stopped smoking and severe stomach bloat

Ok Everyone...  I had the same horrible gas and bloating after quitting smoking that all of you have or had.  I tried some of the suggestions in this blog but had no luck.  What worked for me was the "4-day Flat Belly Diet Jumpstart".  The gas was gone after only the first 2 days.  It was amazing...  If you google it, you'll find it easily.  Good luck everyone.

Mind Is Playing Tricks, This Is A Symptom Of Anxiety, You Will Be Fine. The Same Thing Happens To Me Your Stomach Boats Because It Is Trying To Heal From All The Stomach Acid Being Produced While Smoking, It Will Take Awhile To Adjust. Stay String

After reading about the enzymes I got some papaya enzymes and a probiotic. My stomach would bloat like I was 6 months pregnant after I ate starting the first week I quit smoking. The enzymes reduced the bloating and discomfort within 30 min. I take a probiotic 1-2 times daily and 2-3 rather than 1 enzyme pill after every meal. Thank you so much for sharing your info about these supplements. This Thursday is 6 weeks no nicotine for me :), hang in there everyone!

It seems I have found my solution, so I wanted to share it with this forum. Like so many others on here I was considering starting smoking again as I couldn't bear the bloatedness, wind and general discomfort. I am a very active person and do exercise every day (salsa, yoga, cycling), but the pounds kept piling on, and it was really depressing me. I am on day two now of taking enzyme digestive tablets (with peppermint oil) with every meal and in-between meals I take 2 Charcoal capsules. In two days my flat stomach is back, and I have lost almost 3 inches around my waist. I feel great! I hope this can help others too.

I have the same problem however I believe its more caused by 3 weeks of severe pms and yes I did quit smoking and you can too let go of the lies in your head a great book by Alan Carr . Any of them . you will bloat regardless of the cigarettes don't underestimate the power of ur mind when you believe something is true it might be pysilogically making the bloating worse. probiotics and emzymes help too. Cheers

I just quit smoking after about 45 years and have never felt so sick. vomiting, diarrhea, bloating ongoing for over 3 weeks and just seems to get worse. nothing else has changed, so it has to be the stopping of smoking. i don't know what is worse, dying of smoking or dying of pain.

I am going to try this. Thank you. I have not smoked in 2 weeks and am not eating any more food...in fact probably eating less than when I was smoking. I am so bloated that I look pregnant. I have been taking enzymes at night after eating and when I wake up in the morning I am a lot better. But as the day goes by I bloat more and more. It doesn't matter what I eat or drink. So thanks for the post. I am going to try the enzymes you recommended.

Oh man I'm glad I'm not alone.  I've gained 15 lbs in 3 weeks while tracking my calories.  I went from 2500 to 2200 and kept exercising.  My stomach is huge and I hate eating.  i feel awful.  I had one smoke yesterday and felt better immediately.  This is absurd.  i was doing so well but couldn't put up with the bloat.  None of my clothes fit.  My gums bleed.  I can't take a full breath.  My butt hurts...i think I got hemorrhoids now.  Not sure what to do.  Feeling very depressed today.

Magnesium citrate is the only thing that cleared my slow digestion after quitting smoking !!

stopped smoking eight weeks ago on friday had shocking diarrohea and belly bloat have been taking two ginger capsules before i eat masive improvement.  Hope this helps somebody have smoked since I was a kid am 50 at christmas.

 

All the best to all of you.

So glad to know that I am not alone.  I have been told that the very uncomfortable bloating and gas would have been there anyway and it is not related to the fact that I quit smoking.  Really????  I have quit at least twice before in the past 30 years and I had the exact same problem.  Went to the drug store today and bought more pills for gas and a stool softener.  Looking pregnant at 53 is no fun at all and the pain and discomfort is worse.  I had to go for an unrelated doctor visit about 3 weeks ago and mentioned this problem to him.  He looked at me and the look would not have been any different if I had 3 eyes and a horn growing out of my forehead.  Completely puzzled and he had nothing at all to say except....Congratulations!!  My boyfriend quit smoking the same time as me and he is having no problems at all so he finds it hard to believe that my problem is related to quitting but I know for sure that it is. 

So tired of this bloated and gassy feeling and let me tell you....the gas is forceful and when the stomach gets so full and tight with gas, there is hardly no holding it in and this is so embarrassing.  It's problems like this that make me think I would rather go back to smoking and take my chances. 

 

Ok, I am also thrilled to find this post.  I quit smoking on July 1st.  I have been using an ecig to help with cravings but I'm sure that I am not using it as often as I was smoking cigarettes.  I am also watching what I eat, etc.  I didn't want to gain weight and thought the ecig would help to do a gradual taper off of the nicotine.

I had severe stomach cramps and pains and was starting to omit certain things from my diet-I didn't connect the pains with the fact that I had quit smoking.  More recently the stomach bloat seems to be constant.  I was thinking that maybe it was just some weight gain because of the quitting.  However, it just dawned on me that whenever i gain weight it is always in my hips and butt-I will usually notice it right away in my jeans!  This is not the same at all.  It wasn't until i started trying on some dresses for a wedding this weekend that I REALLY noticed that my stomach was sticking out like I am pregnant!

Here is one more thought I had....since I AM using an ecig and do have some daily nicotine, I was wondering if maybe this bloating is caused by my body reacting to the lack of some OTHER CHEMICAL that is in the cigarettes????   hmmmmm

I am going to run out tomorrow and try some of these remedies.  Actually, i think I will go look for ginger tea in my cupboard right now!!  Can't stand feeling or looking like this anymore!

thanks everyone!!

Psychologically, smoking is a means of overcoming depression, anxiety, and boredom, but when  I've cut down my smoking dramatically in a short space of time. I've gone from about 22 a day to 3 or 4 but now have a nasty ass cough every morning which I didn't have before and my throat hurts. Wondering if this is the norm and what other side effects I'm going to be hit with in the short term before I start feeling a lot better?

I quit 13 days ago and the bloating appeared since day one. It is even difficult to walk at times. I am a fit 28yo female and smoked for 10 years. I seriously don't think I can take this for much longer. I will try the ginger and enzymes and whatnot. I'm not even craving nicotine anymore, and I thought that was the hard part! Thanks everyone for the advice. I too will post if I find something that works. 

This post-quit bloated pregnant belly happened to me -- an avid 5x/week exerciser!!!  I cried with joy when I found these posts, just  knowing I was not alone.  I read all of the "My GP ran all the tests, they are stumped", so I chose to bypass that route. I ran out and bought ginger, digestive enzymes, digestive teas and probiotics. Also tried cutting out wheat + gluten, kept a meticulous food diary -- all to no avail. Sadly, the belly stayed the same. When I'm standing, it's not terrible.  But when I lay on my back, it's huge. And a bit hard. And not even balanced -- one side seems a little bigger. 

A month of no change and I went to my GP who ordered an ultrasound. Low and behold: more than 5 large uterine fibroids.  Online research (Wikidpedia, Livestrong, NIH) confirmed my suspicions by revealing that smokers have a DECREASED risk of uterine fibroids. NIH: "Smokers of 20 cigarettes a day had a risk roughly two thirds that of non-smokers."  I suspect that smoking was somehow staving these off, as I never had any of these until I quit.  One site credited nicotine for that effect, but I'm suspicious, since I still sometimes use the nic lozenges. I am mid-40s, otherwise seriously healthy, active, no other issues. I no longer crave smoking, but am somewhat tempted to try smoking for a week to see if that would shrink them (in a world of GMOs, aren't we all lab rats?).  I'm terrified b/c I don't want to start smoking again, but honestly seems safer to me than surgery or large doses of hormones with other side effects.  I'm sure my situation doesn't apply to everyone, but if you have any concern about this possibility, by all means, 1) Please go get checked -- at least for your peace of mind -- and 2) Please let us all know what happens. I couldn't find a lot of detail about the research on this fibroid/smoking link, so maybe we can help each other (as empirical studies) by sharing.