I have just found this site as i have been looking for some advice for some time.
I am 10 weeks smokefree today and i have been using patches and gum.
It was my first real attempt at trying to stop although i had been wanting to stop for some time. I was a 30 aday smoker and have been for 15 years and although i havent found stopping easy. It isnt half as difficult as i expected it to be as i thought it would be torture but its been ok.
However since stopping i just feel physically crap and when i read other peoples experiences they say they feel so much better but each week i am getting more ailments.
I have had a chest infection, 2 colds, constipation, mouth ulcers, bleeding gums, sore throats and i just have no energy at all i feel totally wiped out and just want to sleep.
I was wondering if anyone else has had any similar experiences to me and if so any advice would be helpful.
I am drinking lots of water and have started to exercise 2/3 days a week .
Thanks sally
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Your experience is not that uncommon. I didn't feel the benefits for months and still need more sleep than I did as a smoker :confused:
All of the symptoms you state have been mentioned on here quite often, in the 7 months I've been on the board. The fact that you have all of them together seems rather bad luck and if any of them seem particularly serious you should of course consult a doctor, but I reckon they will pass soon
I now feel loads better, and all the symptoms have passed except where as I could manage on 6 hours sleep a night I now need 8.
hi sally and well come to the fourm,,as nic says they are very common when you stop smoking,,i still drink lots of water,pop etc etc ,,and congrats on 10 weeks you are doing very well so just keep the faith tony keep:D
Oh God Pumpkin, I thought it was just me. I was one of those people on the forum a couple of weeks ago who seemed to have come through the worst of it... then the last few days I've felt crap again. I'm unbelievably tired and my stomach has been playing up again.
I'm now determined to beat all these side effects and I'm coming out all guns blazing! I'm overdosing on fresh fruit and veg and have cut back my coffee to one cup a day and replaced it with herbal teas. It's so much easier to cut back coffee and alcohol now I've stopped smoking - they just don't taste the same without a fag! (although I've got to admit I've got a glass of wine beside me while I type - hey, I've had a hard day at work!)
With the tiredness I find I'm needing around an hour more in bed, which at first angered me - but looking at it reasonably, I've gained back all those minutes usually spent sat on my backside smoking (try calculating the amount by looking at how many you smoked a day... it's scary). And I know it's only temporary.
I think with us stopping smoking at this time of year it's tough - it feels like winter has gone on forever (especially with having no summer last year). Dark days make you feel tired anyway - so perhaps that's part of the reason why we're all so shattered.
But just don't forget that you're not alone. We're all here and feeling the same way...
But it will get better! Just ask any former smoker who quit a year ago...
Thanks for your replys glad to know its not just me feeling crap hopefully in time things will improve.
Ive started taking a daily multivitamin and going to get some good vit c vitamins as i have been told smoking totally depletes vitamin c.
And as i dont like fruit will give it a go i am now i am coming up to 12 weeks now and have come off my patches and i am using about 6 pieces of 2mg gum a day now.
12 weeks that's great well done and things will definitely improve as you go on off the patches as well so that should help as well just hang on in there
Congrats on 10 weeks.... GREAT achievement!! I hope you will feel better soon..... it seems you are doing all the right things! Sometimes the body takes a little while to heal..... think positive!! (I know that's hard to do when you feel lousy) but just come on here.... we'll cheer you up :D
That is a mirror image of my first post on here pumpkin!!! i felt just like you at 10 weeks and found this site-just in time!!! i'm hitting the 6 month mark next week-and believe you me, i don't have any of those symptoms any more-so chin up i can categorily say it does get better and easier xxxxx
I am on my 4th attempt at stopping, each time I have stopped I've lasted a few months and then been "cocky" convincing myself it will be ok to have "just one", which I gurantee turns into a 20 a day habit in a short space of time.
Each time I have given up have been ill and considerably so!!
To the point of where I have had a chest x-ray and ended up on an ECG machine. To which thank fully hasnt shown anything.
I have been a typical bloke in thinking something is majorly wrong!!
However, I have now been given up 2 months and the last month has been the worst!!
Back ache, pain in my sides, feeling sick, tongue "feeling funny", cold sweats, feeling tired and generally feeling pretty crap!!
I've also done the gaining weight each time I have given up which also doesnt help!!
The doc says these are all withdrawal symptons from the poison/toxins I used to put in there due to smoking.
I am determined to kick it this time for my sake as well as my children's!!
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