Shortness of breath after stopping smoking

Yes I am having a difficult time expectorating the mucus in my chest especially at night I wake up with a cough it's been a month I stopped smoking and I'm afraid I have cancer I had a chest x-ray and everything came out fine I did do the spirometer test and it says I have COPD I won't take the medications for it I just won't ever smoke again I will exercise and I'm eating better I'm hoping that I can keep the COPD at a level that I can live a normal life get checked if your having any problems please

YES I AM ALSO FACING THIS

I stopped smoking 3 years ago but still use an e cig. I’m still having the shortness of breath and find it quite concerning. I have just been for a chest X-ray today and hop all is ok Alastair London

I'm sort of glad that others are feeling the same. I'm 41 years old, male and am finding myself out of breath while exercising and my joints are sore mite often. I exercised the same way regularly before quitting and hope these are just side effects from quitting. Can't wait for it all to get easier.

Hi guys, I'm also having shortness of breath after stopping my several year long pack-a-day habit. Just wanted to mention that this is clearing of the lungs and is not necessarily related to nicotine withdrawal - I use snus as a nic replacement and still get shortness of breath. It happens when you stop putting smoke in your lungs and they start repairing. Also, I've quitted many times for a few days and want to mention that for people thinking of going back to smoking, it's not going to help as much as you think, unless you decide to go back to your previous smoking levels and stay there until cigarettes kill you. I spent the last few months smoking on and off - a cigarette here, a cigarette there, a pack when drinking, then 2 days smoke-free..as a result was constantly ill - I didn't smoke consistently enough to keep my lungs from starting to clear and was constantly in a state of SOB and anxiety, apart for a few days where I really sticked to a pack a day and managed to disable the lungs clearing... Once your lungs start clearing up and you get various unpleasant symptoms as a result (including SOB) having a cigarette won't cure you instantly - you may think it will immediately end the withdrawal and you'll be fine, but not so. You'll have to fully return to your pack-a-day habit for a few days before the symptoms go away. What I'm saying is DON"T SMOKE - it won't solve anything and will temporarily make your symptoms even worse before you manage to cram enough cigarettes down your lungs to shut down it's clearing mechanism again. You're 100% better off just waiting it off and not smoking at all.

Been following this thread for almost 5 years now.Had to reactivate my account since they closed it down here. For every one who is having a hard time quitting....DON'T GIVE UP. I recently had a stint put in and i owe it to having smoked for 26 years. My original SOB was the normal result of quitting.

Anyone think the SOB is caused by the cough? I find the SOB gets slightly worse after I blow my nose and someone on page 22 mentioned it gets worse after dry coughing. So maybe it's the increased pressure in the lungs from all the coughing? I'll try to not cough for some time(nothing coming up anyway..) and see if it improves

i feel the same as you steve only i gave up two years ago.

i have the same symptoms as you and i quit two years ago.

i feel the same as you, i quit two years ago.

i feel the same and quit two years ago. and i have not had a cough to get rid of anything

Hi, I’m a 37 year old female and quit smoking 12 months ago. I used to smoke 7 cigarettes everyday for 19 years. I have to say I feel a lot worse. I’m an asthmatic, diagnosed when I was a child, while I was smoking I never went near my blue inhaler. Since giving up the following things have happened - - I have put on lots of weight, which I can deal with - I have to use my blue inhaler most days because I wheeze so badly - I have had to quit the gym because my breathing and chest can not cope with it - I get breathless when climbing stairs - My sleep has gotten a lot worse since quitting - I wake up reaching for my inhaler when previously I used to wake up and have a cigarette with a cup of coffee I feel like my health has gotten worse since quitting and I don’t understand why. I didn’t experience any symptoms of coughing anything up when I gave up or anything like that but my asthma is far worse than when I was smoking. After 13 months off cigarettes, one would assume it should’ve gotten better. At this point, I feel like giving up has been fruitless because My lungs aren’t coping. Nothing about this in any anti smoking literature. If anyone can shed any light, id appreciate it greatly. Please don’t say go doctor because quite frankly they won’t care.

Hugs to you! I hope you're well.

Don't give up. Your lungs are still healing, and so is the rest of your body.It took a good 2 years for me to get to a point where one day i realized i have not had an episode of SOB and more importantly ANXIETY in a long time. Weight gain is usually a substitution. I gained afterwards but trimmed my diet and it came off.Trust me, your eating more is all.

David thanks for your post. Its reassuring to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am smoke free for a year and still having SOB episodes most days. Climbing stairs seems to affect my the worst. I still miss smoking but would NEVER consider going back. Not being dependent on the next smoke is a very liberating feeling. I am still waiting for the day when the SOB is no longer an issue. It requires patience. Good luck to all that are going through this.