I got free from smoking around thanksgiving or so. (Thanks, no significant cravings, Alan Carr. Happy to answer any other questions, just heading off the common ones.)
From here:
2 WEEKS TO 3 MONTHS
Circulation improves.
Walking becomes easier.
Lung function increases up to 30%.
What is actually happening in the body to improve circulation + lung function? What do they mean by “Walking becomes easier?” I never noticed that it was particularly dificult when I was smoking. Running got me winded pretty quickly, but walking? I could do that all day.
And why the hell can’t I stop eating? I never used to be able to finish a meal in a restauraunt. I just physically could not eat all of it. Now I never feel full. If I did not stop myself, I’d just keep eating. I’ve also got to either eat or pop tums every couple of hours to avoid getting serious heartburn. I’ve been eating more rabbit food in the last 2 months than I did in the last 10 years, and I’ve gained 15 pounds, even though I do at least an hour of aerobic exercise every night.
Well, smoking causes your blood vessels to constrict and become less elastic. It’s your blood vessels opening up that cause better circulation.
As for the food? Nictotine stimulates the pleasure center of your brain. So does food. You’re just overcompensating for the lack of stimulation from nicotine. Don’t worry about it, it’ll pass.
I gained about 25 lbs after I quit. I’ve since lost 15 of it.
Just keep doing what you’re doing. Gaining a few pounds is much healthier than the damage smoking does, and it easier to reverse. Concentrate on staying quit for now, worry about the added pounds later.
And congrats on quitting!
-Brewha, non smoker since 10/07 (also Thanks to Alan Carr)
As far as breathing goes, all of the soot and nicotine is making its way out of your lungs, making the lungs more efficient at transferring oxygen and CO[sub]2[/sub]. The cilia in your respiratory tract also regain their ability to push mucus and contaminants to the nose and mouth, which is why you may have had a lot of snot for a while after quitting.
So it basically sounds like your body is healing. Is that right? That would make sense. If smoke is an irritant and you keep exposing yourself to it, the effects of the irritation won’t go away. Kind of like getting a sunburn and going back out into the sun the next day, your burn won’t get better
Okay. I quit smoking in Feb. '08. Lasted 10 months. What did me in was, people kept telling me I was going to feel fabulous. But I didn’t.
Heartburn, muscle cramps, twitchy legs at night, loss of appetite, frequent hiccups, recurrence of asthma, insomnia at night, sleepiness during the day–of course I freely admit that any symptom experienced I attributed to lack of nicotine.
(Side note: Anecdotally, I know a couple of people who come down with asthma symptoms when they quit smoking, but are fine when they go back to cigarettes. I had childhood asthma, not a bad case and, heh, largely psychological I think, but it disappeared when I was about 14 and when I quit smoking, perversely, it got really hard for me to breathe.)
Anyway, I hate myself because I’m weak and spineless, but on the other hand, physically I now feel okay again. If it’s all psychological I guess I’ll just have to brainwash myself better next time.
That’s just it - I expected to feel at least a little better by now, and I’m curious what is taking so long.
I can taste and smell slightly better, but that’s the extent of the positive results so far. (And being able to smell better isn’t really all that positive a lot of the time.) I don’t have nearly the bad symptoms that you describe, and I don’t particularly want a cigarette, but the heartburn and insatiable appetite is driving me nuts.
Getting over the adiction is all psycological after a few days. I’ve given up smoking about elevety bazillion times, but thanks to Alan Carr, I’ve gotten free from smoking and I’ll never go back, even if I never feel any benefit. I’m not giving up anything this time, and it makes all the difference.
I never knew I was allergic to cat fur until after I quit smoking - or that I got hayfever. It wasn’t till I stopped poisoning myself with ciggies that I was healthy enough to notice getting sick, if you get what I mean. The one thing that has really hit home is the fact that when I wake up I can breathe properly, even in full hayfever season, I don’t gasp and hack like I used to before choking down that first smoke of the day.
I didn’t want to start a new thread, but here’s a question I’ve been wondering about.
I’ve read several places that it takes 2-4 weeks for the nicotine to leave your body after you quit smoking. Where is the nicotine being stored? In your fat cells? I never understood it, because I thought your body breaks down nicotine fairly quickly.