Hi Guys
I put a post before on here. Didnt Get many responses. Figuring it was the weekend, thought I would try again. On the copd site , we have a big discussion going about how copd worsens after quitting smoking . Have no replies that anyone improved! Was hoping for some inspiration from this site. How did you feel after you quit smoking? Anyone?
Thanks for your input.
Rubyx 😊
Hi Rubyred777, its lovely to meet you 
and a big warm welcome to our quit community
Ermmmm, rite then gal, there are quite a few members on here who suffer with COPD 
and to my knowledge, they have said it gets worse when they quit smoking, BUT and a big BUT, it gets better after a few weeks
But saying that, there are different stages of COPD, sooooo, would perhaps take longer for them to reap the benefits of quitting smoking
Ruby, quitting smoking has got to be the best deploy hasnt it
Pete
Hi rubyred,
Welcome to quit support.
Whilst smoking I had a cronic cough with sputum. I hadn't been to the doctor so not sure if this was the early signs of copd.
I've been stopped for six months now and have had some improvement in my lungs, although it has taken longer than I expected. My cough is much improved and I'm not constantly clearing my throat and coughing up sputum.
My lungs don't feel as tight and sore as before and somehow they feel bigger.
My symptoms definitely didn't go worse after stopping.
There's so much medical advice that smoking hastens the progress of copd - I feel stoping must be the best way.
I can only think that when we quit smoking the lungs start clearing out all the rubbish we put in there so perhaps it seems the copd is getting worse.
Kas
Xx
Thanks Kas
you seem to be one of the few people that feel better after quitting. Wish more people would respond😊
xx
Hi Rubyred, it's a great question to ask as there will always be two sides. I do not suffer with COPD yet when I quit my lungs felt awful, I could barely breathe and it was pretty crappy...but only for a few weeks which just got easier. On the flip side I have just watched my lovely mum dying from COPD and know she wished that she'd given up when she could x
I thought I did reply??
Hi Ruby,
welcome aboard to Quit Support, I completely missed your last post sorry.
I've caught up with it now and see that Rozi said that her FEV (forced expiratory volume) improved really well
COPD can be such a debilitating disease and by stopping smoking you can slow down the process. However, during the early stages of quitting, some people with COPD may feel that their breathing becomes more difficult. This is only because cigarette smoke has certain chemicals in it that numb and widen their smokers airways - allowing more smoke to travel down into their lungs. This feeling of a tight chest or worsened breathlessness may seem frightening at first but it will become easier, I promise. Once the body starts to repair itself, this will become less of a problem.
Stopping smoking is most definitely the best thing for any smoker to do, even more so if they have COPD.
You may have already read the following information provided by the British Lung Foundation';
Even if you already have a lung condition, quitting smoking is still the most important thing you can do to help manage your condition and improve your quality of life. There are lots of different reasons why it’s worth trying to give up.
Stopping smoking will lower your risk of developing other conditions and, if you have COPD, the rate at which your lungs get worse will slow down. By quitting, you could live longer, feel better and have more money to spend on the things you like doing.
If you have a lung condition such as COPD, you might have some or all of these symptoms:
difficulty breathing, especially when physically active
a cough, which often produces mucous
frequent chest infections
wheezing
Quitting smoking will help you cope with these symptoms and is the most important thing you can do to prevent your condition getting worse. Smoking increases the speed at which you lose lung function. If you stop smoking, the rate at which your lungs get worse can improve. Your lung function will be better if you give up, even after the age of 65 (see table below).
copdeducation.org.uk/graphi...
An FEV1 (forced expiratory volume) score shows how much air you can expel from the lungs in the first second of breathing out. Here, it is shown as a percentage of the normal level for a person aged 25. FEV1 is measured by a spirometry test and can help diagnose COPD, or tell how severe it is.
Ruby, if there is anything else that you would like information or help on, then please do give us a shout, there is usually somebody around and as you can see already - our members do try to be as helpful and supportive as possible
Hi Emjay
Thanks so much for your reply. I don't know if you can read posts on copd site or not. I would guess so. Most copd people get way worse, and stay that way. They have constant chest infections. Their breathing gets worse. I want to quit, but I'm afraid I won't be able to function,
As I do now. I know it's not a good thing to smoke. It appears your body is so used to all the stuff in the cigs, it falls apart without it! Thats scarey, but seems to be what happens.
Can you explain this for me?
Thanks
Rubyxx 😊
My COPD got worse. In fact everything got worse since I quit
Been almost a yr and still feel like a ZOMBIE 😩😩😩
Dee
Hi Dee
What stage copd are you? Did you quit cold turkey or taper?
Just trying to understand why people feel worse.
Rubyxx 😊
Quit due to my compromised breathing. It forced me to quit. I try to be optimistic hoping it will get better some day. Wish I had quit sooner,
then I'd have a fighting chance. As far as staging I have to go back for PFT, EF
Support is all I can ask 4
Dee
Hi ya Dee I'm so sorry your having a hard time of it at the moment 
and quitting smoking hasnt seemed to of helped you yet BUT please, please give it time
Ok, I think we've all said that we wished we'de quit sooner BUT, we've quit now and that is the important thing eh
Dee, perhaps I am one of the lucky ones, as I felt the benefits of quitting in the first few weeks but I know were all different, cos it takes some of us a lot longer to reap the benefits
With you having COPD, it will perhaps take longer eh but look Dee, that light at the end of that tunnel WILL get brighter and brighter as time goes on Please just give your body time to adjust and clean itself out and you will reach the light at the end of that tunnel then you can come a chasing me about see, but you wont flippin catch me 
Dee, if you need support, then come on here and we will gladly give it to ya gal
Pete xx
Hi. I have copd and at one point told after a 10 day emergency stay in hospital when my lungs shut down to less than 50% moderate emphysema. However the emphysema diagnosis was wrong as I managed a 12 mile walk over a mountain.
When I stopped smoking (I vape now) my lungs felt tighter and seemed worse and I was coughing up jelly tots. (Sorry ) I had a horrible metal taste in my mouth for weeks. Eventually these symptoms subsided and I started to feel better than before. My lung co2 readings used to be at 17 plus when I smoked but are now at zero. My oxygen levels are at a steady 98 % and I have lost the terrible bagpipe noise when I go to bed. Ha, I now snore worse though. I have had a couple of colds in the last 18 months and although uncomfortable they havent been as bad as when I smoked and didn't turn into a chest infection. I haven't had to use my nebuliser either. My ventolin usage has reduced and I can climb up a hill with more ease.
I hope this helps. Thank you. Ray
Hi Ray
what was your fev1 before and after you quit smoking? Trying to understand why people feel worse. Did you quit all at once or taper off?
Rubyxx 😊
Hi,I'm not sure. All I know is I feel better. Smell better have more money to buy nice stuff,breath better. My black foot and ankle has returned to its normal colour. Stopping just in time saved an amputation but it was close and I'm talking so close.
My specialist had warned me that if I smoke again, I will lose one or both legs. That shouldn't have happened to me,but it did and this alone is incentive enough. So where I thought my lungs "Aren't so bad" The effects of smoking came around the back door and got my circulation. If I would have stopped earlier, I could have saved myself sooooo much pain and suffering. At the end of the day, for me,it wasn't about facts and figures,it became about Life and Death. Hope this is helpful. Thanks,Ray.
Hi
I gave up smoking dec 2014 , 5 months not had a crafty drag, not because I was Ill but I didn't want my child to smoke and to be honest wanted to spend my money on other things .
The first coulpe of weeks I was fine then round Xmas never been so I'll. I was in the docs every week for the first 2 months of the year my symptoms were, Chest was tight burning and cold mouth, stomach acid was awfull and burnt my throat so bad I had like a cold sensation, ears hurt, would get sharp shooting pains in my back. I would cough that much till my throat bled, gums hurt and bled and so far a stone heavier.
However 5 months on I'm only left with a post Nasel drip but this has got better, I didn't take to smoking again as I saw how all the tar was leaving my body and it was all what was in the fags that made me ill.
I quite cold turkey but in October I had cut to three fags a day, before that I smoked 20 fags a day for 25years but stopping when I was pregnant for 3 years.
The plus side even though I'm not 100% I've got a nose like a hound dog and can sniff out anything, my wrinkles are not so bad and I don't smell like an ashtray. also in the habbit of dog walking for a couple of miles a day.
It's one of the hardest things you will do and after time you will feel better 😃
Good evening Angeline a big warm welcome to you, to this lovely quit support community and a great big well done on your great quit
It sounds that you've been through the wringer gal, I'm soo sorry, but saying that, its got to be the best decision you have ever made in your life Ok, its been a hard slog for you these last few months, but you smoked for 25 Years remember, so it dosnt happen in a day BUT, you are starting to reap the benefits of being a NONE smoker as you say, your smell is wayyyy better now, you dont smell of an astray any more your hair is shiny again, your skin is softer, your teeth are whiter, you dont get puffed out walking up the stairs and so on and so on gal
You've got one hell of a great reason, incentive to quit, that is your child If ever you need any help, you flippin shout out, cos thats what were here for to help each other get through
PS, ermmm, if you would kindly let me know your actual quit date, then I can enter you on to the Wall of Winners and we can keep your Winners badge up to date, thank youuuu
Pete
Thanks for your reply. You don't have copd. Right? I appreciate any replies from this amazing site. You must be so proud of yourself! I know I would be.
RUBYXX 😊 😊
Hi monkey My quit date was 4th dec.
RUBY
I loved to smoke so if I can give up so can you and i haven't got copd
Angie
Aup Angie, thank you for giving me your quit date as you see, you have a nice Winners badge next to your name now and hopefully us Admins will be able to keep it up to date now and I 've added you to the Wall of Winners
You just keep your head up high and be proud of yourself and dont forget NOPE, Not One Puff Ever
Pete
I have moderate copd and had a dreaded cough 24/7 for years. I am 42 and started smoking at 15. I have been quit smoking for 10 months now and I feel great! Was rough to start with but I used an e cig and am gradually reducing the nicotine content of the liquid!
Don't listen to the scare stories just do what you know that you have to to save your life!!
Thanks for a inspirational reply. They are far and few in between.
How did quitting effect your fev 1? Do you use any inhalers?
Rubyxx 😊 😊
Tbh it hasn't changed. Although I am not reliant on ventolin anymore. I just take my aclidium inhaler!!
Why can't I cough that horrible stuff up?
Thank-you
you can quit for good!
