Breathless

[Phil89]

Why does stopping smoking make you breathless and how long does it last ?

[hufferpuffer]

verywell.com/slowing-down-l...

Hope this helps a bit.Most of us ex smokers felt even more breathless at first.huff xxx

[y_not]

If you were going deaf but spent all the time in a loud environment you wouldn't know you were going deaf. I think that smoking is the same, although you think that, whilst smoking, everything is okay you only really know when you stop.

I stopped and three months later was diagnosed with COPD, I guess that's life! I do know that I would only ever start again if I were diagnosed with a terminal illness and only weeks/months left - then I think I'd smoke in defiance!

Well done for stopping and to answer your question, if each year of smoking took a month to recover from then how long will it be before you feel less breathless (in my case using the same logic ... almost four years!)?

Well done, keep it up and best wishes

[Six1]

I stopped smoking 2 years ago after smoking 27 years I think that's why for me

[Swerv]

I stopped smoking after 47 years and was then sick for 5 weeks. I could hardly walk without being out of breath and actually cancelled a number of shopping trips coz i felt so bad...got as far as the supermarket car park before going back home. Then suddenly it stopped, my breathing became almost normal and then hated the smell of cigs...still do. Stick with it, it's worth it.

To answer the question, for me it was 5 weeks, for others 5 days, 5 months? Everyone is different, some people have no side effects from quitting.

[madametobacco49]

I didn't start till month 3--and it went on for months-I was finally hospitalized and had 2-3 lbs of fluid taken from my lungs in July--I have congestive heart failure now--Smoking does a real good job of covering up stuff--I did smoke 53 years so the sooner you quit the better off you will be--I am on oxygen at night now and trying to salvage what I can of my health--sorry so grim but it truly is different for everyone--Mmet It is a freakishly weird phenomenon

[Six1 in reply to madametobacco49]

I know what u mean I smoked 27yrs I'm on 24hour oxygen I just say I did it this is new to me by the way I'm 48 with,2kids ages 25 and 28 ,1 grandson he's 9 It's hard

[Ergendl]

I smoked for 16 years before stopping. Could taste food better at about 2 weeks. About six months after I stopped I was upended under anaesthetic for a minor medical procedure and coughed up loads of gunk over the afternoon afterwards which the nurse said had loosened since I stopped smoking, and gravity did the trick. Boundless energy for a while after that.

[1968]

Morning

There is a chemical in the cigarette that opens the airways, hence when you stop smoking you feel the effects.

David