Shortness of breath after stopping smoking

60 years old smoked up to 3 packs a day for 50 years stopped cold 2.5 weeks ago, used the patch for 3 days then stopped that becuse I couldnt see that it was needed. I use a couple times a day an electric ciggerette but can and have gone without. I get really tight chest and short of breath more and more the longer it goes since I quit. when i use teh e cig it seems to help. feel congested but cant seem to cough anything up. very frustrating, but not going back cause i do feel better, but did not expect this tightness and SOB feeling.

hi, ehmm, i am 16 years old, and i smoked for 5 years, yeah, i know it sounds stupid... but when i quited, i felt quite good. but then it started... after the 2nd week i got some stupid effect... it was like, everything in my airways was bloated.. i heard how i was breathing, really strange feeling.. then it ended. but it started agin! now for the 4th day its kinda hard 4 me to breath. i feel like someone is choking my throat! have you been experiancing that? sorry for my bad english, i learned it from TV and computer games :D

If you are over weight it will take a lot longer to get back to normal breathing, But alll shortness of breath due to smoking will go away eventually if you stop smoking . even if you have copd. you will breath almost normal. so stop worrying and j just quit smoking, and when you can, start walking a little. and add to it each day.

Did your doctor tell you this hplar?  

The best way of getting the mucus out of your lungs is to sing, make sure you hit the high notes but no longer than an hour a day or you will get a sore throat, good luck maybe you will find your a rock star,!!!

Lala is right, and not only that, if you stop smoking you get your singing voice back again!

I am a 49 year old male, I have smoked for 29 years and was on about 25 a day. I quit with champix pills 90 days ago and started with SOB within 2 weeks of my last smoke. The same happened to me about 2 years ago but i didnt complete the course and failed quitting after a month or so and my SOB went away. This time I am not going to smoke again and have seen my doctor about the SOB, I am had a chest Xray today and will be doing a breathing test and blood test later in the week. I will post my results here hopefully they will be good results and the SOB is just my body adjusting to clean air.

Hang in there Al. We all support you! You are finally breaking up with that abusive partner, cigarettes.

nicotine causes the blood vessels to shrink, this causes high blood pressure,and no cleaning of the vessels quit all nicotine for a year till you have normal breathing again.

Good Luck Al, keep us posted and great going with not smoking!~

two  weeks    im  feel  like   death   doctor  say  nuthing  wrong,   cough  cough  cough  no  energy   spit  up  tar  lungs  in  agony, but  gonna  keep  going  same  as   you  guys

Well the chest Xray was all clear and according to the spirometry results i have better lung capacity than the average non smoker at my age weight and height, blood tests not back yet but my doc thinks the SOB is most likely my body doing its thing to get my lungs clean so hopefully all will be well in good time. thanks for the supportive messages by the way guys much appreciated,   Al

Hi guys!WOW! Am I glad I found this thread!Been smoking for 26 years, and finally decided to stop on my 40th birthday in Jan 2013!Also did it for my 2 sons and my little wife!It's been 4.5 months and now this SOB is starting to drive me insane!Last night I actually thought I was going to die because I was really struggling to breathe! Even when I was lying in bed! I initially thought it was because I was (or am) about 20kg over weight, and I do know this, but I never had these issues when I was still smoking. Anyways, as I slowly read through each and every post on the 25 pages here, I slowly started to feel better. (Yes, took me the whole of today to do it, but it was worth it!!!)We don't have much money, so quitting was a God-send for me in the sense that I now have a bit of extra cash every month for food and stuff... So I really am glad to find this site and realize that I really don't have to rush to the Doctor, only to discover nothing wrong and have to pay loads of cash to him... What I have been doing the last few days with my SOB is that if I feel I am out of breath, I simply stop doing what ever, relax, and then take about 10 to 20 very deep breaths, holding each in for a few seconds, then holding the last few for as long as possible.After that, I am good to go for a bit longer.I just hope it will eventually go away, because I sometimes feel very embarrassed when doing this. Especially in the work place. I have people coming up to asking if I am OK, and what's going on... I hate it!So I usually try and find a quiet place to take a few breather sessions....At the end of the day I stop and think that this is going to go on for another year or so, but in the end will be totally worth it!!I may even get another 40 years out of my life! :)   Congrats to all those who have stopped, and keep it up!I never knew I could do it, and always wanted to, but never could!MY 40th B-day, something just clicked in me and I haven't touched a smoke since!I still have a sealed box in my drawer, and have been VERY tempted to open it, but I have managed to beat it!I also stopped drinking 4.5 years ago! Haven't touched a drop of alcohol since!So if I can do that, he this should be a breeze! Oh well, enough of me!How about some of those people from the first few pages of this thread post back and let us know how things are going... Cheers all! Dean South Africa

I agree I'm thinking the anxiety is the big part of feeling short of breath. I have been quit for their5 days after smoking for almost 30 years. I have noticed that when I feel like I cant bbreathe it is due to anxiety.

it is very normal as your body is reacting and coping to the change it would help if you drink more pure water .No sugar or flavouring with it .