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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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!
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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!!!
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I quit quitting but will pick it back up pretty soon. Good luck to all of you.
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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”.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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!
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Sorry I forgot to mention, “activia” yogurt is doing a great job too, anything from disgetive yogurts will help alot, Peace!
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I smoked for 2 years, alittle over 2 packs a day of marlboro reds, i quit in may, ive lost 95 pounds since due to all the pain ive gone through with my gi problems, nausea after eating, cramping, the list goes on, i wish that i didnt quit only so that i wouldnt be so sick now but hopefully in the near future ill get better
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hello, has been a month that i quit smoking..i do feel great…but my stomach is killing me…floating, gas diareah..what to do???How long more it will last like that??? Please, help i feel that i want my health back, i am very athletic person, runner, and now i don’t feel good at all with all this pain on my stomach…gas, floating..i am eating normal and even less….drinking a lot water but it seems getting worse.
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I would suggest not eating as much.. eat lots of soup, vegetables, yogurt, etc. Also, you’ll have to “try” to go to the bathroom more than you did before, i.e. you’ll have to go sit down every 8-10 hours even if you don’t feel like you need to, if that makes sense
I’m about to quit again and hopefully I won’t have those symptoms again too.
do you know how long it takes to start feel better, without all this stomach problems?????
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Probably a few more weeks to a month. Your intestines have to start working again on their own. Are you using Zyban? If so as soon as you feel strong enough you should stop that, it makes you really dehydrated which messes with your digestive track.
Oh, I also forgot.. drink lots of coffee and tea.
No i am not taking Zyban…. i did start with acupunture and natural herbs wich i quit, cause i thought that was causing all the problem, but now i realized that not…doesn’t have any kind of medication for it…it is really frustrating me….i hope you quit soon….and i hope you don’t qet all this stomach problem….i am eating as almost nothing and still, drinking coffee and tea and water!!!!!!!!!
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I quit after 10 years of a pack-and-a-half or Marlboroughs. I don’t even know why I did it; one morning when I woke up I just didn’t light up that all-important first cigarette of the day. I don’t normally do totally spontaneous life-altering things. Go figure.
The first week: the worst week of my life.
The second week: worse than the first week (I know; I have no other way to put it).
The third week: slightly better, but worse than the first week.
The fourth week: better than the first week. When you notice things trending in a good way that should give you hope and motivate you to continue.
Well, it took some time (give it a few months to totally emancipate yourself) but I now have ZERO craving for cigarettes, and haven’t smoked one in 24 years. I don’t want them. I don’t desire them. I don’t think about them. Not having them does not bother me at all. I don’t mind people smoking them around me. I don’t act morally superior for kicking a filthy drug habit. I still find tobacco on the breath of a woman sexy. Food tastes amazingly better, too. Plus I don’t hack up crap from my lungs every morning.
The best advice I can give to a smoker thinking of quitting: the cravings will totally go away. I know this sounds trite, but you have to tough out the beginning, and I wish someone had told me what I now know about the cravings totally disappearing.
And wow, did I act like a irritable maniac during the first few weeks! Horrible stuff. But my friends supported me, except for a few loser smoker assholes who encouraged me to smoke and wanted me to start up again (avoid those; you don’t need friends like that; I still have friends who smoke, but not ones who think misery loves company).
So, long story short (which, like me back when I smoked, you probably don’t want to hear): use your will-power and tough it out, and sooner than you think you will earn your freedom from this awful addictive drug. Plus, I don’t even mind the smell of smoke, it does not stimulate my cravings, I don’t go around lecturing smokers to stop (what an asshole thing to do!), etc.
Remember: you have to have will-power to kick a drug habit that most ex-heroin addicts can’t kick.
Oh, I did one other thing. Every week I threw the money I would have spent on cigarettes into a jar. Watching it pile up acted as a nice bonus (not an incentive). But it made me realize how, despite all the bullshit they put out the government actually wants us to smoke (they make, by far, the most money off of it).
Good luck!
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did you have stomach pains???how bad and for how long??
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There is anyone there knows how long those stomach pains take to go away???Any medication please??? I am on 8 weeks , the floating went away..but fluid acid, and pains…OMG, it is terrible, makes me feel i wanna give up and that’s it i want a cigarette. I have so many saliva on my mouth..my stomach screaming…..i don’t know what to do anymore…i keep with rolaids, tums..milanta evry other hour specially after 4 o clock afternoon…please please tell me what to do..when those symptoms goes away? is that normal????does the belly go back to normal???
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I’ve been quitting for 21days. I had lots of failed attempts before so I wasn’t really confident about this.. Until I got really sick.
Shortness of breathe: wasn’t that much of a problem for the first few days. I thought it was due to lack of exercise. So I went to the gym and ran for 60mins. Thought my lungs are gonna pop out! The next few days have been living hell. My heart was beating so fast I couldn’t breathe properly. It lasted me for about 2 days. Went to ER but they said it’s nothing serious. I can breathe now but I’m still experiencing chest pain and constipation. Also, I can’t sleep at night because of the fear and anxiety.. I think I should be more patient until my body adjusts to my new surroundings!
Smoking is the biggest mistake I made in my life. I won’t be making any from now on!!
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1 week off them and my stomach is in agony. I had stomach ulsers in the past and this feels like they have returned,… maybe they have and im blaming not smoking lol,… best see the next door neighbour
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Hi, i quit smoking on the 4th of jan and since then i have being experiencing bad stomach pains. my bowel movements are all over the place….is this actually because of smoking!?! glad that im not the only one and that it looks like a normal enough healing process…..it sucks though!!
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In the last few attempts to quit smoking, i never had the Stomach Pain problem but this time its killing me. its been over 24 hours nows since i had a cig and my stomach is killing me,
its like everytime u quit smoking a new problem occurs, this time is stomach pain. I hope it goes off soon so that i could live a Smokeless Life!!!!
Wishing me All the BEST!!!
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I have been a non smoker for 3 months now after having smoked a pack a day for about 30 years. It seems to me the bloating and uncomfortable feeling in my gut is getting worse. I have also started burping LOTS!! I am wondering just how long these symptoms last, I considered having a smoke the other day but remembered how hard it was to quit and didn’t.
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My family, including myself, have always had digestive issues one way or another. Due to this I tend to keep a fairly healthy diet including fresh fruit, veggies, grains, etc…
I have been taking 2 pills per day also from the Dr Max Powers 15 Day Cleanse. One when I wake up and 1 pill about 8 hours later in the afternoon.
My bowel functions have regulated and become easier. I do not feel any nausea upon taking these pills on an empty stomach and the pills do not have a strong taste or after-taste. I have also felt a slight change in energy level. I am usually a bit fatigued and sore due to anemia, but lately I have been feeling less fatigue and a bit more energy. So far there is nothing I do not like about this product and I intend on keeping up with my daily routine.
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i m trying to quit smoking. in ma last attempt i quit fr about one month.Now m making my mind to quit on 1st ov septembr, and stomach pain??? i dnt hve stomach pain in any ov my attempts before……n Guys plz Pray fr me…..!!!!!
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I’m wondering something here… What brand of cigarettes did everyone smoke who are having the stomach/digestive issues?
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I’m on day 5 using Buproprion (aka; Welbutrin/Zyban). Both me & my gal quit together and she is taking Chantix which is similar. Neither of us are chewing gum or using any other kind of nicotine supplement. We felt these defeated the purpose of quitting which is to get over the addiction (granted, the real hazard is the smoke’s effects on the body). Both Buproprion & Chantix have side affects related to constipation. Chantix also causes some people ulcer like symptoms if not taken with food.
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Hi! 11 months tomorrow that I quit. I found a Nicotine Anonymous program and it worked for me and everyone else there. Very strange!
I have gained about 18 lbs and the stomach distending is very common. No amount of exercise will make a difference. Our entire bodies are in shock and we have to just surrender to the fact that it will take time to adjust. i say over 1 year. Some in our group say 2 years. I do agree with other posters that more should be taught about what to expect when you quit. Depression, Fatigue, “pink cloud”, loss of sleep, irritability et. It’s all normal. We were drugged for a long time and it takes time to sort this out.
I’ve used probiotics, but really don’t feel any different. I think walking/exercising and just reinforcing our quit is most important. I would have relapsed if I hadn’t started to do treadmill workouts. It feels good to breath even though I can’t see my toes!
Keep at it.
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Today is my third day off cigarettes, I have been mentally preparing myself for this day for the last three years ever since my son was born, I’m 24 and have been smoking for 14 years.
Last night I couldn’t sleep, I kept turning in my bed with this sharp pain in my stomach. It felt like an after punch (that is if you ever had been punched in the stomach before) just this whining pain that doesn’t go away no matter what you do.
So I mixed a tea spoon of soda in warm water and drank two glasses straight forcing myself to throw up I needed to flush my stomach out because of this pain, while throwing up it was nothing but acid running through my mouth. I felt better for a while but the pain was back in the early morning.
Did some reading as I was afraid to eat anything in case the pain returned and found that eating hot oatmeal helps acid indigestion, so that is what I had this morning for breakfast, it helped I felt better.
Then it got me thinking throughout the day why all this pain in my stomach, what was it that I had done differently?
It was the obvious, quitting smoking so I did another search and found this article, very surprised that this is true I now feel a bit relived knowing thees are some of the effect of giving up smoking, who would have known that by consuming less poison that it can make you feel worse.
Great article thanks for sharing.
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