Advice regarding stopping smoking please.

[beaverwood]

Happy new year to everyone, I have a question I hope can be answered, I stopped smoking completely after a left lung Lobectomy. this was in august, but I am finding my legs are aching badly, Ihave had a doppler test which was fine, the nurse advised this was due to stopping smoking and was normal, has anyone else experienced this? what can I do? any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[JanetteR57]

Happy new year. Firstly congratulations on your lobectomy and on quitting smoking - both life changing... many people have circulation issues from smoking - my mum being one of them - she never did smoke more than 8-10 a day maximum then quit at 70 but restarted a few years later - her dementia kicking in that she 'forgot' she quit and has about 4 a day but was told she had claudication - a common circulation disorder where the blood vessels in the legs narrow and hamper blood flow. However the recommendation was to move - walk - to improve circulation and as the same is recommended for lobectomy redevelopment of the remaining lung, doing that would help both causes. Your decision to quit will improve your health longer term but your body will take time to adjust after likely years of smoking so do stick with it. Start slowly if you don't already walk but build up steadily - around your house, garden, street, local park - it can also help with mental health - although it can seem paradoxical to move rather than rest, evidence shows there are many conditions where this can help enormously.... if you experience breathlessness (likely on inclines or if moving too quickly to start off with), you can develop your breathing with exercises on British Lung foundation (which cover a range of respiratory disorders) or these on Roy Castle lung site - which also features a useful booklet on recovering from lung surgery.... good luck..roycastle.org/about-lung-ca...

[beaverwood in reply to JanetteR57]

Thank you so much for your reply, I have since had something called dopplers done and everything was fine, the doctor seemed to think the problem is due to anxiety and stress disorder, It makes sense as I have been struggling with panic feelings for no good reason, I have never experienced anything like this in my life.

[JanetteR57 in reply to beaverwood]

That sounds a reasonable explanation - I became quite anxious about 18 months after my surgery when a range of symptoms prompted restart investigations which made me think every twinge, shortened breath, heartbeat meant it had returned... and scan showed enlarged left atrium and leaking mitral valve of heart so sent off to see cardiologist - thankfully nothing 'sinister' but having attended a workshop on 'feelings' at a Roy Castle lung cancer foundation conference facilitated by a psychologist, I mentioned it to my respiratory consultant that I'd found it helpful so he referred me to a lung nurse (I'd never had one) after I asked if the hospital had any as so many people had mentioned them as important in their care during that workshop and she referred me to counselling... it took a few weeks/months to come through but I found it immensely helpful.... I also read a few books that settled my thinking and reframed my mind at the time - they were 'cancer is a word not a sentence' by Dr Rob Buckman and 'anti-cancer - a new way of life' by Dr Servan Schreiber - both gave me a sense of 'calm' and that I could make changes to my lifestyle and thinking that may improve my situation... keeping myself busy, helping others, and keeping physically active had all helped me - I don't have much spare time to stop and dwell on thoughts about me when my time is otherwise occupied... good luck.

[sassassas in reply to JanetteR57]

Thank you for the book recommendations JanetteR57 - I've just bought one of them and hope it'll be helpful.beaverwood congratulations on stopping smoking and a good doppler result! 👏

[beaverwood]

Thank you so much for all your replies 🙂

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Dear beaverwood

Sorry to hear you have had lung cancer an d well done for stopping smoking, JanetteR57 has provided a great response.

It does take time for the body to recover post stopping smoking, including your muscles and circulation.

It is very encouraging that your Doppler was good with no impaired circulation.

The British Lung Foundation provides some information on the after effects of stopping smoking: blf.org.uk/support-for-you/...

If there is anything you would like to discuss you can either email us at [e-mail] or call our free phone nurse led helpline number on 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600

All the very best

The Roy Castle Support Team

[beaverwood]

Thank you so much, I appreciate all the help I received on here.

[Magsx123x]

Hi we’ll done beaver wood on stopping smoking it’s really not easy . I too had two lung surgeries this past year and legs feel like jelly so weak keep hoping this will improve soon. . We have to try and stay positive I guess

[beaverwood]

Fingers crossed thank you