Shortness of breath after stopping smoking

Its been 180 days for me also , the last 10 days have been a nightmare. , A total relasp, I was doing so good walking going shopping showering life was good. Now its back to struggling to breath. Oh well thats life. MERRY CHRISTMAS to all thanks Ralph

Thank you...I will try....

I give you credit at your age to stop like that after smoking for so long good for you. I'm on day 182 and had a bad anxiety attack leading to SOB 2 days ago. It seems that I get this every 2 weeks now lasts a few days then goes away. Hey, I'll take that instead of every day like it was months ago. A friend of mine was like this for a year after quitting and he said one day after 12 months he woke up and it was all gone and never came back. It has been over 2 years now for him. I really do think that the chemicals in the cigs really altered our brains and now it take time to heal.

Going on 3 months now for me and i can honestly say i'm done. I walked into a bar last week and half the people were smoking, ash trays everywhere and not once did a craving hit me. Still having chest pain a few times a day and the few times i checked my B.P, it was around 117/75 ish.   It does seem that after a while people here go their own way and thats ok, but I will always be checking in to see if there is any new people and to help if i can.   Peace.

What we have here is lots of people that can t handle it. this is a very hard drug to beat. Today makes 6 months for me, Things are inproving again after my 2 weeks setback, I hope it continue to inprove. Merry Christmas , and Happy new years to each and everyone of you , and may the new year bring you all a full recovery. Thanks Ralph

Thanks john2099. Your answer makes so much sense and was very helpful!

Having a bad night tonight. Chest is real tight. The back of my mind still thinks the doctors might have missed something.

Hang in there. Anxiety sucks. I'm 6 months in and feel much better now. The first 4 months were hell. Seems I get bad anxiety every 2 weeks for a few days then goes. very strange. If you had tests and the doctors say everything is good then you need to believe in that. I went through the same thing thinking negative thoughts about my health but that has seemed to pass. Go for a walk watch a funny movie. I like listening to meditation sounds. Anything to get your mind off your health. Try some 5-htp or Inositol both really help well with anxiety.

I have smoked for 10 years, and in the last month cut back to one cigarette a day. The last 2 days have not had any. But the past week or so, I feel I am constantly needing to yawn or take deep breaths (sometimes I can not do either, and has been worse since the couple of days completely nicotine free.) I did not use Chantix or nothing to curb cravings or substitute.. Whats up with this?

this is normal after quitting for most of us who come to this site. I have meet people that quit and have never had any symptoms? Me it was bad. I smoked for over 25 years and quit 6 months ago. I am just now feeling better. I had to change many things, eating habits taking vitamins and exercising really helped. The first 4 months was tough with shortness of breath due to high anxiety and the feeling of doom. I even went to the hospital a few times thinking I was dying. I tried taking meds but it made me worse so I just toughed it out and glad that I did. It is so nice not worrying about where can I have a smoke before going out somewhere and that kind of stuff. Hang in there and keep coming to this site it helps knowing you are not alone with this. You can get through this it just depends on how bad you want it?

Thanks so much jackr, that was very helpful!

Well today makes 190 days for me smoke free, It seem as my breathing inproves some one comes along with a cold or flu and I m back short of breath again . This has happened about 6 times now, so today I put a big sign on my house that says no vistors at all period. Good luck everone and may your new year be smoke free and the best of your years, Thanks Ralph.

Thought I had instant notification turned on. Just happened to check back now and see all these other posts. Thanks for the support, the pain i'm going through causes enough fear to defy logic. Sometimes I can feel tenderness when i take a deep breath on my lower left side and in the middle of my chest, dizzy spells etc... I have been more active lately though. And on my good days I feel on top of the world. Heck i had sex for 3 hrs the other day. Next day though I felt it was the end. I do go in to have an upper gi after the first of the year just to rule out some things.

Let us know what happens with the upper GI. When I had mine done 4 months ago they found a few ulcers. That has since healed but the SOB is a killer. going on 2 days now and last night was real bad. I know it is all due to anxiety which I'm not sure why since all is good on the home front. I'm over 6 months now and can't believe I still have SOB. Like you said I have days or weeks where I'm on top of the world and then it hits me and all crashes down. It's very hard for my wife to understand as she has never smoked.

my dad has given up smoking 18months ago.Hes 67 and has had 2stents, and both sides of his carotid arterys done since. He has trouble breathing,and a dry mouth and finds it hard to do any exercise with breathing difficulties. He still says at times he feels like a smoke. Its been hard on the family and a long process with hospital visits. But I encourage you to continue to not smoke. My mum is a smoker,63 and has had a heart attack 9 years ago. She probably has serious cardiovascular problems also but is not ready to give up even though she has witnessed the hardship of my dad and the toll it has taken. Smoking is an addictive habit and the chemicals you inhale are essentially slowly killing you.It takes time to reverse that intake of chemicals that have gone into every fibre of your body. Smokes are not your friends, they are a silent killer, and rob the person and their family of life. Continue to be brave, try to change your diet and exercise more, and please give it time. It took time from you now youve got to give it time to heal and overcome. You are a winner, so be one my friend.