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Are Palpitations And Anxiety Withdrawal Symptoms Of Nicotine?
I quit smoking 6 days ago after smoking about 6-8 cigarettes a day for almost 3 years. The day after I quit I noticed a weird feeling in my chest and it was harder to breathe and I had palpitations. I had this all the next day. I went for a jog and felt better while jogging but the weird feeling returned at night. It seems now that I feel fine in the morning but the feeling returns at night along with the palpitations. This has also developed into a cough. It feels like there are clods of something in the top of my lungs that are making it harder for me to breathe and causing me to cough. There is little to no mucous and no blood or pain. Is this normal or should I get x-rays or a scan of some kind?
Mon, 1 Aug 2016
Hello,
I can understand your concern. What you are experiencing are the withdrawal symptoms of the nicotine which are at their peak within 10-15 days of quitting. The anxiety and palpitations will reduce and disappear in a few weeks. You can do deep breathing, go for a walk/jog, talk with friends/family members and keep yourself busy during the times when you crave for a cigarette and feel anxiety or palpitations. Your body has habit of having doses of nicotine to feel fresh and excited and without it the chemistry is the brain is changing and you are having these symptoms. Think of the long term benefits and stay determined to quit smoking.
In addition, when you were smoking, the small hair-like projections (cilia) in the windpipe had been damaged and disappeared. These cilia help in removing small dust-like particles from the windpipe. Now, in the absence of nicotine, they are regenerating and starting their function again. That is the reason of your feeling irritation in the throat and coughing. It will disappear in about 4 weeks too. Actually coughing in this case is a sign of healing and its good.
I hope this information helps you. Thank you for choosing HealthcareMagic. Take care.
Best,
Dr. Viraj Shah
I can understand your concern. What you are experiencing are the withdrawal symptoms of the nicotine which are at their peak within 10-15 days of quitting. The anxiety and palpitations will reduce and disappear in a few weeks. You can do deep breathing, go for a walk/jog, talk with friends/family members and keep yourself busy during the times when you crave for a cigarette and feel anxiety or palpitations. Your body has habit of having doses of nicotine to feel fresh and excited and without it the chemistry is the brain is changing and you are having these symptoms. Think of the long term benefits and stay determined to quit smoking.
In addition, when you were smoking, the small hair-like projections (cilia) in the windpipe had been damaged and disappeared. These cilia help in removing small dust-like particles from the windpipe. Now, in the absence of nicotine, they are regenerating and starting their function again. That is the reason of your feeling irritation in the throat and coughing. It will disappear in about 4 weeks too. Actually coughing in this case is a sign of healing and its good.
I hope this information helps you. Thank you for choosing HealthcareMagic. Take care.
Best,
Dr. Viraj Shah
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