Got questions and need answers Please

[nsd_user663_3997]

I quit smoking labor day of 2007 and have not touched a cig since then BUT,,

I still crave them almost as much as i did the day i quit,8+ heavy cravings a day,,, what is everyone else's craving's like?

also since i have stopped i have noticed some old health problems coming back that i had before i started smoking 20 years ago such as

canker sores, (i use to have very bad canker sores and now they have returned after 20 years)

strep throat (which i used to get several times a year till i started smoking and now that i have stopped have started to get again)

the only new thing is the gastrointestinal problems such as gas pains, very soft movements for a day or two and then hard movements for a few days and i do not use medications to treat either one so its not medication related

I plan to go see a doctor but i would like to know if anyone else seems to be having similar things going on,

i quit because i was tired of hacking coughing every morning then seeing stars from coughing so hard and feeling like i was choking for air due to the tar and junk i was trying to cough up,

i really don't want to go back to smoking but between the constant canker sores, strep throat, bowel problems, and cravings. the hacking in the morning is not looking so bad anymore.

any information some of the 1+ smokers can bring to the table would be wonderful.

also why is it so hard to find 1+ year help for smokers? I'm very glad to have found this forum

EDIT::: just wanted to add that the most positive thing for me about quitting is not sleeping as long as i use to i now sleep 7-8 hours instead of 10-14 hours

[nsd_user663_3633]

Hi Street Demon.

The forum is very much active, unfortunately the year+ members don't seem to be as frequent visitors as those who have not been quit as long.

I am approaching 5 months and find that my cravings have pretty much gone - I get one every few weeks or when I am in an unusual situation, that's about it.

Everyone is different though, and I have heard stories of people craving hard after long quits. Hopefully the year+ guys might shed some more light on it for you.

I used to suffer badly from Canker Sores (called mouth ulcers in the UK - I only know what they are because of an American website I used to try and help) with 20 or more on the go permanently, and nothing would shift them. I have found the exact opposite, with quitting actually stopping them dead in their tracks. I have not had once since day 3!

I'm sorry, I don't even know what Strep Throat is :confused:

It does sound like a trip to the Doctor is in order to be honest.

I do have some wind and "motion" problems also, but they are improving as I go through the quit... I am hoping they will clear up soon.

I think it is hard to find help for year plus smokers because it is assumed that the "job is done" by that point. We recognise that the job is never done... an addict is always just that.

I hope some of the year+ guys can help you more than I can - Best wishes to you.

[nsd_user663_3728]

Hi Street Demon

Welcome to the forum I can't really help as I am nearly 3 months into quit but if you have constant sore throats a trip to doctor is in order you may need antibiotics which may also help mouth ulcers

I also hope some of the longer quitters will be able to help you as my cravings appear to be almost gone

Good Luck

[nsd_user663_3997]

thanks you 2 i've been 2 the doctor about the strep throat and its always the same thing 500mg caps of amoxicillin works fine then 3-6 months it starts over again

I'm sorry, I don't even know what Strep Throat is :confused:

strep is a bacterial infection and mine presents with ulcer type sores on the back part of my throat and tonsil's

best of luck to both of you on your quitting best words of advise i can give to stay quit especially around the 5-8 month range is be prepared for the out of no ware hard hitting mega craving.

at around the 3 month range it was still a everyday battle but the same still applies you will get some mega cravings

also i found out the hard way don't expect these cravings to hit only when your having a bad day cause they hit just as hard if not harder when your having fun or just sitting here playing on the computer

[nsd_user663_3282]

Welcome Streetdemon,

I have a year+ club membership and to be honesty elated that I don't have any of the symptoms you describe. Don't get me wrong...I do commiserate your health issues. As for other year+ folk I can only think of one member who has reported health...well erm, not a problem as such...but reported a majority in his 'member'-ship. But that can only be a good thing, huh? I prefer to keep the 'surprise' for a smaller audience

For everybody's interest - as a year+ my experience is that I don't have the accute cravings anymore and furthermore haven't suffered any for a long while. Although I'm ever vigilant!

As regards year+ members not logging on as frequently, for my part I'm moving on and getting on with other aspects of my life. Yesterday was the first time I've logged on for weeks, and I assume that will continue with the gaps between getting longer and longer.

It's great to see such an influx of newbies and the way the site continues to be vibrant. The site continues to evolve with newbies creating this year's overall character. And so it should be. Just in the passing I noticed a locked thread and that was strangely heartening 'cos it shows that heated exchanges are an essential part of the process. Fcuk the stifling group hug, mawkish style of posting, darl hun.

Edit: Seems that the locked thread's discussion was not entirely all it seemed to be. I do leave the sentence tho' as I'm willing to bet there have been heated exchanges by non serial members in other threads.

Keep on keepin' on,

C

[nsd_user663_3997]

thanks for your reply Cavalier, i thought my cravings to be very high compared to what i thought they should be

[nsd_user663_2027]

Hi streetdemon and well done for getting this far with your quit.

My wife and I have been quit for 20 months now.

Quitting was the best (and probably the hardest) thing that I have ever done. Every morning I wake up I am proud to still be a non smoker.

I get cravings every now and again, and some have been particularly strong, but they normally subside after a minute or so. The cravings will only beat you if you let them beat you. I have come too far to let that happen.

Keep up the good work. It really IS worth the effort.

Dave

[nsd_user663_3728]

Hi Zip and Wife

I have only one word on your 20 months quit

CONGRATULATIONS

[nsd_user663_3029]

MY anniversary is just a few days away but I assume that the last week of my first year as a non-smoker isn't gonna send my health spiralling out of control, so perhaps I have a valid perspective.

I wouldn't go as far as some of phil's statements and conclusions, but I suspect that streetdemon's symptoms were probably covered by his smoking - being in general ill-health because of the smoking stopped him thinking about less intrusive conditions, like the mouth ulcers.

And perhaps having given up smoking, he's changed his diet enough for his mouth to disagree?

And if the cravings really were still as bad as the first day, I suspect he';d not have held out this long.

This forum seemed to have really taken off with the publicity surrounding last year's NSD so there simply weren't all that many year+ quitters until recently - I think there are a lot more of us around now. And as Cavalier said, after a while smoking (and having stopped smoking) becomes an incidental part of life and we're no longer as fixated on visiting this forum. As far as I can recall, this is my first visit in over 3 months and I suspect a lot of people go through a similar moment about 9 months into the quit.

I know that I'll probably stick around for the next week or so and I probably won't come back at all unless I have something specific to report (such as falling off the wagon? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) - well, I might try to make a point of coming back annually around NSD to try to provide some limited inspiration to beginners...

[nsd_user663_2485]

Quitting at the last moment

Some people, like my grandfather, wait until the last moment to quit. That is, they wait until they have some fatal disease and it is all over....like cancer. Other people, like my brother, don't bother once they have lung cancer and smoke until they finally check into the hospital/hospice to die.

If you wait until you have cancer or some other disease to quit, then probably quitting won't do much for you. There will be sores, wasting away, last-ditch hopes for a cure, paralysis, loss of bowel control, tumors, weeping relatives, and the rest.

It sounds to me like you have serious, serious health issues that are best addressed in a hospital. The symptoms you describe have absolutely nothing to do with quitting smoking and everything to do with the total crash of your body systems and possibly terminal.

Seek help immediately.

RobW

P.S. I only post this because Plumski added a comment and brought this post to the foreground, rather than the background, where it belongs.

[nsd_user663_4016]

I've only been quit for 7 weeks, so I really can't help you much, but if you are getting strep throat over and over, I would sugest asking your doctor for a different antibiotic or see another doctor. Also I hope you have told your doctor about your change in bowel problems. All these things can mean you have something else going on. :confused: