Has anyone else felt WORSE after quitting smoking?

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PoppyFlower1
PoppyFlower1 Posts: 62 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 32 and smoked for around 15 years, ten per day. I didn't ever have any issues with breathing or any coughing. I did notice I became breathless when running but put that down to being unfit.

I quit smoking to give myself the best chance of being able to improve my fitness and I feel awful. I've quit for a month now. I have had one relapse of cigarettes on 28th November and on Sunday I smoked shisha in a shisha cafe. But overall I have stopped from 21st November.

I now have a wheeze, at rest. I cough all the time. I Can barely get my breath. I saw my doctor and he said see if it settles by the new year and come back if it doesn't.

Has anyone else quit smoking and felt terrible?

Replies

  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
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    I was a heavy chain smoker for years. I quit using Champix.

    I was told by my stop smoking advisor that it takes 12 weeks to stop getting withdrawal symptoms. You need to be totally abstinent.

    Very probably the reason you feel like crap is because you are only a month into withdrawal. Stick with it, you will feel much better in the end. Be prepared to put on weight. Good luck
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    oh it gets better. I will always want one tho. now a cigar.
  • PoppyFlower1
    PoppyFlower1 Posts: 62 Member
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    Rickster1967 wrote: »
    Yes I am coming up to 8 years since last cigarette. If you can get to 14 weeks without any nictine your receptors will go to sleep and physical cravings will stop

    However you will still get the 'memory' cravings. You know the ones, like after dinner. You get the sudden urge to smoke. You will have to remind yourself 'we are not a smoker'

    Good luck, stick with it and do NOT be tempted by even one puff on a cigarette or e-cig. The receptors in your brain will instantly wake up and demand more. You'll be back smoking in days.


    Thanks. I just feel horrible :-(. Quitting was easy. I'd had a tooth extracted and the dentist said if I got dry socket I'd be in agony, so said to avoid smoke for three days. I decided I couldn't have one so just accepted it...six days later I remembered I could smoke again.

    I still enjoy the smell of cigarettes and breathe deep when I walk past a smoker. But there was no major issues in quitting. But then this started....

    As a smoker I never ever coughed. I was never short of breath and never ever wheezed.

    After quitting I started putting on weight even though I was eating the same and moving as much as before. Then I got this awful breathing problem. Constant coughing and wheezing and crackling chest. Very audible wheeze when breathing out. It was absolutely terrifying. I was scared I have asthma so went to the doctor but he said wait in lieu of quitting.

    I had a cigarette on 28th Nov as almost forgot I didn't smoke....but didn't enjoy it. Have had the odd pang since but the cravings I can handle. What I can't handle is this wheezing and crackly breathing. It feels like I'm much unhealthier now than when I smoked
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
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    every day you don't smoke it gets better and better
  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    I didn't cough much when I smoked, which is weird since I smoked heavily, but after stopping I coughed like crazy for a while. But then things straightened out.

    Someone told me that while you're smoking, the cilia are sort of flattened due to the tar, but once you stop, as the tar clears out they become more mobile again and cause coughing.

    Stick with it.

    This is true. The cough just means that your lungs are trying to clean themselves out now that they have a chance to. You might even cough up brownish mucus. It's not pleasant but in a way it's a good thing. The coughing in turn can cause your bronchial tubes to constrict, causing the wheezing (similar to the tight chest you would get with a chest infection or bronchitis). If it keeps up and you're wheezing, you might want to talk to your doctor about having an albuterol inhaler temporarily. Those are fast-acting and help open up the tubes so you can breathe normally.

    Also, weight gain does happen to most people but it isn't inevitable. Cig cravings feel similar to cravings for food, plus people often start snacking more to take their mind off smoking, giving their hands and mouths something to do, etc. Just be aware of that so you can plan accordingly- having lots of healthy snacks on hand (light popcorn, carrot sticks, gum, mints, etc.) Personally it helped me to keep those little "cutie" mandarin oranges on hand. It kept my hands busy and took a little longer to eat than something that I could shovel into my mouth, since I would peel them, separate the segments, and eat one segment at a time.

    The most important thing is staying quit- you've done a great job- keep it up! And CONGRATS!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Fatass2badass33 wrote: »
    Rickster1967 wrote: »
    Yes I am coming up to 8 years since last cigarette. If you can get to 14 weeks without any nictine your receptors will go to sleep and physical cravings will stop

    However you will still get the 'memory' cravings. You know the ones, like after dinner. You get the sudden urge to smoke. You will have to remind yourself 'we are not a smoker'

    Good luck, stick with it and do NOT be tempted by even one puff on a cigarette or e-cig. The receptors in your brain will instantly wake up and demand more. You'll be back smoking in days.


    Thanks. I just feel horrible :-(. Quitting was easy. I'd had a tooth extracted and the dentist said if I got dry socket I'd be in agony, so said to avoid smoke for three days. I decided I couldn't have one so just accepted it...six days later I remembered I could smoke again.

    I still enjoy the smell of cigarettes and breathe deep when I walk past a smoker. But there was no major issues in quitting. But then this started....

    As a smoker I never ever coughed. I was never short of breath and never ever wheezed.

    After quitting I started putting on weight even though I was eating the same and moving as much as before. Then I got this awful breathing problem. Constant coughing and wheezing and crackling chest. Very audible wheeze when breathing out. It was absolutely terrifying. I was scared I have asthma so went to the doctor but he said wait in lieu of quitting.

    I had a cigarette on 28th Nov as almost forgot I didn't smoke....but didn't enjoy it. Have had the odd pang since but the cravings I can handle. What I can't handle is this wheezing and crackly breathing. It feels like I'm much unhealthier now than when I smoked

    You might want to get yourself checked out to make sure you don't have bronchitis or something.
  • PoppyFlower1
    PoppyFlower1 Posts: 62 Member
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    [ "cutie" mandarin oranges on hand. It kept my hands busy and took a little longer to eat than something that I could shovel into my mouth, since I would peel them, separate the segments, and eat one segment at a time.

    The most important thing is staying quit- you've done a great job- keep it up! And CONGRATS![/quote]

    Thankyou that is really useful, I feel much more positive now :-)
  • PoppyFlower1
    PoppyFlower1 Posts: 62 Member
    edited December 2017
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    You might want to get yourself checked out to make sure you don't have bronchitis or something.[/quote]

    Thanks, I have been to the doctor but he didn't even examine me or anything just said for me to see if it settles down. I've been using bronchodilators like ventolin but they haven't really helped so not sure what's going on :-(

    I do have classic, textbook acute bronchitis and I'm unsure whether it's due to an allergic response or a virus etc. It just seems strange that it coincided with me stopping smoking. I've never had a wheeze or crackle and all of a sudden I have it pretty much a week after stopping smoking.

    This reminds me of when I used to climb mountains (while smoking lol). I'd be halfway and everyone would say don't worry it gets easier just a little further. A lot of the time the higher you went the steeper the gradient and some times it was hell, but people obviously lie to not deter people from reaching the summit. Maybe that's what people do with smoking? I'm hoping this is a normal reaction to quitting and not something more sinister
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
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    Not a doctor so could be wrong

    but it seems likely that you are just in withdrawal. The receptors in your brain are screaming out for nicotine, they want it so they give you symptoms

    https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/understanding-nicotine-withdrawal-symptoms#1
  • PoppyFlower1
    PoppyFlower1 Posts: 62 Member
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    Rickster1967 wrote: »
    Not a doctor so could be wrong

    but it seems likely that you are just in withdrawal. The receptors in your brain are screaming out for nicotine, they want it so they give you symptoms

    https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/understanding-nicotine-withdrawal-symptoms#1

    Thankyou xxxx
  • Jancandoit7
    Jancandoit7 Posts: 356 Member
    edited December 2017
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    If you need some extra support, Quitnet is a great free online resource- it's like MFP for quitting smoking :)
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
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    Keep coming in here and keep letting us know how you are doing

    There is something else you need to be aware of. Nicotine is a psychoactive substance. i
    It changes how your brain perceives the world. When you withdraw it, perception changes again, generally in a negative way so just be conscious of the fact that your mood may be changing as a result of withdrawal

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