Comments on: I Quit Smoking / IBS

By: hailey

hailey — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:24:50 +0000

Just wanted to let others know that I quit smoking too…..its been a couple of weeks and I am sure I have IBS. I have had a colonoscopy, cat scan on my abdomin and the doctors can not figure out what is wrong with me. I have had the blood tests, stool tests and other test but they don’t have a reason or a clue what I have. At first they thought it was ulceritive collitus and then something else and then I didn’t have anything…….I hope this all goes away soon.

By: Logan

Logan — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:31:13 +0000

Hey guys, I’m also experiencing this same upset stomach crap after quitting smoking! I’m actually sitting on the toilet now at four in the morning because of it! Lol
I quit about a month ago, and I swear about two days after I quit, I started getting serious gas every day. Not only am I getting the painful gas, but I am also experiencing irregular bowel movements as well.(explains why I’m in the John at such a random time)
I figured this was all due to quitting smoking, and I had the temptation to start up again just to cure me of this crap but stuck to my guns. This is starting to get a bit ridiculous though….it got so bad tonight that I felt like I had to puke.
Good luck everyone! Hopefully this will all be over soon…..
Logan

By: sabrina

sabrina — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:04:48 +0000

Toni, Your post made me sane again. I quit smoking one week after I had a DNC and I kept telling my doc I was still in horrible pain. So i proceeded to take all the narcs she gave me which i later read give you constipation. I thought I had a perforated bowel (one of the possibilities of a bad DNC). I found your post and although the horrible pain is still with me I now no longer think I’m dying.
Debbie- hang in there, we can do this!!

By: Brad

Brad — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 04:08:35 +0000

I started smoking at 10 years old and quit at 55, it’s been 27 months now smoke free. Over the last 15 years of smoking I cut down to approx 10 a day. I never really had any stomach issues, kind of ate what I wanted but ever since I quit smoking I’m having stomach cramps, aches, gas and worst of all diarrhea. At times I’ll be in the washroom minutes after finishing a meal. I haven’t officially been diagnosed with IBS however I suspect that I do now have IBS and that smoking kept it at bay all those years. I have read that cigarettes can be an antidepressant, I’ve also read that antidepressants can subside IBS.

I’m glad that I found this link, I thought that I may be the only one with this situation. This now kind of confirms the suspicions that I’ve had over the past couple of years. I forgot to mention that there have been periods, months, at a time when I don’t really show signs of IBS however when it hits it can go on for weeks. In addition I won’t be taking up smoking again to solve this problem, I feel it’s the stomach issues are the lesser of two evils.

Google search criteria that I used:
antidepressants and ibs
cigarettes are an antidepressant
smoking stop ibs

An interesting statement at this link, even if it is from a cigarettes information website, that states:
“Interesting is that researchers are actually documenting neurochemical effects which says that cigarettes may actually be a drug that smokers are using to treat their underlying chronic depression.”

http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/cigarettes-can-be-an-antidepressant-735746.html

T.I.A. for listening to my rant.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:44:16 +0000

I smoked for 40 years and finally quit about 6 months ago. For the past 2 months, my stomach hurts so bad, it’s unbelievable. How long does it take to get better? I’m considering taking smoking back up since I never felt this bad when I was smoking!

By: Callum

Callum — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:09:36 +0000

Damn IBS. I have suffered from IBS from a very young age (7ish). I started smoking at 16 and now I am quitting at 23.

It has only been a couple of day but I have definitely noticed an increase in my IBS. Lots of stomach aches, and my bowl movements are all over the place (metaphorically speaking). I used to take mebeverine which helped the pains but recently (after I have quit) it dosnt seem to be helping as much as usual. I have switched to a tablet called colpermin which I would advise anyone with IBS to try. I wont put the details down here just look it up if you are interested.

I was really considering smoking again just to try to get back to being able to control my bowls. However after reading what you guys have written I will hang in there for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. I will post once more in that time and note down how I am doing.

Hopefully this helps people as your posts have given me the motivation I need to hang in there.

By: Scooter

Scooter — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:34:38 +0000

Hi. I have similar problems with this. I have smoked for 27 years and finally decided to quit for good on New years. Tried the Chantix thing and made me too sick to my stomach. I finally quit cold turkey 3 weeks later….but then started having weird pains in my chest….then in the back where my right lung is. I waited for about a week to see if it would go away and started freaking out a little. I wanted to make sure there was nothing like a tumor or something growing there in my lungs since I smoked like 1 to 1 and a half packs a day for the last 27 years. I had a chest x-ray and it was clear, but the dr wanted to rule out a possible blood clot in the lungs so he sent me for a ct scan of my lungs. All clear. Within 1-2 days all pains in chest were gone. But I thought from all the worry my stomach problems were the result. So now its been 3 more weeks and my stomach is just getting worse and worse. Everytime I eat I am severely bloated, have gas coming out both ends….I can eat a can ov Ravioli and feel like I just had Thanksgiving dinner. Even a cup of coffee does this to me. I am getting wooried all over again because I have no fever or anything else to suggest an infection. Feels like a blockage either where the stomach empties into the small intestine or a blockage in the small intestine. Very disheartening for someone whos mom died of colon cancer. I just just dont believe its that though. Everything seems to be centered to immediately after I quit smoking. I ts been three weeks now totally smoke free and I feel great for doing that, empowered really, but this whole thing going on with the gut has really got me down and I am really seriously thinking about picking the habit back up. I dont have a loss of appitite, infact I feel hungry. But I dread these times now that knowing what happens when I eat. I see the dr again today and hopefully he may be able to shed some light on this as well. Hes the one that convinced me to quit smoking in the first place.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:24:10 +0000

IBS is omething that is very different n different people. I diagnosed with IBS about a year ago. after all tests such as blood, urine, upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, a few different X-rays, etc. I used to smoke so a few weeks ago finally I decided to quit and just after two weeks the IBS is almost gone!!! at least I can say 80% improvement. My IBS was everyday pain in the last 6 years. and I never tried to quit in these years! Finnaly I did it and it worked!

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:23:26 +0000

How long have you been having this thing??? i mean i hope it’s not a forever thing…

By: Toni

Toni — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:59:16 +0000

Ouch — I feel ya! Yeah, I think changing the diet really helps. Nicotine let me be lazy with my eating habits — after quitting I had to change my diet, adding a lot of fiber, cutting out junk foods, eating less processed crap, etc.

The biggest help for me: eating a bowl of cereal before bed.