Quit Smoking Side Effects and How Knowing What to Expect Can Help You Give Up Smoking For Good
Filed Under : Quit Smoking by Health and Beauty
Aug.26,2011Quit smoking side effects can be very challenging and annoying, but working through them will help your heart and lungs thus benefiting your overall health. Quitting Smoking effects your body and you will experience withdrawal symptoms because you’ve physically and mentally developed an addiction to the nicotine in cigarettes. Identifying the effects and symptoms and what you can do when they occur will help you when try to give up your habit. Some of the most common ones include:
• Anxiety and irritability – because you are denying your body something it wants, you can except to be irritable. Sometimes quitting smoking is easier for people if they can take a few days by themselves to go “cold turkey” and stop smoking completely. Having family and friends around or having to go to work can make it a more difficult process. Though, if you are alone, you won’t have the support of others.
• Headaches – a common side effect that occurs as a result of withdrawal.
• Increased appetite and weight gain – many smokers who try to quit will begin eating every time they get a craving to light up as a substitute for smoking a cigarette. This can lead to a weight problem. Weight gain can also occur as the result of fluid retention. Surprisingly, the way to combat this is to drink a lot of water because this will flush out your body and don’t eat a lot of salt because this will absorb water.
• Acid reflux and gas – fortunately these are both temporary and often don’t last more than a few weeks. Try over the counter medications to help combat this and avoid foods that will exacerbate it.
• Sinus congestion, coughing and hoarseness – this occurs because your body is getting rid of all the tar and other debris that come from smoking. These problems can last a little longer and sometimes go on for a few months. Again, try general medications to help with the side effects.
• Insomnia and Weird Dreams – as you quit your body will start entering REM sleep more often. When you’re smoking you actually don’t get very good sleep. However, if you aren’t used to the REM sleep cycle it can feel like you aren’t really sleeping for a while. You can also experience strange or more frequent dreams. This is connected to the increased REM sleep because that is when you dream. If you are having trouble falling asleep, you can try sleep aids, but make sure to be careful as some of them are addictive as well. Eventually, you will get used to this.
• Itchiness and tingling – this occurs in some people because your circulation improves after quitting. It shouldn’t last for more than a few days.
If you do decide to quit smoking, it’s always a good idea to consult with your doctor. He or she can help advise you on what sort of medications or patches you can use to help with the process. Even though the quit smoking side effects can be very challenging and annoying at times, giving up smoking will help you to improve your quality of life, your health, and the health of those around you.
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