Side effects after quitting smoking?

That is the cleansing process that you will go through for a couple of weeks

I felt the exact same way. You have to push through it and stay strong! If you give in you will have to go through being sick again. It was about two weeks before I started to feel good.

I'm 6 months free today! Your body is beginning to heal from being poisoned for a while. It will react in funny ways. This is totally normal...I am not sure how long it will last for you. Some awesome things to look forward to: your taste buds returning, better sense of smell, not hating yourself every time you light up, not being paranoid about your breath, not worrying about your future health and appearance, saving money, and lots more! Best of luck and if you ever suffer a craving, remember the cigg is not a prize...it is nothing to miss or want or desire. It is a poison and it has no benefits - only those it has tricked us into believing it had!

Grats on deciding to stop smoking - I quit several years ago, and it was one of the best decisions ever!

Any who, I never had any side effects from stopping and I've never met anyone who has (then again, I'm no Dr. and just because I haven't had it happen to me, or know anyone that's happened to, does not mean it's not possible that it's normal. I was a smoker for around 7 - 8 years) - in fact, I felt much better (I stopped coughing up my lungs every morning and could breathe better all in all as I wasn't getting fatigued as fast and what not.)

Are you/did you take anything to help stop smoking (eg patches, etc...) ?

You might be coming down with a cold, but if this keeps up or gets worse I'd deff see a Dr. (personally, I'd go ahead and see one asap if I were you just to put your mind at ease; rather be safe than sorry.)

I definitely think this is normal! It has been happening to me too. I stopped smoking last week because I had the stomach flu so it was just natural not to smoke. I decided not to start back up, its been 12 days since I smoked at all (Before that was mostly only at work anyway, maybe 5 a day.) I have not had any cravings, but noticed that now after a run I cant seem to stop coughing- but this NEVER happened when I was still smoking. It does seem to be clearing up though, and actually after the coughing fit my chest feels pretty clear and I feel much better. But not smoking is feeling great in general!! (I had quit for 4 years, started again due to stress while a close family member was passing away in October, and have been trying to quit ever since!)

It's been 18 years since I quit, but I do remember coughing up of phlegm for a couple of weeks...just assumed it was my lungs saying thanks and good riddance. But never mess around with your health--see a doctor if you are concerned.

Another thing.... I quit in early spring, around the time I cleaned and packed away my sweaters. The next fall, when I took them out to wear, I was shocked at how they smelled of cigarette smoke. You are doing such a great thing for yourself! Keep up the great work!

It's normal. It's the cilia in your trachea and lungs are growing back and being like, 'wtf, why is all this gunk in here?' Your cilia starts growing back about 3 days after quitting, at which point your body can effectively respond to all the excess mucus in your lungs that is created due to smoking and begin moving it on out.

Congratulations to all the people who have given up, stick with it! I gave up around 20 years ago and I think because the time was right for me, and my mind in the right place, I found it very easy. I didn't have any of these side effects, but I did have a couple of weird ones. Firstly my bowel movements changed from their regular time. They did slowly go back over a few months to where they were pre giving up. Secondly I was getting the most vivid dreams, in a lot of them I was smoking and was so disappointed that after going through the first couple of weeks, I would have to start again. Then I'd wake up and find it was just a dream and be delighted. My main downfall was food suddenly tasted very good and I went from 140 lbs over the next twenty years to 296. I remember when I was about 200 being told by a doctor that he would rather see me overweight than smoking. Although I agree with this, I would rather not be overweight, so belatedly I am doing something about it. Stick with MFP and defeat that tendency to gain weight, I wish we'd had the Internet and MFP when I gave up smoking!

After smoking 13 years, I quit 2 years ago.
I gained 22 lbs in two months. Lost them at a slow motion, regained them as fast as first time and still have them!
The first two-three months, I was like... PMSing continuously! Thank my boyfriend then - husband now he didn't dump me, even times I would have dump myself.
I got for achievement-gift an IBS-C and still got it! My dc. says that smoking is the cause for many bowel problems.
Even these... I only had some cravings, the last month were some serious changes in my life happened. I 'm trying really hard to keep my self focused on my 5-years-quitter goal.

Question-I've never understood if the weight gain was simply a product of eating more due to better taste buds and needing to occupy your hands, or if there is a physiologic/metabolic change that takes place that makes you gain weight. Anyone know?:huh:

I had that too...sucks the first few weeks. But it does go away. 3 months later and I don't get any of that, not even when I exercise.

As far as the weight gain...I stalled in weight loss for about 2 weeks but did not gain. Congrats, btw!

Oh...tip...after a few months try foods you never liked before. Chances are that once your taste buds and sense of smell have healed up you will like a lot of things you used to not like.

i have one last cig in my pack and am going to try my darndest to quit after tonight (which will be in about an hour). wish me luck! hopefully in a week, i'll be joining you with the clearing of the lungs! congrats on doing something spectacular for you and your health

In the early days anger is very prevalent side effect. The toughest time when the person quit smoking is the initial 72 hours. Person feels difficult to control his temper and often feels frustrated which leads to digestive disorders and chest pain. Watch a movie, get a massage or go out on a trip to avoid this problem. I used Chantix to quit smoking. You can find out the reviews here http://forum.internationaldrugmart.com/drug-information-f5/chantix-reviews-anyone-sucessfully-quit-smoking-t5980.html