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974534 tn?1301956787

any 1 else?

i stoped smokeing 6 months ago i was fine 4 the 1st few months then i dont know what went wrong but i had a really bad chest pain and ended up in hospital they told me at my local 1 that they thought i had a clot on my lung! iv never been so scared in all my life my hart was in my mouth. they then rushed me 2 a big hospital whitch was 40 miles away they run sum tests and by the morning they put it down 2 be pulled muscle in my chest sent me home with paracetamol!  afew days later it got worse i was haveing all kinds of thoughts and feelings so i went 2 my local gp and they told me it was anxiety. i am currently not takeing no meds cus im so scared they will do me harm and i really  cant get it in my head that its anxiety iv got any 1 else had this from stoping smokeing? any 1 think if i had a fag that id feel bk 2 normal again? any 1 got any advice?
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370181 tn?1595629445
Yes. I have advice.

Do NOT, under ANY circumstance, pick up a cigarette and think that is going to solve anything! It will only make everything worse!

You've worked too long and too hard on your quit to start again because of this scare.  

Chest pain is scary whether we are smokers or not. You were absolutely right in going to the hospital and having it checked out. That they saw, or thought they saw, a clot in your lung, while extremely frightening, is far better to know about than not. But after a second test at a larger hospital, you were told you had a couple of pulled muscles (which can cause really bad chest pain).

A couple days later when it hadn't resolved itself, (did you take the medication they gave you?) you went to your GP who undoubtably had all the tests right in front of him, told you it was anxiety, which in my humble opinion, it is. Quitting smoking is probably one of the most stressful things we can do and it's been proven that at around the four month mark, our anxiety is at it's highest. Yes, the nicotine has long since left our bodies, but those pesky nicotine receptors in our brains are literally going insane for a fix and they take us along for the ride becuase they are nasty and very mean little creatures. And it's true........if you did smoke a cigarette, you would no doubt feel "back to normal." Then what? How do you think you'd keep that feeling going? From personal experience I can tell you that what the folks at AA say, and it applies to cigarettes as well............"ONE IS TOO MANY AND A THOUSAND IS NOT ENOUGH!" And that, my friend, is the truth. You must create a mantra of sorts that you say to yourself each and every time the urge to smoke comes over you. On one of MY many quits, I used this one: "Smoking is NOT an option!" It's not terribly profound by any means, but it made me stop and think before I did something really stupid, like light up! Just a thought.
You don't say what medication they gave you, but the fact you're not taking it for fear it will do you harm, what more harm could they do that the cigs weren't doing in spades? Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the meds, educate yourself about what they are, what they do, what side effects you could possibly expect and then begin to take them. Right now you need all the help you can to get through this!

Accepting that our symptoms are "nothing more than anxiety" is very common, but you've been cleared by your doctors. You now MUST accept that you're dealing with anxiety, which is fixable, contollable and very often, curable.

Get some support during your quit, talk to your docs about your anxiety and get on with your new healthy lifestyle!

And by the way..........congratulations on making it 4 months! That calls for a celebration. Go out and buy yourself something for all that hard work. You deserve it. And keep that quit going!
Peace
Greenlydia      
Helpful - 0
974534 tn?1301956787
thanx 4 takeing the time 2 read my post i am currently not on any meds never have and dont think i  ever will! i take paracetomol and thats it. its been a long and hard 6 months without a fag but all i keep telling my self is things can only get better i hope.
Helpful - 0
370181 tn?1595629445
SIX MONTHS!!!!!! That's fabulous, girl. I'm very proud of you. Whatever you've been doing to get through this is obviously working, so keep it up! Just remember to take it one day at a time. It's going to be difficult for awhile longer and there will always, even years from now, be times when a strong and sudden urge will come over you..........but you are very strong and as lame as this saying is, it's all you must do..............JUST SAY NO!
Keep us posted, OK? You're an inspiration to many of us still puffin' away!
Peace
Greenlydia
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Contgrats Lucy!
My wife has been off them for 9 weeks now!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I quit smoking a year ago and my nerves have been shot ever since!

Smoking was my way of treating my anxiety, but when I quit, I had no outlet. Working out didn't help either.

I'm on medication that helps. And I'm okay with that.
Helpful - 0
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