[mom_lovemykids]

Since I quit smoking two weeks ago I've had panic attacks, anxiety, chest pain, sore throat, lump in my throat feeling, sinus congestion, very little coughing and now tmi diarrhea...is anyone else going through any of this?  I have a condition called costochrondritis it's inflammation of the cartilage connecting the ribs to the sternum, anyway I think that the chest pain is due to that and coughing hard the few times it happens. 
Anyway I've smoked off and on for 24 years I quit everytime I got pregnant (4 kids) and have smoked a pack a day for the past 7 years.  I have quit before for weeks or months and don't recall having any of this happen.  I've been to my dr and got an EKG and the ER about the lump in my throat which they said was due to anxiety and he said my throat looked fine.  Feeling so bad is making the panic and anxiety worse and after two weeks it seems hard to believe that all of this is caused from quitting.  I don't want to keep running to the dr every two seconds, no insurance, and they seem to think it's in my head.  Thank you

[mom_lovemykids]

Since I quit smoking two weeks ago I've had panic attacks, anxiety, chest pain, sore throat, lump in my throat feeling, sinus congestion, very little coughing and now tmi diarrhea...is anyone else going through any of this?  I have a condition called costochrondritis it's inflammation of the cartilage connecting the ribs to the sternum, anyway I think that the chest pain is due to that and coughing hard the few times it happens. 
Anyway I've smoked off and on for 24 years I quit everytime I got pregnant (4 kids) and have smoked a pack a day for the past 7 years.  I have quit before for weeks or months and don't recall having any of this happen.  I've been to my dr and got an EKG and the ER about the lump in my throat which they said was due to anxiety and he said my throat looked fine.  Feeling so bad is making the panic and anxiety worse and after two weeks it seems hard to believe that all of this is caused from quitting.  I don't want to keep running to the dr every two seconds, no insurance, and they seem to think it's in my head.  Thank you

[amethystmist98]

Welcome to the board! I'll do my best to give you my opinion but please keep in mind that I am not a doctor and, because of your medical condition, my own experiences and thoughts may not apply to you.

The panic attacks and anxiety are normal, depending upon how severe they are. Your body is craving the nicotine it's no longer getting so it's reacting. Did you quit cold turkey or are you using an NRT (nicotine replacement therapy - patches, gum, lozenges, etc)? If you are using an NRT, perhaps a higher dose would help?

As for the chest pain, sore throat, congestion, coughing.... my guess would be that's your body healing. Cigarettes play all kinds of havoc on your entire respiratory system and it only gets worse the older you get. Use any means to ease those pains that work for you (except lighting up again!). My personal suggestion would be any kind of vapor rub combined with deep breathing to relax your mind.

I'm so sorry this has been so rough for you but you're a trooper for sticking with it! Remember that it gets worse before it gets better, but it's worth it in the end!

Misty

[mom_lovemykids]

I'm doing better.  Had a terrible migraine yesterday but no chest pain today.  The chest pain is swollen cartilage due to an injury ten yrs ago occassionally I work it to hard and it starts to hurt again.  Heat, ice and advil take care of it.  My main concern has been the panic and anxiety.  Unfortunately it is a family trait and i've had problems before but only when I was in high stress situations like my divorce.  It has been 3 weeks now and it seems to be improving.  Just don't like feeling like a hypochondriac lol.  I know after going through all this even if it's not withdrawal I will NEVER smoke again.Thanks for your input. Mary

[mom_lovemykids]

Oh yeah and I did quit cold turkey kinda, went from 10 a day to 5 or 6 then down to 2 a day for 2 days and then I stopped.  I had the chondritis flare up and it hurt to inhale which made me panic because the inflammation of the cartilage puts pressure on your lungs and can mimic a heart attack.  I'm only 36 but it still caused huge panic and I was having panic attacks every.time I smoked so since it was no longer enjoyable i decided it was time to stop

[liberata]

I also had some panic and anxiety when I first quit. I learned to ride it through---it sucks but it passes. A little exercize helps. I even tried some yoga....I am not very good at it and really need to get back to it. Sometimes when I feel some anxiety brewing I distract myself---fold laundry ( I too have 4 kids---big now and 1 out of the house but there's always laundry) or dust a little---anything to distract myself from the anxiety.