Trainwreck

[Walker]

I quit smoking about 10 days ago. No serious problems quitting after being a smoker for 30 years. Then a couple of days ago, from nowhere, I had a full blown melt down panic attack. Thought I was dying. So bad I went to the emergency room. Had no idea what was going on.  Doctor admitted me and ran a bunch of tests, and found no problems.  I got home and I'm still feeling like I might die any minute. Haven't smoked yet but I needed to reach out and ask if anyone else has had such a huge reaction to quitting. I feel like a wreck.

[jillar]

Hey walker, sorry that happened to you but I'm glad you went and got checked out. What you're experiencing is normal for a lot of people when we quit. Our bodies are adjusting to not receiving those 1000's of chemicals that numbed us for years. It will go away and if it keeps being hard then you should talk to your Dr about a temporary anxiety med. I also found eating sweets helped and was stuck on those soft peppermint puffs for my whole first year lol.

Hang in there though because ten days is awesome

[notsmokinjo]

Hey @Walker ... you are not alone, and you are most definately not abnormal for this reaction.

 

Nicotine addiction cause the nicotine receptors in our brains it pushing any button they can to get fed, ergo a hit. Remember, when you were a smokers, if you hot stressed and had a smoke the stress eased? Yeah well here's a news flash to help you stray  quit....it wasn't the nicotine easing your stress, it was the nicotine receptors amplifying it...bad thing happens, your brain stresses, the nicotine receptors go 'ooh we ain't had a hit for a while, lets just turn th ius up to 11', you have a smoke, nico receptors turn off, stress level drops....and you think, ahh the smoke made it better...yeah nah it just turned of the nicotine receptors which amplifying and exploiting you. For 30 years you have conditioned yourself that smoking eases the stress, the nicotine receptors in your brain are starting to realise you are serious about this quit business and are amping everything that has worked in the past to 111 to try and get a hit.

 

So, during the first month particularly you need to keep you fluids up and you need to keep your blood sugar levels managed. Drink lots of juice, eat some fruit, suck on a hard lolly. This really helps with craves. 

 

I'm not trying to minimise your experience, I remember clearly think i was having a heart attack during my quit and it b eeing a panic attack. Its scary shit. 

 

Another helpful thing is to have a placebo, when you start to feel anxious, stick a hard lolly (candy, sweet) in ya mouth and suck on it. Still, nearly 3 years later, if i get stressed i will grab a chewie (gum, and no not nrt) and the act of chewing is calming and centering. I'm not doing this avoid going f our a smoke, don't even consider that, but because I reprogrammed my brain that chewing gum eased stress.

 

Your nicotine receptors will exploit anything and everything to get a hit. But it gets easier every day. You just have to hang in and let your brain unlearn 30 years of programming. 10 days is sensational. 

 

 

[Walker]

Thanks. Reading this at least has settled me down somewhat.  I had some serious cravings previous to this panic attack but was feeling pretty optimistic and that I was handling them. I don't really want to smoke much now. While I was panicky I didn't want a smoke or anything else really. This panic attack was like a bolt out of the blue. I posted about it as a coping mechanism. My wife has been great and babying me, I'm just trying to come down from this super anxiousness that just started. I appreciate y'alls replies. I feel like a damn fool.

[Walker]

I actually joined this board a couple years ago when I tried to quit and it didn't last a minute. Hah. But I remembered the board when I had this problem.

[jillar]

Don't ever feel like a fool for posting walker, sometimes just venting and getting things off our chests is just what was needed to calm your nerves. Glad to hear your wife is giving extra TLC, milk that one as long as you can lol

 

[MarylandQuitter]

Panic attacks suck no matter the cause or as is often the case, no cause whatsoever. Great news that the doctor ran tests and found nothing wrong. You're not dying!   If your panic attacks are from quitting smoking (which from what you've said they likely are) then pretty soon they'll go away. Whatever you do, don't even take a puff from a cigarette or use any form of nicotine (NRT, vaping etc.). Regular exercise will help with panic attacks and anxiety more than anything else.

 

What many people find to be the most worrisome symptom when they are first quitting smoking is a general level of disorientation. The effect is usually due to a drop in blood sugar that often occurs in the first few days after quitting. The resources below gives suggestions on how to minimize the effect.

 

[Doreensfree]

Hi Walker ...I Remember you well...

Congratulations in taking your seat again...it's been waiting for you ...

You have been give great advice .....your body is mixed-up just now....

The longer your Quit ...the quicker all these symptoms dissapear ...

Stay close to the board ...Read , Watch ,..pledge Daily ...you,ll be surprised how quick the days go by ...