Shortness of breath after stopping smoking

Welcome and good luck with your quite. there are many good suggestions from good people here. Ignore the idiot from a few comments up. Hang in there we are in the same boat with our quits. Some who quit have no problems at all. Other like us have to deal with SOB and anxiety but it gets better over time. Stay focused.

foreal, i feel like im forgetting how to breath? i cannot get a full breath unless i focus and extend my chest with my breaths.

I went through the same thing and it will get better in time...

So how are you doing? Funny my anxiety is high on Monday's knowing I have another week of work ahead :) Keith

Hi Keith....today I am actually doing ok but yesterday I felt like I was getting my anxiety back....It went away today, thank goodness...but I don't know what yesterday was all about...  

Today my anxiety is elevated as well but it is going down. What's nice is that when it does show up, it does not hang around long. Thank God. Sometimes I think it would be nice, take a pill and be over it but I don't think it will help in the long run as I have more better days w/o anxiety so taking a pill for the few times a week or so that it does hit me is useless. It varies by week how many times it crops up. So funny that I never had this prior to quitting smoking? I never thought I would be in this situation 1 year into my quit. Oh well nothing to do but just keep plugging away and hope one day it will all be gone. Keith

Hi Keith.... It appears as though our recovery is on the same path...funny...I understand what you mean...I can control the anxiety attack before it becomes out of control...

Today is 10 months and am happy to say my sob is completely gone. I have a touch of anxiety every once and a while but i can overcome it easily. What is still a pain is i have GERD which sometimes feels like your chest is tightening up like a heart problem, but it's mostly due to what i eat. I would say i'm at about 75 to 80% and some of that is due to the botched surgery i had back in Febuary.  

Than is great to hear. I wish my SOB was gone but that is a symptom I get when my anxiety kicks in. Funny how GERD can make you feel SOB as well. Keith

True. I can control the anxiety before it turns into a full blown panic attack. All of this I have been through in the beginning of my quit and I'm still here so i know it won't kill me. This is why I think my anxiety has been improving as time passes. Keith

Hi there, I am sorry to bother you again but I am having different difficulties with this quitting( NOW 47 days). I am presently on BP medication because of my elevated BP. I am also taking Calms, which helps intermitently, I am always scared that something is going to happen to me. My wife and family are trying their best but my Anxieties are killing me and them. I have phlem daily, expecially in the a.m. with alot of small blackb/brown particiles,this too is driving me insane. ( How long does this phase last). I am weak in the mornings after waking up and before breakfast as during the night I will not have a consistent nights rest. After breakfast I get sick and then my day begins at work which is a high paced environment. I have gone by my doctor who keep telling me to use the lexotan 3mg at night. However, that gives me alot of dizzy feelings which I dont appreciate . Basically, one anything goes remotely wrong with my body I begin to panick as I have never been sick to this extent. Everyone keeps telling me to re-make over my mind but this is difficult. I am also 6-4 and was 340, now down to 320 after 6 weeks because of dieting and stressing. I have adapted a new lifestyle and so hope that nothing isnt wrong with me. I dont know what I will do. At present I am having a slight difficulty in breathing. I am really trying to keep a level head. But my head keeps going under water. I am just so afraid of everything right now. PLease tell me what I can do differntly because nothing seems to work.

Welcome back "worried Carribean guy"  I too, was exhausted at the beginning but quite honestly I can't remember how long it took.  However, do yourself a favor.  Get a sleep study done.  To me, it sounds like you may have sleep apnea.  And I know the feeling of being afraid.  I don't like it...!

Doe it really take this long to get over that stupid habit of smoking. HOW Long was it before you began to feel like yourself again

I still have issues just not that severe any more and I quit 4/26/13, over a year ago.

What you are doing is putting your body through some major stress buy quitting cigs and dieting at the same time. I would have maybe tried to diet get to a respectable weight then quit smoking slowly. Cut down weekly. Quitting cold turkey is hard enough then throw in dieting can really make you crazy. I quit smoking and drinking coffee and let me tell you I went insane but I stuck it out. Funny I forget now how long before the anxiety settled down. Maybe 3 to 4 months? I still get it but not bad and nothing that I can't handle now since it was so hard early on what I get now is a walk in the park. Hang tough, you will do it and know that we were in the same boat and over a year later still here and much better for it. Keith