I quit smoking 5 weeks ago after ten years. Didn't start smoking til I was 26 in the Marine Corps and found myself in a war and was hooked since then. I kept quitting off and on and finally clean now. But now ive had bloating when I normally have a flat stomach which causes pain and seems to contribute to breathing problems now. I sometimes have shortness of breath which im assuming might be anxiety but not sure and now just started having a dry cough. Had blood work as normal, xrays are normal, ultrasound is normal and no asthma or COPD. Spirometry showed a little loss of predicted breathing but still in normal range which I hope goes up now I quit. But how long does this crap last. Im usually a motivator in shape and can run forever but now im just sapped. If I exercise im ok but when just sitting around is when my shortness of breath happens. Any suggestions to help or if I should get more tests. Taking small dose of anti anxiety med now, along with Prilosec, tums, and digestive pro biotics. Is this all normal and how much longer do I have to go to be on top of my game.
Quit 5 weeks ago and now issues.: I quit... - Quit Support
Quit 5 weeks ago and now issues.
Hi there , First of all well done on reaching 5 weeks. As for your problem I am no expert but I would be tempted to ask the doctor to check your stomach. It does sound similar to myself , which I have a hiatus hernia (swelling of the stomach lining) He may change your meds. This can make you short of breath and also a slight cough. Emjay our advisor may be able to help you , I am sure she will be along soon. 
Aup Jarhead, a massive welcome to this lovely quit support site pal, and its great to hear your 5 weeks quit Love your name 
Hmmmm, this is a hard one J, I cant recall anybody suffering from being bloated 
I know most of us tend to eat more and put a bit of weight on !! I will have a look around for you, see if I cant come up with something.
I do know we are all different and suffer in different ways as we quit, but usually, its in the early stages of quitting. Like coughing, thats just your lungs getting rid of all the crap !! erm, am just wondering if thats why your getting out of breath !! Do you, or have you coughed up any phlegm ??
May I ask if you are using any nicotine replacement therapy ?? cos maybe it isnt agreeing with you !!
Take care now J, and keep the good work up eh
Speak soon, Pete
Hey Jarhead1231,
Welcome to Quit Support, you'll get lots of support here as and when you need it. Our members are all lovely and will understand how you are feeling
During the initial stages of quitting, your body can feel like it is taking quite a bit of a battering. This can affect your digestive system too and so this may be why you have this bloating feeling. Without asking for too much information, are you going to the toilet okay? It is quite common to become constipated but your body will adjust eventually. If this is the case, maybe try having some fresh fruit or fruit juice.
It sounds as though you have had good results from all your tests and so just need to start taking good care of yourself. Anxiety in itself can cause a whole host of problems and so using breathing exercises will help as well as starting to use the power of positive thinking.
Breathing exercises will also help to remove any excess rubbish from your chest as well as helping to relax you, you can even find breathing exercises to help give you a little bit more energy.
Feeling less energetic is a normal sign of recovery (believe it or not) and I'm sure your energy levels will return to normal, given time.
Look for the positive in that if you carried on smoking, then you wouldn't be feeling this way. This is your body reacting to not being fed all those poisonous toxins that you have been feeding it the past number of years.
Let me know if you are using NRT or any other kind of therapy - Champix / Chantix has been known to cause stomach upset / cramping.
You are doing the right thing by keeping on keeping on and so try and keep up the momentum, knowing that it will pass.
Let me know what date your quit day was and I'll see that you are added to our Wall of Winners - the place where every quitter is a winner
You are doing amazingly well
21 hours ago jarhead1231
Hello and thanks for the replies. First I quit cold turkey no patches or assistance I just decided to stop. As far as digestion ive heard some people say that your digestion slows down after you stop smoking so almost feels like my food just sits there. No acid reflux that I can tell and going to bathroom is normal but when I eat its just like gas swelling my stomach and surprisingly soda seems to help me burp it up. Ive had ultrasound on my abdomen and all organs seem normal, no cancer, and nothing out of ordinary so far. My stomach has gotten better over time but a little discomfort but ginger and probiotics and gas x seems to help some. Ive had some people say that the extra backed up gas can cause the bloat and the bloat could push your liver or stomach into your breathing cavity causing problems. And yes I know smoking was my stress coping mechanism for a long time. So now my lungs feel tight and when I get short of breath the anxiety kicks in making it worse. I had a sore throat for 4 weeks but now is gone but now I just started this stupid cough . Maybe if all doesn't get better over next few weeks might have a tube down my throat to look in my stomach and maybe a ct scan of my lungs. But as ive said before had xrays of my lungs and all good along with blood work and spirometry test saying no copd. So sometimes I wonder if all is in my head and just going to take time.to get back to normal and how long that actually takes. I hate taking pills and want to get back to my old self. Im 6ft2 and was 210lbs in great shape and only gained five pounds since smoking and in fact due to bloat I eat less it seems. I also went from drinking 2 pots of coffee a day to one cup and certain foods I stay away from as well. Anyways glad to know im not alone out there and didn't want to feel like im going down hill in health if this is all normal. Thanks everyone. Sincerely Ryan
Brilliant Jarhead--I agree--and I have it too--and the breathing problem
Hi jarhead, I'm no expert either, but sounds like you getting similar problems as me, shortness of breath and bloated tum, and I can get sickly feelings too, I've had this on and off for years, had an 'Endoscopy'. About 18 years ago and another this year, and the diagnosis was acid reflux and Oesophagitis, its when acid from the stomach leaks into the gullet, and I have had all the symptoms you describe and a few more !!
You can have treatments of antacids,
I had hoped it would improve with quitting the cigarrets, but you know I still wonder if it also to do with a form of ANXIETY !! And is it any wonder when quitting smoking !!!
Have a look at the information you can get on-line on this it may help you.
Hope you get it sorted, please let us know,
And keep up the fight on quitting the cigs, We can do this,
Hello and thanks for the replies. First I quit cold turkey no patches or assistance I just decided to stop. As far as digestion ive heard some people say that your digestion slows down after you stop smoking so almost feels like my food just sits there. No acid reflux that I can tell and going to bathroom is normal but when I eat its just like gas swelling my stomach and surprisingly soda seems to help me burp it up. Ive had ultrasound on my abdomen and all organs seem normal, no cancer, and nothing out of ordinary so far. My stomach has gotten better over time but a little discomfort but ginger and probiotics and gas x seems to help some. Ive had some people say that the extra backed up gas can cause the bloat and the bloat could push your liver or stomach into your breathing cavity causing problems. And yes I know smoking was my stress coping mechanism for a long time. So now my lungs feel tight and when I get short of breath the anxiety kicks in making it worse. I had a sore throat for 4 weeks but now is gone but now I just started this stupid cough . Maybe if all doesn't get better over next few weeks might have a tube down my throat to look in my stomach and maybe a ct scan of my lungs. But as ive said before had xrays of my lungs and all good along with blood work and spirometry test saying no copd. So sometimes I wonder if all is in my head and just going to take time.to get back to normal and how long that actually takes. I hate taking pills and want to get back to my old self. Im 6ft2 and was 210lbs in great shape and only gained five pounds since smoking and in fact due to bloat I eat less it seems. I also went from drinking 2 pots of coffee a day to one cup and certain foods I stay away from as well. Anyways glad to know im not alone out there and didn't want to feel like im going down hill in health if this is all normal. Thanks everyone. Sincerely Ryan
Oh and also my quit date was November 18th.
Hey Jarhead, I dunno if you ever got a concrete answer to what your symptoms were, but it sounds like me too. I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia right under my solar plexus and I get unexplained bloating too. My wife has IBS and there are days she looks 9 months pregnant its that bloated. What I have is similar but the bloating is under my solar plexus and gets very uncomfortable in respect of breathing.
Im 45 in 2 months and have smoked since I was 16.
I quit a few years ago, for 2 years, but fell into the fatal trap of thinking I could have one cigarette. That one cigarette led to me smoking for another 2 years before finally saying enough was enough 25 days ago, when I quit again, cold turkey....no nrt or anything.
Ive been having lots of muscular problems between my shoulder blades in the last few months, and ive had all my bloods,xrays, ultrasound on all internal organs, ecg, celiac screen, the lot.....and the only thing thats been found is a fatty liver, which is common in overweight people ( im 3 stone overweight ).
Since I quit smoking, ive noticed a shortness of breath. I have asthma and am accustomed to wheezing but the wheezing has become dryer and it feels like a weight about 3 inches above my solar plexus.
I regularly drink camomile tea to calm the muscles, and the doctor prescribed me diazepam and robaxin to deal with muscle tension ( and bursitis which I had until a few injections took it away )
Sooooooo.....right now, im sitting here feeling like afish out of water. I enjoyed a smoke, but I now know there is no good scenario with smoking. It is a lie......and its anempty promise, that makes the same promise before every cigarette, but the feeling ofsatisfaction lasts 10 minutes and the cravings come right back.
Im feeling very anxious right now. Wife is asleep and I hate worrying her. I havefew friends now, due to moving around. Im sleeping maybe 4 hours a night and my body clock is messed up as ive been off sick for the last 3 months with all this.
Not really sure what to do as all the tests came up blank, and I now feel like my doctor and employer, and to an extent, my wife, dont believe there really is something wrong with me. Ive been positive and proactive about life all my life, until I reached the age of 39, and was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia.
I cant even really do deep breathing as I also have nasal polyps somehow ( like having 2 miniature balloons fill the nostril space.
some days I have the energy to walk 10 miles, and others im beat after half a mile.
Not really sure whats going on anymore.
Usually we use the breathing to anchor us down when we are stressed etc......but when the breathing isnt quite right, what anchor do ya use then ?
Congrats👏 I'm finally over the distended stomach, water retention and headaches. There is a lot of physical withdrawal symptoms. I would never have guessed quitting smoking could be so physical. I thought it was about cravings and will power. Nope....... Physical sickness but it gets better🙂
Arizona🌷
Can you tell me more about the physical symptoms you had and the timeline in which they happened? Have a rough go right now.
Hi everyone just came across this board. I quit smoking cold turkey two months ago after smoking three packs of cigarettes a day for 30 years. I just had a heart echogram that came back clear and also a treadmill test which I did much better on at the age of 60 and failed it at 45 when I was smoking. I'm not eligible to take any type of patch so I had to do it cold turkey and my body just knew enough was enough. But yes there are barrage of healing symptoms that come with this and it's not as pretty and yes it can be painful. I never coughed when I smoked nor did I cough when I quit smoking and my lungs are clear don't forget as former smokers we still run the risk even 10 years later after we stopped of contributing to cancer of some sort because the car surgeons in cigarettes change our DNA and our entire composition of our body makeup in chemistry we're pretty much screwed one way or another all we're doing is prolonging Our Lives hopefully by another 10 years. I'm still going through the cravings and I have to just mind over matter to pass them up I come really close to wanting to start smoking again. But I have not. I do have night sweats my sleep now too much later is becoming erratic never feel like I've slept fully. I have chest cavity aches and stomach aches a very unusual feeling it comes and goes and is never constant if I lay down it completely goes away does not hurt at all in the evening when I go to sleep or upon waking takes about 15-20 minutes for all the symptoms to return I'm sure anxiety is part of it and I am on Boost Barone for anxiety through my doctor but I can only take so many of those so I've gone completely vegan and I go to the gym everyday to work out it helps but if I'm sitting and I do not go to the gym when I did not go this weekend the pain increases so my guess is it's part of a withdrawal that needs to get out of my body I work in my lungs and working my heart and working through sweat. I am not an expert I'm an addict just like everybody else on this board in MidFirst that you are an addict because there is no easy way to get out of this just like none of us are getting out of this alive none of us are going to do smooth sailing through trying to quit but it is the one personal best gift we can give to ourselves to ourselves
That's a better way to put it. The Dry Cough is a PITA!! It does catch you off guard and to the point you feel like your going to die. Thanks for the helpful information in this post
After 5 weeks you should look and feel like crap its your lungs way of thanking you and reminding you of the crap it is busy clearing out.We cannot visit the inside to see the damage but we can witness the clear out, its just things attempting to get back to some sort of normality and there is a restration work taking place, cilla is working to free your organs from tar etc. There will be more to come but its worth it i am 3 years and would not thank for a cigarette and could not be tempted, they are a curse on our health and you are witnessing it, i believe you will be free and will be good to go and all back in order soon if you persevere.
I got this exact same issue. I couldnt have described it better myself!! I quit smoking mid March...by the 1st week of May, everything I ate or drank caused me to feel so disgustingly full. I am going on 2 months feeling like this and its driving me mad. Like you, I have had all these tests done, ct scans, scopes (upper and lower), electrolyte injection to watch liver, gallbladder, and intestinal function. I have zero masses, been told everything is normal, and even complimented on my gallbladder "the best I have ever seen in my 22 year career." The one odd thing about this is that I feel a lot better when I am sweating. It's almost like an overproduction of gases in the stomach. I have not smoked for 4 months now and I dont miss it at all. I will not go back to smoking for this. But I would like to know what happened in your case. Thank you!!
Jar head1231 I thought I was the only one everything you've mentioned is exactly whats happening too me I've gone cold turkey for over 3 months now and I've been for x rays ultra sounds and blood tests and no results I constantly feel like I'm struggling for air when I'm relaxing when I'm exercising I'm fine and stomach is bloated all the time it feels like something is pushing against my chest. Hopefully this passes with time it's horrible!
I quit smoking a little over a year. I gained alot of weight..I have shortness of breath and a dry cough. I'm trying to work on the weight I have gained. I was never heavy..and it's getting to me..I don't know if the shortness of breath is linked to the weight gain or if it's side effects of smoking. I smoked about 40 yrs..
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