Quitting Smoking Diary #1: Stomach Pain, Sleep And Digestive Problems, Zyban
Writing this more for google visitors who are quitting or who have quit than for regular readers.
It’s been three weeks since i’ve had a cigarette. This is the longest i’ve quit in years, but it’s not going smoothly at all.
I’ve lost some weight, which is nice but i’ve been having such horrendous digestive problems that I don’t feel any skinnier. My stomach feels really pressurized after I eat anything and i’m having acid-reflux all the time– often times it wakes me up and I throw up.
Also i’m taking zyban which has made me frigging insane. More so this round than any other time. I’m not sure if it’s also causing the stomach/digestion problems but it very well could be. I don’t remember having these problems when I quit previously.
I’ve started taking pro-biotic pills and eating yogurt every morning. Also, a big cup of coffee in the morning helps move everything through (which I think is the root of the problem), but today the receptionist didn’t make more coffee and I just grabbed a soda instead.
Last night I ate some barbecue chicken at my Dad’s house then when I came home later and went for a run I threw up about 30 minutes into it. I had thrown up every night previously for about 10 nights. While running I saw a pack of Newport cigarettes laying on the ground. I picked it up and it was 3/4 full. I put it in my pocket but set it on a curb about 10 minutes later.
I talked to my doctor and she said that cigarettes had aided my digestion for many years and now it had come to a standstill without that stimulant. She suggested all the tips as if I called up and just said I was having digestive problems: eat fruits and vegetables, drink lots of water, take a walk after a meal, etc. Doesn’t that just knock you out when doctors pull that crap? I’m thinking yeah thanks, I could’ve called my liberal neighbor Greg and got the same advice.
Also at night time i’m sweating a lot. In fairness I should add that i’ve been drinking pretty heavily these past three weeks, which is supposedly a no-no while taking Zyban.
A few months ago I drank my ass off all day in Big Bear while taking Zyban and from 8pm til 1am was completely erased from my hard drive and I was told that I was a total asshole to everyone in the bar there.
I toss and turn every night, either because of the stomach issues or because its really hot out in LA right now and i’m already sweating out toxins and the heat just exacerbates it. I wake up like drenched in sweat.
I’m going to keep it up but really they should educate people more about the bad side effects of quitting smoking after smoking for many years. Some of them are harder than the effects of smoking. Doctors should be better educated about the causes and cures of some of the side effects, like when I didn’t grow a tail for 4 days, a week into quitting. Some information on that would’ve been helpful.
A few other things about quitting smoking:
1. your weiner will get bigger/stronger
2. your skin will look a lot better after about 2 weeks
3. you need to take a lot of vitamins, they really help you feel better
4. water tastes better (to a smoker it tastes like tobacco water) and you should force yourself to drink a lot of it.
5. there’ll be a period of time where you feel really great about quitting, addicts call this period the “pink cloud” , after about 3 weeks you feel blah about it, and could relapse easier I think since the clean newness is gone
I’ll add more in a few weeks.
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Tagged with digestive, indigestion, quit smoking, side effects, stomach pain, zyban
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Burpopion (zyban) can cause those digestive problems, yet it only helps by reducing the craving for cigarrets… And yeah, the “crap” the doctor told you… well… it’s not his fault that you are a smoker… there isn’t mucho about you can do about it. I could add that there may be an improvement if you take the bupropion after going to sleep… (note, i’m a doctor).
Ricardo.
Yeah, well, if you’re a doctor you should know it’s a major choking hazzard to take pills while sleeping!!! And I spell hazzard like that because I love the Duke boys!
ha ha.. yeah i had no clue what ricardo was on about— almost none of that made sense, especially the part about taking the pills after i go to sleep.
Thanks for the advice mate, i really appreciate for all the work you’ve done writing about the side effects. I myself quit 2 months ago (i’m a 23 yr old student, smoked for abt 7 1/2 yrs) ive just started to get these stomach pain and unease sypmtoms, so taking ur advice i’d eating fruits n veg for a while along with plenty of water.
God Bless You
I smoked for 36 years and quit by using zyban 2months ago. I too am suffering from a massively bloated belly. it feels tight all the time and I look half pregnant, though I’m a man of 46years.
Whilst I am overjoyed that I’m an ex-smoker I cant stand the way my body feels.
I cant seem to feel relaxed in my belly section. Going for a number 1 or 2 feels quite different to before and I’m contemplating going to my doctor to ask for advice.
Good article…I had quit for about two weeks and couldn’t take it anymore, so I snuck one today. I didn’t actually go out and buy a pack (I had a cig in my night drawer)…but I feel really guilty about having that one cig…but then again I was going nuts without it. I can’t stop sleeping and eating ever since I quit!
Anonymous’s last blog post..smoking fucks up your face
Hi – I’m having exactly the same issues. Quit smoking using Champix (UK name) on 1st Dec 2008; since then have steadily gotten bigger around the midsection – very depressing. Can’t fit into majority of my clothes. Absolutely REFUSE to take up smoking again just to get stomach/digestion back to normal. Just going to have to accept that the nicotine was what made my digestive system regular for the last 15 years, now I’m going to have to help it fix itself by doing exercise (apparently stimulates digestive movement), eating lots of fruit & veg, and upping my water intake. I don’t want to take laxatives because what’s the point of quitting smoking to replace those chemicals with another type that I become dependent on!?! Will phone dr & see what they say.
Good luck to all ex-smokers….we’re on the right track; we just need to be patient while our bodies “sort themselves out naturally”…don’t quit quitting whatever you do!!!
I quit quitting but will pick it back up pretty soon. Good luck to all of you.
I was doing pretty well until this week. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me, but I am borderline homocidal at this point. I work for the biggest jerk of all time, and he is basically PUSHING me to smoke at this point. Its almost week 3 and I’ve done awesome up until this point. I’m noticing that my hands don’t know what the hell is going on b/c I find myself doing funny things with them. the oral fixation situation has been replaced with foods and snacks…and yes, major belly issues! wahhhh! Maybe cold turkey isn’t the best route, but I am giving it an honest effort.
thanks for your quitting diary, made me feel a little more “normal”.
Hey gael, keep it up. An asshole boss will make you want to smoke again but then you’ll just blame him for your smoking. After a month it gets much easier. Get some zyban to help you along.
I should be quitting again in a week or so.
man these quitting symptoms are absolutely no joke….i mean my stomache is going wild in there…..its totally uncomfortable i guess this is the toll i have to pay since i smoked for about 6 years…..i really didn’t smoke cigs heavy but i was an avid black n mild smoker…..i’m going on 3 weeks now and trying to do it without any meds like a champ but the quitting will definitely turn a man into a child again seriously…..i feel good that i am getting healthy again but i honestly wish i was wise enough when i was younger to look up all this information i promise i wouldn’t have picked up a smoke in my life….lol….i’m curious if anyone can explain to me…..i am having extra mucus issues as well i mean my upper stomach area is hurting as well but my mucus membranes are hitting the on switch all of a sudden and i am having mucus all the time now…..can someone tell me a remedy if they know a home remedy to bring up the mucus….i really don’t want to see a doc because i would rather do it all natural so my body can reep the benefits of 100% recovery instead of meds this is why i ask…(i have no desire to smoke again so i am definitely fighting this one with both arms and no boxing gloves on)…as far as the person explained her symptoms all the way to the tee…..thank you i thought for a moment i was the only one in this boat it seems to be i’m accompanied largely and by the sounds of it a great group of people in this forum….i wish you all the best of luck lets do this thing together and get ourselves healthy once again…..take care and goodluck!
I only started smoking 2 years ago and only have about 4-6 per day. I actually started smoking because I heard it helps with ulcerative colitis. I didn’t have a lot of problems but I would get terrible stomach pains. The smoking helps my stomach pains. So, maybe it’s not just the meds causing your pains. I would like to hear if anyone else knows smoking helps stomach pains that existed before smoking. I would like to quit but don’t want to deal with the pains – I have tried a few times, but the pain comes back. I won’t bother telling a dr. – they’ll think I’m crazy. I may go to a naturopathic/homeopathic dr. though, if I can’t find a better solution.
I am on week 5 of quitting smoking and my belly feels like it is going to burst open. My friend is 5 mths pregnant and my belly gets bigger than hers after I eat. I have a 28 inch waist normally and somedays I can’t fit into 32″. I have a few pairs of fat pance that are getting me by. I work out 5 days a week and get some releif with that. I am extremely glad I quit smoking and am hoping my digestive tract will begin to regulate soon.
OMG i thought i was the only one with the syomach problems and the sleep prpblems. Gave up new years day and havent looked bk since but my god i’m nt as thin as i was god damn it but exercising regularly so fingers crossed. But god i hate the feeling after eating ie the i dont know when i’m actually full now
hope all you guys were able to quit.. i’m going to try to quit again soon (though im in china so that might be hard). If I do i’ll write something else about it.
Hey guys,
After I read the posts I already feel much better, I used to be a heavy smoker for a couple of years, around 1 pack a day. I quit smoking around a month ago and now I know I quit for good, i will tell you a small story that might help you guys since we are all on the same boat.
I have recently moved to another country far from family and friends so this made me panic more than I should whenevr I get pains and since I live alone too I have to watch out for my self and health.
Since I quit smoking I’ve been having very bad stomache pains, upper stomach mostly and sometimes my chest, not to mention the bad bad digestive problems, and problems sleeping, I used to wake up scared everyday wondering when I go to the bathroom how is it gonna be. I became extremely depressed and couldn’t function properly in my daily activities.
Now it has been more than a month since I quit, I went through pains as we all did but I did realize what is helping me most is like what most of you said, fruits and healthy food in general, stay away from Junk, I also cut down on coffee from one a day to one every few days or whenevr I actually need one.
Coffee helps detox the body but also quitting or cutting down on coffee gives some bad symptoms after you quit just like cigarrettes. As an advice from experience, if you want the morning coffee to stay awake, have an apple instead, 1 apple a day makes you active and awake more than a cup of coffee, its a fact.
Now I still get stomach pains every now and then, but seems like my digestive problem is getting better, less stomach growls, im actually able to sleep without music playing to distract me from worrying about my health.
If this helps, what im doing now is:
1. No more cigarrettes ever. Hurray!
2. Coffee just because I like the taste and it helps detox, once every 2 or 3 days. (I used to drink at least 3 mugs of coffee per day)
3. I take walks every now and then and go to the GYM 4 times a week. (Dont over train on the treadmill before you tell a physician about your smoking, over doing it during the healing time of your body could cause you to run out of breath and might faint)
3. I never touch any kind of Soda or (Pop) products anymore, everytime I eat anything I drink water. (Soda in general has sugars that could cause serious diseases to the pancreas and also is loaded with Caffeine which will cause serious headaches if your cutting down on coffee too)
I can keep talking about this for long but do not want to make you read anymroe than that, basically thats what I’ve been doing recently and actually feeling an improvement in everything in my life from Health to Mental Health.
Quit smoking please
I regret every puff i’ve had. Peace!
Sorry I forgot to mention, “activia” yogurt is doing a great job too, anything from disgetive yogurts will help alot, Peace!