stopped smoking and severe stomach bloat

I have read all the comments and I am having the same problem from 10 months being smoke free. I wonder does all of the people here only feel bloated, or having problems with bowel movements too like thinning of stools?.. I am having this bad bloating and I try to excercise but there are times that while running, the bloating is feeling off... and I am sometimes having this thin stools that makes me worry as well if I have something else other than withdrawal symptoms... I hope you respond to me guys

I’m the same I started back smoking and the bloat went I’ve given up again and it’s back I tried everything on this forum and it didn’t work for me / I want to know the longest it can last I had it six months last time i can ha DLR it it’s I think will go eventually be good to hear from people who now don’t have it to do thanks

Thank you for sharing. I'm grateful to know that the bloating does eventually go away, thank you so so much for reminding people that it is worth it.

I’d like to know when? Still get bloated after 8 years of stopping smoking

I realize you believe that cayenne water and such are healthy but I beg to differ, lemon water and a gallon of water a day wow people. Best to eat your protein, veggies and make yourself some juice, don't forget to pop a vitamin B 12 for brain health twice a week and carry on. I too have quit smoking, smoked 45 years and yes have been experiencing all the classic symptoms as everyone else. However, the bloating not so much and only 2 days of constipation. Now after reading blogs for hours (to help me stay determined) I am feeling very bad for my fellow quitters. So just a little note on how I am handling my diet, in case it may help anyone. I still have my morning coffee regardless of the missing cig, I know they say they go together, but for me NOT anymore, I am quitting smoking not everything else I enjoy period. Eating my eggs every morning with a shot of juice (the bullet-green apple a little spinach, water and down the hatch. The old adage an apple a day...perfect for the not feeling so good belly and the spinach seems to combine with healthy bowl action. Easy peesy folks , hit that a few days, everyday and forget the rest of the junk. To all our recovery, live well, laugh often and love much.

Its so encouraging to hear people with the same problems, I smoked for 40 years and quit 5 years ago, I am now 60, and look 6months pregnant bloated gassy,,constipated. Only to occur after quitting. Doctors  have nothing to help, every doctor wants to help you quit, but has no clue as to the symptoms after you quit, or blame it on you, to many carbs, eating wrong food,not enough exercise.  How about finding something that would help your body digest food in place of stimulating nicotine, the only thing I heard so far was ginger pills. I eat well, exercise regular, take laxatives regular, the only thing that works is to not eat. Which make digestion worse, overall, 5 years working on it???

I have exactly the same problem. Bloating, distended stomach and slow gut movement. Its stressful. I quit two months ago. Yes I have digestion problems. Would you advice that I try Nicorette.

Thank you. Yes my digestive system is in shock, I’m bloated & not pooping much at all. I will take your advice and eat less, drink more water & the enzymes. I quit cold turkey 5 weeks ago after 30 years & i was ready to start smoking again if that was how it’s going to be! I’ll try to be patient- thank you for your post it has helped me immensely.

Thank you. Yes my digestive system is in shock, I’m bloated & not pooping much at all. I will take your advice and eat less, drink more water & the enzymes. I quit cold turkey 5 weeks ago after 30 years & i was ready to start smoking again if that was how it’s going to be! I’ll try to be patient- thank you for your post it has helped me immensely.

I read through almost every post in this forum. The bloating, gas, constipation, and utter pain was horrible. I literally felt like my belly was going to burst open. I felt worse, health wise, after quitting than I ever did smoking. And I never had these issues when I was younger and quit. I tried just about everything from cutting out sugar and processed foods, probiotics, fermented foods and drinks, prune juice, other high fiber juices, different types of fiber pills, mild to harsh laxatives, oils, and so on. To the point of me actually feeling my stomach and intestines ache and yet I was still suffering from the same symptoms of bloat, constipation, gas, and pain. It was awful. I final stopped to think a minute and tried something new. I gave my stomach and intestines a rest for a day by eating very little and drinking only water. That night I took 2 exlax. The next day sucked. I was on and off the pot the entire day. For lunch that day and the next I had kielbasa and sauerkraut. I did not take any probiotics, fibers supplements or anything else. I kept my eating and drinking as simple as possible and only what I could tolerate. In the mornings and at night I would make a tea with ginger, lemon, and honey. It helped a little. Another tea in my post below worked better. In the morning, I would also have a Kellogg or Bolthouse breakfast shake. For some reason those two brands of breakfast shakes helped sooth my stomach and intestines. I found after that, I could start eating a bit more normally. In order to train my bowels I still needed a little extra help. Every night I take 2 heaping tablespoon of Metamucil in a glass of water. Usually about an hour before bed. About 30 minutes after supper I make a spiced ginger tea. Here is the recipe I use. 2-4 cups of hot water. 4 pieces of anise star, 6 shole cloves, 2 tsp of anise seed, 2 tsp of fennel seed, 1 tsp of ground ginger or 1.5 inch thinly sliced ginger, 3-6 inches of cinnamon stick, and honey to taste (I like about a Tbsp). I have a small ceramic pot with a reusable filter. I place all dry ingredients in the reusable filter. Pour hot water over it and let sit for about 10 mins. I have between 1 - 1.5 cups of tea. Doing this has helped tremendously. Aside from the insomnia that goes along with nicotine withdrawal. One thing at a time. Along with being regular every morning I finally have tons of energy and feel great and am ready to get back into weight lifting and running. I hope this helps someone else to feel better.

This helped me... thank you!

I've been reading everyone's post on the bloating and quitting smoking. I'm reading just to let myself know I'm not alone with this. I see a lot of you are at a loss of "is this part of the withdrawals" and yup it certainly is. I quit before and went through this before and there is information out there about it. 8 years ago I did an intense work out M-F. Id say it was a couple of weeks into my quit and I went into the gym and my trainer points to my belly and asked what happened. I laughed and said I don't know why I look pregnant. It lasted for about a month or so. I'd say I was more embarrassed, not that painful just the awful bloating feeling. I wore baggy clothes to cover the belly but I pushed through it and kept working out and it eventually went away after a couple of months. I think if I wasn't working out it would have been worse. I say that cuz I've quit again, 8 years later and oh my the belly bloat is bad as ever and can't get it under control, taking laxatives and going to stop eating to give my digestive track a rest. I don't work out because I lost my son 8 years ago and I didn't have it in me anymore. I'm starting slowly with getting back into it and this time around is much more difficult with the fatigue and the bloat. 29 days into my quit this time and only 7 days back into "trying" to work out, can't even do 8 minutes of situps anymore so hence the word trying.

Male 68. I smoked for 45 years a pack a day. Decided to cut down to 1 pack a year, which is almost quitting. Tapered off for 3 days then stopped altogether. Just passed the 3 month point. BLOATING started on about day 10 so severe I looked pregnant, and this on a man that has a 6-day a week gym workout, flat belly, and visible abs! I didn't know what was going on and my doctor thought it was a reaction to some meds I take. I started eating YOGURT daily along with some ground ginger and the bloating disappeared about 98% almost immediately. I'm staying on it for the next six months and then will stop as a test and see if bloating is gone or returns. If it returns, I will go back on it until the situation works out. I understand that quitting puts your entire body into recovery shock of some kind, and that makes sense. I'll wait it out. YOGURT: I use Walmart's Great Value brand plain unsweetened yogurt with active cultures and no other ingredient, it's the least expensive. I take 2 heaping tablespoons about 8 times a day. GINGER: I use the ground kind you buy at the grocery store and again am using Walmart's Great Value brand for the best price.

I posted the above paragraph Male 68. So this is an update. AFTER 4 MONTHS SINCE QUITTING: the bloating is on and off, up and down. I continued the regimen I wrote about. I'm hoping this "up and down" bloating is a sign that it's starting to relearn digestion and it's going away, much like a cold see-saws back and forth as you're getting over it until it's finally gone. I'm hoping this will be the same way. Appears to be so far. I will post again after 5 months.

I posted the above 2 paragraphs Male 68. So this is another update.

AFTER 5 MONTHS SINCE QUITTING: the bloating is down by about 70% but still persists. I have huge "love handles" and a belly bulge I can't hide . . . this despite a 6-day-a-week gym workout regimen that includes 50-100 situps for what previously was a flat abdominal wall with visible abs.

The bloating problem as I now know it is that nicotine helps with food digestion and speeds up your metabolism. When you stop the nicotine, your body goes into total shock. Your stomach which had forgotten how to digest food entirely on its own, bloats and slows down. It can take 6 months to 6 years for it to get back to normal depending on how long you smoked and how much damage it did to your insides.

The big change this past month is that my appetite is 50% up from the crash level at the initial bloating: with the first swelling, I felt full all the time even though I hadn't eaten. Eating just a little bit made me fill stuffed. I lost about 8 pounds quickly because I wasn't eating much. Now I'm getting hungry in-between meals and eating more when I do eat. So that is a strong indicator that things are moving in the right direction for ultimate complete healing.

Daily treatment still involves eating with each meal 3 heaping spoonfuls of yogurt (fat free, plain with no sweetener) to get the probiotics easily into my stomach, taking (1) beano enzyme pill with each meal to help digestion, and drinking 1/4 cup of apple juice with each meal because the fructose enables food absorption (an endocrinologist suggested that).

The only benefits I can tell for quitting smoking is that I'm saving a lot of money ($10/pack x 7 packs a week = $70 a week or $280 a month!). I am breathing so much better. I don't cough phlegm constantly anymore. I can laugh deeply without going into a coughing fit. I don't have that smoker stink in my hair and clothes.

I would have hoped for much more, though, and I'm disappointed overall. With all the things people say go bad if you smoke, you'd think that they'd greatly improve with not smoking. If it's happening, it's happening so slowly I'm not discerning anything.

I'm even wondering if a lot of people/doctors are using smoking as the scapegoat for all the other things that are wrong with us and our society that make people sick but that THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT, such as car pollution on streets, industrial pollution, cell phone gamma rays, cell phone tower microwaves, electromagnetic invisible pollution, poisoned food, poisoned water, and chemtrails being sprayed in the sky, and life stress. I'm starting to think THOSE THINGS are what are really making people sick, and smoking is only a tiny part of the overall tapestry of ills. Change my mind if you can, but good luck with that.