Shortness of breath after stopping smoking

I have been more of a weed smoker for about 12 years and have been using bong to smoke up (about 4 - 5 joints a day = 10 - 15 bongs) apart from the heavy smoking for 17 years (about 10-12 cigarettes a day). It's been about 2 weeks since I quit smoking up and have been smoking cigarettes which has also decreased. Since about 5 days back I've been having this shortness of breath and trying to compensate for the air intake by heavy breathing has been causing my chest to ache at times. Just yesterday I experienced a giddyness and light headedness and had to go to the hospital to check up, I've yet to get the results but hope it's not so bad.  This has really worried me because I've heard people telling me that I shouldn't quit at once as that might have withdrawl effects and could even lead to TB but then going through this forum has given me a bit of hope that I'm on the right track (I hope I'm guessing right). Wish me luck, hope to be smoke free in 6 months.

Hello people, Today makes 16 months for me, at times there is no let up, just down and out 24 hrs a day its the 21st of october 2014, I never in my wildest dream thought it would take this long to get over an addiction, I know that there are other people out there that is suffering a lot worse than me, so I"m not gonna cry to much today, I just hope some day soon that i will wake up and this will be the results of a bad dream, in the mean time I wish to all of you very nice people the best . AND MAY WHEN YOU AWAKE TOMORROW ITS ALL GONE, THANKS RALPH

That is great 16 months. After reading your post I realized that yesterday was my 16th month. I really hope you feel better soon. I guess the amount of years and age has a lot to do with the recovery time? Keep hanging in there. Keith

I have quit one month now after 15 years smoking..Im so short of breath..My wife still smokes which makes it hard...I brought musinex but its not helping get the cough up... I had a chest xray..doctor says all is perfect...Im so tempted too go back to smoking, ,I'm horrible quitting,,,I have three kids and I have become the bitch of the house..Ohh well..Guess i got to take this for a ride..see how long it takes to get better

I must say thankyou to alot of people who have put their thoughts and experiences up for us to read ... i searched all over the place for info on the changes i would go through while quitting smoking but this was the only 1 i could find that was peoples own opinions and experiences . This sight has given me a whole new out look on the symptoms i have been suffering ( anxiety mild chest pain from time to time and SOB ) i like most would have thought that the very first day you stop smoking you would feel better but realised it was the total oposite .... the first couple of weeks were fine apart from the urge to smoke , but after that the SOB episodes kick in and had me really worried which lead to worse anxiety and thoughs of something really wrong ... but hen good days would come and go and the reassurance that your not alone and your symtoms are exactly the same as others in the same situation as yourself ... i had to keep telling myself and still struggle believing it that there is nothing wrong with you and to let my body heal i guess you realise that after somking 15 per day for 16 years it aint gonna get better over night just as you would trying to get fit take small changes day by day and give yourself enough time to look back and realise how far you have come ....... if your at the bottom things can only get better ..... ps today makes 8 weeks clean of cigarettes so still have a long way to go and plenty of healing ahead  i hope others can see that your not alone in the struggle we are all going through 

oh yeah and if it helps i used little magical book to quit by Allen Carr

Jase that is great. I am now in my 16 month and feel much better but still have healing to do. When i first quit I could not understand why some people I knew who quit like my brothers just stopped and never had any symptoms? Me I had stomach issues, SOB to the point I thought life was over and anxiety that I never had before quitting. I just had to take it one day at a time. Reading the posts he helped me get through this dark time. Keith

MAKE SURE YOUR WIFE SMOKES OUTSIDE OR YOUR SHORTNESS OF BREATH MAY LAST FOREVER, WHEN YOUR QUITTING YOU HAVE TO STAY AWAY FROM SECOND HAND SMOKE, IF NOT YOUR NOT REALLY QUITTING ,ITS LIKE HAVING TWO OR THREE CIGS A DAY. THANKS RALPH

Today is october 25 2014 what a very long ride,its the 491st day of my pain, and breathing like i have no lungs and I have to breath under water like a fish out of water, its been terrible. but i"m quit sure it gets better some where down the road, I just dont know how long this road is, could be another mile could be a interstate highway and i"m just a few miles down a 3000 mile freeway. And yes I am complaining, its been so long not being able to work or anything that requires endurance, I"m just sick and tired of being sick and tired, I hope every one else is doing better than me, Have a great day everyone THANKS RALPH

I hope all of you very nice people get your flu shots, and if your over 35 please get a pneumonia shot. you can catch either one very easy when you quit smoking .......... THANKS RALPH ..........

Tommirish your not the bith of the house! If anything. I commend you on trying to quit.

Hi all stoppers, so relieved to read this and thanks for your posts, was at my gyropracticar this morning, he said , running noze, sneezing, coffing, sore throught, bad sleep, the time when it is over is for everyone different, but this being out of breath for me, as I work on the beach and boats all day, was a real kind of worry, supposed to be the other way round, for your info, I smoked for 15 years heavy opened my 4th pack before 2000hrs, allthough I did never smoke them to the filter am 69, and the direct positive side is of my stopping is my hangovers are great hardly there anymore. Bi Chris

I stopped smoking on august 14, 2014 after 30 years of a pack plus a day. The first month and a half were great. I could walk the dogs, started exercising and my breathing was better than it had been in years. On Sept. 30 it all went bad. I could not breath, literally gasping for air, cold no longer walk the dogs for longer than a hundred yards on the trail without having to stop for a few minutes. I had a few overnight horror shows. Hour after hour of gasping and a feeling that I could not get a breath. Then I got better for a couple of weeks and I was very relieved. A couple of nights ago it happened again, a long, long overnight of not being able to breath properly. So today I finally went to a Quickhealth center. They did an EKG, a chest x-ray and everything is fine. They gave me albuterol which is bringing me much needed relief. The doc said that the cigarettes have messed with my health and it will take time to heal but he indicated no long term damage was evident. Hang in there, everyone. This thread has given me hope and now I want to pass that hope along.

I just wanted to add that they diagnosed me with asthma, which seems accurate from what I've read today. This was not an issue before I stopped smoking. Yes, my breathing was not good and frustrating but it wasn't until I stopped smoking that I began experiencing the extreme level of distress. So if you have stopped smoking and you are finding it suddenly harder to breath than when you were smoking, you may have opened the door to fresh air and your body, your respiratory system is not used to it and has become spasmodic and seized up. Very scary, not fun.

Happened to me as well after quitting. It's now 16 months and everything is back to normal. No meds needed. I was snoring sob you name it. The last 3 months have been great. I am back to feeling normal or like I did when I smoked. I did not quit because of breathing problems I just wanted to stop after 28 years. My health was fine never had SOB was always able to push myself hard w/o having any breathing issues. But once I quit, all hell broke loose. It took a year to start feeling better and now I feel great. What really helps is exercise, high dose of vitamin d and fish oil daily.