[Newuser12345]

Hi All

Been reading numerous threads over the last few weeks.
22 years (now 38) smoking approximately 35-40 cigs a day.

Heavily addicted, by way of example, I would normally have smoked 7 cigarettes before walking in my office door at 7.30 am

I quit cold turkey 26 days ago. I went through the physical withdrawal many of you went through and peaked on about day 8.
The nicotine withdrawl pangs have abated, and I am working on the psychological cravings.

My biggest issue is how unwell I have been for the last 3 weeks

I used to exhale through my nostrils and for the last 24 days, I have suffered from chronic sinus congestion and pain, cough and headache etc
I am physically weak, have trouble breathing, feel like a constant flu.
I have no intention to smoke but would be interested in if any of you have encountered similar

[YumDeiseMum]

Originally Posted by Newuser12345

Hi All

Been reading numerous threads over the last few weeks.
22 years (now 38) smoking approximately 35-40 cigs a day.

Heavily addicted, by way of example, I would normally have smoked 7 cigarettes before walking in my office door at 7.30 am

I quit cold turkey 26 days ago. I went through the physical withdrawal many of you went through and peaked on about day 8.
The nicotine withdrawl pangs have abated, and I am working on the psychological cravings.

My biggest issue is how unwell I have been for the last 3 weeks

I used to exhale through my nostrils and for the last 24 days, I have suffered from chronic sinus congestion and pain, cough and headache etc
I am physically weak, have trouble breathing, feel like a constant flu.
I have no intention to smoke but would be interested in if any of you have encountered similar

Oh thank God I was beginning to think it was just me. I gave up New years day and am in the midst of my 2nd installment of what I'm likening to a very bad dose of flu , the first lasted approx 3 weeks I had a couple of weeks of feeling fine and am now back to square one. I think I've spent more money on decongestant, exputex, uniflu etc than I would have spent on cigarettes lol

The only thing keeping me sane is my mother, she smoked 80 a day but gave up about 18 years ago. She said she went through the exact same for months after giving up but that it does eventually abate. So there is hope

And to be totally honest I'm glad that it hasn't been easy an that I feel like crap because it's making me more determined to never ever smoke again cos there's no way I want to have to go through this again

[Pulsating Star]

If I was to tell you how unwell I have been since I gave up mid December you would not believe me and I wouldn't blame you. This is after having 34 trouble free years while smoking. The only upside is I think I would now be too afraid to restart ,so it may be for the best in the long run.

I have often heard that there can be temporary health issues on giving up and maybe there is a consumption pro rata element to it. You have done extremely well to lose such a serious habit cold turkey so be confident you have the strength to make it stick.

[username123]

Sorry to hear you guys are having such a hard slog of it!!!

If you google 'flu like symptoms quitting smoking' you get LOADS of hits so it seems like its common enough.

Well done to you all for quitting, keep the faith!!

[kryogen]

Had most of the same stuff directly after quitting, but most of them have gone away now. The psychological pull of a cigarette re surfaces now and then, rarely though it must be said, one of my nostrils is still invariably useless to me though unfortunately. The coughing up all sorts has slowed down to almost a stop. The flu I seemed to have for 3 weeks is gone.

Feeling much better about life in general so good luck to you, and know it will get better!

[mike.l]

Thank god I don't have any of these symptoms! in fact the total opposite, far better breathing etc.
I do a bit of running and perhaps the first week of being off them I coughed up some crap but ever since then I have had nothing but improvement. Stick with it I am sure things will improve for you.

[yosser hughes]

The symptoms I had were a sore chest,which was quite worrying. It was like a stiffness in my chest.
Thankfully that feeling has gone now and my stamina while running has dramatically improved. I also had dizziness and a vague tingling but I feel a lot of these were psychosomatic.

[username123]

Originally Posted by yosser hughes

The symptoms I had were a sore chest,which was quite worrying. It was like a stiffness in my chest.
Thankfully that feeling has gone now and my stamina while running has dramatically improved. I also had dizziness and a vague tingling but I feel a lot of these were psychosomatic.

I had dizziness for a couple of weeks at first too but it just went away by itself. It was more like waves of dizziness, came and went, some of it may have been anxiety related.

My running stamina is better as well.

[Newuser12345]

Good to read replies. Feeling better today and now on day 32.
Got a homoeopathic tip for the sinus congestion which I am going to look for in Ireland

Played golf and travelled by plane this week for the first time since quitting, which were always both heavily associated with smoking

[Miss Fluff]

God I'll never forget it. In the first two to three weeks after quitting my body went into what I can only describe as shock. I had severe muscle ache which was almost like a living rigor mortis, I couldn't move my neck, extreme chest tightness, diziness, ZERO concentration, it was hell. I think it's very unfair when you quit that you're not rewarded with immediate tangible benefits to at least reward you for quitting. The only two good things that you notice immediately are:

1. The fact that you smell lovely and not like an ashtray
2. Increased stamina in the gym

I smoked the same as you Newuser12345. I also went cold turkey and am coming up to three years in July. Stick with it. You're only feeling this awful because the poison is being given the chance to work its way out of your system. www.whyquit.com has some very good articles explaining each and every one of your symptoms and what exactly is going on and why - I think it helps to uderstand why you are feeling like this and also to reassure you that it is transient and you'll be feeling well again soon.

Keep up the good work