16 Days. My god, I feel awful!

[nsd_user663_54257]

Smoked for 5 years. Haven't had one in 16 days. I am not even craving them right now.

But the problem is I feel so awful!

My tongue is getting tiny little white sores that hurt all the time unless I'm chewing ice or for about 30 mins after numbing it with strong mouthwash.

My gums bleed when I brush.

Got an ear infection that refuses to go away (probably not related, but after 6 weeks of pain when swallowing after antibiotics and a syringing did nothing, it just adds to it).

All my gums feel pained and I just feel like they have receded. Feels weird anyway.

Constantly hacking up phlegm. I know my lungs are clearing out, but bleh!

I wake up to breath that's far worse than when I smoked!

I don't crave a ciggy. But I also know (because I have had all this before) that as soon as I smoke again, all this pain goes away.

I don't want to smoke. But I quite for 2 months last time and this was like an unending hell.

Does this stuff go away, or is it a choice between this and smoking?

[nsd_user663_53658]

Hiya Joe, please don't worry, yes it goes. I had mouth ulcers, bleeding gums, some major unmentionable digestive problems and they all went away. I can't actually remember precisely when but I don't have them now and haven't had them in a while, I'm at 11 weeks so it shouldn't be too much longer petal.

Hang in there you are doing fantastically well and it's really good to meet you

Well done on 16 days btw x

Molly x

[nsd_user663_20558]

I'm so sorry you're having such a miserable time. Lots of people have problems with dental issues, because smoking restricts the blood flow to the gums and when you stop the increased blood flow causes bleeding gums and sometimes pain.

The lungs too have a lot of work to do to clear out the accumulated crud of smoking. It's not much fun.

It's understandable that you feel that having a cig now would stop the problems - but all this stuff is symptomatic of your body healing itself. You know yourself, that the evil things that smoking can do to you may well end up causing health problems a damn sight worse than bad breath and mouth ulcers

I can tell you categorically that many of the quitters who started the journey around the same time as me had problems similar to those you describe. Not to mention insomnia, digestive problems, and a myriad of other crap. But NONE of us have to deal with any of that any more. It DOES go away. It absolutely IS worth it.

Hang in there!

Helen

[nsd_user663_53891]

Hey Joe

I am only a few days ahead of you on my quit but i got a savage case of mouth ulcers right around the 2 week mark as well. For me they lasted 5 days and went away and have not returned! Hang in there bud...your doing great, do not quit quitting now please!!

[nsd_user663_53617]

Any symptoms can arise through stress and a reaction towards the removal of nicotine intake. This is why it is so important to wean your body off the stuff slowly rather than cold turkey.

I'm sorry but I don't agree with this statement. I have quit cold turkey (6 weeks tomorrow) and I have been fine as have many others. NRT works for many and that's great but it's not essential

Well done on 16 days, the symptoms will be done in no time!

[nsd_user663_42220]

"I love my ego-c" is a spammer Kaz.

Every post has a link to the same product, I've reported it.

[nsd_user663_53202]

We ex-smokers have a distorted sense of cause and effect, I think! I smoked for 22 years, minimum 30 rollups a day. That's approximately one every half hour. Smoking every half hour for 22 years is a long and intense process.

However, on some semi-conscious level I regard that 22 years as an event. In the same way, I regard quitting smoking as an event - something I just "did" one day.

This attitude completely underestimates the impact that smoking has had on my body. Contrary to the "event" way of thinking, it will take time for my body to clear out all the crap, repair itself, and adjust biochemically to no longer having to deal with half hourly inputs of vile smoke products.

That process takes months, not days. (I need to remind my impatient "event" mentality).

Joe, it isn't surprising that you are getting all these symptoms. It also isn't surprising that it will take a few months for them to clear up. However, they will clear up (some sooner than others), and it won't be that long before you are symptom and smoke free. Hang in there.

[nsd_user663_54257]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Nice to know other people get all of this stuff. Sticking it out so far.

Suppose I may as well mention that I am indeed quitting Cold Turkey. Tried the gum, the e-lites, patches, etc. None of it seemed to work for me since it was just my lack of willpower.

Ironically, I managed to quit by downloading a quitting App for my phone. Sounds weird, but once I had a little tracker that told me how long I hadn't smoked for, the money I saved and the amount of cigs not smoked, it was much easier to not have another.

It also has little bars filling up that say how far you are into certain achievements, like "blood pressure dropped to normal" and "body's dependency on nicotine is gone".

I know that if I smoke now, the App will never work for me again, since I'd never think of it as a barrier again. So simply knowing that failing to stop will mean I can't try this way again really makes me steadfast.

(Obviously won't name the app, but I'm sure there are many for anyone wanting to try this strategy)

[nsd_user663_50109]

Hi and well done on 16 days..

Yes it all goes away in time.. Ur gums are healing and its normal for them too bleed for a few weeks. Get ur self in dentist fir a good check up.

Carnt say how long it will take to go away some ppl are fast at healing others like my self are not..

But it does get better and easy

[nsd_user663_54257]

Day 87.

Thanks guys. Most of the stuff I mentioned has gone. But my tongue is still sore and covered in the little white sores. My gums don't bleed any more, but now my tongue does

Mostly annoying because my doctor says there's nothing wrong. Even after showing him the sores. Antibiotics from my dentist clear them up for a week, then they're back again.

Day 88 incoming. Still don't want a cigarette, but I can officially say I still feel a whole lot worse without them