I Quit Smoking / IBS
I quit smoking a few weeks ago.
I bought a pack of nicotine gum, which doesn’t taste like butt anymore… as I recall it did years ago. The gum did help the cravings. I think the reason I was able to quit for real this time while failing at the 5 or so times in the past, was that this is the first time in my life that I don’t live with a smoker. I remember taking vacation a few years and never really craving a cigarette too badly, but as soon as I got home to my yellow nicotine coated walls… I needed a nic-fix.
Quitting was the easy part. Nic-fits and psychological cravings ceased to be powerful within just a couple days. A few days after my last peice of nicotine gum I started having severe hunger pains. Online research told me that nicotine actually supplies your body with little sugar fixes…as smoking a cigarette releases stored sugars into your blood stream. This is why smokers often don’t need to eat until late afternoon without feeling hungry.
However, when you no longer have this artificial feeding of sugar into your bloodstream after quitting smoking your body can freak out a bit that it has to get sugar the old-fashion way. I had to learn how to eat breakfast and lunch again. It wasn’t too difficult to start eating 3 meals a day because I felt hungry, but my hunger pains were not going away with food … not even after eating a large meal.
These hunger pains soon turned into intense stomach cramps that I imagined would be what someone who is on the edge of dying from starvation would feel. The doc says its IBS… irritable bowel syndrome. Sounds awesome, eh?
Q. How did I, a relatively fit and healthy 26 year old woman get a disease that sounds like something only old men named Chuck or Ron in a nursing home would have?
A. Mostly from quitting smoking. The shock to my digestive system from the sudden lack of lovely cigarette chemicals and general body stress is what the doc explained as to reason for my IBS.
The doc prescribed some little pills that stop the stomach cramps but make me sleepy in a happy/stupid kind of way 
A diet of fruit and veggies seems to have helped and I think I am on the verge of getting rid of the IBS and getting back to normal.
You might be wondering why I wrote this? The reason is that I could not find anything online about a connection between IBS and quitting smoking, although the way my doctor explained things…it sounded like it’s a somewhat common occurance. And for those of you that stumbled upon this post from a search engine, I feel ya, really… and don’t worry… it will pass. 
Popularity: 15% [?]
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Hey Brent.
Thanks for stopping by, glad you like the site, and really appreciate that it will be featured on your next show.
Thanks for the well wishes, too. I think I am almost back to good. I feel bad for anyone with tummy problems… they are the worst kind of pain.
I might have to check out the butt-gum again at some point. I just decided to quit smoking and started up a blog too. My question is - with the sudden drop in sugar did you find yourself running to things like Coca Cola which happens to contain Caffiene and Sugar? I find myself drinking more artificial sugar products with the lack of nicotine and sugar. It\’s really odd.
Thanks for stopping by Danny. Nice blog
I have not been craving sweets since quiting smoking, but I think it\’s pretty common to do so. Chewing gum is probably a good replacement.
Wow…! I’ve been looking for a place like this all over the darn net and finally I’ve found YOU.
I just quit smoking after 22 years and have been having a pretty nasty time of it. I’ve had terrible symptoms ie anxiety, frightening heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, sleep problems, gaining weight, craving sugar, bowel problems and the worst of all…ass kicking depression! It’s been 2 months already and I still crave a smoke all the time. I feel a constant and overwhelming sense of ‘deprivation’ . I can\’t live like this….
Someone please tell me this will all pass and that I’ll be okay again. I don’t want any of the replacement drugs they\’ve been offering me, like welbutrin (Zyban) or any other variety of chemical brain ‘root canals’ , no thanks. After what I’ve been through, I’m scared of those drugs. If I cannot get off the nicotine ‘au natural’ then I will simply have to resume smoking again. I wasn’t sick until I quit. No one tells you about this stuff until you\’re already experiencing it. You go to the doc and they say “oh yeah…this is normal.. Ooh YAY..!!!
YOU CANNOT FIND THE INFO YOU REALLY NEED TO HELP YOU WITH NICOTINE ADDICTION AND WITHDRAWAL. WHY IS THAT???
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for stopping by. Ouch. I am sure things suck after 22 years of smoking. Your body is probably still getting rid of the chemical build-up.
Have you tried doing a cleanse? You can do a search online for colon cleanse or something similar to see some of the homemade formulas for that. A couple of my own ideas: get some niacin pills (they’ll turn you red like a lobster and you’ll sweat in places you didn’t know what possible), buy a few big containers of cranberry juice and drink lots.
Another thing that might help is hynotism — it works awesomely for some people. Go to a liscensed professional.
Maybe grab some of that nicotene gum to help with the really really rough times Good luck… it does suck — but within another month or two max you should be fine. But my cleansing suggestion might help.
Thanks for all the advice and for your thoughtfulness. I guess we must all find our own individual way through substance [nicotine] withdrawal. I cannot do the colon cleanse, due to the fact that having quit has brought on an irritable bowel syndrome, where I am losing lots of potassium and which has been contributing to my heart palpitations. The niacin idea would be great if only I wasn\’t hot flashing already from menopause,..so that\’s out too..LOL. Anyway, I already take too many, various vitamins and nutritional supplements, have done so for many years and am very well versed in these things. Right now, I am trying dessicated liver powder, mixed into juice as well as taking colloidal minerals [trace minerals, from humic shale] and have found that they are helping me greatly! The liver contains factors [Choline and B12] that help my brain chemistry adjust through withdrawal. The colloidal minerals contain trace amount of the element \’lithium\’ which I believe is responsible for helping my depression. Both are from natural sources and are readily absorbed by the body. I\’ve gotten my energy back and my depression/anxiety has lessened quite a bit since adding these things to my daily diet. Hope anyone reading this, who is having the same from problems as I am, might be helped by this info. Good luck to all of us \’quitters\’..
Hi - sorry to hear about the IBS. I\’m afraid to say that I think lots of people experience the same thing when they quit - not sure why but I think it\’s something to do with the chemicals in a ciggy which do affect the bowel. I know that constipation in particular can be a problem for smokers because a lot of people find that the first cigarette of the day sets of their bowel, and so once they stop smoking they stop \”going\” as well!
Hi,
I\’ve been quit for almost a year now but still using the patch and the nicotine gum. In October - six months after my quit - I started feeling my heart beat in my chest all the time. It\’s not a rapid heartbeat, but I can feel it. I had an EKG, and it came back irregular. Have to get more tests done, but wondering if this could be from Patch/Gum . . .?
I am suffering the same problem IBS and happy to see you. I was just wondering why I was suffering? what about your IBS now?
Hi Sarah, I know its been a couple of yrs since you wrote to this site but I just wanted to tell you I tried cold turkey 10 yrs ago, never again, too difficult. Tried patches, stopped smoking for 5 wks but was allergic to them so had to stop, then tried inhalator, no good as I think you are just prolonging the inevitable. Now on Champix, off ciggies for 24 days, still get odd cravings sometimes, cleaned house top to bottom, almost to rid of smell of nicotine, but not as bad as withdrawal on patches. Dawn
Hi board, Just decided to comment, i packed in smoking 23 days ago but the first 2 wks was headaches and constipation, i felt fat, bloated, and dirty till i doused my innards with laxatives, now i feel better but my advise would be to at least switch to wholemeal bread and drink water. Regards Dawn
Thanks for the comment on my podcast site. I\’m glad you\’re a listener, I hope the IBS clears up soon, I have some friends with that and I know it isn\’t any fun
blifaloo will be the cool site of the week on CGS16, because I\’ve just wasted away hours on here and if I\’m going to be unproductive then so will everyone else.