or something. All the tests under the sun all came back clear and negative. Have spent this morning reading all these posts and feel a lot better now knowing that a lot of other people have had similar experiences. It sucks though, that you do all this and feel worse it seems like. Thanks to you all for your posts. It is very comforting to know I am not alone

Your naturopath is partly right. Smoker's interiors are messy, all black, dark and cheerless. Due to tar and nicotine all those dirty years!!!!!!!!!! But medicines will not, cannot, clean up the mess like a detergent. The accumulated dirt has to dissipate and vanish on its own, not driven away by any cleaning agent. Give it time and enjoy the freshness every morning

I am 43 and just stopped for the second time a week ago. Ive got about 20years under my belt.   The first time i stopped for 6 months when i was around 39-40. During that attempt i was doing alot of cardio in the morning and other than the usual gripes/withdrawal irritation it was not to terrible, used nicotine gum the first few weeks. This time however after one week I have had shortness of breath that will not let up. This definitely did not occur the first go around.  Its really annoying. It is possible in my case that it might have something to do with the following,,,,, the week i stopped coincided with me taking Timolol which is a betablocker for glaucoma. I might have reacted to that med, because betablockers cause short breath with some people,, who knows, I sure hope it goes away

I quit 3 months ago after smoking for over 40 years. I feel worse now than i did in the beginning. I can't seem to get enough air into my lungs and have a tightness around my chest. My Dr said my lungs sound fine and i am terrified of having a chest xray. Has to be something bad after smoking so long. No coughing or spitting up since i stopped. 

i have been smoking for just over 10 years , i stopped 2 days ago and i keep feeling the need for a deep breath but just cant take one making me feel short of breath also have an aching round my ribcage towards my back when i first get up in a morning , im hoping these symptoms will pass in time to come . im 28 so im giving up now whilst im still young and have a chance to let my lungs repair themselves , good luck to you all who have quit , its one of the hardest things ive done.

yes same problems with breathing quit 9 months ago dr. said it will improve. It has got a lot worse since I quit.

I quit using the patch .It's been two years since I quit and I dont have C.O.P.D or Asthma was just tested now they think it might be my heart ..I am hoping it will correct itself ..getting really frustrated..ur not alone.

Do not lose heart. I quit 11 months ago. Life has been up and down. Up mostly, every morning when I wake up and find I am not smelling of nicotine. Up when I can tell others of the freshness I feel every second. Up when I know I am one step closer to GOOD BYE NICOTINE! I am not gonna miss you. Down when I have my short bouts of sob. But that is for good, I am waiting. And waitingto conquer sob.

smoked for 20 years am now 37 had bad asthma as a child . kept myself fit was in the army for 11 years everyone smoked . gave up for a full year coughed up a bit of specs of tar and felt ill for a few days but soon got over it but like a fool went out on the beer and ended up smoking again . anyway had a bad chest infection so decided to quit smoking as found it hard to breath and really put me off smoking . so after antibiotics got another chest infection visit to hospital chest xray fine heart everything ok . cut a long story short had 5 chest infections in 4 months . lots of thick sticky clear mucus with brown specs of tar . better out than in i thought but afetr 5 months still suffering with the mucus makes life hard . i get moody aswell with my son and others . had a check for copd but first blew 90 % capacity said i had a lung age of 49 second blow blew 110 % capacity lung age 20 so i deffo have not got copd . but i worked out from the internet . its the cillia in my lungs growing back sees all the tar as a foreign body wants to expell it so produces loads of mucus . i am on a better inhaler opens my lungs as my asthma has got worse during this lung clean out  . i use benelyn cough medicine which is a weaker uk version of mucunex contains same ingrediants. i drink loads of water and have honey and lemon. showers steam sometimes helps . try not to let it get me down as i know at least i have not got cancer or somthing worse some days are better than others . i tend to try not to panic when its hard to breath as that just makes it worse .all i can do is hope my body repaires itsself to a point when this mucus stops just want to breath again would never touch a cig again ever after what i been through last 5 months . i was scared i was dieing at one point as i have never felt like this but i wont let this beat me gonna get fit again look after myself like i should have done just hope i get the chance for my kids sake cant turn back the past but got to look towards the future will let you know what happens to me

After reading this forum, I thought about how I do not have the need to cough. So I thought maybe I'd try to cough. I felt a little relief from that, then I thought, maybe I'll start the phlem moving. So I went and got some vicks out of the cabin and rubbed it on my chest. Immediately my nose started draining and I started hacking up stuff. My nose felt clear and actually, the headache I had just went away. So it might be that you need to make it come up. Try some vicks or some kind of vapor rub just to get things going. I was in the bathroom about 10 minutes before I felt I could stop hacking and blowing. I'm not saying this will cure you, but it will let you know if something is trying to come up and out your lungs, but isn't making it out. It's good to do in case this fluid will cause pneumonia.

HI there everyone!Thank God for this forum, I guess I may not actually be dying from stopping smoking! I quit about 4 weeks ago - 45 years old/2 packs a day/about 20 years. About 2 weeks in developed a weird shortness of breath and/or feeling like I can't breathe deeply enough or am forgetting to breathe and thought my lungs had collapsed - I had severe chest pain and pain in my left shoulder and arm. I thought they were a collapsed lung or, worse, heart attack symptoms.I went to a local clinic and told the doctor I thought my lungs had collapsed. The doctor said that was impossible - stethescoped me, chest x-ray, ekg - nothing - then recommended I go to the ER because he couldn't figure out anything else that I could be having but a heart attack, and not to take any chances.Well, I didn't go - but 2 days later - same symptoms and the seeds of doubt planted by that doctor I ended up in the ER as a precaution - Here I come reeling in, clutching my chest, saying I'm having a heart attack, feeling giddy and unstable, lol!Well, they do 10 hours of tests, blood, keg, chest x-ray the works. No heart attack. No collapsed lung. When I protested about how I felt, the ER doctor said, exasperated 'Look, I'm giving you good news here - you aren't dying - no heart attack etc. Just chill.'It is bizarre that these extreme symptoms are caused by anxiety and real physical withdrawals and/or cleansing of the filth out of our lungs after years of smoking. Thanks everyone for sharing their stories - grateful I am not dying and only suffering from 'getting better'!

Live, to live more days. Remember that movies? Die another day? I recently thought I knew an additional cause for the discomfort. Some things we eat cause gas to build up. thta causes much discomfort. Drink lots of hot water. You should be fine.