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.