stopped smoking and severe stomach bloat

hello you all!!miserable with this bloating!!!flatulance is crazy.Im on my 27th day smoke free,otherwise super proud and happy,but even in the middle of the nite i FA_T non stop,no idea but now i know im not the only one!!hope it goes away soon,yoday i bought ALIGN probiotics wishin it helps,,,the odor is horrible and i havent gain wt for which im jogging alot!!!in regards to the sore and bleeding gums its good and it will go away,,rational,,nicotine vasoconstrict,once nicotine free more blood supply goes to the tissues,there for gums are flushed w more blood and also sensitivity is greater!!thats a good signed we are getting healthier!!!but the FA,,rt part,far from being embarrasing uncomfortable and disgusting its so bad!!lets hope and give the GI tract time to re adjust,,in the meantime ill remain SINGLE until this stops :-( to all of us brave quitters Cuddles and stay cigarettes FREE!!!!


:$ :-D

Hi all - I did find something that helped. Probiotics (the refrigerated kind at whole foods) and peppermint oil capsules. I took three of each a day, probiotics with meals and peppermint oil in between meals. It took almost two months to get back to normal. If I ever think about smoking, I just think about how painful and embarrassing this was and how long it took to get over. I hope this helps someone. I felt so desperate and I feel so great now.

I am 28 and I quit 4 months ago. I only smoked for a year. I am at the gym moving at LEAST 2 hours a day. I look and feel like I at a f****** watermelon and I have been passing gas like an old person!! What the h377 is going on?

hi, I quit smoking just over 3 months ago. I couldn't wait to give up and get healthy. I have smoked for around 30 yrs. Well If the truth be known I feel worse than ever!! I'm bloated all the time like a great big watermelon, flatulence is an understatement, I feel lethargic with low energy levels. I'm out of breath and it makes me feel very depressed.
I'm glad I found this site and will try the suggestions ie Ginger capsules and Enzymes probiotics. However my resolve to stay away from the fags is starting to weaken. I cant stand this bloated uncomfortable feeling all the time. :'(

I HOPE THE GINGER CAPS AND ENZYMES PROBIOTICS DO THE TRICK OR I AM DESTINED TO BE A SMOKER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Try the peppemint oil too! Give the probiotics and peppermint oil a week. Don't go back. I am at six months now and I feel so great. Hang in there!

Thanks everyone! I have not been bloating any more!! Been taking lots of ginger! Ginger in water and honey. Ginger tea. ginger candy. Ginger drops.

Let's continue to support each other!!

Blessings! :-D

Hi i quit smoking about a month ago, i was smoking 10 a day for 2 years. I have been mostly smoke free apart from the 1 or 2 during night time. at the same time i quit i started having severe digestion problems/bloating. Two weeks ago I had an endoscopy, colonoscopy, blood test, ultrasound etc. Everything came out fine. I am still suffering severly form bloating and indigestion, no matter what i eat. day before yesterday i started getting slight fever and dizziness. what is happening? is this just nicotine withdrawl? or do i need to see another doctor?

I could cry after reading these posts, but they would be tears of joy that I'm not the only one and there is an answer. I've quit several times, always to start back because it seems as though all digestion comes to a complete hault. Eventually I'm barely eating at all, never going to the bathroom, bloated as hell and ready to run out and find one cigarette. And until this forum, everything I see just says that a little weight gain might happen because of the urge to eat more. It isn't just an urge to eat more, it's as though my digestive track is totally on strike. I'm going to order enzymes. I am so happy now to have someone to commiserate with! Good luck to everyone! I can't wait to feel better! At least we all smell better (minus the flatulence, womp womp)

i recently had the very same problem with others as well, the cigarettes ended jan 2010 i am 50 lbs heavier because my thyroid became inactive and i have digestion problems as well, as for looking like a weeble.....well its like i have a huge tube around me that expands depending on what i eat and that could be anything i eat.  I tried everything from whole body cleanses, digestive enzymes,expel for water gain, you name it.  I finally went to a endocrinoligist and im on sythroid 75mg and cytomel 5mg 2xs a day thats for my thyroid.   As for my belly I am now seeing a holistic doctor He got the acid reflux in order but as for the belly,  still there he says it is toxins from the cigarettes which need to come out mostly cadmium Ive been on many supplements with him unfortunately they become inactive sometimes so we try others.  I am finding some relief at times. ive been just raised on my sythroid and cytomel so im hoping to lose some of the weight but as for the belly its a process that will take time much garbage was distributed in my stomach area from sucking marlboro reds for 38 years.  i hope you can get something from this and you find your answers

Hi all,

I have been through what most everyone else.  Probiotics, etc. while I still take them, were not the cure all for me.  Have tried everything I could possibly find - cleanse, peppermint oil, probiotics, fish oil, flaxseed, etc.  What has made the biggest difference for me is cutting all sugar and sweeteners, grains and dairy and doing a slow carb diet.  Overnight I started to see everything go down and was so excited!  (Food I do eat - protein in all forms - eggs, chicken, fish, beef, even lentils and black beans with no bloat or gas, spinach, green beans, asparagus, lettuce, avocado in moderation, tomatoes in moderation, cauliflower, broccoli, even red wine and vodka in moderation but no beer or white wine for the sugar and carbs)

It is recommended to have a "refeeding day" where you eat processed carbs or dairy or fruit or anything you want once a week, but it makes me so uncomfortable, I'm trying to find what works for me on those days.  First day or two you definitely crave carbs/sugars but it goes away quickly.  Write what your craving down and promise yourself you can eat it after 5-7 days of clean eating (choose a day).

Also, used to pop a few pieces of nicotine gum on super stress days.  Found some in my drawer yesterday at work and didn't think anything about it.  Got home and the bloat was back!!  Crazy...seriously, that quick.  Did a lot of Google searches and evidently not uncommon.  Not sure if it was the nicotine or the sweetener in the gum but gross.  So excited I was finally able to connect the dots with something and am throwing the nicotine gum away.

Anyway - I was so disappointed in what the doctors were saying - its natural, blah, blah, blah - just wanted to add another point of view for everyone else that is having issues.  Look up slow carb diets, paleo diets (I can't do the natural sugars in fruit just yet), Four Hour Body, etc.

Hi

I am so pleased I have found this website, I have had severe bloating for about 2 months. I have been so depressed with it because I just couldn't understand what was causing it. Plus, no-one seems to take it seriously how much it effects you.

I suddenly thought back to when the bloating started and realised it was when I gave up smoking. I initially put it down to my IBS. I was diagnosed with this a while ago but before giving up smoking I had diarrhea all the time, its weird because now I go to the toilet fine but I just can't get rid of this bloat. I am bloated all the time but it does vary, some days will be better than others and some days I will literally look like I am 6 months pregnant. Does anyone else experience this because from reading the other posts it sounds like most people have a constant huge bloated stomach all the time?

I have just started taking probiotics and ginger tablets today and I am praying these will work as I don't know what the answer is. Does anyone know how long they take to kick in usually? I will really appreciate any answers or help / advise anyone can give me.

I got married only 3 months ago and I am so sad that this has ruined the beginning of our married life together. It just seems to be all I can think about, I just don't feel like me anymore. (as over the top as it may sound).

I will keep taking these tablets and will let people know if they do anything.

Wow I just found this and I feel so happy I am not alone. I quit smoking almost 2 years ago, before I smoked about a pack a day for 9 years without quiting.. So I was determined to make this work!
About 2 weeks in I started getting severe abdominal cramping, gas, constipation. It was embarasing, and not to mention uncomfy! I have always been a slender person, and I still am, except this bloated stomach! It really looks like Im pregnant since the rest of me is so thin :(
I started changing my diet, trying out different things, no breads/pastas, no dairy, to see if it helped, but it was everything I ate. Sometimes it will be ok for a few weeks and then it comes on hard again. I couldn't do anything really since at the time I was living in the US and didnt have medical, nor could I aford to go. My family is from UK so I mived here about a year ago and went to the doctor finally 3 months back and things have been great. The doctor did several tests and then he decided to try to bio-yogurt in the morning with 600mg or magnesium. Magnesium is also used for some people who have 'ibs'.. since this diet change I feel wonderful! No bloating, no pain for the last 3 months! :)
Just wanted to share that and hope it helps someone.

I am amazed, and though I am not a conspiracy theorist, am really wondering about this...funny how doctors "have no clue" and all of a sudden, this is an issue.  Have they again changed the chemicals in cigarettes, or are more of us just quitting now?   At any rate, I have smoked for 20 years and quit Sunday afternoon.  By last night (2 1/2 days cold turkey) I couldn't sit or lay down without pain...uncomfortable pain like a rock was in my abdomen.  I do P90X, train for a 5k, and am an extremely healthy eater...salmon, veggies, green tea, lemon and cayenne water, a gallon of water a day, fruits, brown rice, soy milk.  I don't even mind the excrutiating pain of detox (hair and skin hurt, picking at my nails, anxiety, roaring headaches, etc..), but I didn't sign on for this.  I spoke to a pharmacist and a physician at TeleDoc.  They both agreed...with such a healthy diet, my body simply couldn't handle such a shift so suddenly and I am to taper off smoking while adding probiotics to my diet "heavily". 

I used to take a shot of apple cider vinegar daily, and will begin doing so again.  I also used to drink Spirulina in the powder form mixeed w/ apple juice, and will again.  Also, sourkraut and dark chocolate..dark chocolate has more than three times the amt of probiotics than found in dairy (yogurts).  Not an appetizing thing...but beats hurting, smoking, rupturing my intestines, and vomitting.  It got to where I was vomitting bile (had no appetite since Monday (day one), and I find it odd we are being told we have no bile, but I was puking it up.  Now I REALLY am running on empty.   

 

Started smoking again last night just so I could keep soup down, and pain and bloat lessened by morning.  I am still reeling...lathargic and stuck in bathroom all day, but at least I can sit upright.  I will also get ginger, and see how that goes.  Look for my posts...I will let you guys know how it goes for me, in hopes it will help someone else.

Hey guys, I was a smoker for 10 years, have been an ex smoker for 65 days today and have been going through the same as you all for just over a month now and had no clue what it was. My days at work were absolute agony :(

I found this forum 3 days ago and am really happy I did as I had no clue that this was part of the quitting process. We know about all the cravings, nicotine withdrawal symptoms, etc but not a peep about being constantly bloated and the digestive system going on strike!

Anyway, it's only been a few days but I tried a few of the suggestions mentioned here: ginger (lemon and ginger infusions tea) and Actimel (Danone). I take both right before I sleep and so far, they seem to be working :)

I've also cut down on the quantity of food I am eating - still 3 times a day but half the amount I used to eat. I am finding that pasta and sugary food/drinks just blow the tum right back up - so am cutting down on those too.

I'll keep trying the ginger and Actimel for the next couple of weeks and report back if there are any changes.

Thank you all for your help and sharing your experiences in this forum - I hope I have been able to help you too.

Hey guys, I just came here because my mum mentioned I was getting a little belly on! She thinks it is because I am eating lots, but she doesn't know I quit smoking 4 days ago... or 5 I can't remember! Either way, I don't want her to know... talking about it makes it worse!

I have looked into it, and it seems that it does have a lot to do with what your body gets used to when you're smoking. Your metabolism slows RIGHT down, your digestive system slows RIGHT down, so it becomes harder to lose weight, and the bulge is probably food from a week ago sitting there.

The first bit of advice I found was to exercise (either start or do a bit more) if at least to get your metabolism back to the way it was. Not sure how long this would take, but hey, you can't argue with exercise!

The second piece of advice to counter-act bloated belly, is to consume high fibre foods. Lots of fruit and veg, green tea is EXCELLENT for this kind of stuff. Obviously try not to drink too much (the consequences are not REALLY bad, but they are REALLY shocking... or funny depending on your sense of humour!). Cut down on coffee breaks, as this can further damage the lack of sleep you may incur during the quitting period and have a knock on effect on your rest and exercise.

I'll be honest, I run 23 miles a week, so I am not looking forward to UPPING that, but I may return in a week or so and let you know if things have changed! Good luck guys!